[FrodoOfTheShire]

Wake up call for a sedentary IT guy! Requesting advice on lifestyle change

Hi All, this is indeed a very informative thread and thanks to all members who have added to the wealth of knowledge! Requesting some advice for me.

I am 32 years old working in the IT industry (so you've a fair idea where this is going!)

Physical stats:
Height - 5.7"
Weight - ~80 kg
Waist - ~36"

Recent blood test results:
Glucose fasting - 96
Glucose PP - 108
Total cholesterol - 210
Triglycerides - 225
HDL cholesterol - 34
LDL cholesterol - 131

Over the last 7 years I have gained around 10-12 kg. I have never been an athletic person in my life and never been able to sustain any form of exercise for more than a few months. Gym, walking, jogging, cycling; everything has been tried and wasted money but did each for hardly 2-3 months. Added with that the sedentary lifestyle of my job, the weight piled on easily.

Food wise I have a sweet tooth, so regular sweets, chocolates, ice-cream and soft drinks. I love pizza and its easily delivered, so there's that.

I have realised that this lifestyle/diet will kill me, so I need to work on it. Read through many posts on this thread regarding IF and LCHF and the science behind it. Now my wife is not exactly a paragon of fitness, being in the same IT job with sedentary lifestyle. But she's not exactly convinced with what I told her about IF and LCHF. So now my goal is to lose weight for myself plus to convince her as well and lead by example.

From last Monday, (3 days now) I have completely cut off external sugar from my diet. So no sweets, chocolates, ice-cream, soft drinks, cake, biscuits, pastries etc. I rarely eat fruits, so no sugar that way. I have also started IF 16:8 from last 3 days, so eating 2-3 times between 12pm - 8pm (lunch, optional snack, dinner) and fasting for the rest. During fasting, I am drinking one cup of black coffee (without sugar and milk) in the morning and lots of water. I gravitated towards this pattern because off late I was skipping breakfast anyways, so this was easier to adjust. I haven't had any irresistible cravings or hunger pangs yet during the fasting period.

Now the problem is with what I am eating in the eating period. Meals are cooked by my wife. Lunch comprises of rice/roti, dal and some curry. Dinner is again roti and some curry. I and my wife are the only 2 people in the house, both are working, so on days when there's no cooking due to hectic schedule or laziness, dinner is either Maggi noodles or Zomato/Swiggy, which is a problem. Also, evening snacks options in office canteen and shops outside office are mostly junk food, so that's again a problem.

Since my wife doesn't yet believe in my methods, I have to take care of my own meals if I go the LCHF route. I am a good enough cook, so I can do that. My office timings are mostly from 10am to 7pm give or take. So kindly advise (keeping in mind, the time/practicality/feasibility as per my routine) what items to cook for my meals if my want to start LCHF? I am a non-vegetarian and consume egg, fish and chicken. I consume dairy products as well and don't have any food allergies.

Additionally I have started some small exercises at home. Dusted off the unused cross-trainer, have started using it again. Plus some jumping jack and burpees. Planning to dust off the dumbbells and weights as well. Hopefully will continue with the exercises but given my past track record, I am a bit skeptical.

Mostly, I am looking to make a sustainable lifestyle change since I've had bouts of josh at times in the last few years which didn't last long. Hence, kindly advice me on IF, LCHF and exercises or anything else you feel would help me. If whatever I've already started doing is anything incorrect or could be done in a better way then please let me know.

Thanks in advance! Eagerly looking forward to the advice.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

I was always a visibly healthy guy

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Hey guys

Originally Posted by ampere

Again stick to what works for you.

Originally Posted by GTO

For anyone into intermittent fasting

Originally Posted by Sheel

And on the 4th day, I already am doing with just 1 meal a day.

Originally Posted by Samurai

On the practical side, I found skipping dinner lot easier.

Originally Posted by graaja

I too find IF to be much more sustainable and easy to follow than a strict grain-free low carb diet.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Wake up call for a sedentary IT guy! Requesting advice on lifestyle change

Congratulations on your stepping into a healthy way of living.

