Please make me fit, oh MeFi

July 6, 2008 11:08 AM

Workout filter: where you, yes you, lucky intarwebs, get to judge my fitness + diet regimen (long, detailed)

I'm a 29yr old male, who is seriously overweight but used to be a lot MORE seriously overweight -- I'm about 295ish now, I used to be around 350ish. Took off those pounds with a combination of undirected gym, cutting back on things like sodas, and starting grad school = biking all over the place on huge campus. Was starting a serious exercise plan about a year ago, then I broke my ankle. Getting back on track now.

Now it's time to kick out the jams. I keep reading that 2lbs a week is a safe amount to take off, so I want to do so, for a year -- the goal being to be under 200 pounds by the end of June 2009. I'm in decent health apart from the weight -- no major medical problems, lots of muscle, etc.

I like aikido and swimming a lot, and feel vaguely obligated to do yoga because my muscles are not very stretchy. I want to include muscle-building stuff too. I HATE long cardio ordeals, so my cardio will be in the form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

ERGO, here's the workout plan:


sunday: HIIT on elliptical machine (15 mins, or working up to it), 20-30 mins swimming

monday: 20-30 swim, 1 hour-1.5 hr long yoga class

tuesday: 1 hr aikido class, 20-30 swim

wednesday: weights (all muscle groups), swim

thursday: aikido, swim

friday: HIIT, swim

saturday: weights, swim


Diet: goal is 2000 calories daily. Not sure how to get there, since I'm a single, poor, grad student with a sweet tooth who hates to cook. Also a little too addicted to dairy-filled latte caffeine bombs, and I'd like to figure out a diet that permits that.


Does anyone have any wisdom on a) the exercise plan noted above (too grueling? too easy? poorly conceived?), and b) how to do a healthy diet without having to spend hours a day cooking or choking down inedible salads? (Links on the latter would be great.)

thanks...

posted by paultopia to health & fitness (17 comments total)

The variety of activities sounds great, but it's too much. Take a day off per week. Rest is one of the essential ingredients in a healthy workout plan.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 11:15 AM on July 6, 2008

First off, I think what you're planning to do sounds great! I feel like your exercise schedule is a little bit ambitious and I also recommend taking 1 day off a week for rest/recovery. Maybe you prefer a stricter schedule, but for myself, I like a little flexibility. I'd recommend something like this: 3 days cardio (HIIT, swim, bike), 1 day akido, 1 day yoga, 1 day weights, 1 day rest. Each workout should be 1 hour total. That way you can schedule your workouts around your other activites (grad school, social stuff) and you'll be less likely to burn out.

As for diets, I would recommend against any of the trendy South Beach or similar fad diets. They just require too much effort (and money) to stay on them for the long-term. Just keep things simple for yourself- eat healthy breakfast (cereal, yogurt and granola, oatmeal, ortoast and eggs), lunch (sandwich, piece of fruit), and dinner. I cook a couple of times a week and make one-dish meals that are easy to store and reheat. Example....stir fry a bunch of sliced veggies with chicken and make a pot of brown rice. Eat it for dinner for 3 nights. Avoid junk food and eat fruit, granola bars, nuts, etc. when you want a snack. Oh, and use soy milk in your coffees instead of cream!

Overall, I think the key is to adopt and exercise and eating plan that you can stay on for, well, the rest of your life.
Best of luck!
posted by emd3737 at 11:54 AM on July 6, 2008

several things:

1) If you are 295 now, 2000 calories a day is going to be starving yourself. I'm guessing you probably need around 3000 a day to maintain, so I'd shoot for 2500 a day.

2) Do as much exercise as you feel comfortable with, but establish a schedule that you're willing to STICK WITH. I work out 2x a day, 6x a week. A lot of people think it's excessive, but I've done it for the past 6 months, and it's pretty routine to me right now.

3) Almost all the current diets are the same. I would read a lot about the South Beach / Paleo diet, which seems to have worked best for me, but the key is usually controlling carbs. No diet is going to let you have the latte bombs. Sorry, those are bad for you. Really, really bad for you. That's just going to be a question of willpower- do you want to lose weight bad enough? then don't drink it.

