Just starting? Keep it Simple

I have just posted a new blog.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/starting-a-weight-loss-program-keep-it-simple-110025

For those of you who don't want to go to the blog page, I am posting it in its entirety here. I want to emphasize again that this is directed primarily towards beginners who have a high percentage of body fat. If you have been doing this awhile, esp if you have seen substantial results already, then this is not for you.


MFP attracts a lot of new users who are primarily interested in losing weight. The forums--both here and on other sites--are full of ideas, tips, "rules", etc, for shedding those unwanted pounds.

Because fitness and weight loss are big business, the internet and mass media are also sources of a seemingly endless stream of information and advice. Well-intentioned beginners come here with a new resolve and determination to "follow all the rules" and finally make some positive changes.

I look at the many posts in the forums and read the many questions that newcomers have and, overall, I have one thing to say:

Weight loss is hard. Don't make it harder by overcomplicating the process.

You may have heard of the "80/20 Rule" which says that we tend to spend 80% of our time and effort on things that only produce 20% of the results. Whatever the percentage, I think that many beginners focus too much time and energy on trivia and this lowers their chances of long-term success.

For some, it's with the best of intentions. As I said: they are motivated and want to do "everything" right. Others are the types who feel they just haven't found the "perfect" program, so they hop from program to program, and diet to diet.

Most beginners will see more results from following a few key guidelines consistently rather than trying to construct the "ideal" program with a long list of "rules".

I can tell you there is no one eating plan or exercise program that is the best for everyone and that will guarantee success. Try focusing on a few important guidelines and following them consistently.

NOTE: I am targeting this advice for BEGINNERS, esp those who have not been working out and are in the 40+% BF range for females, 30+% for males. The recommendations may not be applicable to other groups.

1. Energy Needs: Calculate your BMR and add in a reasonable activity factor. Or, simplify it even more--if you are female and over 200lbs, just go with 1600 calories per day.

2. Portion Control: Weigh, measure, and log everything.

3. Protein intake: 1.0 to 1.5 g per kg of body weight ( or minimum 100g).

4. Fat intake: 25% of total calories

5. Carbs: whatever is left: focus on whole grains and fiber; avoid processed foods and sugars.

6: Aerobic exercise: Yes. Try to average 5 days/wk, 30-60 min per session. At first, just "capture the distance"--build up your endurance. After that, include different intensities--some days long and easy, others shorter with more challenging intervals.

7. Resistance training: Yes. 2 Days per week. If you are just starting out and have a higher percentage of body fat, choose weights that you cause you to reach a fatigue point in 45-60 seconds of controlled lifting. Choose 6-10 exercises that involve larger muscles and do 3 quality sets of each one. Don't waste time with small-muscle exercises such as biceps curls, triceps extensions and most ab exercises. Those can come later. A body-weight squat will do more to train your "core" at this point than dozens of ab crunches.

(In terms of exercise in general, I personally prefer to have my clients stick with relatively simple and straightforward routines. I am not a big fan of workout videos or exercise classes for beginners, however I understand that often those are the only options for some people, and that some people find them very motivating. I guess my advice would be to find classes/videos that feature simpler movements and are longer in duration. Nothing is impossible, but I feel that programs like 30 Day Shred and P90X significantly reduce the odds of long-term success for beginners).

8. Eating back exercise calories: I think most beginners need to exercise extreme caution when doing this. First of all, our estimates of calories expended during exercise are, at best, only 80% accurate. Secondly, our amount of non-exercise activity varies widely--and tends to be affected by our workout sessions. So, you might "calculate" that you burned 500 calories in a workout and eat them all back, yet it turns out that you only burned 400 and then afterwards reduced your daily activity by another 100 calories because you were tired from the workout. In my experience the risks of overestimating calories and overeating far, far outweighs the risk of "starvation mode".

To me a better strategy is to get off the 1200 calorie hamster wheel, eat more calories every day (see above--1600 or so) and not regularly count exercise calories at all. If you do a longer or more strenuous workout, then "refuel" the workout by adding a post-workout snack of 100-300 calories on those days only.

9. Non-exercise activity: move as much as possible. Look for opportunities to take stairs, park in a distant part of the parking lot, see household chores as "calorie gifts", etc.

Things NOT to be concerned with:

1. Workout timing--do it when you can.

2. Meal timing and frequency--do whatever makes you happy.

3. Water intake--drink how much you want--don't obsess over it.

4. Any supplements.

5. Any "diet" with a name.

6. Any oddball diet "strategy"--e.g. food combinations, "zig-zag" dieting, etc.

7. Heart rate monitors--unless you are using it to monitor your heart rate and thus improve the quality of your workouts.

8. Shoes or other informercial gadgets.

9. Looking for any type of "magic bullet", i.e. the new, unique program that will automatically succeed where the others have failed. It doesn't exist. Never has, Never will.

I tried to keep this relatively simple--I hope it comes across that way. I think the guidelines make for a relatively streamlined approach, but that is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. It is an approach we use with the weight-loss program at our facility. It is a 12-week supervised program. It doesn't have any frills or exotic interventions--just a lot of structure and hands-on attention to keep people focused on these key concepts. After 15 months and almost 120 participants, the avg 12-wk weight loss achieved has been about 22 pounds. A few have not been that successful and others have "overachieved" and lost 30-35 pounds. And, quite frankly, most are older and less fit than the average person on MFP.

Again, I emphasize that this is mainly for beginners. As you make progress and reduce body fat %, then the approach must change and things get more complicated. However, by that time you will have more experience and familiarity, so it will not be a big distraction.

But if you are just starting, or if you have tried a lot of plans in the past and felt like you were spinning your wheels, consider a more "minimalist" approach.