I really love the Laurie Anderson song--that embodies our journey of learning to have a healthy relationship with food and life in general. Overall, you're doing very well, so keep your chin up and keep up the good work!
Talked with Alan Friday after going way off plan, and I'm probably going to take a maintenance break for the rest of this month. Yesterday (Saturday) was actually a really low calorie day but I won't be surprised if the weight keeps going up for a little bit since it did that kind of delayed hike the last time I ate a bunch of stuff.
Pretty much a kidney stone of a week when it comes to the gym. It looks like this week is a textbook example of why consistency in workouts should be a goal for me. On the other hand I got some real work in on sorting out financial records, and hey they wouldn't be goals if I was already doing them.
Daily Progress on Goals Friday 2-20-09
1) AM Weight: 165.6
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: 0 reading today (Current book: Girth Control)
3) Freewriting: 0 minutes (35 minutes this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (155 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: cardio today (1 A/B & 1 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: no (2x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
Daily Progress on Goals Saturday 2-21-09
1) AM Weight: 167.0
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: 0 reading today (Current book: Girth Control)
3) Freewriting: 0 minutes (35 minutes this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (155 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: 0 today (1 A/B & 1 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: no (2x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
Daily Progress on Goals Sunday 2-22-09
1) AM Weight: 166.6
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: 0 reading today (Current book: Girth Control)
3) Freewriting: 0 minutes (35 minutes this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (155 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: 0 today (1 A/B & 1 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: no (2x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
I really love the Laurie Anderson song--that embodies our journey of learning to have a healthy relationship with food and life in general. Overall, you're doing very well, so keep your chin up and keep up the good work!
Thanks Celeste.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
cool... Have you been taking any rest weeks at all to this point?
I'm trying to decide how to answer that. I guess I haven't done a formal rest week before. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays I had a couple days where I just ate what I wanted (intentionally), but those were days not weeks and they definitely weren't maintenance days!
What I'm doing now is just adding in 200-300 extra daily calories over what I had been eating. (I was at about 1327-1487 calories.) So I'm still keeping track of what I eat and there's still a goal, but there's no pressure for the scale to move. (Well reduced pressure, since I still watch it.)
In reality it feels like little junk meals that I don't have to pay for by eliminating other foods to make things balance. I could get way too used to this.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
I had a session with Andrew on Monday (day before yesterday). It felt more like a workout than anything I've done in awhile. It was a weird feeling to have me be the one pushing to make things harder. I may have gotten that more than I wanted as I am sore in all sorts of interesting places today. But it's all good since I'd much rather whine about being a little sore than whine about not being able to really workout.
We upped the difficulty twice on push ups. First (when I asked to make them harder) we moved from doing them off the wall to doing them off a bench, then ("still too easy" says I) to the floor. Oh dear Jesus. I could barely do 9 (hit failure on 10) in the first set. I think we have discovered my new challenge. I hate those things.
Also upped the weight on the one armed row and changed how I was doing squats (no more ball).
Spent a lot of the session working on form and trying stuff out. (Rep#s are pretty random.) Then, after he left I finished up on my own. I really miss weekly sessions.
Not necessarily in this order: pushups: a set off a bench: (10?15? I don't remember)
off the floor: 9 (failure at 10), 7, 5 squat: ball wall squats 15 w/20# DB
squats 15 w/15# DB one armed row: 15 (left 40#, right 45#), 15 @45#, 15@45# flossing (basically a stretch) hip circles on ball one leg lift for count of 10 knee drop w/ball trunk traction w/ball
Daily Progress on Goals Monday 2-23-09
1) AM Weight: 166.8 (maintenance)
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: no reading today (Current book: Girth Control)
3) Freewriting: 0 minutes (0 hour this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (0 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: A today (1 A/B & 0 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: yes (stretched w/trainer) (1x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
Daily Progress on Goals Tuesday 2-24-09
1) AM Weight: 167 (maintenance)
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: no reading today (Current book: Girth Control)
3) Freewriting: 0 minutes (0 hour this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (0 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: 0 today (1 A/B & 0 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: yes (2x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
Think I might find a different format for this daily goal stuff. Maybe move it to a Google spreadsheet thingy like my daily weight.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
I was a pretty big slacker today but after planning to hit the gym in the morning I finally made it there this evening.
I'm still surprisingly sore from the floor pushups on Monday and the oddest things hurt (like doing cat/cow yoga stretches). I tried to psych myself up for the A routine that included pushups, but I just couldn't face them so I did the B routine.
Right now parts of that one is still too easy because I need to go over it with Andrew to up the difficulty as I heal. (We did that on the A routine when I saw him Monday, but it'll be a week and a half till I see him again.)
