i don’t know what the velocity diet is, but if i had to guess what it was by the reponses to this thread i’d say it was a T-Nation production, which is an extreme diet which is very low in calories and obsessively anti-carb. not to mention, i’m guessing it’s also used as a front marketing tool for Biotest products.
that being said, i doubt it’s an ineffective diet, rather than just a diet that is too extreme for someone in your current state.
let me say that the biggest weapon you have for success regarding your goals is personal honesty. and if the velocity diet is as challenging and restrictive as i think it probably is, than there is no need for something of that calibre for an individual in your condition. you need to ask yourself: ‘do i really need to go this extreme to start off?’ why not ease into healthier lifestyle habits more gradually, as you are clearly coming from one extreme of overconsumption into another extreme of restriction.
getting to weigh over 300 pounds <in poor condition/high body fat>, takes years of extreme overeating and underactivity. i’m sure you’ve made many poor choices for years and years. and the poor choices you made were probably extremely poor choices. but now you’ve recognized the problem and have made a decision to take control of your health. that’s great. there is lots of good information to help you succeed.
but let’s put things in perspective. if your goal is to lose 20 pounds <i’m not sure you indicated the time frame for this loss, let’s say over the course of a few months>, you don’t need an extreme diet to accomplish this coming down from 300 pounds. you simply need improvements to your previous lifestyle choices, not some extreme diet.
think of it this way, if getting to 300 pounds required you to make every WRONG choice you could make over the long term, than losing 20 pounds will come along with simply making certain lifestyle changes which do not have to be as dramatic as the velocity diet.
for example: you can simply promise yourself that a certain share of your meals every day will be healthy. of course the word ‘healthy’ is up for debate among some people, but my understanding of that is natural foods. basically, it should include some fresh vegetables, some meats/fish or protein source that are reasonably unprocessed <i.e. subway sandwich chicken doesn’t count>, and some healthy natural carbohydrate source <low-carb activists are freaking out, now> which is satisfying and semi-slow
‘burning’.
make a big list of acceptable foods, maybe, and compose your meals of those acceptable foods. all kinds of healthy vegetables can be on the list, all sorts of unprocessed fresh meats and fish, healthy oils/fats <stay away from the trans fats, stick to unrefined/unprocessed vegetable oils and other natural fats like coconut oils and some butter, and naturally occuring animal fats and fish fats, nuts/seeds>, and healthy carbohydrates <all sorts of potatoes, oatmeal, unprocessed rice, different grains and their respective flours like wheat, barley, buckwheat, spelt, etc and legumes/beans, corn, peas, etc>
if you set yourself up for some extreme diet as the sudden change in direction in your life, you might be setting yourself up for something you might not be able to handle at this moment. it’s like going out for a couple of runs and then deciding to run a marathon with minimal training. it doesn’t make much sense.
you shouldn’t take my post as a suggestion that you can’t handle this diet, but simply that at this stage for you it is largely unecessary and you do not need to play games with yourself to prove to yourself that you can make a positive change in your health.
it’s no secret that you CAN make serious changes and progress towards your ultimate goals. this is absolutely true. we all know you can achieve your goals. you do not need to undergo severe hardship to prove this to yourself. this journey isn’t supposed to involve extreme suffering or deprivation. a few positive changes at the start while you continue learning healthy lifestyle habits is perfect, and over time you simply add tools to your personal toolbox/repertoire for personal success. everything useful you learn regarding training/diet/etc is just another tool.
lastly, i’m sure a bunch of anti-carb wimps are gonna come out dissing some of my advice, but those people almost always have personal issues about their body image and are obsessed with looking as lean as they possibly can all year round. don’t be one of those carb-o-phobes on your road to weight loss <although low carbing is an effective method for losing fat and weight in general, it’s not ever my recommendation>.
hope that all makes sense, good luck.