Hi, all.
I have a very on-again, off-again relationship with my weight and my health/fitness journey. I have all the equipment anyone could want or need – PR-4000 rack, Nordictrack tread, WaterRower, Rep SSB and Kabuki Trap Bar HD on the way in July.
In the height of the shutdowns, I was as low as 183, was probably 186 when I got married at the end of 2021, and then I totally let things go and now I’m back up to 213. (For the record, this is about the heaviest I’ve ever been.)
I’m using a combination of Fitbod (3x/week), WaterRower (1x/week), and treadmill (1x/week, 10-degree incline, 2.5 mph), with two off days. Back to weighing and logging everything in MFP.
I did the IIFYM deal (again) and it gave me something like 2488 calories a day to lose weight. I knocked it down to 2200 with a 50/30/20 carb/protein/fat split. I think my big ask is – does that sound okay? Too much? Too little? Bad distribution?
When I (re)started a few weeks ago, I was trying to do 2000 calories a day and just couldn’t get through it. I was ravenous at the end of the day, so I tried to split the difference on 2488 and 2000.
Obviously, I want to lose weight, sure. But I’m trying to take a more holistic approach – it’s not a weight-loss thing, it’s a health thing. I just want to be stronger, fitter, healthier in the body I have. Like I tell my wife, I want to be old with her one day. So, I want to be healthier now so I can be older with her later. 🙂
So I’d worry less about you macro split and focus more on the daily caloric intake. Keep your calories under 2200 and you’ll be fine. You’ll find as your switch to healthier “cleaner” foods you’ll be eating more than you did with Junk. Cleaning up your diet is the easiest way to improve health and fitness. And it doesn’t need to be all at once either, just start by taking pop or sugary snacks out. Then after a month take out some other not great for you food and before you know it good diet habits will be ingrained.
I think you’re too focused on the minutia here, if you’re not training for sports performance or competing then you should redirect that energy towards eating healthy foods, mobilizing and doing a program that promotes health and fitness that will be functional to your everyday life. So fund something fitness related you really enjoy vs being to dedicated to the goal instead of the journey.
Depends how much muscle do you now and what’s more important quick weight loss dropping as much muscle as fat but faster results or retaining as much muscle as possible but a much slowly rate.
To retain muscle I’d up protein to at least a 1g per lb of bodyweight. Only have like a 200-300 cal deficit and continue your workout. Slow steady state cardio vs HiiT.
6 Tips to Reset Your Fitness Journey
Evaluate Your Past.
Keep a Log.
Set Small, Realistic Goals.
Create a Supportive Environment.
Keep Nutrition at the Forefront.
Have Fun.
First of all, congratulations on wanting to make a change. In my opinion, deeply wanting to see a change in your body will eventually trump the lack of expertise needed to see the change.
Now, I would recommend a few things:
Diet: First and foremost, Switch to drinking water and nothing but water. I personally am Drinking water at all times unless it is post-workout and I need a protein shake to refuel. Just by switching to drinking only water, you could see a quick drop of 5–15 lbs over 2–6 weeks. You should be drinking water when you wake up, with all meals, before you go to bed, and whenever you feel slightly thirsty at all.
Breakfast: Since you said you don’t know how to cook, eggs, Oatmeal, and a peice of fruit (Apple, Bannana, Orange, Grapefruit are all good options). This is simple and quick. If you are a coffee addict, drink a cup of coffee so you Aren’t craving farty foods, and getting hit with caffiene withdrawl head aches.
Lunch: Try to go with another peice of fruit, a fiber 1 bar, a veggie (baby carrots, or 1/2 an Advocado), a Greek yogurt, and a Turkey Sandwhich. Once again, if you can’t cook simplicity is key.
Dinner: A peice of grilled chicken (if you cant cook at all, try the bags of Frozen pre cooked chicken from Brands like Tyson), served on top of a large bead of rice (you can boil rice in 5 minutes) and a vegetable to go along with it. if you don’t like Chicken, fish (Tuna, Tilapia, and Salmon), or lean ground beef steak are also good options.
Let it be known, you should have 1 cheat meal every 4 days or so. Throw a cookie in with lunch or dinner. Maybe treat yourself to a donut on occasion. Life will be much easier and much more enjoyable if you give yourself something to look forward too.