I think I may need to take a step back to the bench pushups. Oh silly pride that doesn't want to do that. Either that or decide I'm just being a wimp and just push through with the floor ones. I think I'm leaning towards doing the bench ones though.
gym time cat/camel
child's pose
downward dog
cobra
hip flexor lying: 2 second stretch 10 each side
draw-in w/ heel slide: 20 each side
glute max retrain: 5x 30 seconds each side (these are getting easier)
30 minutes of intervals on the elliptical with my heart monitor
bridging: 20 (each for a count of 10)
quadruped knee and op arm circles: 20 each side, clockwise & counter clockwise
clamshells: 20 each side (time to up the difficulty)
band walk: 6 x 15 ft, ie 3 going one way & 3 returning (can we say ouch ouch
ouch? And that's on the yellow "light" band. I clearly need this exercise.)
knee to chest stretches
stretch w/knee pulled towards op shoulder
full length stretch
resting on back with feet resting on ball
foam rolling
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
Daily Progress on Goals Wednesday 2-25-09
1) AM Weight: 165.6 (maintenance)
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: spent some time writing down comments & questions on the protein chapter (Current book: Girth Control)
3) Freewriting: 0 minutes (0 hour this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (0 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: B & cardio today (2 A/B & 1 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: yes (3x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
Daily Progress on Goals Thursday 2-26-09
1) AM Weight: 164.4 (maintenance)
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: no reading today (Current book: Girth Control)
3) Freewriting: 20 minutes (20 minutes this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (0 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: 0 today (2 A/B & 1 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: no (3x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
cat/camel: 5
child's pose
downward dog
cobra
hipflexor stretch (lying): 2 seconds, 10 each side
draw-in w/ heel slide: 20 each side
glute max retrain: 30 sec x 5 each side
rest on back w/feet on chair
foam roll
A routine:
hamstring stretch
stretch w/JC arms (too lazy to lookup real name, just my nickname for it) 2 each side, static
squat: 15#, 3 sets of 15 (need to move up the weight on this once I get more secure about my form, but the DB style I can grip easily w/both hands stop at this weight and the style w/ a higher weight is really awkward.)
After a lot of internal debate I decided to go with the bench push ups. Got to admit I was pissed about that decision but I think it was the right one as they still took effort.
pushups on bench: 12, 15, 15 (I Pushed harder on the next sets after being uncertain on first set)
flossing (a stretch) 10 each side
hip circles (CW & CCW): 20 each way
one leg lift on ball: held for count of 10 x 20 each side (need to up time on this next time)
knee drop w/ball: 5 each way
one arm cable row: 3 sets of 15 @ 45#, 45#, 50# (think I need to lower weight again as my form was suffering)
trunk traction on ball
30 minutes on the elliptical w/heart monitor
5 min warm up (100-120)
6 min 125-145
3 repeats of:1 min 155-170
2 min 135-155
5 min 125-145
5 min cool down (100-120)
I've noticed I'm adapting to the elliptical because a resistance of 7 used to be a sprint for me, now it's sometimes a 13, 14, or even briefly a 15. (I tend to increase resistance more than speed.)
I was pretty frustrated after this gym session because it didn't feel like I had done much, but judging by how my body felt Saturday I had done more than I gave myself credit for. It's just going to take me some time to get back to where I was and to slowly add more things in.
Daily Progress on Goals Friday 2/27/09
1) AM Weight: 164.6 (maintenance)
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: no reading today
3) Freewriting:0 minutes (20 minutes this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (0 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 20 minutes today (20 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: A & cardio today (3 A/B & 2 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: yes (4x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
Daily Progress on Goals Saturday 2-28-09
1) AM Weight: 162.8 (maintenance)
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: no reading today
3) Freewriting: 0 minutes (20 minutes this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 25 minutes editing & reworking old writing (25 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 0 minutes today (20 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: B today (4 A/B & 2 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: yes (5x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
The big thing I experienced eating maintenance calories was that I wasn't hungry most of the time. It felt so luxurious to go to bed feeling full and to not be telling myself "just go to bed. You'll get to eat in the morning." I'm taking that as a hopeful sign of how maintenance might feel down the road.
I'm writing this Sunday morning and it's back to cutting today. Time to dive in!
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
Daily Progress on Goals Sunday 3-1-09
1) AM Weight: 164 (back to the cut)
2) Nutrition/fitness reading: no reading today
3) Freewriting: 30 minutes (50 minutes this week, weekly goal of an hour)
Writing-related stuff: 0 minutes (25 minutes this month, goal of an hour a month)
4) Finances: 120 minutes today (140 minutes this week, weekly goal of 140 minutes)
5) Workout consistency: 0 today (4 A/B & 2 cardio this week, monthly goal of 85%, 100% would be 3 A or B + 2 cardio per week)
6) Stretching/Warmup/Massage/Foam Rolling: no (5x this week, weekly goal of 5x)
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
Welcome to the cut again! I am joining you btw....
Thanks guys.
There's been a bit of a change of plans and I'm backing off from the cut.
I did one day of it fine and then started eating obsessively part way through the next. I started to try to frame a post about it late Monday and all I could say was that it felt like I was learning to drive by crashing the car. Repeatedly. And about the only plus I could see was that I was going to get damn good at extricating myself from burning vehicles.
Of course Alan would probably tell me the car isn't actually on fire, but hey it's my job to be the pessimist and I do it well.
Actually, I did get ahold of him Tuesday evening and his take on it (or at least my version of his take) was that it was all about having once again hit a low (Vermont as Espi would say). He pointed out to me that I haven't been sliding back up, just stalling repeatedly at that point.
