Common Sense Fitness

commonsensefitness

I plan to reduce 100 lbs in 50 weeks using a strategy which is based on common sense. The elements of this strategy are:

1. Balanced diet
2. Moderate activity
3. Adequate sleep
4. Focused attitude
5. Positive environment

I will explain each element in separate post.

Stay focused.

commonsensefitness

I plan to reduce 100 lbs in 50 weeks using a strategy which is based on common sense. The elements of this strategy are:

1. Balanced diet
2. Moderate activity
3. Adequate sleep
4. Focused attitude
5. Positive environment

I will explain each element in separate post.

Stay focused.

commonsensefitness

BALANCED DIET

Human body needs balanced amount of various kinds of food. MPF gives you additional help of food database and thus counting calories are so much easier then ever. Let me put my typical intake here:

Breakfast
1 apple OR 1 orange OR 1 similar nutrition fruit
5 baby carrots
1 cup coffee without any creamer or sugar [Weekdays]
1 medium bowl corn flakes cereal with fat-free milk [Monday, Wed, Thursday]

Lunch
6 oz baked salmon [Saturday and Sunday]
2 cup shredded salad with 1 cup cooked vegetables [Monday]
1 small quizno turkey sub without cheese & no dressing [Tuesday]
2 cup shredded salad with 1 cup cooked vegetables [Wednesday]
1 small quizno tuna sub without cheese & no dressing [[Thursday]
2 cup shredded salad with 1 cup cooked vegetables [Friday]
1 orange OR 1 similar nutrition fruit
1 cup green tea without any sugar

Dinner
1 cup vege soup OR 1 cup quizno chille soup OR 1 cup beans soup
5 baby carrots
1 orange OR 1 similar nutrition fruit
2 cup shredded salad
2 cup cooked mix vegetables OR 1 home made vege sandwich OR 1 home made tuna sandwich
1 cup green tea without any sugar

As per goals, I can eat upto 1750 calories a day. I have taken above foods in various combinations since Monday and I am still saving few hundred calories per day.

Water = atleast 8 glass

commonsensefitness

MODERATE ACTIVITY

The stored fat in our body is not going away with balanced diet alone. It may but the time to take off those stored calories will be awefully long. Hence I plan to have atleast 30 min of cardio exercise at gym. I do have Wednesdays as my day off from gym.

Since I do anticipates days when I may not show up in gym for any reason thus I will aim to do 60 min of cardio on weekdays and [45 + 45 min] on weekends. So far it is going well.

I have got membership of 24hr Fitness, having access to two of their gyms near my work and one near my home. In addition, I have a free gym in my apartment complex. But I have found that the gym environment is more compelling and better way to get fit then to sweat on your own.

It is also important to gradually adapt your body to level of activity. It also helps to do some weight strength training. I do that on weekends at Santa Clarita 24 hr fitness gym.

commonsensefitness

ADEQUATE SLEEP

I have been guilty of sleeping less at times even less then 5 hrs on weekdays. I now plan to sleep atleast 7 hrs on weekdays and 8 on days off. I do think that both excess and deprevation of sleep are in some ways related to poor fitness. Hence my goal is to sleep for 7 hrs. It may not work today for I am writing these posts.

commonsensefitness

FOCUSED ATTITUDE

This is the hardest part but is much needed. Just like Windows OS runs computers our mind actually drives us to eat or sleep or be active. The key is to stay motivated and this could be achieved only when we are singularly focused on our goals. Reducing 100 lbs needs lot of focus and it is going to be tough challenge. Aiming 2 lbs per week should get me there in about a year time. More on that later.

commonsensefitness

POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT

Joining gym, hanging at MFP, keeping unhealthy food out of your refrigerator and avoiding any places/incidents where food can be used as comfort or escpae are some of the things that helps. More on that later.

commonsensefitness

FITNESS SNACKS

I have been trying these:

1 multi-vitamin OTC
2 cup green tea without any sugar
5 sugarless gums [especially at work or when I am stressed]
2 tbsp benefiber in a glass of water

commonsensefitness

BALANCED DIET 2

Lets revise and revisit each meal with approx calorie count.

