My Diet Food Routine

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Sven Svensson

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Dec 5, 2021
1,552
1,966
Sonoma County, California
My weight hit a number I didn’t want to hit around Christmas 2019, right before Covid hit. During the lockdown I experimented with different weight loss methods and slowly won and lost. Finally, in October of 2021 I found something that worked for me. One meal a day, under 1500 calories. No snacks. No fatty meats. Lots of fruit and veg. I lost 35-45 lbs doing just that but hit a plateau. I hate exercise but knew that was going to get me through the plateau. So I started hiking in the hills above my house starting at 2 miles, then 4, 5, 7 and now 8.5 miles a day with 1200 feet in elevation gain. I do this every day rain or shine. I’ve now lost 85 lbs with another 35 to go to reach my goal. I’ve also lost 8 inches off my waist and had to give away all my old clothes and jackets. I sweat a lot less, I get cold now, and when I look down, I can see something I won’t mention, and it’s not my feet.

I hate counting calories so I sort of cheat. My daily meal is a bagged grocery store salad, Target has good ones, and I use my own low cal dressing. My protein is usually chicken or those huge shrimp from Costco. My routine is cooking it or smoking it on weekends. I’ve grown partial to using my Kudu grill just for the ease. I’ve been using a myriad of rubs but have settled on a great combo which is an overnight marinade using Buchan’s, which is made right down the street from us in Sebastopol, CA, and whatever rub I feel like that day from my collection.

I still occasionally enjoy going to eat at restaurants and ordering a normal meal. I went to Minnesota, my homeland, for a week recently and ate like a Minnesotan. I only gained 3 lbs which I lost in a week so it was totally worth it. Gotta love DQ every night and those Earl’s Cheese poofs along with tubs of Captain Ken’s Firehouse Beans and Wisconsin Bratwurst. When we have friends over I still cook and eat a normal meal and have a normal portion. I don‘t get bent out of shape eating an occasional normal meal as I’m in this long term.

That said, I eat my single meal past 5 PM every night or after my hike. Starvation hits me about 4 PM and by then I’m headed to the park to hike for 2-3 hours. Having one meal a day makes me feel really full and satisfied. I have not been really bored of this routine but if I do I will change things up a bit. Using the grill or the smoker for my daily shrimp or chicken has been great and it adds a ton of flavor without the oil and added calories. Sometimes I even change it up with a little flap steak or Tri-tip which is a huge treat. I love red meat. One tip I picked up here was to slice the chicken breasts into raw strips then put it into the marinade. It gives you a lot more surface area for the goodness to penetrate. Then, onto the skewers it goes.

You’d think going to this site nightly would drive me nuts with all the great food featured here but It doesn’t. If I can’t eat it at least I know someone can and I know you’re enjoying it. That works for me. So, I thought in case this method might work for someone else here, I’d post it. It’s really not so bad and it’s been great concentrating on making really good chicken breasts and shrimp these past months. I got it dialed in.

12EBF84D-BC96-4AF1-964E-5B1050B8B83A.jpeg
All skewered following a 24-hour soak in Buchan’s then a dusting of a random rub.

4EA829C0-996C-462A-8059-E45C0032EF3C.jpeg
Onto the Kudu with a chimney of Jealous Devil. These shrimp are huge. I peel them before the marinade.

A635CC28-3A82-4958-A7A8-8EC16903A237.jpeg
The dome traps the heat and smoke. It works really well.

6374B2F9-5702-492B-B174-D56D868B4784.jpeg
The caramelization is incredible and it’s helped by the Buchan’s along with the color.

D41532F8-D3EC-482B-B4E0-F9C733C86285.jpeg
After the grates reheat it’s on to the chicken skewers.

88ACC294-E8C5-4DE8-8A9F-A472E97FEC33.jpeg
With skewers you can peek inside for the perfect finish and don‘t need to use a thermometer.

