Foods for Geeks Over 30?

tliet asks: "Being a 30+ geek myself I've discovered that the continued consumption of pizzaslices and cola has a rather unpleasant effect on the body, especially if one is over 30. Not being aware of this in my twenties it's becoming awfully clear now that this lifestyle has to be changed. So, it's water and greenfood for me now. I'm wondering if older geeks like me have changed their eating habits while maintaining the geek lifestyle, e.g. having dinner at 01:00. Also, what do older geeks consume to stay alive?" Ah, how timely this question is....

Comments

Learn how to cook *well*

[_Gus]

Seriously. It may sound odd, but cooking yourself good-to-excellent meals is an astonishingly pleasurable experience. It can also be very healthy.

Put off buying that new Nvida card and invest some money in good kichenware equipment, particularly things like *good* knives.

Here is one to get you started.
Ingredients
Salmon (about a fist-sized peice)
Pasta (any kind except flat sheets)
Coriander, basil and parsley. (get living plants or fresh bunched stuff, nothing else will do, the dried stuff sucks)
Vinagrette (pre-made shop stuff is fine, substitute any salad dressing if you can't find some)
Olive oil.
Method
* Turn on the oven and heat it up to about 250C
* Boil the kettle, you'll need the water for cooking the pasta in a moment.
* Strip off any bits you don't fancy eating from the salmon (bones, skin, eyes etc) and wrap it in some tinfoil. Put the tinfoil wrapped salmon in the oven (assuming it's heated up now).
* Pop the pasta in a pan, douse with the boiling water and bung on a bit of oil and cook (boil) until the pasta is chewy.
* Reboil the kettle and use the water to douse off the starch and gunk from the pasta. Drain off the pasta and chuck on some olive oil (very little, you only want to lightly coat the pasta w/the oil, so put a wee bit in and stir the whole lot around until it all looks sligtly glistening)
* Take the salmon out the oven (about 25mins will have passed, I'm assuming) and unwrap it. Chuck away the water that'll have collected in the bottom of the foil and let it cool down.
* Get a big bowl and chuck in the pasta and then shred/flake the salmon in to it. Chop up the coriander, basil and parsley roughly and pop them on top. (More coriander than anything else) dribble a bit of vinagrette on and shake it.
* Eat.

Re:Learn how to cook *well*

[ktakki]

Seriously. It may sound odd, but cooking yourself good-to-excellent meals is an astonishingly pleasurable experience. It can also be very healthy.

Seconded, with additions:

• Chopping that onion or garlic, or slicing into that head of lettuce with a honking huge cleaver is a great stress weapon. Just watch out for your thumb.
• Cooking with wine is even more fun, especially if you grew up watching Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet get sloshed on camera every day. Again, watch out for the thumbs.
• Eating less take-out food meant less colds, less flus, no more cankersores, and I can't remember the last time I had the runs. Restaurants are a vector of disease. Do you really think they actually wash their hands after using the bathroom? Cooking your own food is like compiling from source, rather than installing a binary. Hell, I've even found bugs in the broccoli and removed them. Would that happen at a busy restaurant? Also, it's not unheard of for one to find a thumb in your take-out.

k.
--
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people
are really good at heart." - Anne Frank

Re:Let this be a lesson

[angry old man]

Bagh,

Back in my day, working with computers involved lifting large tape reels, finding and replacing bad tubes, and walking all the way across the room just to read what you just typed on the LF printer.

Now-a-days you lazy kids have it easy... "Ohhhh, logging onto a remote machine takes too much effort to type my password over again" or "I actually have to lift this fancy-schmancy flat panel monitor onto my desk? Can't a temp do it??" Do you know that all of the respecable hard-working user interfaces, such as line-feed printers, way at least twice that of a monitor.

If you want computer workers to get excercise in their jobs, then start using respectable computers that have tubes and no monitors! Use respectable media like Reel-to-reel tape drives instead of the unnessecary CD Burner.

Food? Easy.

[RareHeintz]

Soylent green. I swear by it.

OK,
- B
--

Same as for regular tubbos . . .

[SanLouBlues]

The food you eat will affect just like it affects everyone outside your spere of reality. Look at http://navigator.tufts.edu/ for a plethora of links. Or just switch to V8 not cola, light beer not beer, and a gym membership not premium cable.

Better Eating Habits

[MDCore]

Morning:
Eat a solid breakfast within an hour of waking up. I'm guilty of breaking this one though, opting instead to leave a bag of muesli in the office and crunching a bowl of that while reading slashdot.

