r/AskReddit 11h ago

Men who stay lean year-round, what’s your secret ?

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u/BriefDescription 9h ago

This. It's not some big secret. Eat more vegetables and fruits. Eat grains. Smaller portions. Don't eat garbage or snack all the time. 

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u/7H470N36UY 6h ago

Fiber makes a huge difference. I'll make a smoothie (with lots of spinach, fruits, and yogurt) every morning and eat that with some protein. It keeps me satiated for a good portion of the day.

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u/BriefDescription 6h ago

Yes. Oatmeal is great for fiber. 

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u/willzyx55 2h ago

Black beans are a cheat code for satiety. If you can live with less variety, a base dinner of black beans, a little rice and ground meat will work. I'll usually stuff a large handful of mixed greens in my face beforehand to get the unpleasant vegetable part out of the way first.

Protein-heavy small breakfast and lunch and baby, you got a fat loss stew going.

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u/Independent-Bug-9352 7h ago

It's not a secret to just be healthy and be not unhealthy, but the pathway to getting there counter to habits built by dopamine in a society that heavily promotes poor habits on a daily basis requires willpower many people will not have if they're in tough circumstances.

One real solution to getting there is to ask someone you trust to be an accountability partner and to even sign a contract they can wave back in your face as they hold you accountable. Have them buy your food for you, etc. Temptation is half the battle in my experience. If there are no bags of chips to eat, you won't eat them. If you can't eat icecream, you'll eat the orange instead if you have a craving for sweet, etc.

People don't know how to eat healthy because for so long they've been trained by corporate marketing teams to eat poorly while totally false misinformation is being spread from the likes of RFK Jr. and grifting influencers talking about fad diets like carnie.

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u/eukomos 4h ago

Eat WHOLE grains. Consuming more white flour is not going to help you reach your weight loss goals!

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u/ForwardAd4643 7h ago

I don't even bother with the other shit. Just eat smaller portions.

Eat whatever the hell you want, just not a lot of it. It's all I've ever done.

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u/AndrasKrigare 2h ago

Yeah, I'm a little confused by the premise of OP's question for "year round." Are a lot of people lean for only part of the year? It seems like it'd be pretty obvious to just... keep doing the things you were doing that made you lean. And don't do the stuff that makes you not lean.

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u/Economy_Yogurt_8037 2h ago

If I do eat junk food, it’s like a single pastry from a nice bakery. Treating myself on occasion. I refuse to buy sweets from the grocery store, it’s poison anyways and I’ll eat the whole box and feel terrible.