Easy Ways to Lose Weight for BJJ

Maintaining a healthy weight is a growing concern in today's society.  The more life continues the move along at a breakneck pace, the harder it can seem to avoid the thousands of convenient, but unhealthy diet choices available right at our fingertips everyday.

A healthy weight is all the more important on the mats.  Being overweight, besides being a general and severe health concern outside of the academy, can also impede your jiu jitsu progress.  When you are overweight, it is harder to train because often times you will have less stamina.  In most cases, being overweight can also hamper the execution of your techniques.  There may even be certain techniques that you will have to avoid altogether because of your weight.

The sooner you recognize that getting yourself into better shape will not only prolong your life on the mats and life in general, it will also make your jiu jitsu journey much more enjoyable, the better.  You will be able to train longer, recover better, and probably open your game to more and more creative techniques.

Here are some very simple things you can do TODAY to begin getting into the best shape of your life:

Weigh Yourself

It is crucial to know where you are starting to be able to set goals and monitor your progress towards that goal.  By having a target in mind and weighing yourself frequently, you will be able to make adjustments when you are not moving in the right direction.  There are many so-called experts out there, who argue that the scale is not a good tool to gauge health and fitness success, but it should not be excluded completely and gives very quick and easy feedback each day, that cannot be ignored.

Drink More Water

If you train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it is absolutely crucial that you get your water consumption up to around a gallon of water a day, at least.  By increasing your water consumption, you will be better hydrated and better able to perform on the mats.  From a nutritional standpoint, the water will also effectively flush toxins out of your body, while sparking your metabolism to constantly be active and burning, which is crucial for achieving a healthy weight.

Minimize Quick Burning Carbs

It is important to find the proper balance of macronutrients that works for you.  There are so many nutritional approaches out there that have you completely ignoring or swearing off of things like carbs.  Carbs in and of themselves are not bad, but there are types of carbs that are better.  Slow burning carbohydrates like sweet potatoes are much better for us than quick burning processed carbs like breads and pastries.  By all means, include slow burning carbs in your diet for energy and to replenish your muscles after workouts, but know that processed carbs are more likely to end up around your waist if you tend to over indulge.

Weight Train

One of the best things you can do to complement your jiu jitsu training is to add short, intense weight training sessions to your weekly schedule.  By pushing and pulling heavy weights for relatively lower reps (6-10), you will not only strengthen the muscles you use in BJJ, you will also encourage metabolic change in your body that will burn calories long after your workout.

Keep Changes Simple

Most diet and fitness plans fail because as human beings, we tend to over analyze and over complicate things.  By keeping things as simple as possible and making changes that do not completely rewrite the script of our daily routine, we are more likely to be able to stick with and see positive results from them.

By adding these simple changes into your routine TODAY, you can get yourself quickly on the road to the best shape and best BJJ performance of your life!

For more information on how to apply simple and effective nutritional and exercise principles to your BJJ training regimen to help regulate your weight, check out ADCC, UFC and Bellator veteran Tom DeBlass' new comprehensive diet and exercise instructional series, "Ripped in 12 Weeks" available here!