A Heart Rate Monitor Weight Loss Success Story: 112 pounds in 17 months

Michel Jasic of Montreal is a walking (and running) example of how a heart rate monitor can help you lose weight. He lost 112 pounds over 17 months using a heart rate training method, and has maintained his lower weight for more than a year and a half.

“My physician gave me a serious warning because I was severely obese and started having some troubles. I was really scared of the possible consequences. When I came home, I explained to my family what the doctor told me and decided to do something that same day. I believe it was the best decision of my life,” he says.

Michel changed his eating habits with the help of a nutritionist, and read Internet articles to learn how to exercise and use a pedometer. About two months after he started his exercise program of brisk walking, he read the Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook by Sally Edwards. “I decided to try it. And I cannot live without my heart rate monitor any more,” he notes.

Using a simple Excel file, Michel began to record his daily weight, an average maximum and minimum heart rate, number of calories burned, exercise time and approximate distance. “It was quite simple, but it motivated me a lot. When I saw that I had walked a few minutes more or a few dozens of steps further than several days or weeks ago, and that my heart rate was the same or lower for the same effort, I knew that I was becoming fitter,” he explains. “I walked in the second or third zone, so I burned more calories from fat. My heart rate monitor was my greatest motivator because I was able to see the progress in my fitness and weight loss.”

As he trimmed down, Michel started to run and decided to compete for fun and to see how his fitness level compared to others. His heart rate monitor continued to play an important role in workouts, as he alternated between “quality days” of intervals, repetition and threshold and “recuperation” days of running in lower heart rate zones. “Sometimes I can eat a little bit more chocolate or cakes. I know that I am able to burn all the calories I eat and that it will come from fat,” he says. “Without my heart rate monitor, I wouldn’t be able to control the effort.”

For those considering using a heart rate monitor for weight loss training, Michel emphasizes that the expression “no pain, no gain” is not true! “One really doesn’t have to suffer to succeed,” he says. “One can exercise too much and suffer without any weight changes. But not enough effort means not enough calories burned. Nothing can replace a heart rate monitor.”

Recently, Michel used his heart rate monitor to climb his company’s 25-floor tower a total of 13 times in less than two hours as part of a fundraising event for the Heart Diseases Association. He kept a steady rhythm at 82 percent of his maximum heart rate to climb 325 floors. Michel’s previous record was three times, or 75 floors, two years ago. “I knew I could do like this for hours,” he notes. “I didn’t have any trouble to breathe normally.”

To learn more about Michel’s heart rate training and weight loss program, visit his blog in English or French. And click here to shop for NuMetrex Heart Rate Monitors.