What else should I be doing?

[Toph821]

Here's what I do and I'd like any suggestions on tweaking my routine. I'm new at this, especially the Paleo-eating part, and have never actually committed to a workout "routine." it was always just "do what you can/want to, when you can/want to." Suggestions are appreciated!

1. Monday: Beginner Body Weight workout + 20-30 minutes of interval running
   
2. Tuesday: Rest day, stretched and/or yoga (and intermittent fasting between breakfast and dinner)
   
3. Wednesday: Beginner Body Weight workout + 20-30 minutes of interval running
   
4. Thursday: Rest day, stretched and/or yoga (and intermittent fasting between breakfast and dinner)
   
5. Friday: Beginner Body Weight workout + 20-30 minutes of interval running
   
6. Weekends: Still haven't gotten down an actual weekend routine. My weekends are busy, hectic, and tiring...
   

Also, on a rough guess, my diet is about 75-80% Paleo.

Is this a track for success or am I doing it completely wrong?

[Raincloak]

Have you done intermittent fasting before? I'm not sure that starving yourself on your recovery days is such a great plan. You might want to hold off on that until you've adjusted your diet and gotten the hang of working out. Many people find they can't cope with too many lifestyle changes at once.

Bodyweight AND interval running on the same days might be overdoing it. Some people like to do cardio and weight-bearing exercises on alternate days. But if this plan works for you, it's fine. The best workout is the one you will actually do.

Also, no matter how hectic your weekends are, please make sure you're getting enough sleep. Sleep time is when your body does a lot of its growing (secreting human growth hormone, etc.) so if you don't sleep enough, you're not gonna get stronger. And you'll be overstressed and want to quit your wonderful new routines. So get your sleepy time. Take naps or quit watching TV if you have to, but sleep.

[Corbab]

This looks pretty solid, but I'll echo Raincloak's question about the IF. Especially if paleo is new for you, give yourself a month or two to adjust and then reassess your position and your goals—you may find out that IF isn't even necessary for what you want. It's an effective tool for some, but far from a universal one.

Also, what is the 20-25% of your diet made up of? It's easy to give in to more and more things under the justification of the 80/20 rule, so be aware of that.

Picking a routine and sticking to it is one of the most important things in a sustainable healthy lifestyle. I know a lot of people who "go to the gym" and spend time wandering around testing out machines or doing some glam circuit (I used to be one of them). Knowing what you're going to be doing (and keeping track of it) mean you'll get a lot done in less time/hassle. As far as the weekends, I'd throw in some low-intensity activity (hiking, biking, kayaking) or something active you really enjoy. Even when you're seriously training, it's important to keep doing fun stuff or you'll bore yourself to death.

[Toph821]

To be honest, my non-paleo foods aren't really that bad (I hope). It's not like I'm gorging myself on candy, potato chips, and bread when I'm not paleo. Basically what I meant by 75-80% is that I'm not the best at keeping track of EVERYTHING that's in my meals. As an example, I went to dinner with my parents (at a pasta house) and had soup that I later found out had milk in it. I avoided the pasta, cheeses, etc, but still know I didn't have a 100% paleo meal.

I am also a fan of trail mix that has chocolate morsels and raisins in it, so I know that isn't completely paleo either.

[Corbab]

To be honest, my non-paleo foods aren't really that bad (I hope). It's not like I'm gorging myself on candy, potato chips, and bread when I'm not paleo. Basically what I meant by 75-80% is that I'm not the best at keeping track of EVERYTHING that's in my meals. As an example, I went to dinner with my parents (at a pasta house) and had soup that I later found out had milk in it. I avoided the pasta, cheeses, etc, but still know I didn't have a 100% paleo meal.

I am also a fan of trail mix that has chocolate morsels and raisins in it, so I know that isn't completely paleo either.

If those are your only paleo transgressions so far, you're doing pretty damn good. I do dairy, so that's not a big problem for me, but raisins are 100% paleo (as long as they're not sweetened) and most people are fine with chocolate in small amounts.

[Corbab]

To be honest, my non-paleo foods aren't really that bad (I hope). It's not like I'm gorging myself on candy, potato chips, and bread when I'm not paleo. Basically what I meant by 75-80% is that I'm not the best at keeping track of EVERYTHING that's in my meals. As an example, I went to dinner with my parents (at a pasta house) and had soup that I later found out had milk in it. I avoided the pasta, cheeses, etc, but still know I didn't have a 100% paleo meal.

I am also a fan of trail mix that has chocolate morsels and raisins in it, so I know that isn't completely paleo either.

If those are your only paleo transgressions so far, you're doing pretty damn good. I do dairy, so that's not a big problem for me, but raisins are 100% paleo (as long as they're not sweetened) and most people are fine with chocolate in small amounts.

[Toph821]

I've hated raisins my entire life and when I finally start to like them, I hear a ton of negatives about how they suck and just as bad for you as most candies. :/

[aj_rock]

The reasoning for raisins is that one shrivelled little raisin has the same number of calories as a single grape. Thereby, a small box of raisins can have the same calories as a large bag of grapes, but be much less filling. If you aren't trying to gain weight... not a great choice.

Since you're a newbie, don't tweak things. You don't even know if the regular perscription works yet, so why fiddle with it? Follow the body weight workout guide, follow the paleo guidelines if paleo is your thing, and stick with it for a couple months. THEN, maybe, if you aren't seeing *expected* results (not WANTED results, because you never get there as fast as you'd like), then we can look at tweaking things.

As for the cardio option, do some basic aerobics first. Interval training is much less effective in most capacities if you don't have a decent cardio fitness already. Make sure you can jog at a decent pace (think 5.5-6 mph) for more than 30' before complicating your cardio.

[Toph821]

The reasoning for raisins is that one shrivelled little raisin has the same number of calories as a single grape. Thereby, a small box of raisins can have the same calories as a large bag of grapes, but be much less filling. If you aren't trying to gain weight... not a great choice.

Since you're a newbie, don't tweak things. You don't even know if the regular perscription works yet, so why fiddle with it? Follow the body weight workout guide, follow the paleo guidelines if paleo is your thing, and stick with it for a couple months. THEN, maybe, if you aren't seeing *expected* results (not WANTED results, because you never get there as fast as you'd like), then we can look at tweaking things.

As for the cardio option, do some basic aerobics first. Interval training is much less effective in most capacities if you don't have a decent cardio fitness already. Make sure you can jog at a decent pace (think 5.5-6 mph) for more than 30' before complicating your cardio.

Thanks for the tips! I'm seeing results, but like you said, I have LITTLE patience and am not seeing what I want. However, I'm sticking with it and not changing anything. I mostly wanted to see if (based on my first post) I had put things together correctly.

[aj_rock]

Trust me, you'd have to be pretty obtuse to actually do things gloriously wrong. In the end, getting paralyzed by details and setting up "The Perfect Routine" has ruined many a fitness journey before it even began, as opposed to just doing the program.

But it sounds like you're on the right track Check back in once you've gotten a couple months under your belt/if you well and truly get stuck and we'll give you a hand.