This is a story of one guy trying to do something impressive. This journey will take many years. There will be failures. There will be good and bad times. Life is a beautiful composition of challenges. How you learn to deal with everyday challenges is the indicator of your overall success in life.
And you, dear party member, will be along for the ride.
Every journey starts with a goal. Platform4Fun has many goals it is trying to achieve. More than anything, though, I want you, dear party member, to be inspired. So, not only will you see Platform4Fun's journey unfold and be a part of it all, but sometimes you will see some of my own goals and aspirations that I'm trying to accomplish outside of Platform4Fun.
This page is dedicated to Goals outside Platform4Fun, and I'm calling them Challenges.
You can expect me to post about things like weight loss, working out, walking challenges, etc. These are strictly for fun, and you will be able to see the progress on this page.
I'm actually a bit big and chubby. Last year I was 125kg (about 275 pounds). I lost 30kg(About 66 pounds), and I gained a few. Currently, I sit comfortably at around 101kg (about 222 pounds). The goal of this challenge is simple: LOSE 10 more kg! (about 22 pounds)
In theory, losing weight is easy. Burn more calories than you consume. Simple. To do it all you got to do it:
Figure out how many calories you burn at rest. (It's called your BMR - Base Metabolic Rate)
You can do it here: https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html (Just input your data)
For me, it's 2006 calories/day
Count your calories so that you eat, at the maximum, that amount of calories.
Counting calories is more difficult if you are not cooking for yourself. So, try to do your own cooking.
If you can't, AI can help approximate. I'm sure how accurate it will be, but it should be accurate enough to have a rough estimation. Then all you need is a calorie buffer. (Meaning: try to aim for 100-200 fewer calories than your maximum intake. Everything should average out in the end.)
Nutrition labels will show you the calories per serving, depending on your country. In Europe, it's usually per 100g or 100ml. Then all you need is a scale. AND DO KEEP IN MIND YOUR COOKING OILS. Fat is one of the most calorific macronutrients. Meaning that if you put too much oil or fat for cooking, it will add to your calories. Try spraying your oil in the pan. Or using an alternative cooking method, like using an air fryer. (Do keep in mind to avoid plastic air fryers. A while back, there was a scandal regarding certain plastic air fryers. Apparently, they would chip away plastic, and it would get in your food. Or something along those lines. Not sure if it's true, but do your own research. Your health should always be your number one priority - unless you have a kid. Then your kids' health is the number one priority.)
Lastly, 7 700 calories of a deficit is going to be 1kg of fat lost. (Or around 2.2 pounds)
I know it's tempting, but don't try to lose more than 1kg (or 2 pounds) a week. It's not healthy, and you should prioritise your health above all else.
We have a plan. Now all we need is a proper diet with enough micronutrients and macronutrients, and let's go! You can use ChatGPT or a similar AI to get the need for microneutrients, minerals, and macronutrients for you specifically, or even ask for a meal plan.
Or you can talk to your nutritionist for him/her to prepare a plan for you. A specialist is better because they have worked with many people, so they will help you find the best way to reach the results that you want and make it healthy. Plus, a specialist knows all the common pitfalls that AI will not consult you about. So if you have the possibility, my recommendation is to a professional help.
In my case, I do not have any help, and I will try to do it with my own knowledge. This goes without saying that I'm no professional and take everything in this blog with a pinch of salt!
Lastly, once we have the meal plan prepared, we need to prepare a workout plan to burn more calories!
Key things to note about workouts:
Workouts have too many benefits to list here, and you should definitely work out. However, if you keep your calories low, you will not have enough energy for your workouts. You will feel tired and sluggish. So that is something to keep in mind.
The second thing to note is that workouts don't burn that many calories on average. Depending on the workout and the intensity, it can be anywhere between 200 and 800 calories per hour. What we want to hit is 800 calories, but for most people, that is an unrealistic calorie burn to reach. Also, not sustainable. I think that 800 calories can be burned by intensive jumping rope for an hour. The thing is, you will get tired way before you actually burn those 800 calories. Or you will slow down and burn less.
Another thing to consider is that your body adapts if you do something for prolonged periods of time. Like if you run every day, at first you will burn a lot of calories. But if you do this every day, your body will burn fewer calories as it becomes more efficient at running. Still a good way to burn calories, just we don't want to chase huge burns because it's not sustainable in the long term.
The best way I think to lose fat is in short bursts. I would suggest walking or standing. These don't require a lot of effort. They are quite consistent in terms of calorie burn. AND they are very easy to start with since it doesn't matter how tired you are or how lazy you are, standing or taking a short walk is easy for everyone.
You can find a calculator for walking and standing on the internet. What's important for this challenge is that with my weight and height and with a moderate stride, walking for 30 minutes should burn about 150-200 calories. Standing for an hour should burn about 150 calories.
The way I lost those 30kg is by walking every day 20,000 steps. I would go out early in the morning, then again during lunch. Then, after I got back from work, and again before going to bed. This time I won't have the time to do it, but I have a standing desk at work, and I will stand as long as I can.
We need some deadlines for the challenge. The start will be 06 / 23. Since the goal is to lose 10kg, let's say it will take me 10 weeks.
So the deadline is: 2025 / 08 / 31 (Kinda of a shame that the summer will end by that time, but oh well)