Fresh start, trying to get back on my feet, am I doing things right?

arabeque
arabeque Posts: 4 Member
edited November 14 in Motivation and Support
*I hope this is not a TL;DR post, skip the first and the third paragraphs if so*

*My story and eating habits:
Hello, I'm new to some stuff and am not sure if I put up my exercise plans well, so I need some help and support. Hope I'm writing under the right forum topic.
To tell my story shortly, I had been doing yoga daily for around half a year (plus years of practicing it rarely), but stress, fatigue and lack of time somehow made me quit it in august, then I had a mild surgery a month later with 3 weeks as minimum recovery time, and caught some bad virus or something after, so two more weeks without any exercise and minimum immunity levels - and I ended up getting sick every two weeks or so, barely managing to keep up with my schoolwork while still having to go to work twice a week. Lost half my hair, gained skin issues, gained 10kg. Now it's christmas, I'm taking an academic break to try to return to my normal lifestyle, as all that laying around doing nothing made me a earweak, lazy-*kitten* stressed out 21 year old with depression.
So I'm gonna work out to get back in shape, untill I can continue being a happy hippie yogi and get back to school. My eating habits would be very fine, by the way, if I just stopped overeating and cut out halva out of my regime, as I'm a vegetarian-half-vegan hippie who doesn't really eat processed foods etc., and could spare myself by only treating myself to a bite of dark chocolate on a craving or rarely eating any sweets at all, but I recently became a halva monster as if I have a craving and buy some halvah or simply just find some at home, I consume it all in one go, which is usually a 200g or 300g piece - and I've even eaten 500g in one day twice. I can also eat some triple portions(of healthy meals) if I'm on my period, during full moon, if I'm having a marathon of drama/movies watching or simply have some free time untill my next schedule. So I definitelly still need to work on my meal plans since during all those months of being a sickly couch-potatoe I ended up stuffing myself with some of the stuffs I don't want in my body at all. I'm only a step from my ideal eating habits so I'm sure that one won't take long to overcome.

*The reason for this post- my questionable exercise plan:
I've only just started doing strength training a couple of days ago, when I bought 2 dumbbells, 2kg each. For now I'm doing 10 minutes of strenght training a day (planning to increase that to 20-30 minutes and have a few days off every week, especially since my 8 hours at work are usually kinda like a triathlon or whatever you call it. the 2-minute walk home becomes a 15-minute walk cuz I ache and all.. and then I end up having a late-night meal since it's 1:30am by the time I'm home from work, and then I might not sleep at all if I have an early schedule since no war could wake me up early), hullahoop 20 to 60 minutes a day, planning to jump rope for some amount of time about twice a week (have to have certain conditions for that one), not sure yet, haven't tried jumping rope for at least 7 years, and was never good at it, but hope to improve and have this exercise stay with me during the years, even if just occasionally. Also have low lung capacity due to being a smoker (might drop that one habit, not sure if I really want to). Will continue to try doing yoga sessions whenever I feel like it and have time for it, since even my current exercise routines steal more of my precious time than I'd wish they did- and make less impact than I wish they did, too.

*Some stuff to take note of - mostly crazy facts -
I hate intense workouts. I used to love intense yoga sessions, will love them as soon as I regain my ability to go trough with them, but I hate all the other intense, sweaty exercises that seem so unloving, so harsh. Also, it's winter now. I love walking, I could just go out and walk all day, or I could go on a 2-hour session of walking in a very fast tempo, but now it's too cold to have a five minute walk, it's wet, about to get slippery as heck (that's when I really become a hermit crab. Feels better staying home than trying to go somewhere, walking like a crab, and still being in danger of an accident that will break bones on every corner. ANd it's not pretty at all, winter in my country. Taking a walk during winter increases my depression levels most of the times). :DDD Oh also I naturally drink plenty of water, which is up to 3l a day, but I also drink up to 2l of my special teas so the more tea I drink the less is my need for water, but overall it's always enough or more of both. "special tea" meaning has a wide range of choises, so it goes from green tea upgraded by spices, to turmeric tea (also usually withsome cayenne or cinnamon), to some occasional garlic tea, and my recent favorite is lots of parsley+some green tea leaves+turmeric powder, around 3tbsp,+ cayenne powder, 1to3 tbsp, something like that in a litre of hot water. I added a few cloves of garlic once recently, that batch wasn't tasty, and I usually brew the same ingredients twice before replacing with fresh ones.

