Getting serious about my health

SilentDan82
SilentDan82 Posts: 25 Member
edited November 20 in Introduce Yourself
Hi all,

I've been on and off diets and exercise routines for the past several years, really just half-assing it and falling off the wagon whenever life got busy. At 35 years of age and a BMI of 31 putting me in the obese category, I've decided enough is enough. I've decided to treat my health goals like a series of projects with deadlines and stick to them as if my life depended on them (ultimately, it does).

I'm looking to gain greater health in all aspects. I got a DEXA scan, blood work and some other measurements done. Here are the details for the first "project" due one year from now:


BODY COMPOSITION

Total weight
Current: 187.4 lbs
Target: 146.6 lbs

Fat
Current: 79.5 lbs
Target: 14.7 lbs

Lean mass
Current: 101.2 lbs
Target: 125.2 lbs

Bone mineral content
Current: 6.7 lbs
Target: 6.7 lbs


VITALS

Blood pressure
Current: 125/89
Target: 90/60 - 120/80

Resting heart rate
Current: 86 bpm
Target: 60 bpm


BLOOD CHEMISTRY

Triglycerides
Current: 100.08 mg/dL
Target: 50-80 mg/dL

Total cholesterol
Current: 170.15 mg/dL
Target: 120-140 mg/dL

HDL
Current: 40.99 mg/dL
Target: over 50 mg/dL

LDL
Current: 109.05 mg/dL
Target: 40-70 mg/dL

Glucose
Current: 91.8 mg/dL
Target: 70-100 mg/dL

Hba1c / A1C
Current: 5.4 mg/dL
Target: under 5


This translates, among other things, to losing 64.8 lbs of fat, gaining 24 lbs of muscle and a drop from 44% body fat to 10%.

I've been reading up on the more popular diet approaches (paleo books by Cordain and Wolf, vegan books by Campbell and Esselstyn, etc) as well as conventional diet advice. The principles behind the paleo diet really speak to me. There are so many nutrition studies out there that all seem to contradict each other but the paleo approach of eating what we evolved to eat in the wild sounds just plain logical. The only thing that seems off to me is such a huge emphasis on meat. I find it hard to believe that our ancient ancestors had access to that much meat. In addition, everything else I've read seems to indicate that too much meat is bad for you. Therefore, I'm going to follow a paleo diet with a bit less meat and a lot more vegetables.

Doing cardio at the gym has always been something I dreaded. It was an unpleasant, boring chore and I believe that's one of the main reasons why it's so hard to stick to it. To set myself up for success, I realised that I need to make cardio enjoyable, something I actually look forward to. When I was younger, I was really into martial arts and the idea of doing it again sounded very exciting so this coming Monday I'm going to the nearby MMA gym to sign up for classes.

In addition to the martial arts classes I'm going to do some weight lifting. From what I have read, the most beneficial type of weight lifting, especially for beginners, are compound exercises. My plan is loosely inspired by the StrongLifts 5x5 program since it involves just such exercises. I'm going to lift weights three times per week, alternating between these two workouts:

Workout A: Barbell squat, Bench press, Overhead press
Workout B: Deadlift, Lateral pulldown, Lateral row

If I have time leftover (I'll be doing this in the morning before work), I'll add some isolation exercises for biceps, triceps, calves, etc.


So there it is - my current state and my plan. I welcome and encourage constructive criticism and any tips and advise. I am very committed to these goals and seeing some of the transformations on this forum is very inspiring.


Cheers,
Dan

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