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How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

ryanleecarson.tumblr.com

41–50 of 101 posts

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#41

It's been said many times before, but getting exercise while doing a startup is a must. It's like saying you should use LESS/SASS instead of coding CSS. You just won't believe how much better it is until you actually try it for a while. For the last three months I've forced myself to go for a jog every morning, no excuses, even if it means I'll get started on stuff a little later, so be it. It's an amazing complement…

Which would you rather do? Get 8 hours of sleep everyday, or exercise 5 hours a week?

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#42
post #2

It looks like no cardio to speak of in your routine. So many people kill themselves doing an hour a day of running or riding a stationary bike and then wonder why they don't get better results. It's really 80% or more about diet and lifting weights. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn throughout the day. You just don't need that much cardio if you train intensely enough when lifting weights. Nice…

If you want to be a bodybuilder and look big, go ahead and skip cardio. On the other hand, if you do any sports that last more than about 30 seconds, you might want to spend a little time working your heart (which is also a muscle). This is what happens if you skip the cardio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HghbpgHNxC0 (Sorry for the crappy music video, it's the only one I could find.)

I've found that sports are the best way to get cardio as well; a high-intensity game of squash burns 816 calories/hour and is a lot more fun than an hour on the treadmill.

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#44

Given that a big part of the dietary changes is getting rid of as many carbs as possible, does anyone have any advice for eating out at lunch on this kind of diet? Going out and grabbing some food is a rewarding part of my day, but I'm struggling to think of any options for low carb, almost everywhere seems to focus on bread, pasta or rice.

Mexican, even Chipotle will work. Get a burrito bowl. Substitute the rice for more veggies. No tortilla. Beans, veggies, meat, and fresh salsa. It's right in line with most of the diets. Pretty low carbs. I just completed a month of the Slow Carb diet by doing this. Lost 20 lbs.

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#45

It's been said many times before, but getting exercise while doing a startup is a must. It's like saying you should use LESS/SASS instead of coding CSS. You just won't believe how much better it is until you actually try it for a while. For the last three months I've forced myself to go for a jog every morning, no excuses, even if it means I'll get started on stuff a little later, so be it. It's an amazing complement…

Getting exercise is a must, for anyone. It has nothing to do with whether you have a start-up or not.

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#46

It's been said many times before, but getting exercise while doing a startup is a must. It's like saying you should use LESS/SASS instead of coding CSS. You just won't believe how much better it is until you actually try it for a while. For the last three months I've forced myself to go for a jog every morning, no excuses, even if it means I'll get started on stuff a little later, so be it. It's an amazing complement…

Amen :)

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#47

It's been said many times before, but getting exercise while doing a startup is a must. It's like saying you should use LESS/SASS instead of coding CSS. You just won't believe how much better it is until you actually try it for a while. For the last three months I've forced myself to go for a jog every morning, no excuses, even if it means I'll get started on stuff a little later, so be it. It's an amazing complement…

Which would you rather do? Get 8 hours of sleep everyday, or exercise 5 hours a week?

I'd say 7 hours of sleep per night and 3 hours of exercise

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#48

Given that a big part of the dietary changes is getting rid of as many carbs as possible, does anyone have any advice for eating out at lunch on this kind of diet? Going out and grabbing some food is a rewarding part of my day, but I'm struggling to think of any options for low carb, almost everywhere seems to focus on bread, pasta or rice.

Places that focus on bread, pasta and rice are usually chain-food places (Panera, Chipotle, etc). Find a deli that will give you a chicken breast + veggies -- there are at least 4 near my New Jersey suburban office building that do this.

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#49
post #26

Is there really no other way than going Paelo? As a former vegetarian, I find that hard to stomach. Also I was slim for 16 years as a vegetarian, and vegetarian diets used to be considered healthy. Gained weight in the last three years, though - but I eat lots of sweets...

He is just sharing what worked for him. Any diet where you consume fewer calories will allow you to lose weight, it is just a question of choosing one you will stick with.

You absolutely don't need to do the paleo/keto nonsense at all. I eat meat twice a week and barely eat any dairy (just a little cheese once in a while). I eat pasta, white rice and potatoes all the time. I've lost 68 pounds so far as of this morning. No matter how much people want to pretend there is magic involved, or point to hilariously bad books like Taubes' junk, it really does come down to "burn more calories than you consume".

I can't tolerate low carb diets, I feel hungry and tired all the time and end up going nuts after a couple weeks and breaking down and eating a ton of pasta. So I didn't go low-fat or low-carb, I just eat reasonable portions, make sure the food I eat is always satisfying, and exercise. I find it much easier for me to increase the calories I am burning than to decrease the calories I am consuming too far.

And contrary to what spking says, it is not hard at all to get enough protein as a vegetarian. You only need ~55g a day, which I get easily on days where I don't eat meat. On meat days I end up around 90g. If you are doing heavy lifting you'll need maybe 20g a day more than average, and if you do endurance sports you could need up to double the average. But if you aren't doing either of those things, you should easily get enough protein without making any special effort or using supplements.

Re: How I lost 10% body fat, while launching a startup (and raising kids)

#50
This may get a down voted because I'm new to commenting, but I figured adding a comment was better than starting a "Show HN" thread.

My buddy and I created a web/iPhone app that is great for people trying to get fit but struggle doing it because they can't find the motivation. So for those who are motivated by Ryan's story and are looking for additional tools, maybe give it a try.

http://1upfit.com allows you to compete against friends in simple workout challenges. Pushups, pull-ups, running, swimming, etc. We are actually in beta testing right now for tracking a weight loss challenge similar to what Ryan did above. (We both recently completed a slow carb diet, which is very similar.)

Training by yourself or changing dietary habits by yourself can be hard and sometimes you don't have the people around to properly motivate you. My brother is an Ironman but lives in Colorado (I'm in Portland) so it's hard to say "Hey let's go for a run". By using the app though, I can see every time he runs and it motivates me to go out and do it too, for fear of losing a competition to my brother.

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