lose weight in the army?

[Shai]

hey, my name is shai, i am 19 years old (20 in two months).

I like science,podcasts,reading books (only fantasy. around 1-2 each week),also reddit and imgur, so that s the nerd part.

 spent the year after high school at a volunteering program where you and other 18 year olds get an apartment in a shitty part of town, and spent all of your day volunteering in school and after hours education programs to help kids whose life suck.
best year of my life, although i gained 10 kg.

 

 

then shit got bad. i apologize for the sob story, but i really need advice since my situation now is a bit different.

my country has mandatory 3 years service in the army. by law.

they allow you to delay it for 1 year if you do the volunteering program, but then you have to go.
so even through I'm a pacifist, I'm stuck here for at least 6 more months (I'm working angels trying to get out, but its a nightmare).
or possibly even 2 more years.

 

right now I'm at a supporter job- i am a simple grunt worker at the storage place, where they keep the extra uniforms, winter coats, and cleaning material.
deal is its the army, so i sleep at the army base.

our country is small, so you usually go back to your parents home most weekends.
but you have to stay sometimes in case some of the people need something on weekends, so my months look like-
5 days base, 2 days home (heading home usually around noon and get home (parents place) in the afternoon.
5-2 again
then i stay the weekend, so 12-2 (again leaving on noon)

and so on.

 

 

why do i tell you and what does it mean for weight loss?

 

first, army means:
 you are not allowed to cook in your rooms.
and they check 3 times a week to see if you brought any unauthorized electric devices.
and if you do bring some they will warn you once or twice, but more that that can get you a week in military jail. which is shit. so the laws are really stiff here.
so i must eat canned or at the dining hall. in which everything is oily , even the meat. and the salads are shit and unexciting.

 

 

second:
 you are not allowed to leave the base during the whole time you are there, so no taking a bus to a nearby town and take a crossfit class or any other interesting form of working out,
or buy healthy shit in the grocery store, like vegetables.
what i do have is the base's gym, a small room with simple weights and treadmills, some rubber band for working out (don't know what they are called) and a trail to run on around the base (like, near the fence. and its huge. its oval but over 10 km long,).

 

 

third:
control. the boss om my job is allowed to call me anytime of day and request i come and work, or keep me up until all the work is done.
he usually let me be around 18:00, but expect me to be available until around 9. if i refuse to come thats refusing a command, and so jail time. horrible, i know.
so my free time is not so free as you might think, and putting fitness first if hard as a result. in jail you are not allowed to workout (wtf, i know. its no titled a sob story for nothing) so working out whenever i want anyway is out of the question.

 

i want to lose weight and take control over my life, but i just feel like the situation is "too much" and i should just start in a few years when things are different, even due i know its not like i was thin before i requited.

 

i am a member of the academy and it actually thought i am making progress, but after 4 weeks of unsuccessfully trying to go to the next nutrition level (got stuck at stage 3) and gave up completely for two months.

 

can you help me?
 

[Steaky]

Hi Shai,

 

From reading your post, it sounds like you are having a really rough time there.  Being on a military base is always tough when trying to find down time to work out, I've been there myself.  But I was there by my own choice to train for the British Army to gain a trade.  For finding time to work out, I would suggest trying to become friends with one of the army fitness instructors there.  In my experience, they are usually pretty good at getting the most out of someone with the food available on camp.

 

If you are forced to do your service, try to get a trade, something like a radio operator or logistics or something.  It will give you more options after and reduces your likelyhood of having to fight.

 

Good luck with it all.

[HedgeMage]

Hi, Shai.

 

Army rations usually aren't great fare; they tend to be chosen for cheapness and ease of storage/transport more than anything else, even the stuff in the dining halls (at least this is the case in the US).  On the up side, they never seem to be tasty enough to tempt one to over-eat.   Were I in your shoes, I'd take the attitude of doing the best you can with limited Army meal selection, then stock protein bars or shake mix in your room (doesn't need anything more than a shaker cup to prepare) to supplement it and make sure you get enough protein for muscle development.  Set aside a "fun" meal or snack when back home, and try to really be on track the rest of the time that you are home, as that is when you have the most control over your diet.