Lunch:
If anything I'd say cut down almost completely on junk food. If you can't get anything else for lunch then try and get the junkfood that is (seems) a little bit healthier, i.e. not MacD's. It might sound like an oxymoron (healthy junk food) but rather get a frame grilled burger, for example, then something deep fried. Preferably though you should be making/buying sandwiches or rolls of some sort. Warming up last nights leftovers in the microwave works for me too.

Supper:
Cook your own supper! It doesn't take as long one might think, especially once you get a few recipes you know how to do. You'll be finished chopping, dicing and bundling into the oven before you know it. It's kinda boring if you're on your own but getting a friend/wife/g.f./s.o. to help should make things more fun (and even quicker too). Only get junk food if you are really beat or something like that. Again stick to the healthier side of junk food.

Kill Your Car

[raju1kabir]

I find it discouraging that so many people focus on the eating side of the equation.

Eating healthy is great - there's certainly no harm in cutting down on the amount of crap that you eat. But look around a little. People eat crap the world over, but only Americans are grotesquely fat. Why? Because they sit around all day worrying about diets. All that most people's "diets" ever lead to is cycles of weight loss and gain, frequently accompanied by malnutrition.

There's a much simpler answer: Kill your car. Get rid of the damn thing. It's killing you.

Build exercise into your daily life. Ride a bike to work. Too far? You're too fat and lazy? (Hint: about 20 miles is too far to practically bike to work if you're not a serious cyclist. If you're balking at anything less than that, then yes, you are too fat and lazy) Then at least walk to the subway station and ride that. Every one of my friends that started driving to work flabbed up within months. Those that woke up and stopped driving came right back down.

Never again take an elevator unless you're going up at least 10 floors. Anyone at any age can climb 10 flights if they really need to. Anyone under 40 who can't jog (I didn't say sprint) up 10 flights without breaking into heavy breathing is seriously out of shape and needs to be jogging up a whole lot more stairs. Living in a low-rise city (Washington DC) I haven't been in an elevator for years, except in security buildings where the stairs aren't accessible.

There are other advantages, too: Biking in a city is much faster than driving, and jogging up the stairs is much faster than taking the elevator (jogging up the stairs in my apartment building carrying my steel-frame bike is still faster than taking the elevator). So you save time AND your body.

Whenever you need something from the other side of the office, stand up and get it that very moment. Rather than dialing someone's extension or sending a quick email to answer a question, just walk over to their desk. Don't stay in your chair more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time. There's always a reason to take a little walk around the office. It'll clear your head and help you live longer too. And you'll have a chance to chat with other people, making friends in the process.

Want pizza for lunch? No problem. But don't have it delivered. Get off your spreading rear end and walk the four blocks to pick it up.

You'll be amazed at the difference. Eat what you want, and keep fit at the same time. No need to waste money on gym memberships. Between that and the thousands you'll save by ditching the car, you can afford a giant vacation to Bali each year to show off your new fit self.

-- raju1kabir
mid-30s
190lb

Let this be a lesson

[clark625]

All geeks under 30 should also heed the warning: sitting in front of a computer all day and night cannot be healthy. I'm only in my 20's, but the gut has begun to form. Trust me: chicks really don't dig guys with large guts.

My current plan has been to work out 300x more than I used to. That means I go rollerblading around the neighborhood for at least 45 minutes every other day. I'm also trying to do a lot of work on my house since the weather's nice. Basically, I'm spending less time on the computer and more doing more laborious tasks.

Food has been a sticking point, too. I was getting way too much food into my system, and healthy or not it was making me heavy. My solution to this was to eat a very light breakfast and then a nice lunch: turkey or ham sandwich, pickle, and a few chips. I'm also staying away from sodas when possible. For dinner, I tend to fix about the same amount of food I used to eat and separate it over two meals. Another good choice is a baked potato or good french bread and salad.

So far, I've been doing this for about 6 months and have lost a few inches--my jeans feel much nicer now. Oddly enough, I'm also happier because I "seem" to get more work done. Good luck with your endeavor!

The most cost effective solution

[JudasBlue]

My girlfriend has recently started a serious weight-loss fitness program using the EAS Body for Life challenge as a template. In five weeks of drinking 3+ myoplex supplements a day and working out in the gym at least 1 hour a day, she has lost 20 lbs. and 3% of her total body fat.

This is at a cost of $2.10 per unit for the supplements, a loss of an hour a day at her console ($50-100 depending on the person) and nothing for her gym membership provided by her primary employer. This brings her weekly program cost to over $400.

