Weighing in

I'm 41-years old, 5'11", 195-200lbs, with 24% Body Fat. The archaic BMI rates me at 27.6 which is halfway into Overweight, and I'd agree with that. I am over weight, I do have a "spare tyre", and could definitely stand to lose a few pounds. However, based on the archaic BMI the medical recommended weight for my height is 135-180 pounds. This is why I'm not a huge fan of the BMI, because it puts that upper limit of my 'normal' weight at 180 pounds. That's what I weighed in High School when I was very active & fit (marathon fit), and when I look at some of those photos from that time I didn't look trim & athletic, I looked thin.

If I get down to the middle-of-the-road BMI 'Normal' weight for my height, being 155-160 lbs, people would be talking behind my back and asking Liz "Is John okay?".

If I got down to ~170 I'd be a lot healthier, and a lot happier, but people would probably still be wondering if I was okay.

According to this rather excellent site (although I say that without any knowledge of how accurate it is) based on a desired goal to go from 24% Body Fat to 15% Body Fat (see what I did there? I'm not concentrating on weight loss, but a reduction in my body fat %) I need to lose ~25 pounds.

If I start working out I will shed fat, but I'll also add muscle, so I might hit my target of 15% Body Fat but will still weigh in at ~180 pounds. According to the BMI that's borderline overweight, and yet I'd actually have a very healthy Body Fat %

So, what can I do to accomplish my goal of lowering my body fat percentage by 10 points?

My daily commute (being a bus ride) sees me walking approximately a total of 1 mile to & from Home to Bus Stop to work, & back. Hardly strenuous.

At Liz's urging I've recently taken to doing Sit-Ups and while the first night was a fight to get my torso up off the floor the second night was easier, the third night I did 2 sets of 10, and last night I cranked out 20 Sit-Ups in one hit. Sit-Ups alone won't do much more than strengthen and tone up my abs & lower back (I'm doing the twisting, elbow-to-opposite-knee crunches) but it's a start.

If I throw Push-Ups into the mix that will help but I'll still need to do more than that.

I need to start doing the Wii-Fit's Expert Boxing Routine again - at least two 10-minute Reps each night - plus run a mile or two at least 3-4 nights a week. Unfortunately I picked a bad time to start running again as within a matter of weeks Daylight Saving Time will end and it will be dark by the time I get home. However, a quick check at Google Maps has revealed that one lap around our home block is ~1 mile. This is useful to know because it means I can run/walk/jog/hobble one mile without crossing any roads, and if I want to do two miles I just do two laps, and so on.

What about 3 miles? When I take the dog for her walk down by the river that's usually at least a 3-mile trip. I'm not saying I'm going to run 3 miles straight off the cuff, but the option to do that is there, and I did do that a couple of times a month or two back when I went out with my daughter. She rode her scooter and I ran, and walked, and she got ahead of me and I needed to run again. It took us a little over 30 minutes for the trip and she was starting to complain that her leg was sore (from all the scooting), but we got there in the end.

That's what I need to start doing again if I want to get rid of this spare tyre. And if I notice people are starting to give me concerned looks or are talking about me behind my back...that will be a good thing ;)