I’d like to spend the next year focusing on myself and being healthier. I’m 28, 5’2" and 190 lbs. I know. I’m a computer scientist and working on my masters in software engineering. I sit a lot, but my standing desk should arrive soon. I travel for work a lot so my plan has to be easy. I kinda work out but I’m not consistent. I try to follow a Paleo plan because I feel better when I do it. I thought if I gave myself a plan for a whole year I would be better at sticking to it.
My plan is attached. I’d really appreciate some feedback on it.
Too many trendy words that I don’t think you understand.
V-diet is not strict Paleo, and strict Paleo is not 5 days a week.
You’re 5’2 and 190lbs, which tells me you haven’t trained in years, or ever.
Complexes are great for a lot of things, but I am certain you will do them wrong.
But don’t fret, I’m here to warn you of inevitable failure before you ever waste your time.
Here’s a better idea.
Learn calisthenics.
Your job should be able to afford you at least 20 sessions with a personal trainer who can teach you these things. Once you’ve understood the gist of it, you can begin using it. During work break, at home, in the hotel, before swimming, etc. You need a barbell or dumbbell for complexes, which I believe would be a hassle to stuff in your carry on.
I personally do recommend eating Paleo… but more of the modified ‘Primal’ way endorsed by Mark Sisson.
Please for the love of God, don’t get all your info on the internetz. Read at least 3 different Paleo books before you even consider going on it.
I kinda agree with Jarvan, this is not a well-thought out plan, it’s a load of buzz-words in a badly drawn table.
Find a diet approach that works for you and stick with it. Whether it’s Paleo, V-diet, whatever. Remember total calories is an important factor. Keep them consistent.
Do some strength training. Any strength training, not spin class or Zumba or whatever buzz words you’ve read on the internetz. I recommend buying a kB and doing Simple and Sinister if you’re short on cash or time.
Keep a log on here. If you’re honest and committed, there’s a lot of people on here who will be very supportive and helpful in this process. Me and Jarvan are not those people, but check some of the other threads if you don’t believe me, RubberDucky’s in beginners is a perfect example.
Dentino, the table just shows that you like planning things - the problem is that, with your schedule, plans will fall apart fast if they are in any way restrictive. Laarn calisthenics and eat well - I always recommend Al Kavadlo as a great source of information.
The food you eat or don’t eat is by far and away the most important part. Any sensible weight-lifting/exercise program will help you lose fat if your diet is dialed in. In contrast, no weight-lifting/exercise program will help if your diet isn’t dialed in. My suggestion is pick a weight-training/exercise program you enjoy and stick to it.
Regarding the v-diet, that seems like something you run at the end to push you over the hump so to speak; I think it would be a tough way to start a long-term weight loss plan. But that’s just my opinion.
Ultimately, calories are the most important factor to weight loss, but macros, macros timing, and hormones, play an important role as well. It is also easier to cut calories if you are making the most out of the calories you take in and are not wasting them on things like sodas or other things containing empty calories.
I’d check out Carb Night Solution and Carb Back Loading by Keiffer for a good overview of the role carbs, fats, and proteins in your diet and how they impact weight loss. I also like this article:
Also, remember, fat loss is a war, and basically you have no allies and the rest of the planet as enemies, resistance fighters, and saboteurs. That’s ok if you realize it. Just keep fighting; stay 100% committed; and never, ever give up.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Regarding the v-diet, that seems like something you run at the end to push you over the hump so to speak; I think it would be a tough way to start a long-term weight loss plan. But that’s just my opinion.
[/quote]
I agree with this, the V-Diet is a short term fix that will give you that extra boost. You are 25% bodyfat, you don’t need an “extra boost”, you need to sort your nutrition out from scratch, and while the V-diet is better at that than it used to be, it’s still not ideal.
Bottom line is, you seem to be looking for the magic pill rather than sorting out the basics. Get some basic nutrition sorted. Get some basic strength training (calisthenics, barbell, dB, kB, big rocks, whatever), and watch the results.