 

Don't worry about the proscribed levels... I haven't done the Academy program (because it didn't seem to fit me), but my impression is that it's set up to help urban/suburban desk jockies with white collar jobs and plenty of resources.  That just isn't everybody.

 

@Steaky's advice re: chosing a good support role is sound.  Another I'll add to the list as suitable for a pacifist, but well respected, is a field medic.  I've known many good ones.

 

As for workout plans/ideas:

 

• Two of my favorite fitness books are Tactical Barbell and Tactical Barbell II by K. Black.  The former is a strength training manual, the latter is a conditioning manual.  Both were written for field operators (active duty military, SWAT, search-and-rescue, etc.), so they address some of the "special" challenges you are facing right now, such as irregular schedule, the need to get steady progress without ever nuking yourself to the point that you can't spring to work if called, and so on.  They do a good job of limiting themselves to the equipment and facilities usually available on US Army bases (including forward bases, which aren't as well stocked as home-turf garrisons) such as barbell+plates+rack, pull-up bar, something to do dips on, a hill (for hill sprints!), a running track, and so on.  They do assume, though, that your day job has a certain minimum level of physicality to it.  I like the books because they addressed my training priorities as a SAR medic well, but I've had to do a lot of extra work around work capacity and keeping my daily activity levels up because my day job is primarily at a desk.
   
• You also might want to grab a book on bodyweight strength training.  I haven't found a particular book I'm in love with in this category, yet, but pick up what you can where you can and keep tips in mind for when you find yourself without equipment.  I liked the simple progressions and focus on big, many-muscle movements in "Convict Conditioning", but the author plays the jailhouse theme up in a way only sheltered suburban 20something boys with too much testosterone and too little sense can really appreciate.  He also assumes that you have as much free time as you can use, which has never been the case for me (perils of not serving time, I guess...).  "You Are Your Own Gym" fails to do much in terms of putting a functional workout together (maybe the author does something else?  a sport or bodybuilding?), but it's got a decent library of exercises to pick and choose from.  There are some really neat Russian strength manuals out there with amazing bodyweight stuff in them, but the vast majority of it is way beyond my current fitness level.
   
• There's a reason most of the military guys I know get up before dawn.  That's the time you are generally least likely to get summoned somewhere by a superior.  Get used to getting up before they do and working out in the mornings.  It makes you look dedicated (hmm...because you are), self-disciplined (again, because it's true), and on top of that you are more likely to keep something like a steady schedule.
   
• Try building your workout plan assuming that interruptions will happen.  E.g. write yourself a 4-day/week lifting plan, then give yourself five days/week open to lift.  Assume one lifting day will get eaten by the army, and if it doesn't you get a nice day off toward the end of the week.  Structure your conditioning similarly...give yourself flex time.
   
• Understand that in a support role (unless you are a combat engineer or medic, where you can argue that strength, agility, and endurance save lives), it will be hard to get your leadership to respect your fitness priorities, because an uber-fit commo guy, supply guy, etc vs. a mediocre one is about a 10% efficiency difference.  (There are other exceptions within the support roles, but they aren't usually widely recognized by anyone with combat experience.)

[Steaky]

@HedgeMage thanks for your input. That book on tactical fitness sounds pretty apt for me with working a casual job right now, I'm finding it hard to get a structured routine. So I will be looking into that. 

 

I'd agree with the rest of your comments as well. The food s much the same here in the UK too, as manny calories as cheaply as possible 

[Shai]

Thank all of you for commenting! 
@HedgeMage thank you for this gigantic helpful comment!

I think the most practical thing i take from what you wrote is the getting up early and the workout planning thing (though i think I'll start in something like 3 a week for start;)
And i never thought about getting a fitness book (i didn't even know it's a thing) but now that i have it seems like a good idea.

I think that it will help me follow a trainng plan, something i never did. Even at my good times wherei worked out 3 times a week it was like just do whatever workout i plan 2 min before i start.

@Steaky
Man it good to hear from someone who was in a simillier sitution.

At our army the fitness instractors are in charge the gym and workout equpment, but not working out with us:/
There are some people i know who train in my building, i nevet thought about joining them (i was too busy for giving them evil looks for blasting music when im reading) but i think i should at least try.