Fatburner

My weight loss scheme has a weird rhythm to it.

I was way up around 190 pounds, which made my goal of 175 not all so very ambitious. I did, however, want to get it all done as soon as possible.

I use a handy little app called MyFitnessPal to track my calories. It says that somebody my size needs to consume 2330 calories in order to perfectly maintain weight. It has most food items on its list, and you can input data for those that are not. You can also put in your exercise activities and it will modify things for that as well. Not all of my activities are listed.

It's not as good on the exercise side, so I got myself a heart rate monitor that talks to my iPad. It gives a much more accurate picture of how much energy I burn.

Anyhow, I consider my weight loss week to start on Tuesday. I track my input and keep that as low as seems sensible. I always keep that well under my 2330 calorie level. That, however, is not the effective part of my day. Tuesdays I spend 3 hours doing Jiu-Jitsu. I burn between 1200-1500 calories doing that. Sometimes I run as well.

If you keep in mind that 3500 calories equals a pound of weight loss or gain, you can see why Tuesdays get me results.

Wednesday is exactly the same, except for an hour less of Jiu-Jitsu. Thursday is the same as Tuesday. These three days of the week are the backbone of my losing weight.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are the same with the amount of calories consumed, but not with how much gets burned. I go to Open mat time at Jiu-Jitsu for about an hour on Friday and again on Saturday, but it is not the same. It's usually me working slowly on learning or reviewing technique. There are sometimes spurts of activity, but not for very long. Last night, for example, I sparred for about five minutes each with Rob and with Wan. It's a good burn, but not for long enough.

I try and go for good long runs during this part of my week, but don't always manage to get myself out on the trails. If I do, it's maybe an 800 calorie effort.

I've averaged a bit more than 0.3 pounds lost per day this way overall. That's more than enough for my needs.

Sadly, willpower is always a big part of these things. I should run every single day, and I shouldn't vary from my most disciplined level of food intake. I can't stick to that. Sometimes it's too cold and wet to get myself running, and food temptations are everywhere.

I do what I can, and it seems to work.

At least my way, progress is readily apparent.