Mindful Eating Update – New Priorities

It is now five months since my last mindful eating post so this update is long overdue. Last year I managed to lose 10.4 kg (about 23 pounds) using a meditation technique called mindful eating. In December my weight fell to 74kg (163 pounds). During the last few months it has been up and down, but it has never gone up more than 3kg. I haven’t been as strict as I’d like with the mindfulness techniques, but overall I’m pleased with things. My current weight is 74kg.

I Need to Lose 7kg in Five Weeks

If you have been following my other blog (Middle Aged Muay Thai) you may have heard of my plans to fight next month. I’m now training twice a day at the Muay Thai camp. My fitness has never been higher. Most people have their peak of fitness in their twenties, but I was a physical wreck during these years. I’m having my physical peak now.

I was told last week that in order to be ready to fight in four weeks time I’ll need to lose another 7kg. This sounds like an impossible task, but in reality I only need to get down another 4-5 kg. I just need to be 67kg for the weigh-in. I should be able to sweat off about 3kg of water in the days before the fight. Once the weigh-in is over I can rehydrate. It probably won’t be pleasant, but it seems to be common practice for Muay Thai fighter. Running around in a sweat suit in the tropical heat doesn’t sound like fun, so I want to get my weight down well below 70kg if I can.

Mindful Eating Not Enough

Although I had great success with mindful eating it won’t be enough for this weight loss challenge. My Muay Thai camp sent me to see a sports nutrition expert and he told me exactly what I need to do to lose the weight. It isn’t going to be easy because I need to drop down to about 2,000 calories; even though I’m training Muay Thai for 5-6 hours each day. I’ve also been told to eat a lot more protein and to have a meal every three hours that I’m awake. I’ve been on this regime a week so far and it does seem to be working. Eating more frequently does seem to have quickened my metabolism. So far I’m not really missing those 500 calories.

I’ll see what happens over the next few weeks, but if things go as planned I should have a completely flat stomach going into this fight. The nutrition guy reckoned that I can keep my weight down easily if I stick to the 5 meals a day after the fight.

Don’t forget you can follow my progress over at http://middleagedmuaythai.com/

The Story So Far

Why I Decided to Lose Weight by Mindful Eating
Mindful Eating is Easy – Day 3
The Embarrassing Photo – Day 4
The Ups and Downs of Mindful Eating – One Week In
2 Weeks of Mindful Eating
Three Weeks of Eating Mindfully- Back Below 80kg
One Month of Mindful Eating
Week Five of Mindful Eating – Worries about the Future
Mindful Eating Week Six – the Power of Mindfulness
Mindful Eating Week Nine – Mission Accomplished?