I often write about cutting back on our spending. But after taking a long look in the mirror I decided I needed to focus on cutting back on… well… me.
You see, I have a pretty sedentary cubicle job and my exercise for the past couple years has consisted of nothing more than walking the dog (if you don’t count chasing two rambunctious little girls around). The time pressures of a 40+ hour work week, helping with the kiddos, and rambling incoherently in my weekly blog post have relegated waistline management to the wayside.
Back in 2017, I got serious about weight loss for a few months and lost just over 20 pounds by counting calories using the MyFitness Pal app. I felt great, but the dietary restriction was constantly dragging on me. It seemed like I was spending every free minute thinking about planning the next meal or two. Meal prep time also substantially increased due to inputting recipes and determining portion sizes.
As the weight came off, I became less motivated to continue losing it. I was the victim of my own progress. Cheat meals started popping up more regularly and weekly weigh ins became, bi-weekly, then monthly. It was about this time that I started blogging and my focus shifted further still from maintaining the diet. As a result, I put nearly all the weight back on.
As for my motivation: As the old saying goes, “Health Equals Wealth”. There is a financial benefit of hopefully reduced medical expenses in the future. But that is really just so I can keep my personal finance rep intact. The real motivation is to have more energy to keep up with the kids. Also, I notice when I am on a kick of eating right, I tend to feel happier and have clearer thinking. All good things, right? So let’s do this!
What am I doing different?
I am NOT counting calories.
That’s for damn sure. The simple thought of this depresses me deeply. I need something more sustainable…. something that takes my fallible mind out of the equation.
My Nutritional Game Plan
Enter the Slow Carb Diet
Made famous by Tim Ferriss in his book, The 4-Hour Body, this diet essentially prohibits (for 6 days of the week) eating the following:
- white foods such as bread, rice, sugar, potatoes
- dairy
- fruit
Notice, I said 6 days. There is one cheat (or binge) day each week. I choose Saturday, as it works well with my schedule. On this day, anything you want is game. Yes, this results in some weight gain the day after, but I noticed it disappears within a couple days.
I find the Slow Carb Diet is ideal for meal planning. Simply select a few meals for breakfasts and lunches and repeat. My breakfasts almost always consist of eggs (scrambled or sunny-side up) and beans (black or refried) with a dash of hot sauce or salsa. Lunched generally feature a chicken breast and beans with a side of baby carrots.
Dinners can be a bit more challenging. I usually cycle through burrito bowls, stir fry with chicken and/or shrimp, steak and salad, and roasted whole chicken. One discovery resulting from this diet, is that I finally gave brussel sprouts a chance and… Holy Shnikes, I can’t believe I’ve benn missing out on these delicious veggie orbs!
As far as supplements go: I am simply taking a multivitamin once daily. (One a Day Men’s Health Formula for inquiring minds)
My Workout Plan
The last time I lost weight by counting calories, I did not include any workout plan. As a result, even though I felt good being leaner, I felt weaker. Incorporating a workout plan will hopefully help with the fat burn, speed my overall body re-composition, and leave me with a healthier looking physique. Not to mention the other health benefits, such as improved cardio health and reduced injury risk.
The catch is: I don’t have much free time, so the workout has to be as minimal as possible. Additionally, I don’t want to pay monthly gym fees (this is a Financial Independence Blog after all!)
Drawing inspiration again from Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Body, a contender has emerged:
I’ve adopted the 4-Hour Body approach of using the Minimum Effective Dose (MED). That is, the least amount of effort necessary to meet my goals. As such, I have taken to doing 75 reps of two-handed kettlebell swings two to three times a week. That is all. Well, I do still take a few walks a week, but that is mainly for the mental benefits and to keep my dog happy.
All told, I probably spend 30 minutes a week working out with the kettlebell. I think most of us can find that time!
Measure it Stupid!
In my experience, an easy way to fall off the weight loss wagon is by not measuring progress correctly or consistently. In the past, I would weigh-in one day a week. No measurements beyond that.
My weight fluctuates far too much to rely on a once-a-week check in. The discouragement of one bad weigh in (which may not reflect fat loss or gain at all) can kill any momentum you had.
This time around I am weighing in EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Additionally, I am measuring my waist, hip, and thigh size with a cloth tape. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Some days I notice that my weight has not dropped, but my waist size has, so I feel progress was made.
Goals
I’m setting a goal weight of less than 200 pounds. This represents a loss of at least 26 pounds. I haven’t seen this number since sophomore year of high school, and back then I was much more athletic than I am today.
Additionally, I am shooting for a waist to hip (WHR) of 0.85 which is solidly in the middle range (0.8-0.9) for what’s considered most “visually appealing” for a man. The plan is to blind Mrs. Heartland on FIRE with my stunning good looks. (She’s giving me the death stare as I write this). I’m starting out just north of 0.95 and will need to lose 5 inches off my waist to accomplish this. My stretch goal is a 0.6 waist to shoulder ratio (WSR). I’m not sure the kettlebell will get me there, but we will see.
I need to put a timeframe on this for it to actually mean something. Let’s say 3 months. I officially started this body re-composition adventure on New Years Day. (May I have generic New Years resolutions for $1,000, Alex?) So April Fools Day is my goal day.
Lessons, Tips and Tricks
I have found that two appliances have made this diet significantly easier to follow. The Instant Pot and the Air Fryer.
- Instant Pot
- I can now cook dried beans quickly without an overnight soak. Dried beans cost less and have a nearly indefinite shelf life 2 cups of dried beans and 6 cups of water, plus 1 hour = a week of beany deliciousness. Lentil soup is another favorite option. Homemade re-fried beans are a snap as well and can be made without adding a bunch of lard or oil.
- I can cook chicken breasts, FROM FROZEN, in about 20 mins. I do this in batches on Sunday/Monday to have protein for lunches for the week.
- Hard boiling eggs has never been easier. In particular, eggs cooked in the Instant Pot are incredibly easy to peel.
- Air Fryer
- Adds a crispy exterior to foods without adding oil.
- Whole roasted chicken is amazingly simple, delicious, and low cost. Our kids will even eat it! We can feed our family of 4 for about $5-6. Simply season the chicken and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees then flip and cook 30 more.
- Speaking of the kids, we can cook them nuggets or fries quickly, without having to preheat our oven (time and energy savings!). And they love the crunchier texture!
Results So Far
It’s been about 3 weeks since I started this program. In that time I have lost about 5 pounds. My waist size has dropped 1.5 inches. I’m on pace for about 20 pounds and 5.5 inches off my waist. It’s too soon to tell, but it looks like it will be close!
While not a direct goal, I’ve been tracking my reps with the kettlebell swing. Initially, I could only do 25 reps with a 40 pound kettlebell followed by a second set of 20 to 25 reps (50 total). The last workout included a set of 50 reps with the same weight; followed by another 25 reps for a grand total of 75 reps. A 50% strength gain in 3 weeks!
Going forward, I plan to post updates of my progress either in my monthly net worth update posts, and/or on the Track Our Progress page.
So there’s my plan. What’s worked well for you? Hopefully, there will be much less of me at the next update!