4) The easiest way to cook is to get a george foreman grill. It cooks everything at hyper speed. Then you can buy frozen steamed vegetables from a grocery store, and they heat up in 6 minutes. I usually vary between salmon/frozen chicken, and put a different marinade on them. I'll eat it with cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs. It takes 10 minutes to make dinner every night.

For breakfast, I'll usually have a protein shake. Learn how to make those. They're easy snacks, and they can function as meal replacements if you dump some oatmeal in them.
posted by unexpected at 12:15 PM on July 6, 2008

For the amount of cardio you are doing the calories sound fine, but make sure you avoid refined sugars. You said you have a sweet tooth and it is easy to reach for empty-calorie rich foods after a nice long swim.

Avoid carbs in the evening, but get plenty of them in the form of whole grains and fruits in the morning and early afternoon. Space out your meals into six a day with dinner and your evening snack being the smallest. Your macronutrient proportion should be 40:40:20 (carbs, protein, fat). A good program to keep track of this is Fitday. You might also want to take a look at this book, which has been recommended by a few personal trainers I am friendly with: You on a Diet.
posted by munchingzombie at 12:18 PM on July 6, 2008

and feel vaguely obligated to do yoga because my muscles are not very stretchy.

Don't feel obligated to do yoga. Do it if you want to do it and you enjoy doing it. If you can do the full range of motion for the movements in your other activities without hurting yourself, you are probably flexible enough. If you really feel the need a half-hour to an hour of easy yoga is a fine "rest day" activity, which I nth everyone else saying you do need.
As for diet I would say this: set yourself a minimum amount of protein along with that maximum calorie threshold. Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-250g/day would be good, given your size. It will help you control the sweet tooth, and minimize muscle loss.
posted by ch1x0r at 12:29 PM on July 6, 2008

Eat more than 2000 calories a day. I am currently around 200 pounds and am losing a pound or two a week at that caloric intake, doing less exercise than what you have planned for yourself. Figure out at least a rough estimate of your base metabolic rate and use that as your guideline. Here is just one of many of the Internet; here is a more precise one.
posted by synecdoche at 12:30 PM on July 6, 2008

I actually think that routine looks pretty good. A few things concern me: first, what is your weight training regimen? And second, I think at least one easy/off day is a good idea. If you really want to do something EVERY day, fine, but make sure that at least one day a week is significantly easier than the others. Maybe schedule this day on your busiest day of classes?

And now my favorite...weight training! I really like lifting, so I'm going to harp on it. First of all, lifting for the whole body twice a week is good. But do different exercises on each day, and make sure those exercises are multi-joint, compound lifts where you can move lots of weight. Use free weights, not machines. Get a trainer, just for a few sessions, to learn the proper form on each exercise. Build your routine around exercises like: Deadlift, Squat, Bench Press, Standing Overhead Press, Pullups/Lat Pulldowns, Bent Rows, and dips.

As to eating, I like to make a simple, tasty 'one pot meal' on Sunday night, and then eat it all week long at lunch. Saves money, is healthy, and reasonably tasty. I'm a vegetarian, so all my links are to veggie sites, but I'll post 'em if you want 'em.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 12:41 PM on July 6, 2008

I'd take one day off entirely from exercise and one day dedicated to a yoga class that focuses on stretching and breathing. No yoga for body builders/athletes/bikram. I agree that rest is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.

You might want to use that day off to focus on healthy food habits. How about making it Satuday and hitting up a local farmer's market? I'm a poor student too, but sometimes farmers markets have some good deals as long as you avoid the meat and cheese. Last week I got a ginormous zucchini for 75 cents. That thing= at least 3 meals.

Also, you might want to look for a local cooking class? I took a couple that helped me, including one on salads.

Salad don't have to be inedible and even the best are usually quick. Investigate the how-tos of vinaigrettes and look up some good recipes. My favorite is black sesame + field greens + mandarin oranges + pan fried duck + macadamia nuts + ginger dressing.