By cutting out all the sugars and starting IF itself, you have taken a big leap towards a healthy lifestyle. You should see a good amount of fat loss in the coming weeks. I would suggest you first continue with the current diet (IF, no sugars, the usual lunch/dinner) for a few weeks. Once you settle down to the new eating window, then you can start on low carb options. You can make a few small changes to your current diet.

1. For the evening snack, pack boiled eggs, or nuts like almonds, walnuts, or a trailmix without any added sugar etc.
2. When you order from Swiggy, order food like grilled/barbecue chicken instead of noodles or pasta or rice.
3. Reduce the quantity of rice/roti and replace it with protein and healthy fats. For example, if you are having 4 rotis now, replace two rotis with two eggs. Or have a bigger portion of dal in place of a roti.

Try these small hacks for a few days and you can then start proper LCHF.

I am also in your situation now. I have taken up IF + LCHF for a couple of months. And I cook my own LCHF food. I manage with chicken, mutton, paneer and eggs.

For lunch, I prepare 350 grams of either chicken or mutton or 150 grams of paneer and as my wife already prepares either dal or vegetables for the others at home, I have a big portion of this dal/vegetables along the mutton/chicken/paneer. I keep the preparations very simple.

Chicken/mutton preparation
1. Saute onions, cinnamon, bay leaf, and cloves in the oil of your choice (coconut oil, butter or gingeley oil)
2. Add spinach
3. Add spice. Either chilli powder+coriander powder, or pepper+jeera powser depending on mood.
4. Add the chicken/mutton. Add water and pressure cook
5. Sometimes, I add lot of water and make it a soup. Some times, I let all the water dry and have it as a dry dish.

Paneer preparation
1. Saute onions, capsicum, cinnamon, bayleaf and cloves in butter
2. For variation, I sometimes add a couple of tomatoes and add some chilli+coriander powder. Alternately, I skip the tomato and just add pepper+jeera powder
3. Add cubed paneer and cook.

For dinner, I usually make a 4 egg omelette with onion, capsicum and spinach with lots of butter and a slice of cheese. And for the side, I prepare vegetables.

Vegetable preparation:
1. Saute onions, cinnamon, bay leaf and cloves in butter (lots of butter)
2. Add vegetables of your choice - carrot, beans, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach etc.
3. Saute till the vegetables are done.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

As you can see, I try to keep things simple and follow an universal recipe. This may get boring over time, but we can alway bring in some variation by ordering barbeque/grilled chicken. Sometimes, my wife pities me and prepares some nice paneer+spinach gravy which I have with a side of vegetables.

In the end, what matters is you need to pick a diet plan that you can sustain throughout your life. Else, you will fail. In my case, I have found that I can sustain IF combined with moderate carbs (no sugars, the regular rotis with big portions of vegetables and dal, millets in place of rice) without any problem. I know some friends who are very comfortable with pure LCHF and have been able to sustain a carnivorous diet. You have to find what is sustainable to you.

But at any cost, never go back to sugars and processed/junk food other than the occasional cheat meal.

Coming to physical activities, sustainability is the key here. You do not have to take up any physical activity for the sake of weight loss. Just an hour of brisk walk with right diet will keep you lean and healthy. Do physical workout to increase your fitness and stamina. Choose a sport that you love. It could be running, cycling, badminton, swimming or anything. The key is you should love doing it.

All the best for a healthy and fit life. Please do update us with the progress you make so that you can be an inspiration to many others.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

I am 32 years old working in the IT industry (so you've a fair idea where this is going!)

