Dug up my old Excel files for a general meal plan that I drew up for numerous daily calorie totals.

How bad would it be for someone who is out of shape (let's say 20% body fat to be a fair estimate) to eat the recommended total of 20 calories per pound? Would it be better to go lower on the calories, or increase activity levels (hockey once a week, disc golf once a week, work out 3 times per week) and eat 3,600 a day?

I'd probably lose weight first if I was you. I'd lower calories and increase activity levels. You get what you put in.

3,000 calories?

Should I just work out and exercise for a while without the dieting?

I am currently 174 pounds, I haven't been under 180 in like 3 years.

yes, instead of a complicated meal plan you never will be able to stick to just exercise and make smart food choices

that's all it takes

I'd go with what Dustin said, I know you've tried before and got tired of it and stopped. Probably because you are doing a "real" diet and all that. When I first started I just ate smart and worked hard. Do that for a while then when you get more serious you can follow a strict diet.

Also your # of calories depends on a lot of things, hard to say w/o knowing all the variables.

Word. Just going to go with the "logical diet" and improve my rate of exercise. Hopefully I don't bitch out this time.

And by "logical diet", no empty calories like soda, junk food, beers, etc. Will try to keep portions a bit better.

Anyway, I'll post back if I lose any more weight in a few weeks.

lmk if you got any questions

Basically just going to do something physical for 20-30 minutes for a few weeks and go from there.

Just need to get into the habit of doing SOMETHING regardless of what it is.

skim milk+lean meats+leafy green veggies

whole milk or gtfo

yerp, not a big fan of skim milk though (or milk that much altogether - unless it is the ice cream version or in a protein shake)

This post has been edited by MoS. on Wed - May 11 2011 - 23:00:39

whole milk is actually really high in fat, i wouldn't drink it unless you are really trying to gain weight