I personally eat tons and tons of healthy Asian food that I buy at my local Asian grocery, which is pretty cheap. Soba noodles cook quickly and can be paired with other healthy things like grated carrots and zucchini. The Minimalist Cooks Dinner is my favorite cookbook and has recipes for soba and other quick things. His other cookbooks, including his Quick and Easy book are great. I'd check out his simple meals NYT articles series.

That said, some are healthy, some are not. Remember: vegetables should be the star of your meals. If there is more bread and pasta than vegetables, you need to adjust the recipe.

As for sweets I have two rules:
1. Only eat the best. No crappy Costco muffins from the breakroom at work or from Starbucks. Only the best homemade muffins will do. If I'm going to subject my body to sugar, it better be worth it. Keeps the sugar at bay because I can't afford Belgian chocolate very often.
2. Don't bring it home. I don't buy bags of sweets anymore, because I'll eat them ALL.
posted by melissam at 12:52 PM on July 6, 2008 [2 favorites]

I would personally split the weight training into upper body/ core and lower body. That's what I do and it's much easier to stick with. Plus I get more out of it because I am not tired or bored.

If I'm training really hard I can't take a day totally off or I stiffen up like a board, especially my IT band, so I think that's your call. I don't really like stretching or regular yoga so my compromise has been to take up bikram (hot room) yoga. I find that doing this once or twice a week on is a nice combo of strength building and stretching safely (ie no pulled muscles or ominous tearing feelings, I've never been sore the next day). Also you sweat gallons and get your heart rate way up there a few times during a 90 minute class so it definitely helps you to build overall fitness. If I take a day off I do it after the yoga day and I'm usually not sore at all.
posted by fshgrl at 12:54 PM on July 6, 2008

Synecdoche: his base caloric needs can be wildly different than yours. If he is getting results and his doctor gives him a thumbs up I wouldn't increase them.
posted by munchingzombie at 1:11 PM on July 6, 2008

If you HATE long cardio workouts, then check out Ross Enamait's work. He's a down-to-earth guy who trains boxers and he highly advocates high intensity over long cardio. (Apparently it's even better for you.) His book, Never Gymless is a complete home work out regimine with little to no equipment. HIGHLY recommended.
posted by keith0718 at 1:25 PM on July 6, 2008

Hey, the lattes aren't so bad for you, if you get a small one with nonfat milk. A 12 ounce latte with skim milk works out to about a hundred calories, which is really not that much damage. Plus, it's a good source of protein and calcium.

There's no reason to rule out the occasional latte from your grad school regimen — I, too, am a grad student with a serious sweet tooth and caffeine addiction, and I just plain like lattes in the morning a lot more than coffee. Just don't go nuts with the syrups and the chocolate and the whipped cream, keep it small, and stick to nonfat milk.
posted by adiabat at 4:38 PM on July 6, 2008

absolutely schedule in at least one day off. this isn't just a mental reward thing, it's about letting your body recover. if you train every day of the week you will wear your body down, and training intensity will suffer.

other than that, just minor suggestions...
-you can do some pretty intense HIIT in the pool. do a 20ish minute free swim as warm-up, and then start doing sprints in pyramids (25m, 50m, 75m, 100m, 75m, 50m, 25m, and up/down again, etc.)
-i know you said you HATE long cardio, but seriously, that's where it's at for losing weight. do you enjoy the outdoors? do a 45 min nature hike with a 25lb pack, but walk quickly. or take your campus bike for a 45 min cruise of that part of campus you never visit. as long as your heart rate is up (sustained) it counts as cardio.
-also, remember that muscle weighs more than fat. it is possible for weight training to mask some of the progress you're initially making.
-i too tire of dull salads, but don't forget about fruits! half a cantaloupe and a cup of yogurt make a great breakfast. and the natural sugars in an apple can be as energizing as a coffee, with the added benefit that natural sugars are non-addictive and you don't develop a tolerance to them.
posted by bilgepump at 5:34 PM on July 6, 2008

Re: Is 2000 Cals too little/too much? My guess is that with your weight and that exercise plan it's lower than you want, but really nobody knows but your body. Here's how you ask it.

You have to track your caloric intake and weight. 2 lbs of fat/wk = 7000 calories or 1000 Cals a day.