Breakfast = 300 calories
1 apple [120 calories]
5 baby carrots [25 calories]
1 cup coffee without any creamer or sugar [1 calorie]
1 cup corn flakes cereal with half glass or 120ml fat-free milk [154 calories]
Water = 1 glass, 250ml each

Lunch = 400 calories
4 cup dole Iceberg salad with 1 cup slightly stir fried vegetables [Monday, Wed, Friday: 300 calories]
1 small quizno turkey wheat sub without cheese & no dressing [Tuesday, Thursday: 300 calories]
4 oz baked salmon with 3 cup Dole Iceberg salad [Saturday and Sunday: 300 calories]
1 orange [75 calories]
5 baby carrots [25 calories]
Water = 2 glass, 250ml each

Afternoon [after gym] = 75 calories
1 fresh fruit up to 75 calories
Water = 3 glass, 250ml each

Dinner = 450 calories
4 cup dole Iceberg salad with 1 cup slightly stir fried vegetables [300 calories]
2 cup fresh salad [50 calories]
1 orange or fresh fruit [75 calories]
5 baby carrots [25 calories]
1 green tea cup
Water = 2 glass, 250ml each

Fitness Snacks = 50 calories
1 tsp benefiber [15 calories]
7 sugarless gum [35 calories]

The grand total is 1200 calories. This is just an example but the point is that you can have a healthy menu and like me you will be scrambling to eat all your calories. However, always remember the last two words of this post.

Portion Control.

commonsensefitness

MODERATE ACTIVITY 2

Today I realized at gym that I should not really measure time but the calories burned. All cardio machines do give the number. I approximated that I was doing about 200 caloires for 30 min of cardio workout. However, I think I can be more consistent and happy gym goer if I go with the intent of 30 min workout and do some more depending on both my motivation level and how much the person next to me is motivated. Once you are in the gym I am sure you will do more since I found so many ppl doing such a find job of keeping themselves fit. More on this later.

Stay motivated.

Helawat

I would like to make a recommendation for your balanced diet.

Iceberg has nutritional benefits such as vitamin K; however, romaine lettuce has a leg up concerning micro nutrients. Here is a comparison of iceberg vs. romaine:

One cup of iceberg lettuce:

---

* 8 calories
* 0.5 gram protein
* 0.7 gram fiber
* 10 mg calcium
* 78 mg potassium
* 1.5 mg vitamin C
* 16 mcg folate
* 13.3 mcg of vitamin K
* 164 mcg beta carotene
* 152 mcg of lutein + zeaxanthin

One cup of romaine lettuce has:

---

* 8 calories
* 0.58 gram protein
* 1 gram fiber
* 16 mg calcium
* 116 mg potassium
* 11.3 mg vitamin C
* 64 mcg folate
* 48.2 mcg vitamin K
* 1637 mcg beta carotene
* 1087 mcg of lutein + zeaxanthin.


Source: USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory

Iceberg lettuce isn't bad for you, but this shows that romaine is a better choice.

commonsensefitness

Agreed, I will update the balanced diet tomorrow, that could be in 30 mins but I am going to bed. Thanks Helawat for the feedback.

Helawat

It also seems that you're not eating enough dairy and grains. MyPyramind.gov recommends the following servings for a healthy 35 year old male average height and physically active for 30 minutes per day:

8 ounces of grains (preferably whole grains);
3 Cups of Dairy.

Also, they recommend:

Dark Green Vegetables = 3 cups weekly
Orange Vegetables = 2 cups weekly
Dry Beans & Peas = 3 cups weekly
Starchy Vegetables = 6 cups weekly
Other Vegetables = 7 cups weekly

While this applies to a man of a healthy weight, I want you to notice your deficiency in grains and dairy.

Check out what the site has to say:
http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx

commonsensefitness

Agreed and I appreciate your feedback. Hope to revise the balanced diet.

commonsensefitness

BALANCED DIET 3

Lets revise and revisit each meal with approx calorie count.

