My new gut, and how to get rid of it

[Monkeyleg]

The only way I could possibly smoke more cigarettes is if I smoke two at a time.

Nightfall, I'm going to do as you suggest. This weight gain was pretty sudden.

As for shovelling snow, that seems to be all I'm doing lately.

When my wife or I cook, the meals are pretty healthy. It's when I hit the frozen foods that I suspect the calories are climbing. Maybe I'll do something radical, like read the labels.

[Lee]

"I've had the same diet regimen for over 25 years: no breakfast, usually no lunch, and then 1.5 to 2 pounds of food for dinner at around 8 pm."

That really might be a big part of the problem.  Your metabolism used to be higher and it kept up with that super load of calories in the evening.  Not anymore buddy, your metabolism will increase (and your blood glucose levels will stabilize) if you spread your caloric intake over the whole day  - you'll burn more calories and not convett the surplus glucose to fat.     

[Dave Markowitz]

Personally, I see my gut not as a hinderance, but as a built-in food supply for after the SHTF.

[AJ Dual]

TMaybe I'll do something radical, like read the labels.

That's not a bad place to start.

If you put a gun to my head, and said that I had to choose between gorging on a pound of bacon and a pound of sugar, I'd take the bacon.

Cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, bleached white flour and potatoes are probably killing far more Americans than trans-fats, or even just "regular fat" ever will.

Your insulin response also has a lot to do with triglycerides and the HDL/LDL cholesterol ratio too.

I'm not saying to go full-bore Atkins, especially the "induction phase" which people abuse to get the fastest results and causes that diet plan's bad rap, but refined carbohydrates are bad ju ju.

And the whole "low fat" craze makes it worse, because to replace the fat in these foods, the manufacturers often just add more corn syrup or starches to try and replace the fullness and texture of the missing fat.

Even when you look at "healthy" foods, like whole wheat or whole grain bread, reading the label is amazing, most of them have high fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient.

Also, the other posters are right on the money about exercise not doing much to get rid of one's gut. I just learned this myself, but there's an organ called the omentum in one's abdomen. It's a fatty organ that sits around the intestines, under the stomach muscles. It grows as the body deposits fat, and also secretes hormones involved in digestion/metabolisim, and the more you eat, the more it grows. And since it's under the muscles, no amount of sit-ups will shrink it.

[Waitone]

Increase metabolism
--Develop more muscles which burn more calories than fat.  Biggest muscles in the body are below the belt.  Develop butt and leg muscles.  In other words walk a few miles a day.  It's good for the head and metabolism.  When you walk, hump it.  Don't waste your time strolling.

Decrease caloric intake
--Swear off carbohydrates which is code for cold cereal (by and large) and junk foods.
--Swear off dairy fat of all kinds.  No cheese or yogurt
--Unfortunately beer heavy on carbs.

Drink lots of water

Fiber is your friend

Throw out the scales. 
--Judge you success by how much better you feel and how far/fast you can walk.  Your cloths will get bigger without much effort.  When you begin building muscle mass your weight will actually increase.  Then when your higher metabolism kicks in you'll begin burning fat and will then lose weight.