Sedentary for a long time. Need to get healthier asap. Tips?

[thechcicagobluecollarguy]

Hey all!

I work from home in a small office 9 hours a day. I’m 33 l, 5’10 and about 220lbs. I’ve barely ever exercised in my life. I have a few mental health issues anxiety, agoraphobia, depression, executive distinction issues ect. Im looking to add exercise to my life to get healthier. In the past when I have tried to work out, I’ve found it very unpleasant. I think I maybe do too much to fast and then quit because of it. I’m looking for any options to slowly add some kind of movement to my routine. I was able to walk around my neighborhood fairly regularly but my mental health issues have made that harder recently. Due to space issues, a standing desk isn’t really an option and I have trouble making space to even do yoga. I can afford to get some budget equipment. Looking for any recommendations on routines, equipment, apps, advice ect that can get me moving in the right direction. Thanks for your time!

 

[jeffwilly001]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy Start off slow and gradually add to your workload over time.

Bodyweight programs are very accessible and can be done from the comforts of your own home.

• Beginner weight resistance strength training program
• Beginner cardio training program
• Beginner isometric stretching program

To gain muscle:

1) Follow a full body strength training program encompassing progressive overload on compound exercises

2) Aim for ~1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight per day (source)

3) Try to get 9 hours of sleep per day (source)

Concurrent strength training and cardio training is optimal for fat loss (source). Comparatively, strength training is superior to cardio training for the purposes of fat loss (source). Building muscle mass increases your metabolism which means you burn more calories just sitting around (source). HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and MICT (Moderate Intensity Continuous Training) are virtually identical in terms of fat loss and fat-free mass gain, so cardio modality is a matter of preference (source). However, exercise is not the optimal way to lose fat. Further reading: https://physiqonomics.com/fat-loss/#training-for-fat-loss

To lose fat:

1) Eat at a caloric deficit. Google "TDEE calculator" to estimate your daily caloric usage, then aim for approximately ~200-500 calories subtracted from this.

2) Download a calorie tracker app and track your meals.

3) Then adjust values based on the cause-effect relationship between your individual efforts and your individual results over a ~3-4 month period.

Focus on whole foods such as meat (red, white, fish), eggs, dairy, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, legumes, grains, etc. Prioritize high protein and high fiber. Avoid sugar and processed foods. For a more specific nutritional goal, try Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen Checklist.

A high protein diet aids in fat loss (source 1, source 2), and increased protein intake can beneficially affect recovery times (source) and reduce soreness (source). High protein intake has no adverse effects across a wide range of clinical parameters in healthy subjects, and does not negatively influence kidney function in healthy adults (source 1, source 2, source 3). For strength training goals, there are no significant benefits of higher carbohydrate intake on performance (source).

 

[sylvester2011]

@jeffwilly001 Yes! I would just like to emphasize that while looking at a TDEE, it may be tempting to shave off more calories in an attempt to reach your goal faster. All you will be doing is making your mental health, physical health, and progress suffer. The body can only metabolize 500 calories from body fat per day (possibly up to 800 for medically obese- but this should only be done under the direction of a doctor.). And that 500 is an absolute max, as you get leaner, the deficit your body can tolerate will decrease. While we would all love to speed up our progress by taking away more than 500 calories per day, since this is expecting your body to bend the law of thermodynamics (not gonna happen) it will only result in your body taking those extra calories from your brain, your activity function, your muscle mass, and your organs. So please, the best thing you can do is listen to this advice over not being overzealous! Another perk is that, the number one factor in a succession diet is ADHERENCE. Learn about macros, ignore all the other bs.

 

[nwmann]

@jeffwilly001 You quote an article and specifically contradict what it states.

"Protein supplementation beyond total protein intakes of 1.62 g/kg/day resulted in no further RET-induced gains in FFM."

1.62g/kg is not 2.2g/kg as you've stated with your incorrect 1g/1lb.

1.6g/kg is the high water mark for athletes. Typical person even doing resistance training needs less than that. 1g/2.2lbs of body weight is more accurate.

