Here are some of the changes I plan to make as a result of this thread:
Gosh darn Arnold breads. You think you're getting reasonably good bread... Top 3 ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, High Fructose Corn Syrup. I'll try to find some sprouted breads.
I'm thinking about trying a number of brown rice and chicken meals, probably things that I can just throw in a slow cooker.
I'll give almonds a try as a snack. I'll probably bring in some baby carrots to work as well.
Grilled chicken breast sandwiches sound good.
May or may not give natural peanut butter a try -- it is more the partially hydrogenated oils in the processed peanut butter that is bad for health.
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Regarding my personal health/weight situation: I'm 34, 6'0" and was 193 this morning. In the Weds weigh-in threads I've got my weekly weight listed, which is normally 190-194 with a couple outlyers on either side. I wear 33" khakis and jeans and I'll get around to measuring my waist/hips ratio one of these days. I maxxed out at 260 in 2001, lost the weight after my father died while riding his bicycle the day before his 59th b-day. So I've been very aware of weight and calories over the last seven years.
I exercise daily (or nearly so) doing three martial arts and tennis thrown in the mix, normally over 10 hours of working out per week. Pretty aerobically fit. The rest of my lifestyle is pretty sedentary -- when I'm not working out, I'm not doing much.
According to that BMR calculator (which is kind of cheesy, had to enter 5' 12" since 6'0" wasn't allowed), I'm around 1950 there. For my level of activity, 3000 calories is actually on the lower side of normal (
MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture - Home gives me 3200 calories to maintain the weight). I've got lots of diabetes in my family (uncle & 2 cousins with Type 1, mom with Type 2), but I've had blood work done fairly recently and changes to diet/activity have been pretty minimal.
Anyhow, if I had this thread to do over again, I'd probably emphasize that my weight is at an equilibrium point. 1800 calories by the time I finish lunch isn't necessarily the problem. The problem is that I'm still hungry all day long, some of which is, admittedly, boredom hunger. Still feels like hunger. The point of mentioning the magnitude of calories that I eat is more to emphasize that I need filling things that are fairly cheap in the quantities I am eating, otherwise my food costs will go through the roof. And did I emphasize enough how lazy I am? ;-)
Can never have too many ideas...