Physical stats:
Height - 5.7"
Weight - ~80 kg
Waist - ~36"
..
Total cholesterol - 210
Triglycerides - 225
HDL cholesterol - 34
LDL cholesterol - 131
..
Food wise I have a sweet tooth, so regular sweets, chocolates, ice-cream and soft drinks. I love pizza and its easily delivered, so there's that.
...
I have realised that this lifestyle/diet will kill me, so I need to work on it. Read through many posts on this thread regarding IF and LCHF and the science behind it.
..
From last Monday, (3 days now) I have completely cut off external sugar from my diet. So no sweets, chocolates, ice-cream, soft drinks, cake, biscuits, pastries etc. I rarely eat fruits, so no sugar that way. I have also started IF 16:8 from last 3 days, so eating 2-3 times between 12pm - 8pm (lunch, optional snack, dinner) and fasting for the rest.
..
During fasting, I am drinking one cup of black coffee (without sugar and milk) in the morning and lots of water. I gravitated towards this pattern because off late I was skipping breakfast anyways, so this was easier to adjust. I haven't had any irresistible cravings or hunger pangs yet during the fasting period.

The numbers say it all. Higher cholesterol and triglycerides kind of point to a high carb intake based diet lifestyle (I am no doctor).

LCHF is not needed to be followed in strictness is what I would say. Like you yourself pointed out, in a daily run family + household its not easy to have such a dieting regimen in place.

Besides taking sweets in moderation, introducing calorific deficit is an easier approach for this problem (smartly implemented intermittent fasting). Breakfast and lunch are items which people usually eat in office. You can control these two (cut one and take only salads for the other. Or do whatever which suits you. In other words cut-off carbs for these slots). Dinner is some thing you have with family. You should be OK with Carbs for that one meal. Even there try to exercise caution in terms what you eat in for that meal. That should solve most of it to begin with.

Slowly increase BMR (basal metabolic rate). You folks can do a long walk every evening or sometimes even jog. Walk is most easier and an enjoyable routine. But do maintain a brisk pace (6/6.5 kmph+ )

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by graaja

Try these small hacks for a few days and you can then start proper LCHF.

Sounds good. Thanks!

Originally Posted by graaja

I have a big portion of this dal/vegetables along the mutton/chicken/paneer. I keep the preparations very simple.

Thanks a lot for taking the time out to write down the detailed recipes. That helps a lot and looks do-able!

Originally Posted by graaja

Coming to physical activities, sustainability is the key here. You do not have to take up any physical activity for the sake of weight loss. Just an hour of brisk walk with right diet will keep you lean and healthy. Do physical workout to increase your fitness and stamina. Choose a sport that you love. It could be running, cycling, badminton, swimming or anything. The key is you should love doing it

Will try it out. Thanks!

Originally Posted by ampere

The numbers say it all. Higher cholesterol and triglycerides kind of point to a high carb intake based diet lifestyle (I am no doctor).

True! All the paratha, naan, puri, pizza and biryani along with the sweets have led to this!

Originally Posted by ampere

Dinner is some thing you have with family. You should be OK with Carbs for that one meal. Even there try to exercise caution in terms what you eat in for that meal. That should solve most of it to begin with.

Thanks! Will keep that mind.

Originally Posted by ampere

Slowly increase BMR (basal metabolic rate). You folks can do a long walk every evening or sometimes even jog. Walk is most easier and an enjoyable routine. But do maintain a brisk pace (6/6.5 kmph+ )

Yup. That definitely I can do. Thanks!

[PrasannaDhana]

Update: Day 297

Day 10 of IF:
Day 1 to Day 7 - 16:8
Day 7 & 8 - 40 hour fast
Day 9 onwards - 18:6

Today's total calorie intake in a 6 hour window: 1500 calories

Weight lost : 1 kg

Current bodyweight : 93 kg


Trust me, my dress sizes have gone down much and feels like a lot more than a 1kg loss.

I have come down from size 50 shirts to size 42 now (Total weight lost : 43kg). Yes, normal fit 42 fits me

Here, a slim fit 42: Flaunt it when you got it



Surprisingly I don't feel i am losing any muscle or strength in IF.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Surprisingly I don't feel i am losing any muscle or strength in IF.