Breakfast = 425 calories
1 cup corn flakes cereal, 0.5 cup Honey bunch of oats & almond, 0.5 cup Cheerios Honey Nut [260 calories]
1 glass fat-free milk [90 calories]
1 orange [75 calories]
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml

Lunch = 400 calories
2 cup dole Iceberg salad, 2 cup romaine lettuce with 1 cup slightly stir fried vegetables [Monday, Wed, Friday: 300 calories]
1 small turkey or chicken wheat sub, no cheese, no dressing [Tuesday, Thursday: 300 calories]
4 oz baked salmon with 2 cup Dole Iceberg salad, 1 cup romaine lettuce [Saturday and Sunday: 300 calories]
1 orange [75 calories]
2 strawberries [25 calories]
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml each

Afternoon [after gym] = 150 calories
2 fresh fruit up to 150 calories
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml each

Dinner = 425 calories
2 cup dole Iceberg salad, 1 cup romaine lettuce with 1 cup slightly stir fried vegetables [250 calories]
Fresh salad = 25 calories
1 apple [120 calories]
2 strawberries [30 calories]
Water = 3 glass, 250 ml each
1 green tea cup
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml each


The grand total is 1400 calories. This is just an example but the point is that you can have a healthy menu like this.

Portion Control.

commonsensefitness

BALANCED DIET 4

Today I saw little higher reading on my blood glucose test [140 random]. Hence I am banishing most of sugar. Cutting oranges and seeing how things come out. Lets revise and revisit each meal with approx calorie count.

Breakfast = 305 calories
2 cup corn flakes cereal [200 calories]
1 glass fat-free milk [90 calories]
1 flex seed capsule [15 calories]
2 multi-vitamin tablets
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml

Morning Snack = 120 calories
1 apple [120 calories]
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml

Lunch = 325 calories
2 cup dole Iceberg salad, 2 cup romaine lettuce with 1 cup slightly stir fried vegetables [Monday, Wed, Friday: 300 calories]
1 small turkey or chicken wheat sub, no cheese, no dressing [Tuesday, Thursday: 300 calories]
4 oz baked salmon with 2 cup Dole Iceberg salad, 1 cup romaine lettuce [Saturday and Sunday: 300 calories]
5 baby carrots [25 calories]
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml each

Afternoon Snack [after gym] = 75 calories
1 orange [75 calories]
Water = 2 glass, 250 ml each

Dinner = 375 calories
2 cup dole Iceberg salad, 2 cup romaine lettuce with 1 cup slightly stir fried vegetables [300 calories]
Fresh salad = 50 calories
2 strawberries [25 calories]
Water = 3 glass, 250 ml each
1 green tea cup, no sugar

Carving Quota [not to take if I am eating Quizno or Subway sandwich]
2 whole wheat bread slices [200 caloires]

The grand total is 1200 [1400 if I carve] calories. This is just an example and I do think that everyone need to evolve their own healthy balanced diet. I will welcome any feedback.

Stay focused and do Portion Control.

commonsensefitness

2 WEEKS, DAY 14 UPDATE

I must say the common sense fitness is working great for me. I had been sticking to the balanced diet with some slippages but since my balanced diet calorie count is little conservative and on some days my moderate acitivity is little agressive, so I will pass myself for the last two weeks. Above all scale does not lie and I am down good 4 lbs, to 267 lbs. And during all these 14 days I have not felt like starving [though on couple of days carving and I used my carving bread slices quota to overcome it] and gradually increased my cardio stamina. MFP has been very helpful in keeping my focus, providing me environment where I can be honest with what I eat and see other ppl sharing the same goal. In addition, going to 24hrFitness has been great experience. Lets see if I can loose another 4 lbs in next two weeks and remain sane all the time. I hope to keep you all posted.

commonsensefitness

WEEKENDS

I am watching my calorie intake rocketing on weekends as compared to weekdays. I figured out the reasons:

1. I have more free time to think about food
2. I am usually in vicinity of food places
3. My wife or friends want to share their new dish with me
4. I do most of my grocery on weekends and hence the temptation to eat it

My plan of action would be to keep myself busy and certainly would have to come up with something more in my BALACNED DIET routine.