206A6878-DA1C-4C53-A226-2F9CA0424BF8.jpeg
The Buchan’s marinade is beautiful and makes this so easy.

E1E5E177-6087-4032-A516-41F831733162.jpeg
Tender, flaky, juicy, better than the Colonel can do it and this won’t make you fat, unless you eat 5 skewers which is tempting.

1D26A855-89F0-4EBE-898B-1CC5E2007CDA.jpeg
One last money shot of a bowl of beauties.

For a little light smoke I sprinkle a small handful of pellets directly onto the coals. It lasts for 5-10 minutes but gives the chicken and shrimp more than enough smoke.

Once I hit my goal I have a bookmarked list of all your great recipes I’ll be trying.
 
Congrats your doing great and sounds like you've figured out what works best for you. I've been on the roller coaster loose some then gain it back. With the health problems I have I can't do the exercise part and that sucks and is how I got over weight to begin with
 
That's awesome ! Just goes to show we can do anything if we really put our minds to it!

Ryan
 
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That’s awesome and I love reading about people improving their life through nutrition.

Were you on any medications before and if so have you come off of any since the weight loss?
 
That’s awesome and I love reading about people improving their life through nutrition.

Were you on any medications before and if so have you come off of any since the weight loss?
I was on a couple of meds for blood pressure. I came off those as my BP was getting really low and I was getting dizzy from it. I’ve also been on a CPAP and I think I’ll be going off that very soon, too. Another sleep study will determine that.
 
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That's awesome ! Just goes to show we can do anything if we really put our minds to it!

Ryan
Putting my mind to it is the hard part. I have excuses every day, especially for skipping my hike. 8 miles in the hills takes 3 hours and that’s 3 hours I could use to watch TV and eat nachos. Haha. It truly is a mind game.
 
Congrats your doing great and sounds like you've figured out what works best for you. I've been on the roller coaster loose some then gain it back. With the health problems I have I can't do the exercise part and that sucks and is how I got over weight to begin with
It took over a year to figure out what worked. That was super frustrating and discouraging. I’d gain and lose and repeat. I did make more gains than losses but it was super slow and 15-20 lbs was about all I could muster. Finally, eliminating things started to work. I couldn’t eat Doritos if I didn’t buy them. That was hard but it was small steps like that.
 
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Sounds like you got it nailed, Sven!!
I can't do the exercises, so I gotta tackle most of it with Portion control.
I gotta hit it harder again, as I'm currently 5 pounds above my 10 year low, and temporarily stuck there. It's much harder to do, if you can't do any exercises.

Bear
 
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My weight hit a number I didn’t want to hit around Christmas 2019, right before Covid hit. During the lockdown I experimented with different weight loss methods and slowly won and lost. Finally, in October of 2021 I found something that worked for me. One meal a day, under 1500 calories. No snacks. No fatty meats. Lots of fruit and veg. I lost 35-45 lbs doing just that but hit a plateau. I hate exercise but knew that was going to get me through the plateau. So I started hiking in the hills above my house starting at 2 miles, then 4, 5, 7 and now 8.5 miles a day with 1200 feet in elevation gain. I do this every day rain or shine. I’ve now lost 85 lbs with another 35 to go to reach my goal. I’ve also lost 8 inches off my waist and had to give away all my old clothes and jackets. I sweat a lot less, I get cold now, and when I look down, I can see something I won’t mention, and it’s not my feet.

I hate counting calories so I sort of cheat. My daily meal is a bagged grocery store salad, Target has good ones, and I use my own low cal dressing. My protein is usually chicken or those huge shrimp from Costco. My routine is cooking it or smoking it on weekends. I’ve grown partial to using my Kudu grill just for the ease. I’ve been using a myriad of rubs but have settled on a great combo which is an overnight marinade using Buchan’s, which is made right down the street from us in Sebastopol, CA, and whatever rub I feel like that day from my collection.

