Lazy American

Doing Life Better With The Time You Have

Operation 190

Or, How I am going to go from 220 to 190 pounds in 5 months.

Well actually losing 30 pounds is not the goal, just something to make the post look more exciting. Most people have a weight loss goal which honestly is stupid and never works. For me one of the perks of my main goal, which I’ll get to below, is the weight loss, but more importantly the body fat percentage decrease which will create the weight loss. But even that is not the objective.

Losing weight should never be a goal for anyone. Losing weight doesn’t work for a goal because it isn’t fun. Plus it isn’t easily measurable or attainable. But we won’t get into that in this post.

My Goal

My goal is actually to run a Tough Mudder in September. This isn’t that hard of a goal. Many people can do it in probably worse shape than I am already in, but I plan on running at top speed. I’m definitely not a fast runner by any stretch but I am hoping to finish in around 2 to 2 and a half hours depending on if I get stuck behind people or something else slows me up.

Still maybe not an impressive goal for some people. I’ve never been much of a runner and haven’t been in the greatest shape for the last six years or so. This will be just one step in a larger process of getting in excellent shape and improving my overall health, which I’ll probably get into in a later post.

Aside from needing to be in great shape for the event my current body weight is really going to slow me down. I’ve been lifting weights pretty seriously for almost a year now without really checking what I eat. So its time to drop down to 190. Make running easier and getting over obstacles and doing pull-ups a whole lot easier.

The Process

How to lose 30 pounds in five months.

My goal isn’t losing weight but the amount of fat I’ll lose from training should equal about one pound per week over twenty weeks and bring my body fat percent down below 10%, which is what I’ll be measuring.

I’ll only going to weigh in every month or two because my body weight fluctuates as much as five pounds over the course of a day. Body weight just doesn’t give a reliable measurement of progress in the short term and only helps to get people frustrated.

This is a long term plan with measurable short term-ish goals.

Stages to Break Plateaus

I’ve been at the losing weight getting in shape game long enough to know I can only lose about 10 pounds before hitting a major plataue. So this workout is broken down into stages. I start off somewhat easy. As my progress slows I move on to the next stage. Hopefully breaking out of the plateau and keeping at it until the next one. Where I hit the next step.

I’ve created five steps, each a little harder, with more sacrifices. Hopefully I don’t get there but if I need to, I’ll add a sixth.

I will stay on a given step until I stop seeing progress. If I don’t see progress for two weeks I move to the next step. Each step adds a little bit more improved diet and or excersice. 

Step One:



Bootcamp - 50 minutes, 4 days a week.

Weight Lifting - 30 minutes, 5 days a week.

Diet - Whatever I feel like eating.

Technically this should be Step 0, since I’ve been doing it for six weeks now and dropped 15 pounds bring me now to 220 and plateaued there.

Step Two:

Starting Monday, May 20

Bootcamp - 50 minutes, 4 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Weight Lifting - 30 minutes, 5 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Diet - Some big changes here:

  • Drink 1 gallon of water per day - I’ve always had a hydration problem and drink too much beer
  • Can no longer eat: fast food, candy, ice cream, other sweats
  • Can only drink water, alcohol and tea
Step Three:


Bootcamp - 50 minutes, 4 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Weight Lifting - 30 minutes, 5 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Run - 8 miles a week

Diet - More changes here:

  • Drink 1 gallon of water per day - I’ve always had a hydration problem and drink too much beer
  • Can no longer eat: fast food, candy, ice cream, other sweats
  • Can only drink water, alcohol and tea
  • Eat breakfast (I never wake up early enough to do it normally)
  • Eat 2 pieces of fruit a day (I don’t like fruit)
Step Four:

Actually a smaller step here. An increase in the amount of running I need to do. The main change is eating six meals a day. Which means I need to prepare meals in advance to eat at work.

Bootcamp - 50 minutes, 4 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Weight Lifting - 30 minutes, 5 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Run - 14 miles a week

Diet - More changes here:

  • Drink 1 gallon of water per day - I’ve always had a hydration problem and drink too much beer
  • Can no longer eat: fast food, candy, ice cream, other sweats
  • Can only drink water, alcohol and tea
  • Eat breakfast (I never wake up early enough to do it normally)
  • Eat 2 pieces of fruit a day (I don’t like fruit)
  • Eat 6 meals a day.
Step Five:

Bootcamp - 50 minutes, 4 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Weight Lifting - 30 minutes, 5 days a week. (Same as Step 1)

Run - 20 miles a week

Diet - More changes here:

  • Drink 1 gallon of water per day - I’ve always had a hydration problem and drink too much beer
  • Can no longer eat: fast food, candy, ice cream, other sweats
  • Can only drink water, alcohol and tea
  • Eat breakfast (I never wake up early enough to do it normally)
  • Eat 2 pieces of fruit a day (I don’t like fruit)
  • Eat 6 meals a day.


So that is the plan so far. I’m in Step 2 right now. Hopefully, things work out.