In response, I have been using large amounts of methamphetimines. An eighth of an ounce a week costs around $300 in any large metro on the west coast. I have lost 25 lbs. in the same time.

My costs are 1 hour a week to score; $300 for the supplement; a GAIN of 3 working hours a day; and a loss of approximately 1 hour a day looking for the bugging devices I am convinced the government, friends, family and coworkers have started putting in my keyboard, clothes, and lighting fixtures. This brings my weekly program cost to a gain of $400 a week, which I place into my fund for eventual rehab, making my adjusted total cost zero.

Let's recap: Body for Life Program: -400 Meth addiction: 0

The choice is obvious.

Balancing life, diet and code

[tf23]

I've recently broke that big 30 barrier, and I've been noticing lately (since about 29 or so):

I need more sleep
If I exercise, I find out very quickly how good of shape I was in at the end of high school/beginning of college (and how I wish my body was that way now)
I *need* to eat healthier.

So let me explain:

I get tired quicker. If I go for a jog, I used to be able to run 10 miles at a drop of hat, in 'the day'. Now, a few miles and I want to keel over on someone's lawn for a nap.

If I don't eat healthy, my insides quickly let me know. Indigestion, gurgling, you name it. I'll find out. I'm slowly realizing that if you take the time, and you listen, your body will tell you more then you ever thought it could. (rather rudely sometimes, but...)

It seems like all my 'computer friends' are slowly all growing up. There's less lan parties, less endless hours on irc, less bar hopping, less getting trashed every Thursday, Friday and Saturday (using Sunday as recovery time). Now everyone's getting married, having kids, houses, mortgages, kids in sports, kids (did I mention that?).

With all this new stuff coming in, the time on the computer is the hardest thing to make up. I find I'm falling asleep at night with all sorts of code and ideas and crap going through my head. Wakeup, kick the monitor on and type it in before I get a shower and head to work. Otherwise, if I try to put too much time into the comptuer, the wife will not be pleased, and the kids won't get the time they need either.

Anyway, back to what to eat: whole grains (drop the white-bleached-bread), FRUIT, water. Yes, water. It's one of the best things for you and most people don't get the daily does they need. Eat smaller - most people garble down why more food then they need. Cut your portions down. Eat more often. Yes, that will help your metabolism and it'll help you burn callories quicker if you want to lose that gut and extra pounds.

Stay *away* from fast foods. There's not much worse then the crap they give you at those fast food places. At first I thought this was a load of crap, but after not eating any for 6 months, I went and a had a burger from one of the national chains - damn did I feel horrible for the next 10 hours. It felt like I had ate a friggin rock. No more of that crap from now on, let me assure you.

Don't skip meals. Make 'lunch' your biggest meal. At nite, eat a salad, and don't put a ton of goop and crap on it.

My wife, about 8 months ago, started us on this 'new eating scheme'. (I don't know what book she got it out of, I can get the info if someone wants it). It's not a diet, as I've known them, but it's more of a lifestyle change (or minimally eating habit change). It's very similar to the above. It's not cheap at the grocery store, but quite honestly, after a while you'll feel better. When you eat better, you have more energy, you're apt to get more exercise, and you *think* more clearly.

Don't believe me? Try it. Get an hour's worth of exercise everyday. (try walking to start off, stretch before and after).

Go to bed at a timely fashion, so make sure you're getting minimally 6 hours of sleep. Some people require less/more, so if you're getting the minimum, leave yourself time to get a few hours more. But make sure you go to bed earlier. And if you're married, make sure you both do, and take advantage of that extra time alone when you're both not so tired :)

You'll also be amazed at how hard you'll sleep if you get a bit of exercise each day. Personally, I took up mountain biking. But that's another story.

That's my $.02. Good luck to all you fellow aging geeks out there.

Geek weight loss!

[_outcat_]

I didn't have to hit 30 to know my body needed to change...I was about 15 when I really started to cut back in earnest. :)

When I graduated from the 8th grade, about six years ago, I weighed 247 pounds. For a 5'7" female, that's not healthy! A few years before that my mother had gained a good deal of weight as she attempted to LOSE it on 80's fad diets, and as a result was diabetic. In fact, when I was 10 she had a hyperglycemic stroke and had to learn to speak all over again (she's doing great now, btw). It eventually got through my brains that sitting at a computer and playing Nintendo and eating potato chips/little debbies/Coke all day was REALLY increasing my chances of the same thing happenening to me. I wore a women's size 20 (!!) jeans (if you don't know what size this is, go to a Kmart and check out the plus size section. I'm willing to bet most of the skinny geeks on /. could fit two of themselves in those jeans.)