I still occasionally enjoy going to eat at restaurants and ordering a normal meal. I went to Minnesota, my homeland, for a week recently and ate like a Minnesotan. I only gained 3 lbs which I lost in a week so it was totally worth it. Gotta love DQ every night and those Earl’s Cheese poofs along with tubs of Captain Ken’s Firehouse Beans and Wisconsin Bratwurst. When we have friends over I still cook and eat a normal meal and have a normal portion. I don‘t get bent out of shape eating an occasional normal meal as I’m in this long term.

That said, I eat my single meal past 5 PM every night or after my hike. Starvation hits me about 4 PM and by then I’m headed to the park to hike for 2-3 hours. Having one meal a day makes me feel really full and satisfied. I have not been really bored of this routine but if I do I will change things up a bit. Using the grill or the smoker for my daily shrimp or chicken has been great and it adds a ton of flavor without the oil and added calories. Sometimes I even change it up with a little flap steak or Tri-tip which is a huge treat. I love red meat. One tip I picked up here was to slice the chicken breasts into raw strips then put it into the marinade. It gives you a lot more surface area for the goodness to penetrate. Then, onto the skewers it goes.

You’d think going to this site nightly would drive me nuts with all the great food featured here but It doesn’t. If I can’t eat it at least I know someone can and I know you’re enjoying it. That works for me. So, I thought in case this method might work for someone else here, I’d post it. It’s really not so bad and it’s been great concentrating on making really good chicken breasts and shrimp these past months. I got it dialed in.

View attachment 633093
All skewered following a 24-hour soak in Buchan’s then a dusting of a random rub.

View attachment 633094
Onto the Kudu with a chimney of Jealous Devil. These shrimp are huge. I peel them before the marinade.

View attachment 633095
The dome traps the heat and smoke. It works really well.

View attachment 633096
The caramelization is incredible and it’s helped by the Buchan’s along with the color.

View attachment 633097
After the grates reheat it’s on to the chicken skewers.

View attachment 633098
With skewers you can peek inside for the perfect finish and don‘t need to use a thermometer.

View attachment 633099
The Buchan’s marinade is beautiful and makes this so easy.

View attachment 633100
Tender, flaky, juicy, better than the Colonel can do it and this won’t make you fat, unless you eat 5 skewers which is tempting.

View attachment 633101
One last money shot of a bowl of beauties.

For a little light smoke I sprinkle a small handful of pellets directly onto the coals. It lasts for 5-10 minutes but gives the chicken and shrimp more than enough smoke.

Once I hit my goal I have a bookmarked list of all your great recipes I’ll be trying.
Looks like my kind of diet.
 
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Sven

Good for you and putting your mind to do what you think is best for you. And my friend it really is ( Now you will have to give back your " Dickky Do Award " , because you belly does not stick out farther than your Dickky do. ) Sorry could not resist.

That is great that you can take the time and do that walk everyday rain or shine. And good that you have the power to still eat regular meals when you see fit and than back to your routine.
I applaud you Sven . Nice to have the right mind set .

David
 
Congrats Sven on sticking with it. I find myself always coming up with excuses to miss out on some of my exercising. Getting the daily walk in with the dog though. Have some nice trails close by but the damn wood ticks are just completely lousy so have to stick to the main roads.
 
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Right on, congratulations!!!!

I've lost 56lbs doing Keto, I started the 2nd week of December, all I can say is it works. I really can't do any walking or cardio due to an f'd up spine, so it's all been lost by diet.

It's really not that hard if you have the medical insensitive that I had. And all I really miss is CARBS!!!!!!!
My sourdough Pizza, sour dough bread, homemade ravioli, tamales, Lumpia, California rolls, and real BBQ sauce and fruit and fruit juice, sourdough pancakes with real bourbon maple syrup. Besides that I'm not craving anything. :emoji_joy:


Your food looks flip'in AMAZING!!!

Keep up the strong work, you're do'in awesome.

Dan.
 
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