You wont lose muscle in IF. Body takes path of least resistance to burn energy and will turn to fat once it enters ketosis and quickly break it down for blood sugar.

You will actually lose more muscle by eating extremely small meals throughout the day which gives your body just enough and bare minimum nutrition to not enter ketosis. You will just be going through a series of insulin spikes throughout the day. I used to do this flawed method as well thanks to bro science. Later switched to normal meal times and added one more meal if i was hungry.

A scientific study was done to this effect a few decades back in the states with a confined sample size of 10-15 guys. They always complained of being low on energy, lost a lot of muscle (low energy = no possibility of exercise) and were generally washed out all the time and could only think of the next small meal. They were constantly spiking and low balling their insulin levels. Its on youtube somewhere if you want to watch it.

I didnt do calorie counting (10 years back), was just playing by ear. 12 eggs a day, 300-400 grams of chicken, bowl of salad, an apple, 400 grams of curd, tiny yellow bananas for a kick before hitting the weights, and maybe two whey shakes if am greedy. Zero sugar, negligible carbs and no cheat meals at all. Focus was shredding and i got there with swimming alternate days to my work outs. Result was a four pack (the skin creases still exist), pecs, lots of definition, and a very lean body with a 28 waist. The girl friend liked the after hours as well. I lost all flexibility in my joints because of too much weighting and am now a convert to yoga and natural forms of building core strength (20-25km mountain hikes in a day, swimming in ice cold water, maybe rock/wall climbing some day once i build up a bit of courage). I am also practicing IF and feel great.

I read your story, and i remember a post of yours a long while back where you possibly hoo haa'ed use of motorcycle gear. Granted that when your time is up, it is up, but i hope you will be a better example for other kids around you on two wheels.

You already are a stellar example in mental strength and focus for the rest of us. Good luck and god bless.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by graaja

I manage with chicken, mutton, paneer and eggs.

Sir, I see you've not mentioned about fish. Since I don't like mutton, can fish be eaten as part of LCHF diet?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Sir, I see you've not mentioned about fish. Since I don't like mutton, can fish be eaten as part of LCHF diet?

Absolutely. Fish is perfectly fine with LCHF. I do not include this as it takes time to clean and prepare and me being a little lazy does not help

[Rshrey22]

How to combine IF with serious cardio followed by weight lifting in early morning?

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

How to combine IF with serious cardio followed by weight lifting in early morning?

Simple, just have a lot of water and go ahead.

I do 1 hour cardio followed by a 45 minute weights session. I continue to do the same during IF. It doesn't impact the workouts negatively, at all. Hunger may be a bit more post workout, but that's when most glycogen stores are getting depleted and fat is getting burned.

If you feel exhausted while workouts during IF, black coffee without sugar can help.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

How to combine IF with serious cardio followed by weight lifting in early morning?

As Prasanna has said, you can just do your cardio + weight training during the fasting period. Just take lot of water and some black coffee. Also, for the cardio, doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) will get you better results than constant moderate effort.

The goal of a workout in fasted state is to deplete the liver glycogen so that the body will switch completely to fat as fuel. With no activity, it takes about 12 to 24 hours to deplete liver glycogen. With steady state cardio like marathon running with heart rate in your endurance zone, it would last a couple of hours. With high intensity cardio workout, you can deplete the liver glycogen in just 30 minutes.

So, if you do your cardio 12 hours into your 16 hour fasting window, you will burn fat for energy for at least 3 hours after the workout till your feeding starts.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Wake up call for a sedentary IT guy! Requesting advice on lifestyle change

Physical stats:
Height - 5.7"
Weight - ~80 kg
Waist - ~36"

Update: Week 1

Started intermittent fasting a week back. Body weight is down from 80.15 kg to 77.90 kg.

