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.<p>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 to the uncertainty and mental challenges of a startup.
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.<p>Nice work Ryan.
I think its great that you accomplished this, and I guess seeing as its hit the front page of HN you may inspire a few tech folk to believe they can too. But I still find nothing new to take from this that you can't find on just about any Paleo, low carb, excercise site (i.e Mark's Daily Apple).<p>You changed to Paleo. You worked out 3 times a week. You took some supplements. You saw some results. You did this with a day job (albeit 4 day a week job) and a family.<p>What new obstacle did you overcome ? what breakthrough did you achieve ?<p>I think your achievement is commendable, just not sure what its doing on the front page of HN.
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.<p>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.<p><a href="http://1upfit.com" rel="nofollow">http://1upfit.com</a> 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.)<p>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.
I signed up for a marathon right before founding a startup last summer. Having a training plan and something to train for was great because it forced me to stop working and exercise on a routine basis. The running itself was great stress relief, gave me "big picture" think time and actually made me more productive when I worked.
This is inspiring Ryan. I was specifically looking for examples of busy dads that have successfully launched their own business when I came across your post. Too bad you're in the UK, I'd love to take you out for a pint.
Very inspiring story of losing 10% body fat - gaining muscle and losing fat. I've read elsewhere of this 3-day per week workout plan focusing on muscle mass. It seems like it gets great results. Also, working with a personal trainer makes a lot of sense.<p>The only thing I'm skeptical about is all the meat in your diet. If you watch Forks Over Knives and read the China Study, it talks about meat and animal products directly leading to the growth of cancer cells. Have you heard about that and what's your take?
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?<p>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.
<i>> All day: Three litres of water, two coffees (with soy milk)</i><p>Some research has shown that soy decreases testosterone in men. It does not seem to be a decided question, though a nutritional epidemiologist I trust believes it is. You might replace with rice milk to be on the safe side.
Congrats on the change! I'm on the middle of something similar myself. One question: you say your work out sessions were 60 minutes and for Tuesday you write "Tuesday - Shoulders: Military press, side-arm raises". You did only that for 60 minutes? How many series and reps?
Is there really no other way than going Paelo? As a former vegetarian, I find that hard to stomach.<p>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...
Shame you didn't talk more about your diet in the regards that what you actually did was cut out all the carbohydrates! This to me would appear to be the #1 reason to your success, a low carb diet.