Weight-loss strategy

The idea: Lose as much body-fat as possible, as soon as possible, and replace that with muscle mass.

As our guru, Jason Hough, once told me, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), enabling your body to burn more calories per day. Which makes a lot of sense, if you think about it: When I was a teen, I could eat pretty much anything I wanted because I was so active and had a much higher percentage of muscle mass. As you get older, and less active, your body-fat increases and muscle mass decreases. I really don’t want to eat less, rather, I want to get my body back into calorie-devouring shape. I want to boost my own metabolism.

The method: Stage 1) 3-day fast/detox. Stage 2) Muscle-time!

The 3-day fast/detox has two main benefits: 1) cleanse/flush my system from all the junk I’ve been consuming, and 2) *hopefully* accelerate initial weight-loss. Because true fasting can have a pretty radical effect on one’s body I’m trying to do it as sensibly as possible. For three days my diet will consist solely of: a single bowl of Kellogg’s All Bran Extra Fiber, 2 soft-boiled eggs, a LOT of water, green tea and cranberry juice. Thereafter, I simply plan on eating healthier foods, in smaller portions for the remaining 24 days. I’ll try to eat 6 smaller meals throughout the day, focusing on some of the renowned muscle building foods. My wife has always cooked healthy and delicious meals, so for dinner, I’ll eat the way we usually do, just earlier at night and, again, in smaller portions. Hopefully, this eating plan in conjunction with an intensified training program will help me achieve my goal.

Now, I’m off for a run!

Weapon of Mass Reduction #1

Green Tea

There is a long list of excellent reasons to compliment your healthy diet with green tea; besides, it’s delicious! But how exactly does it promote weight-loss?

Well, green tea has been proven to activate the body’s thermogenic fat-burning activity. In simple terms, it stimulates the body to “heat up” and process fat cells. The active ingredient in green tea is catechin. Catechins help elevate the body’s primary fat-burning hormone, norepinephrine, which, in turn, speeds up weight loss! Awesome. Add to that the fact that green tea contains a respectable amount of caffeine – the last of the legal performance enhancers – and the result is one deadly weapon of mass reduction! And just when you think it couldn’t get any better than that, according to the British Journal of Nutrition, the interaction between the catechins (in particular EGCG) and the caffeine actually increases your resting metabolic rate. So the more green tea you drink, the more efficient your body will become at burning fat even when at rest.

I can recommend Twinings of London’s Pure & Natural Green Tea. Hint: if weight-loss is your goal, be sure to avoid the decaffeinated green tea or else you won’t get the full benefits of the reaction between the caffeine and the catechins! Method: bring water (almost) to boil, and pour over tea bag. Allow to steep for 1-2 minutes and enjoy!

Some people even take theirs cold… freaks!

Day 1

Well, the situation is worse than I realised, but I made a great start!

To find the time to train effectively was always gonna be tough. But this morning I got up at 5:45 AM and just like that, I added 2 hours to my day! The first 15 minutes were a nightmare but I managed to dress and get downstairs. I watched a little Sports Center and did some low intensity resistance training with 2x 10lbs dumbbells and some pretty pathetic push-ups. Using my body weight as the resistance proved to be very tough. In the last few years my muscle-mass has diminished and in its place is, clearly, fat. I could really only squeeze out 15 push-ups per set. My body feels thick and slow. I’m so glad I’m finally doing this!

A key weight-loss tip direct from personal trainer/wellness guru Jason Hough: always do the resistance training first and then the cardio: “It is vital that you do resistance training because it burns more fat! After that do 20 minutes of high intensity cardio training. Not before. You will burn far more calories.” This guy knows what he’s talking about!

Now it was time for the cardio so I put on the ol’ trainers and hit the streets. This is the rule: iPod on and count-down timer set to 20 mins. For that 20 minutes you run (or walk, stumble, crawl) AWAY from your house, and only when the alarm sounds are you allowed to run back. In the past, I often found myself running a short circuit as hard as I could and getting home only to find that I’d only been out for 25 mins! I don’t think that’s gonna help me achieve this goal. So I kept running until that stupid alarm buzzed. It felt like forever! I was half-way to Boston when the sodding thing eventually sounded. Again, my body felt heavy, slow, unresponsive. I felt embarrassed. But I made it. Another 20 mins later, I got home and then I did something I never do.

I sat outside, on the public bench overlooking the Passaic and into Newark, and just breathed in the morning. It was quiet and still and honestly, quite beautiful; a very peaceful moment.

I can’t even compare this method of starting ones day to that of waking up at 8:30 and rushing to get to work. This just makes so much more sense. Still, it remains to be seen how it will affect the rest of my Monday.

But so far, SO good!

The 1st: 24 pounds in 27 days

My 1st challenge starts on Monday the 9th of June: Lose 24 pounds in 27 days. Or, for the rest of planet earth rocking the metric system, 11 kilograms in 27 days. Right now, I weigh 189 pounds. I’m not fat, but I am overweight.

Still, I’m a pretty active guy. I love playing all and every sport, with a special penchant for soccer. But since I left university, 5 years ago, I’ve put on about 22 pounds. I’m only 5′11″ (1.8m) tall, so weighing 189 pounds earns me a BMI of 26.4 – significantly higher than the “Normal weight” range of 18.5-24.9.

My Pops always used to tell me that he was in the best shape of his life, in his early 30s. I just get the feeling that if I keep going in this direction, I won’t be able to make the same claim to my kids one day. I just want to stay fit and healthy – I’m a firm believer in the “healthy body, healthy mind” principle – and I know close friends, who’s lives are just as busy as mine, who’ve managed to keep in great shape.

The difference between them and me: discipline.

So I’m going to prove to myself that with a little commitment and a bit of old fashioned hard work, I can turn back time and get myself back into the shape I keep telling myself I’ll get into “some day”. 

My goal weight is 165 pounds (74 kilograms). So in 27 days, I’ll be a lighter, faster, stronger, fitter, happier me.

And who knows, maybe I’ll be better able to hold my own on the Harrison public soccer field!