My body breaks down as follows:

248 lbs x 0.33 BMI = 81.8 lbs of body fat

248 lbs – 81.8 lbs = 166.2 lbs of bones, muscle, hair and pure awesomeness.

According to the US Department of Health, my ideal body weight is between 168 and 192 lbs, so to reach my personal goal of 190 lbs (185 + the titanium hardware in my leg), I need to lose at least 58 lbs of fat.

Lose It!

I am planning to lose about two and a half pounds of fat each week (23-24 weeks) which requires my calorie count to be between 1900 and 2000 calories each day to reach my goal by the end of 2011. I am using a program called Lose It! to track my food and report it back to myself on a weekly basis. The plus with this app is that it is both available as an iPhone app as well as accessible through their website.

Fat finds its home in two places in the body; first in the visible areas like legs, butt, waist and chest; but also around vital organs inside the core. In fact, most of one’s fat accumulates around organs like the liver and heart which makes it really hard to see. The only way to estimate one’s fat percentage is to use the Body Fat Index or a device that will calculate it automatically. To get rid of fat in both areas I have put together a cardio heavy plan as a PDF document. It does not included any upper body exercises because I want to use the time to do activities that will strengthen my core and legs and burn the fat that has accumulated around my organs.

I am also going to publish my measurements each week. Measurements will be taken at the upper thigh, the thickest part of the thigh; the hips, where the hip bone protrudes; the waist, at the belly button; the chest, at the nipple line; and the upper arm, halfway between the elbow and armpit.

R. Thigh: 27 in

Hips: 45 in

Waist: 48 in

Chest: 46.25 in

R. Arm: 15.5 in

Weight: 248 lbs

Feel free to follow along. I am unsure if I am going to post weekly photos to compare, I am still a little self-conscious about it, but we will see. Maybe.

Tigris Euphrates is my second. Yes he is the meeting of two rivers and marked like an African tiger, but with the spine of a jellyfish. He just sleeps, nothing else, just sleeps.

Then there is Daxius, or Dax for short. She is a beautiful miniature Turkish Van, similar to an Angora, but a bit more rare. Anyway, Dax has the softest, finest black fur. Her tail is as long as she is and when she climbs, and believe me, she climbs everything, it flutters like a pretty little ribbon in the breeze. Dax is my little princess.

So, anyway, we, my cats and I, took some time, opened the curtains in my bedroom that face south and found a nice spot on the floor to stretch out and enjoy the sun, at least until it started snowing, then we just enjoyed playing together. It was a really nice, relaxing weekend. If my life could always be this good… I would be in heaven.