So start at 2000 Cals/day, or whatever, and track your weight loss for at least a couple weeks (using the techniques in John Walker's Hacker's Diet, or roll your own.) Adjust daily caloric intake to get to the weight loss trend level you want -- for example, if you find you're losing three pounds a week instead of two add 500 Cals/day to get back on track. BMR calculators and similar are only rough guides; tracking and adjusting is how you get to the real level for your own body.

Obviously, you have to be brutally honest about your caloric intake. Keeping a food diary seems to make it easier both to track and restrict calories, for me anyway. Also note your daily caloric needs will keep going down as you shed the pounds so be prepared to adjust down but keep tracking throughout your weight loss. I think you'll find, at least in the beginning, you can afford to eat a little more than 2000.

Days off -- definitely schedule at least one day off exercise per week for your body to catch up. Seriously, it's hard to face this when you're all gung-ho but you really will progress faster than if you ask it to go all out every day. Two days off may be even better -- that's up to your body -- but if you do that space them out.

Oh, and yeah, we all want to eat healthier so try, please try to do that. But for weight loss Calories really are King. If the only way you can stay at 2000 Cals/day is by eating nothing buy McDonalds then do that. You will be filling your body with artery-clogging goo, but the weight loss is going to be of greater benefit. But again, once you're on track try to do better nutritionally. Be sure to take a multi-vitamin daily regardless.
posted by Opposite George at 8:09 PM on July 6, 2008

For weight training, make a sheet with your necessary exercises--usually about 10 different ones per day. Leave space so you can write down the number of reps and weight each day. Stretch before working out, of course, and if you can, split your exercises so you do pulling one day and pushing the other. It's also best to work from big muscles down to little muscles.

Or if you can, take a weight training class; the coaches are good at making sure you don't waste your time.
posted by Citizen Premier at 9:53 PM on July 6, 2008

Thanks everyone. Will take a day off... and this george foreman grill business sounds LOVELY.
posted by paultopia at 1:43 AM on July 7, 2008

Food Plan - A realistic goal is to lose 1% of your body weight per week. For you that's nearly 3 pounds. The 2 pounds per week goal is average, but there's wider range of acceptable goals.

I put your stats into the daily plate calculator. To maintain your weight, you'd need about 3,300 calories per day (before factoring in exercise). Start thinking in terms of daily net calories; you should eat more when you burn more. On your rest day, you'll need to eat less. This is actually a good lesson to learn. Most people who don't struggle with their weight naturally eat less when they burn less.

To lose a pound you need to consume 3,500 less calories than you expend. Here are some proposed calorie amounts:

To lose 1 pound per week - 2,800 calories per day + exercise calories
To lose 2 pounds per week - 2,300 calories per day + exercise calories
To lose 3 pounds per week - 1,800 calories per day + exercise calories

If you hate to cook, that's fine. There are plenty of filling, healthy low-calorie choices that require no cooking skills. Fruits, veggies, oatmeal, eggs, yogurt are all easy. Here at Casa 26.2 we're big fans of the Jay Robb whey protein shakes in the morning. You may not love salads, but if you're planning to make a lifetime change to a healthy weight it's time to find some veggies you do like.

Exercise Plan - Rest days have been covered, and I'll move on to impact. You need to be mindful of how much higher impact exercise you'll be doing each week. At your weight, impact activities are putting a heavy strain on your joints. Listen to your body. If you need to take a few days off from impact activities, then do it.

It's not about finding the perfect exercise plan. It's all about consistency. Have some alternative activities that you can do without going to the gym. If you can't get to the gym (or just can face another day on the treadmill), then you'll have something else to do.

Support Plan - I've maintained an 80 pound weight loss for more than a decade. Mr. 26.2 lost more than double that. We both lost our weight before we met, but we both had good support networks. We still rely on each other for help to maintain our food and exercise goals.

More than anything, I encourage you to look for workout partners or support. Call the university health center and see if they have a structured weight loss program, a support group or even weight watchers. You didn't mention your goal weight, but I'm betting it'll take you about a year to reach it. A year is a long time to go it alone. Set up a support network.
posted by 26.2 at 8:39 AM on July 7, 2008