I started out with little things. I recall using the cement steps in our basement as a stepping machine, and I would do 100 reps on it a day. I also began watching my thinner friends eat (by this time I was a freshman in high school) and I saw how much more slowly they were eating than I was. I'd eat my lunch slowly enough that by the time I was done, I couldn't go up for seconds. It didn't seem like much, but the excess weight came off so quickly at first that I lost about 45 pounds my freshman year! It was at this time that I bought a belt, a men's 38" in very cheap leather, with four punched-out holes in it each an inch apart. I remember wearing the belt buckled so it would be at its smallest..but that would still be about 35" or so.

So, I got to buy new clothes *G* and I entered my sophomore year of high school, in which I discovered skateboarding. I was never good at it. Ever. But it made me run pretty fast to try to catch up with my runaway $13 board. Off came another 20 pounds, and I put two new holes in the belt.

My junior year of high school I lost 20 pounds due to a deep depression. No, I do not recommend losing weight in this way. Do not, I repeat, do not starve yourself. I am still feeling the effects to this day of the calcium deficiency I developed (my teeth are horrible). When I got so depressed I could not eat, and I felt so nervously jittery that all I did was exercise. (It was at this point that I discovered my mom's stepping block, a sturdy plastic step with adjustable legs, and exercise videos, which make you feel silly but are WONDERFUL to do in a nice cool basement when it's 90 degrees outside.) The pounds came off and stayed off, but I would rather have done it in a healthier manner. Again, I got new clothing, and put two new holes in the belt.

My senior year and freshman years of college were tumultuous, but I discovered new exercise videos. I also discovered that when I got to college, the shopping center was a mile and a half from campus. Often I would walk three miles a day, then go to the campus rec center and swim for a half hour. Unlike some of my friends, I LOST about 10 pounds my senior year and another 10 my freshman year of college. I put two more holes in the belt (which is about due to be replaced) and I also discovered running, which is surprisingly fun.

I worry about some of my geek friends who sit around, snarf Doritoes and Mountain Dew all day, and play Counterstrike as their most strenuous activity. Sure, their metabolisms can handle it now, but they're not going to be healthy later on. They also scoff when I talk about calorie content and exercise time, and often try to pressure me to eat more tator tots in the cafeteria.

What'd I eat? Normal stuff. I just cut back on fatty things and began to eat more fruits and vegetables. I've never been able to eat much for breakfast (usually a granola bar or a Pop Tart will suffice). At lunch I will have a sandwich with lean meat, a little mayo, and lettuce, with a salad on the side, and a cookie or two. At dinner I'll usually have something a bit more substantial, but I won't eat all that much of it. The key is moderation and exercise.

Let's see. 45 + 20 + 20 + 10 + 10 = 105. I've lost 105 pounds! No gimmicks or shakes or diets...just normal foods and exercise.

This was entirely too long. ENTIRELY. Wow. Maybe I'll help someone though.

Just like on /. - moderation is the key...

[glebite]

Get some exercise. If you don't like gyms - get a treadmill - a decent one which can tilt. Doing 5km a day walking on a treadmill can work wonders. At lunchtime, have a light meal, and go for a 20-30 minute walk and clear the cobwebs out.

As for food - breakfast is important - moreso if you do that 5km a day in the morning. Lunch? Easy - small portions of leftovers from the dinner the night before or soup or a small garden salad. Dinner? Eat what you would normally eat, just don't eat the whole pizza - have 2 slices - don't forget that pizzas do have a bunch of goodness in them. Save the rest of the pizza for future dinners or for lunches. Always make dinner and plan for saving leftovers - cutting down on eating out of a restaurant or company cafeteria saves me $25 CDN a week.

Beer? Drinks? I personally don't drink soda (unless it was made from barley) so I have a can of apple juice (200% daily recommended vitamin C). Oh yeah - take supplementals just in case you do something silly like try skimping on some food group or other. But yeah, don't drink the whole 12 pack in one sitting - share and save for later.

For me, that formula has worked to allow me to lose 5kg this past month. So far I feel great.

But yeah, just like on slashdot, moderation is the key...

The Hacker's Diet by John Walker

[MagusZero]

Read The Hacker's Diet by John Walker (of Autodesk fame).