Eating window is between 12pm - 8pm, fasting for rest of the time. Absolutely no sugar and no junk food. Haven't made any significant changes to the meals yet, just reduced the portion of rice/roti and increased portions of dal, vegetables, chicken and egg. Drinking lots of water throughout the day and one cup of black coffee in the morning during fasting period. Mild exercise for 5-10mins at home just to get the body moving, heart pumping and sweating, nothing too rigorous yet.

Using an app called "Bodyfast" to track the IF timing and intervals.

Haven't had any adverse effects yet. No hunger pangs, cravings, mood swings or irritation. When I feel a little hungry anytime during the fasting period, I looks at my disgusting round tummy and tell it, "You ain't getting any food yet! You already have a huge store. Use it!"

Now, I am starting to feel like treating my body as a temple and to watch what I eat. Yesterday went to the local sweets shop to buy fresh paneer. The guy went to fetch the paneer from their workshop, so I had plenty of time to stare at the sweets on display, since I have a sweet tooth. But my mind told me that these are poison and will kill me!

[graaja]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Update: Week 1

Started intermittent fasting a week back. Body weight is down from 80.15 kg to 77.90 kg.

That is a good start. Good to know that you are not getting hunger pangs. Continue this for a few weeks and you can decide on changing the food after you settle down with the fasting. There is a possibility that IF alone is enough to bring back your goal weight without having to make any changes to food. As you are in your early 30's your metabolism may not have been messed up much.

[TROOPER]

Hi All,

Been following this thread for the past two weeks and it has been super motivating to focus on my fitness journey. Thank You guys very much!

Height - 172 cm
Age - Turning 25 this Nov

Was around 110 kg on 1 Jan, 2019. Started cycling the same day, and reached around 93.5 kg in May end. This was without much focus on diet. Just avoiding processed foods was enough.

March - May was sweet period with lots of cycling, minimum of 30 km everyday, with century rides (averaging 25+ kmph, not bad for a 98 kg obese chap on an MTB) or 50+ km rides on weekends.

Then came June, a bit of laziness and rains, (one 90 km midnight ride, with replacing a punctured tube at 3 am, bonked badly, made me hate cycling for a couple of days), pathetic road conditions of Mumbai and the train derailed.

Went from 93 to 98.5


Now I have started IF from 12th Sep. 5 pm to 9 am. Starting weight 98.5 kg

No exercise/workout yet. Only 15 km cycle ride today morning.

Today morning am at 96 kg

Diet is mainly fruits, veggies, soy, oats, millet, pulses, paneer and eggs. Mostly consuming anything veggie which has more protein. 2 cups of green tea a day. ZERO sugar. Completely ditched wheat flour products. Zero processed foods.

Today's ride was my first workout ever on a fast. Was a bit unnerving. Hope it gets better. Will be increasing distance overtime.

Have never been in 'ideal BMI zone' in my life. Was born 'healthy' as they say. Been overweight since birth and then obese since I was 13-14 years old. Would be great to be normal for once and stay there for the rest of my life.

The lowest I've weighed in adulthood is probably 87 kg back in December 2012, same story back then, went from 98 to 87.

Target weight is 68 Kg. Hoping to see that number on the scales soon!

Trooper

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by graaja

That is a good start. Good to know that you are not getting hunger pangs. Continue this for a few weeks and you can decide on changing the food after you settle down with the fasting. There is a possibility that IF alone is enough to bring back your goal weight without having to make any changes to food.

Yes, I am also checking how much weight loss I am able to achieve through this current IF, no sugar, lower carbs (not LCHF) and mild exercise routine. Because this overall routine seems sustainable to me on a long term taking into account some occasional cheat meals. Based on that I can decide if anything else needs to change.

I have started eating some almonds in the evening. I don't like walnuts. Is there any other nuts/dry fruits that can be alternated or combined with almonds?

Also, what's your take on black chana, chhole and rajma? Or maybe soya bean chunks? Can these be eaten in moderation as an evening snack?

PS: Started reading Gary Taubes' "Why we get fat" as recommended multiple times in this thread. Has some really compelling arguments and findings challenging conventional weight loss methods!