Developing a New Regimen

I didn't do it on purpose. I mean, I was thrilled to learn that I'd lost 10 lbs after my first six months of karate, but I hadn't exactly done it intentionally. I was just doing karate - albeit pretty vigorously. But now that it happened, I admit I'm fairly motivated to keep going with it. I don't know that I'm feeling committed, exactly, but I'm going to take a stab at it and see if I can keep losing weight and getting back into shape.

If I were truly committed, I'd step it up - I'd exercise at home as well as at the dojo. I'm not going to do that - I just know I won't stick with it, at least not right now. It's possible that losing another 10 lbs might ramp up my activity level a bit, but I'm not there yet.

I do have a new regimen, though. I've come up with a reliable way to, hopefully, keep on the right track. It all comes down to calories, after all.

My wife broke my heart once. Not on purpose, she just brought me down to Earth. You see, I figured that a really intense workout probably burned hundreds and hundreds of calories - enough to offset a significant amount of intake. Sadly, 15 minutes of vigorous exercise only burns around 150 calories. I was lucky to be working off 450 calories per workout. Nothing to sneeze at, of course, and obviously enough to have a positive impact, but it's not going to get me back to my "fighting weight" anytime soon.

I did track calories at one point around a two years ago. I kept a journal for about a month - long enough to see that my intake was pretty consistently around 2,000 calories per day. I wasn't getting any heavier - and hadn't gained weight in about ten years - but I wouldn't lose weight on my normal diet unless I started to work out. Working out is clearly helping, but I want to up the pace. Luckily, I've found a new attitude that ought to help.

You see, I don't like to eat dinner before karate. I get so exhausted during class that I sometimes feel I might throw up if I have anything in my stomach. But after karate, I find I'm really not all that hungry. I can easily get by with a cup of yogurt. So that's what I do. On Mondays when I have my Writer's Roundtable, then on Tuesday and Thursday when I have karate, I just don't eat dinner. Occasionally I break down and have a not-terribly-healthy snack in addition to my yogurt, but I still come out way ahead calorie-wise.

So I'm going to keep going with this plan - exercise at karate three days a week, plus three skipped meals, ought to equal less Mike to love. If I get under 200 lbs (which would mean I'd already lost 25 lbs), I'll think about becoming truly committed. Right now, I don't want to drive myself too crazy to the point where I rebel. I'm funny like that. Wish me luck!