Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Busy Professional's Optimized Diet and Exercise Plan

In this modern age we are all very busy with our professional life and family life. We have no time for exercise or in following a structured diet plan.

As we grow older we pack in few extra pounds and go on crash diets as if those can save us from anything.
The ideal scenario is to follow a diet/exercise plan  which fits into our busy lifestyle and can be followed without compromising work/personal life balance.

I call this the  Busy Professional's Optimized Diet and Exercise  Plan and here are the basic 5 rules-

1. Exercise during Lunch or Early Mornings:  

Exercise at Lunch time for 40 minutes, try doing this 4-5 times a week, this works great for Night Owls like me. For people who can get up early  in the mornings you can switch the time slots. Combine cardio and weight exercises,  run for 15 minutes and weight lift for 25 minute . Try isolating  each muscle group everyday like  Chest/Triceps, Back and Biceps, Legs and Shoulders such that those muscles are sore after workout. Take off during weekends by spending  time with your families and giving your muscles time  to rest and regenerate.

2.  Natural Diet for Breakfast and Lunch:
Only eat fruits and vegetables during the day. Start with 2 cups of Skim Milk and instant coffee and a banana for your morning commute. Apple/Carrot/Cucumber/Banana for the lunch after your workout. This regiment frees up your dinners to spend time with  your families and enjoy a non-guilty meal. This regiment  eliminates planning for lunch except for visiting grocery store once a week and prevents you from indulgences during the day.

3. Stay Away From Alcohol:
Alcohol is poison period, irrespective what pseudo medical establishment says about its benefits. It changes the brain chemistry and when times are tough  people tend to self medicate with Alcohol. It eats away your brain neurons and affects your sleep pattern. Final problem is it packs empty calories which adds up to the meal you are eating.

4. Stay Away From Sugar/Deserts
Sugar is basically glucose and pure source of energy. After dinner  your stomach is already filled with Calories that you dont need to add glucose to the mix. There are no beneficial effects of taking sugar.  Refined Sugar (White) does not contain any Vitamins or minerals needed for your body. Sugar like alcohol affects brain chemistry by giving you a buzz but at the end of the day it is use less.

5. Stay Away From Snacks
Snacks which most of them are fried in oil are  packed with fat calories and salt similar to sugar do not contain any essential nutrients.  On top of it all it can lead to a glaring addiction of munching on something all the time. A small packet of chips can pack in 500 fat calories and 1 hour of running burns 500 calories.

What are the results of this plan: 

This plan definitely works at-least for me whenever I have been on it 100%. I dramatically lose weight in the initial stages. You could also be on it partially but that will only be partially effective and sometimes could just maintain your existing weight. Unfortunately 3,4,5 are the most important and maximum results can only be gained by following all the rules.
The name of the game is discipline and commitment you show will give you results.

What are the advantages-

- Balances work life and personal life, so you do not have sacrifice a lot to lose weight.

- Very Cheap to maintain, a gym membership and $10 per week on buying groceries is all it takes.

- Very intuitive and easy to follow. There are no complex rules and  dos/donts behind it.
 - No need for supplements, there is no evidence supplements work in a pill form anyway. You are getting most of the nutrients you need  with your  natural diet.