How does my exercise plan seem to people who know better? What should I correct?
I'm trying to lose those 10kgs fast, -15kg would be perfect, but I'm not that crazy and I'll be at the medically perfect BMI, close to my perfect weight enough after losing 10 (which is the amount I gained during this fall anyway). I'm giving myself 2 months at most, I don't care if some may laugh while commiting to crazy "10kg in one week" diets or if some might say that 1kg a week is the most I should ask of myself.
And I want to regain my strength (and gain more strength and endurance than I had, what I can offer a few additional months for) so that someday I could return to my healthy lifestyle, upgraded.

So if I consumed around 1200kcal with my kind of diet (veggies, fruits, no cooking with oil, no processed foods, no white flour, I also don't like eggs, don't really eat any dairies except for occasional cheese days when cheese goes like halva does. not gonna be buying halva anytime soon:D and gonna try not to notice the delicious cheese stock-ups in my family fridge) and if I kept up exercising similarly to the plan I wrote down, would that be too less, enough, or a strech while trying to reach my goals?

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited December 2016
    This is waaay too complicated.

    Weight loss = calories in vs. calories out.

    Example if you were sedentary 5'5" tall and 150 pounds and your maintenance was 2,000 calories. Eating 1500 calories a day & doing zero exercise would give you a 500 calorie deficit. 7 x 500 = 3,500.....or 1 pound of weight loss per week.

    Find your TDEE (maintenance) here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    You could eat 100% "healthy" whatever your definition is, or you could eat 100% crap, or you could choose something in the middle. The choice is yours. Eating a larger % of "healthy" foods is more filling. A larger % of "healthy" foods helps you meet nutritional guidelines. Most people here try for a balance. Mostly "healthy" foods but allowances for treats here and there also. This helps us manage portions for ALL foods....not just diet foods.

    Elimination diets have a poor track record for keeping weight loss off (no flour, no oil, ect). Dietary fat is required for many bodily functions.... (by itself) it's not the cause of weight gain. Elimination diets may help you lose weight....but when you get to goal, then what? Are you eliminating flour forever? Because maintenance at a new lower weight will require (somewhat) fewer calories forever.

    If you can exercise - great! Your "exercise" doesn't need to be strenuous. Pick something you can commit too. Some people wear a pedometer and strive to reach 10,000 steps a day. This change takes time. We don't get there overnight. Bottom line people with active lifestyles burn more calories than couch potatoes. But even inactive people can lose weight.

    1200 is a DEFAULT minimum before exercise. This isn't an "optimum" calorie goal, it's often just the most aggressive one. Trying to do too much all at once....eat perfectly.....eat the bare minimum, often leads to set backs. Find a middle ground. Find the place where you can lose weight AND feel good. Weight loss shouldn't feel like a punishment.
  • arabeque
    arabeque Posts: 4 Member
    edited December 2016
    @TeaBea Yea that's what I mean, I don't normally eat those foods that I "eliminate", my diet(as in eating habits) has been so for a few years now.I'm also not that much into calorie counting, so I'm always okay with allowing myself a treat or an extra meal/portion. As long as it's not all sugar or other food that I don't really want to consume. These eating habits of mine are also partly based on ajurveda, which is something I have trust and belief in. Also, I'm not saying I, not gonna give myself some treats, simply trying to cut halva out of my diet, as eating 400 grams of that stuff at once just can't be healthy
    As for exercise - being able to take care of my body and work to make it healthier and fit does make me feel good, especially since my body is only a tool to help me experience life better. ALso, I used to love doing yoga, even if some sessions tend to be a strech - that's when I felt best after finishing a workout and just laying there resting. So I want to get my muscles back in shape and get them even more prepared to continuing my yogi ways.
    The reason for my post Is I'm not familiar with other workouts, especially weight flifting, and want to make sure I know how much of that is enough. No intentions to strain myself, either, as not only do I hate harsh, intense workouts, but I also need to have strength to do my other stuff.
    Thanks for replying thou
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