[quote]dentino wrote:
I’d like to spend the next year focusing on myself and being healthier. I’m 28, 5’2" and 190 lbs. I know. I’m a computer scientist and working on my masters in software engineering. I sit a lot, but my standing desk should arrive soon. I travel for work a lot so my plan has to be easy. I kinda work out but I’m not consistent. I try to follow a Paleo plan because I feel better when I do it. I thought if I gave myself a plan for a whole year I would be better at sticking to it.
My plan is attached. I’d really appreciate some feedback on it. [/quote]
[quote]dentino wrote:
I’d like to spend the next year focusing on myself and being healthier. I’m 28, 5’2" and 190 lbs. I know. I’m a computer scientist and working on my masters in software engineering. I sit a lot, but my standing desk should arrive soon. I travel for work a lot so my plan has to be easy. I kinda work out but I’m not consistent. I try to follow a Paleo plan because I feel better when I do it. I thought if I gave myself a plan for a whole year I would be better at sticking to it.
My plan is attached. I’d really appreciate some feedback on it. [/quote]
This feels like a very subtle troll.[/quote]
I’ve never seen a troll create a fake excel spreadsheet. If so then I say, bravo!
As far as the V-Diet goes, just from my own experience with it, I think it’s better suited as a springboard to a future body than a finisher in terms of getting to wear you want to be body fat wise. Just my personal opinion.
As far as the V-Diet goes, just from my own experience with it, I think it’s better suited as a springboard to a future body than a finisher in terms of getting to wear you want to be body fat wise. Just my personal opinion. [/quote]
Interesting. It just seems like a tough/drastic way to start to me, but I haven’t done it.
As far as the V-Diet goes, just from my own experience with it, I think it’s better suited as a springboard to a future body than a finisher in terms of getting to where you want to be body fat wise. Just my personal opinion. [/quote]
Interesting. It just seems like a tough/drastic way to start to me, but I haven’t done it. [/quote]
Oh, it definitely is. I just think, at least for me, it was an effective way to break the cycle I was in and create an opportunity to form / reform habits.
Paleo is just about the ideal plan for someone sedentary, if you plan to work out it’s not really the optimum choice. I could give you a couple of hundred pages worth of info on diet and exercise but I’ll try and boil it down to the smallest possible set:
Control your calories
Eat enough protein & fat
For carbs focus on lower glycemic options and less processed choices
I’m going to be very blunt: you are overweight because you eat too much.
Diet is key. You must track what you eat, at the very least at the calorie level (preferrably at macronutrient level, with an eye towards 'healthy choices), or you will never know if you are eating too much or too little. Consistency with following diet is absolutely key.
Then all you have to do is go lift some weights. There’s a bazillion programs out there Find one, do it religiously; don’t come up with your own.
If you’re traveling for work you will be able to find a gym to go to.
For me Alan Aragon is like the Asian Neil deGrasse Tyson of nutrition. The book he did with Lou Schuler is something I think every person should read. It breaks down the scientific reality of gaining and losing weight.
Flexible dieting is the only way someone can reasonably accurately track weight loss via tracking calories and macros etc.
I love the inside cover which explains the basics of “diet”:
You’ve probably heard that most diets fail. That’s not true. All diets work. They work for a simple reason: They give you a mechanism to cut calories. Low carb and paleo diets work because you don’t eat grains, the most abundant source of calories in the modern food chain. Vegan diets work because they eliminate calorie dense meat and dairy while filling you up with plant foods that are high in fiber and low in calories. Fasting and cleansing diets work because you avoid food altogether for hours or days at a time. Sound like fun, no?
The problem with diets isn’ that they don’t work. It’s that they don’t work long enough for most people. Research shows that although people can lose 5 to 10 percent of their bodyweight on any given diet, dieting itself is a predictor of future weight gain Why? At some point, everyone gets sick of the sacrifice and goes back to eating the way they did before the diet.
The lean muscle diet (IIFYM/Flexible dieting) solves that sustainability problem with an innovative, reader empowering approach to nutrition and exercise that begins and ends with one simple standard: The weight you take off should stay off.
Your diet will be based on eating the right amount of food for the body you want. Your workouts will shape that body. Your lifestyle will support that body.
You’ll end up with a metabolism and an appetite calibrated to sustain that body. You wont have to shift from weight loss mode to maintenance mode - the point at which most people regain weight - because you’ll already be in maintenance mode for the body you now have!
