Hello

[Selick]

Hi, never joined a forum before so this is a new experience (I know I am behind the curve at 28 yrs old). Recently managed to hit an all time low in my life in every aspect so I figured I could just sit in a sinking hole or do something about it. No life story here, just determination and hopefully motivation. Due to lack of friends in life I was looking for motivation for when I did not feel as if I could keep it up. Google being my best friend recommended joining an online community. I did some research and this seems to be a good community.

 

Enough about that. I have simple goals. I am currently 6'0" and 275. I rolled a hard and true endomorph body type (ogre). My primary goal is drop to 245, my ultimate goal is to drop to 200 flat. Secondary goals are to be able to do a pull up, more than 10 push ups, more than 25 sit ups, and being able to run a mile.

 

Working with a super tight budget (long story I will not entertain as it is still to fresh) for nutrition. I figure $7 a week for all non protien sources and $8 a week for protien sources is about the most I can spend (mentioned that super tight budget right?). Due to this I have developed a plan of attack. An assault of the fortress.

 

OMAD - Yes one meal a day. I don't think I can do this every day so I plan on a cycle. 3 days OMAD.

Alternate Fasting - The good old 16/8 fast. I believe also doing this 3 days a week.

Rest - By that I mean a total 24 HR fast once a week.

I know this seems a bit extreme but due to an extremely limited budget for food I figure I could either eat a bunch of crap and continue to be unhealthy or kick up the quality of what I eat but less often. Ben living a long time off of ramen noodles and pasta because of how cheap it is. Fasting is not a new concept to me (don't ask, I prefer to not talk beliefs) and I am familiar with the practice enough that this plan seems very feasible. Although any alternate options that fit the budget would be taken into consideration.

 

As far as excersise. The plan is simple. Explosive polymetric. Jumps, steps, step ups, crunches, sit ups, push ups (shoulder injury will mean this one will be slowest), pull ups, squats, and burpees. The goal is not to use weights other than my own body wieght. Based off of previous experience I gain muscle slow with any kind of wieght training. I don't want to go for size but for endurance more than anything else. If anyone has more recommendations I am all ears.

 

Yeah... That is all I have...

 

Hi

[Guzzi]

Hey, welcome on board!  This is a great community and I’m sure you’ll find the support here that you’re looking for. 

 

Obviously you have some serious financial constraints going on that you don’t want to talk about, but can I just say this... I know you want to lose weight and eat better but it looks like you are creating a very serious calorie deficit with your eating plan.  I did something when I first started and very nearly developed an eating disorder.  I did lose a lot of weight but in the end I piled back on almost all the weight I lost as soon as the restriction was lifted.  I honestly can’t see how eating one meal a day could be anything other than damaging in the long run.  I’d suggest that it would be far healthier (both physically and mentally) to learn how to eat in a sustainable way, where you are giving your body enough fuel to function, and food that provides you with the nutrition you need for long term health. 

 

IF is usually either 16:8 or 5:2 for a reason, mixing the two will reduce your calorie intake to an unsustainable level unless you are super careful.  Your body needs fuel to be able to function, and asking it to function (and do exercise) on very little food will most likely end up with you feeling exhausted and burned out, not to mention the fact that your body will start to metabolise muscle as well as fat.  This will work against you in your fitness goals as your body needs those calories to build/repair muscle.  Whilst pasta and rice are high carb and low nutrient, they are still good sources of energy for someone on a (very!) tight budget as long as they are part of a balanced diet. 

 

I’d suggest that you run some calculations to find out how many calories your body needs right now at maintenance, then aim to eat at a level that allows you to lose weight at a sustainable rate.  If you google “BMR calculator” and “TDEE calculator” you will find lots of info online. 

 

There are also ways to maximise your budget, you probably already know these but it won’t hurt to mention them.  

 

Supermarkets often reduce fresh products that are approaching their best before dates.  If you go 30 mins before the shop closes you can often buy perfectly good food for pennies, the trick is to cook/freeze anything that you can’t use straight away, but most fruit and veg are good for days after their best before dates.   

 

Frozen meat and veg are usually much cheaper than buying fresh, especially if you buy in bulk, and there can be much less wastage with things like mince (ground beef) or diced meat as you only need to defrost a single portion. 

 

You can get less popular cuts of meat that are perfectly good to eat if you know how to cook them, slow cookers are great for this as they can take something that would resemble boot leather and transform it into a beautifully tender piece of meat.  I can buy a neck of lamb for around £1.50 that I use to make a pot of soup with carrots, onions and potatoes that will serve 6 large portions with plent of meat in each, and it’s quite fatty so it’s a good source of calories. 

 

Pressure cookers are good for cooking bones (which are cheap) and rendering down the marrow/jelly which is full of nutrients and can be added to soups/stews. 

 

Something else to consider is whether there is a food bank nearby that could help you, or even a Sikh temple....  one night a week the temples open their doors and feed any and everyone who visits, regardless of their religion. 

 

Sorry if if that comes across as preachy, but I know how disastrous it was for me when I was restricting my food in a similar way, and I’d hate for someone else to go through that.  I hope some of it is helpful to you, but at the end of the day it’s your body and your decision on how to reach your goals.  I wish you luck on your journey. 

[Cynforgiven]

No recommendations here, just encouragement and someone to lean on if necessary. I empathize with the very constrained food budget - been there. I still remember the first time I did a “true” grocery shop after that period. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn’t overspending. Felt completely weird and alien in a way.
So welcome to the game! Look forward to seeing you around [emoji16]


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Whether you decide you can or you decide you can’t, you’re right.

In a world of princesses, dare to be Batman.

[Selick]

Thanks for the tips and the welcome

Sent from my LML211BL using Tapatalk

[Machete]

Welcome.

 

I'll follow up with some thoughts on the nutrition portion. (Haven't read Guzzi's long reply yet.) What's are the circumferences of your waist (at the navel) and neck?

 

For workouts I would avoid anything explosive for now. Too hard on the joints. A general recommendation is 2x BW Squat before even starting any true plyometric work.