 

[jeffwilly001]

@nwmann This is why it's important to actually read the whole document (and not just the synopsis) before making criticisms:

A recent retrospective analysis showed a ‘breakpoint’ for the stimulation of MPS when ingesting an isolated protein source at 0.24 g protein/kg and 0.40 g protein/kg in younger and older participants, respectively. Given the observation of a dose-responsive relationship between protein intake and MPS and the fact that MPS is aligned with muscle hypertrophy, we elected to use an identical two-segment regression approach between total daily protein intake and changes in FFM (figure 5) as has been done for changes in protein dose and MPS. Here we provide significant insight (using 42 study arms including 723 young and old participants with protein intakes ranging from 0.9 g protein/kg/day to 2.4 g protein/kg/day) by reporting an unadjusted plateau in RET-induced gains in FFM at 1.62 g protein/kg/day (95% CI: 1.03 to 2.20). These results are largely in congruence with previous narrative reviews that comment on the optimal nutritional strategies to augment skeletal muscle adaptation during RET. Given that the CI of this estimate spanned from 1.03 to 2.20, it may be prudent to recommend ~2.2 g protein/kg/d for those seeking to maximise resistance training-induced gains in FFM. Though we acknowledge that there are limitations to this approach, we propose that these findings are based on reasonable evidence and theory and provide a pragmatic estimate with an incumbent error that the reader could take into consideration.

 

[laurarose8473839]

@jeffwilly001 But so many werds.

 

[jeffwilly001]

@laurarose8473839 Academia does have a minimum barrier of entry

 

[laurarose8473839]

@jeffwilly001 No doubt. Anyway, I've been following this research over the past few years and the evidence from a number of groups has been trending toward this recommendation of 2.2g/kg, with 1.6g/kg accepted as a solid benchmark. My grad research was focused on skeletal muscle regulatory factors/gene products. Given how metabolically expensive it is to keep skeletal muscle around, it makes intuitive sense that its hypertrophy is tightly regulated. There are now volumes of articles (with my name on a few) demonstrating this comprehensively at the microcellular level. That's not to imply that, by any stretch, do we have a complete understanding of skeletal muscle formation and maintenance. It is clear, however, that in the absence of clinical contraindications a slight excess of available protein is not problematic and may provide benefits during certain periods of muscle recovery and may promote the ability of factors like myogenin to recruit satellite cells following resistance training-induced myofiber shearing. TL;DR Providing more protein may allow muscle to recruit new nuclei at a faster rate and thus use more protein to build and maintain muscle.

 

[jeffwilly001]

@laurarose8473839 Great assessment, mostly in that there's no punitive mechanism for high or even very high protein intakes so having a soft max to aim for is generally more feasible than a lower minimum

 

[nwmann]

@jeffwilly001 No punitive mechanism....

"Chronic high protein intake (>2 g per kg BW per day for adults) may result in digestive, renal, and vascular abnormalities and should be avoided. "

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2016/fo/c5fo01530h

 

[jeffwilly001]

@nwmann High protein intake has no adverse effects across a wide range of clinical parameters in healthy subjects, and does not negatively influence kidney function in healthy adults (source 1, source 2, source 3)

 

[laurarose8473839]

@jeffwilly001 The downvoting is just petty. @jeffwilly001 is providing solid information and offering fantastic sources (something I’m generally too lazy to do). As I wrote above, I’m a physiologist by training and have published in the field of skeletal myogenesis. I was also a semi-pro cyclist for more than a decade, spanning my time in grad school which wasn’t easy on any level. I took a pass on med school for family reasons and have been a global clinical program manager in vaccine development in big pharma for quite a while. I know pretty much about pretty much, and I can easily recognize that Helmet is no slouch. If you have kidney disease, you’re aware of your special needs and requirements, and you know that this guidance may not apply. Some excellent comments have been downvoted here over spurious concerns. The people who need to take special care understand their needs very well, and I’m confident that nobody who suffers renal insufficiency is doing the downvoting. Those who are downvoting are protecting or helping no one.

 

[dinafrancis]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy Start by fixing your diet. Slowly change your habits to start eating more fresh, whole foods and avoid anything with added sugar in it. Don't try and change all at once because sugar addiction is real and can be a bitch to get over. But eating right could possibly improve your mental state as well! Swapping over to heathier choices may be all you need to do as a calorie deficit may come with it. But if you aren't losing weight, you'll have to start eating a little less. Just slow and steady weight loss is all you need

As for adding more movement to your life, take a short "bathroom break" at least every hour and simply go walk around in your house. If you have stairs, go up and down them a few times.

But I'm concerned how you don't even have space to do yoga. Like okay, if you can't do it in your office, fine, you don't have to be doing yoga in the middle of your work day. You can still do yoga or any other activity after work. And you probably should!

