My course of action was simple:
1. Reduce the number of calories I consume.
2. Pursue an endurance conditioning program that will helps me burn calories.
3. Pursue a muscle conditioning program that compliments windsurfing.
Reducing the number of calories is simple: just give up the snacks. For me going cold turkey on snacks and junk food seems to work best. It's truely amazing if you ever sit down and figure out how many calories you can consume in a week of sneaking snacks. Just by cutting out a few cookies and crackers I was able to reduce my calorie consumption by over 1000 calories per week.
Merely reducing your caloric intact usually isn't enough to rapidly knock off excess weight. You have to execise regularly, too. I use a stationary bicycle to get a long, low intensity work out of my legs. This really helps to burn the fat. And its something I can do daily. I used to run regularly, but as I let my weight get out of hand it started to put major strain on my knees. Once I get back down to a reasonable tonnage I plan to start running two or three times a week.
The muscle conditioning program that I have found really useful for windsurfing is the Health Rider. It's kind of like a bicycle turned rowing machine. The action works your muscles in one direction and stretches them in the other. You pull in with your arms while you extend your legs and then your reverse the movement. The arm action of the machine is akin to sheeting in and really seems to work well for keeping my arms and back muscles in shape. The best part about it is that I still have my calluses from gripping the handlebars!
Is all this working-out worth it for sailing. As Tony Logosz once said to me about weight and sailing "sure being overweight makes a difference, if you don't believe it put a shotputt on the back of your board and see how fast you can come up on a plane".
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