The single most important thing I had to realize was that sugar sucks. In consequence:
- ban sugary drinks. It's ok to slip, but just don't buy multiple at once. I sometimes go to the bakery to buy a sandwich and they have a formula with a free sugary drink: I don't even take it.
- avoid sugary breakfasts. Breakfast is an unnecessary meal. The later you break your fast, the later the first insulin spike, the less you'll store fat. I don't eat anything before noon. I just have black coffee or a tea, because they don't really break the fast.
- don't eat all day long. Especially not anything sugary. Stick to well defined meals.
- understand the role of sugar, insulin spikes, and fat storage.
- understand calories. Count them for a while to get an understanding of what you're eating. When I say "count", I mean "count", not "count and stop". It's important to get the feeling for calories and then stop counting as soon as possible.
- learn to read labels. You don't have to not buy anything with a bad label, but it's important to know what you eat. It helps you make informed choices.
- know the basics: you should not have more than 25g of sugar per day. That's 5 teaspons. One teaspoon is 5g. Fill a teaspoon and see what 5g of sugar is like.
- and look at the arguments of "trendy" things such as keto or intermittent fasting, you don't necessarily need to do them perfectly (unless that helps you), but you should take inspiration.
Nothing is absolute. You can slip. Just do your best and try to improve.
- ban sugary drinks. It's ok to slip, but just don't buy multiple at once. I sometimes go to the bakery to buy a sandwich and they have a formula with a free sugary drink: I don't even take it.
- avoid sugary breakfasts. Breakfast is an unnecessary meal. The later you break your fast, the later the first insulin spike, the less you'll store fat. I don't eat anything before noon. I just have black coffee or a tea, because they don't really break the fast.
- don't eat all day long. Especially not anything sugary. Stick to well defined meals.
- understand the role of sugar, insulin spikes, and fat storage.
- understand calories. Count them for a while to get an understanding of what you're eating. When I say "count", I mean "count", not "count and stop". It's important to get the feeling for calories and then stop counting as soon as possible.
- learn to read labels. You don't have to not buy anything with a bad label, but it's important to know what you eat. It helps you make informed choices.
- know the basics: you should not have more than 25g of sugar per day. That's 5 teaspons. One teaspoon is 5g. Fill a teaspoon and see what 5g of sugar is like.
- and look at the arguments of "trendy" things such as keto or intermittent fasting, you don't necessarily need to do them perfectly (unless that helps you), but you should take inspiration.
Nothing is absolute. You can slip. Just do your best and try to improve.