I just calculated my BMI
this morning and it came out to 27.4 which puts me smack dab in the middle of
overweight according to the guidelines. I currently weigh a 180 pounds at
5’8”and that isn't the most I have weighed. I once hit 196 post knee
surgery and recuperative two month carb fest.
Sadly I am overweight.
Based on the calculations I should weigh 163 pound to squeeze into the normal
category. The last time I weighed that was in college in 1982 and I was in my
twenties. I was playing college hockey and on the ice about two hours a day. I
also weighed in the 160’s in high school. When I weight
lift I usually weigh in the mid 170’s. I am conflicted because I feel
great and looked great at 175 pounds but that still puts me in the overweight
category. I am also ravenously hungry at 175 pounds.
It got me thinking that
maybe 175 pounds was too much for me and I did not have to carry all that extra
muscle and feed that extra muscle and lighten the load on my knees. For every
extra pound you weigh it amounts to an extra leg load of five pounds when
walking, running and hiking. That means 20 pounds is an extra 100 pounds on my
knees. I can do without that. I imagine that most adults could lose about
twenty pounds or more. My personal benefit is that I love to hike and I would
love to save my knees for a few more years.
So I plan on getting to
24.8 BMI in eight weeks. That would require me to go from 180 to 163 and lose
17 pounds. Basically in order to drop my BMI 9% I have to drop my weight 9% and
lose a little over two pounds a week. So here is my strategy:
1. Eliminate
Sugar: This will help me drop the first 10 pounds within two-three weeks.
2. 60
minutes of cardio which I truly hate. To make it more palatable I will ride the
stationary bike if I watch TV and hit the StairMaster while watching
a TED Talk. The Ted Talks are great as they average around 15 minutes.
3. Daily:
Air Squats building up to 150 a day (50 three time a day). 25 Push
ups building up to 100 (25 three times a day). I have to be careful
when I lift weights as I tend to gain muscle mass and stagnate on the weight
loss.
4. Go
low carbs, medium protein and high fat. This provides the greatest satiety and
prevents binging.
5. Reduce
stress with prayer and mindful meditation. Reduce my cortisol and cravings.
6. Get
7-8 hours of sleep. Again reduce cortisol and carb binging.
