How I Gained 20+ Pounds in Banking...and Lost It All

Saw a post earlier about getting uglier in IB and thought I'd share my own story as an ex-IB analyst / current PE associate who put on close to 25 pounds in banking and ultimately lost it all, put on some muscle in the process, and now generally follow a consistent fitness plan. Would caveat upfront that I am by no means an expert on working out or nutrition or any of this stuff but hopefully some of this can be helpful as people think about putting together a framework / plan that fits their life.

For context, I worked in banking during the crazy deal environment of COVID / 2021 in a group that saw a lot of dealflow (stretches of 9 to 2-4am weren't uncommon). When I started, I actually was losing weight probably through a combination of undereating and stress. But around 6 months in, I started noticing that my face looked puffier, my clothes weren't fitting as well, etc. By about 18 months in, I was 20-25 pounds heavier than I had been when I started. Was pretty upset about this, as I'd always been the tall, lanky guy who had trouble putting on weight and had a crazy metabolism. Played sports through high school and stayed active in college (things like intramurals) and while I probably never committed to the gym for more than ~3 months at a time so didn't really have a great build, at least I wasn't overweight by any stretch and was overall happy with the way I looked and felt.

A bunch of things compounded in banking that changed this. I was eating terribly, I was overeating (wasn't uncommon for me to come home at 2am, stop by the bodega, and binge a whole bag of chips or whatever else before bed, was definitely using eating to cope), didn't exercise (I used a lingering injury as an excuse but still could have gone on runs and eventually the injury got better anyway), would always opt for the late night pizza after a night out on the weekend (calories I definitely didn't need), etc.

At the turn of the year (Jan 2022), I decided to make a change. My overarching plan was simple: create a framework for exercise and nutrition that I could maintain as a banking analyst and continue when I went to PE (knowing that while my hours would probably decrease / market would slow down, I was still going to be in a demanding job). The idea was to figure out a plan that was flexible but also achievable - something where I could be consistent. While there are a lot of great resources online, nothing is really tailored for someone who works 80+ hours a week, wants to go out and have fun with friends on weekends, doesn't have time to cook / orders takeout most nights, etc.

Exercise

I do 3 full body workouts a week. I always go (1) Monday since I can get to bed at a reasonable time on Sunday night (usually even if I'm cranking on Sunday), (2) Wednesday or Thursday, and (3) Friday or Saturday depending on when I went mid-week, as I try to have a rest day in between.

I'm a morning person naturally so almost always go in the morning before work since that feels most efficient. Regarding the tradeoff between exercise and sleep, I've basically told myself that if I can get 6 hours of sleep then I'll go workout. Would rather 6 hours of sleep + working out vs. 7+ hours but have to figure out what works for you. So if it's Tuesday night and I know I have to wake up by 7am the next morning for gym, will do everything in my power to get to bed by 1am. Easier in PE than it was in IB but this was at least the framework I used and still use today. Full body workouts are 45-60 minutes including a 5-7 minute warmup. Focus on compound lifts with a few accessories. I track my lifts through an app to know I'm progressing. Every few months I'll switch up the exercises to keep it interesting but overall try to keep it simple and fun (4-6 exercises per workout). My Day 2 (which I hit on Wednesday or Thursday) is only 4 exercises and I can get it done in 40 minutes including warmup which is strategic because it's mid-week and I know that one is the toughest one to get in. Can drop some more details on the specific plan I'm running right now if people are interested. Other advantage of full body is that if you miss a day or are getting crushed in a week and can only make it once for example, at least you've hit nearly every muscle group compared to if you were running PPL and just hit chest that week.

Nutrition

More important than working out in my opinion. There will be days or weeks where you aren't going to get all three lifts in, it's just the way it is so want to make sure nutrition is dialed in so you can continue to lose weight or maintain (whatever your goals are). Main things here are intermittent fasting (use black coffee to blunt appetite) and then eating a protein heavy lunch, and then a big dinner. This is what works for me and allows me to eat foods I enjoy without overeating because there is only so much you can physically eat in one meal. If I need a snack, I'll have a greek yogurt, fruit, something like that with protein but really focusing on two meals a day. I was loosely tracking calories in the beginning (which was pretty easy given I was almost exclusively eating takeout and all the chains have nutrition info on their website) just to make sure I was eating in a slight calorie deficit. This also was nice because I realized I had calories left over at the end of the night for dinner so could add cheese to my chipotle bowl for example without feeling bad or get a side of chips. Wasn't trying to starve myself but rather just find little things I could do at the margin that could help while still having a plan that I could be consistent around. Keep a rotation of places to order from and specific meals that can look forward to. Some things I like for dinner - chipotle bowls (classic), chick fil a (will get some combo of grilled nuggets and grilled sandwich, no fries), dos toros, panda express (rice, veggies, and teriyaki chicken), sushi (simple tuna and salmon rolls, none of the fancy stuff), naya, dig, cava, sweetgreen salads with double chicken, chopt warm bowls, even some thai curry with double meat isn't that bad, etc. Obviously there are a ton of options but I tend to gravitate towards the chains since I was tracking calories in the beginning of this process and I literally had no sense before what I was eating. Now if I order from somewhere that doesn't post calories I can generally guestimate pretty well

Other

Probably so much more I could add but other random thoughts

• Walk as much as you can
• I got a renpho scale and weigh myself every morning (I look at weekly averages vs. day to day to see if you're going down or meeting your goals)
• Have fun and go out on the weekends but avoid the late night pizza (at least don't do it multiple nights in a row); drinks lots of water at end of night, helps with hangover and makes you less hungry
• Avoid sugary mixers and cocktails 
• I got an apple watch and felt the gamification of closing my rings every day was helpful (but know people have different experiences
• I started making smoothies at home because I have a sweet tooth and I wasn't eating enough fruits or vegetables
• Drinks tons of water
• Catch up on sleep on the weekends

Hopefully people find something here that is helpful. Definitely not an expert by any means and interested to hear what has worked for others. This is a tough lifestyle in a lot of ways and staying healthy is no exception but it's super important. Hopefully by developing a set of guidelines that are achievable and allow you to be consistent, you can meet whatever goals you have. I'm by no means a super yoked dude but feel great and was able to lose weight, put on some muscle, and honestly look the best I have probably ever