Last summer, I decided to do something about my weight. To put it harshly and accurately, I’d let myself go, gradually gaining a great belly and 20 kilograms over about as many years.
I read Sayonara, Mr. Fatty! about one man’s drastic weight loss and tailored the concept to suit myself. (He didn’t like exercise—I do.) Basically, you count the calories of everything that goes in your mouth. And calculate the number of calories your body needs to maintain its weight (around 3000 per day for me) and set a target below that (2500--I wasn't in any hurry, or looking for dramatic results). Any day I consumed more than 2500 calories, I cycled off (burning 500 per hour) the excess.
It worked. I lost 10 kilograms over 6 months. I stopped counting calories but most of the weight stayed off. Recently, wanting to lose more, I tried eating less and doing more cycling, but nothing happened.
So I’ve gone back to recording calories consumed. One reason it works is that it takes the willpower (always in short supply) out of eating less. Somehow the prospect of writing stuff down in the notebook makes it easy to forego that snack. And when I want pizza and beer I can get ready for it by cycling for a couple of hours.
I’ll let you know how it’s going a few months down the line. And now I'm off for a spot of cycling before dinner.
--Julian
. Read the whole thing 