You can get a cheap spin bike and set that up in front of a TV, so whenever you would be sitting and watching TV, you could be biking.

 

[ruyifa]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy For a way to ease into exercise with a lot of space constraints and little or no equipment, without being overwhelming, take a look at seated workouts! There are lots of videos on YouTube.

I made a little free web app that I find helpful for using YouTube videos to work out, and I've been making some little workout programs using it with a blog post with some more context. Here's my post on Seated Workouts, or, Here's the link to the workout program.

 

[terphawthorne]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy If you are overwhelmed by solid, but very detailed advice, here’s a very simple start: Make it a priority and routine to do something 5 days a week.

My start was walking 30 minutes everyday using my Apple Watch for reminders and tracking. You can also get a Fitbit (budget friendly).

Get it routine, and set very small goals, 1 at a time.

In my opinion, when starting out, goals should be about making routines — not weight loss amounts, which can be impossible or agonizing without the regular time commitment.

I say this after running my first “official” 5k last year— something I never thought I’d do— I realized I just wanted to keep the routine coz I liked it, and my 30 minute exercise was the first thing I did every day.

I went from 200 lbs to 178 lbs by building up slowly from walking. I dreaded it some days, but once done it felt good. If I couldn’t run, I still spent the 30 minutes walking.

 

[sylvester2011]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy also, try to find something active that you don’t hate! or try lifting (in your own home) and don’t judge yourself… remember something > nothing. Plus since you haven’t trained before, you’re primed for the quickest progress! Start with 1 set of 3 exercises you enjoy per day, once that becomes easy, add on

 

[proevan]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy Intermittent fasting…not the be all end all solution of course, but the easiest way to start to lose a little weight, get a little more confidence, maybe help a little mentally too.

That will put you in a better place to then implement a physical program, and I’ll leave Step 2 and on to more qualified redditors…

That’s what I did and was in a similar place as you and it was a great start.

 

[durph08]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy The great news is that it's so easy to find different exercises to try! YouTube has tons of options, so you can keep trying things until you find things you like.

As adults, it's hard to build new habits. You may want to eat an article or two on how to build new habits effectively. But here's my short advice on that.

Start small. For example, every time you go to the bathroom, do 5 squats and 5 wall pushups. Do that for a week before you try to add anything else in. Maybe make yourself a chart and put a star on it every time you do that.

Don't add more than one thing at a time. And since you didn't mention any specific goal or problem that needs to be addressed, if you do have one, search for something to target that, like "home exercises for back pain", etc. Personally, exercises I got from Physical Therapy to relieve back pain were very motivating to keep me doing daily exercise, because I'm preventing pain.

When you've found half a dozen or so exercises that work for you, try to start adding in a morning or after work routine, and do 15 of each.

As you start finding what does and doesn't work for you, you will know more specifically what to search for to find more instructional videos.

I'm currently working on adding some new activities, and I've been watching different videos and picking and choosing exercises I like to build my own routine.

 

[thomasmagda47]

@thechcicagobluecollarguy Get a new job where you can be committed to getting to a place of work at a certain time everyday. Working from home is great sometimes but it sounds like you would really benefit from a commitment device like having to go to a place of work every day.

1 You will move more having to get there

2 you can pack a healthy lunch. No eating out pack healthy and you will eat healthy. By making the decision before you are really hungry and eat not as good foods.

3 there is bound to be more people and actual interactions at a place of work. Interacting with people in person will help your mental health. You might even make some friends and pick up some after work hobbies with like minded people.

Best of luck I’m sure you can find different ways to push yourself but this just seemed like it might help you a lot in multiple areas.

 

[laurarose8473839]

@thomasmagda47 I’m reading/writing this while taking a break, sitting in my office where I’ve been since 8:30AM. It’s 1:30AM. I have one more protocol to review before I bounce. I’ll be working from home for at least a few days precisely so I can get on the bike for a quick ride, see my GF for more than 10 minutes, and have access to decent food in the evenings. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love my job, and I’m lucky to have the option of working from anywhere on the planet. My mental and physical health are not enhanced by sitting in my office or conference rooms all day, though I take your point. I make it a priority to come in during relative lulls and visit colleagues all over campus (it’s a big damn pharma site) in person. It’s good for me to spend time with them in person and good for group morale.