I don't think I've been in the 160's since junior high school. I've certainly never been this weight as an adult. And 162-ish seems to be a sort of trigger point for me to stress.
So for right now I'm mosying along for a little bit longer. If I do drop a little that's fine, if I hold steady that's fine.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
so what you need to do then is make it so that you can be 162lbs with 10% bf. LOL!!!
Okay just kidding of course. Good plan to not stress and just chillax around this number for awhile. Very exciting though that you are down to around HS weight.... I think I get your fears. I have them too when I look in the mirror lately. Once you wrap your mind around this new person you are becoming I bet things are easier for you.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
so what you need to do then is make it so that you can be 162lbs with 10% bf. LOL!!!
Silly.
Still the funny thing is I've thought the same thing myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
Okay just kidding of course. Good plan to not stress and just chillax around this number for awhile. Very exciting though that you are down to around HS weight.... I think I get your fears. I have them too when I look in the mirror lately. Once you wrap your mind around this new person you are becoming I bet things are easier for you.
The weird thing is the fears aren't conscious. (Not saying I haven't had any conscious fears about the whole process. You should see/hear some of the emails and phone calls Alan has gotten. But right now I've worked through those.)
Instead I'm fine untill I hit the magic weight where my body freaks. And then I EAT. It's Alan that pointed out that 163-162.8-ish is where my body spazzes. I'd been attributing it to different stresses each time, but I'd say he's right.
So right now I'm still bouncing up and down through the steps of this mini cycle. It feels like being caught in a revolving door. I catch my breath and go "oh, it's over. Everything's quiet now" and then the door slams into me again and drags me round.
I keep telling myself that eventually I'll figure out how to step out of the door. (Or maybe I'll just smash the damn thing.) But for now it keeps alternating between thinking I have it "this time" and complete suckage.
Oh well. On the plus side my financial and writing goals have been rocking. I'm almost caught up with financial stuff (which means I'd just need to stay current, which doesn't take much time a day). And I've been really writing for the first time in years.
Actually I have Alan to thank for getting kick started on the writing. One of his suggestions for handling cravings is to write. (His general suggestion is to dive into something you are passionate about to distract yourself. He suggested writing as a possibility to me because he'd guessed it might be something that would do the trick for me personally.)
It's funny because I had getting back into writing on a long term list of goals but had decided it needed to wait while I focused time and money on fat loss. I guess sometimes things are more intertwined than we think they are.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
Copied and pasted from the Open Challenge thread here's my first month's progress on my challenge goals:
1)Fat loss
I've been bouncing up and down within a small range. (I was at 164.6 on the Feb 1st and March 1st I was 164.0.) Right now I'm taking a maintenance break.
2)Read about exercise and nutrition
I've done pretty close to no reading.
3) Writing
I only hit goal of an hour of freewriting one week and missed my goal of an hour of hour a month of writing-related stuff (like editing, rewriting, sending out submissions, classes/workshops/networking). I did do a vast jump from having stopped writing all together.
freewriting week by week for week 1-4: 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 35 minutes, 50 minutes
writing related for the month: 25 minutes of writing related stuff (editing work)
4)Financial Goal I'm aiming to spend 140 minutes a week (if not caught up) on keeping track of money/spending/bills. Close but not there this month.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
I'm not going to backtrack and put in old workouts. Not that there are many. On Monday I had a session with Andrew at my gym and he added some stuff in to what I was doing so that it more and more resembles an actual workout.
I was sick Thursday overnight and Friday and maybe still had a touch of it this morning. If I only knew what it was that made me sick I'd make a killing selling gullible health food nuts a miracle intestinal "cleanse" product.
On the good news front I'm actually caught up on my financial goal. That means I only need to spend minimum time on it to keep up and I can put the time back into other stuff.
I also made it to the gym and did:
hamstring stretch
stretch w/JC arms (no, not it's real name)
squat: 3 sets of 15 w/15# single DB
(need to go to a higher weight on this, but Andrew had me using this weight because the 15# DB is the highest weight in the style that's easier for me to hold. Going to have to move to a more awkward one or figure out another option.)
flossing (a stretch)
hip circles: 20 clockwise, 20 counterclockwise
one leg lift on ball: 15 each side held for a count of 10
knee drop w/ball: 5 each side
one arm cable row: 40#, 3 sets of 12 each side
taps (w/Reebok step): 2 sets of 15 on each side
DB press on ball: 3 sets of 15 w/ 8# DBs
DB triceps ball swim: 3 sets of 15 w/ 5# DBs
kneeling reverse chop: 3 sets of 15 on each side w/ 6# med ball
trunk traction on ball
Then I did 25 minutes on the ARC with my heart monitor.
It was mostly a lower intensity routine but included 3 sprints.
and later in the day:
cat/camel x5
child's pose
downward dog
cobra
hipflexor stretch: 10 each side held 2 sec
draw-in w/heel slide: 20 each side
glute max retrain: 5 each side held 45 seconds
rest on back w/feet on chair
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
gym time started with some stretchiness:
cat/camel x5
child's pose
downward dog
cobra
hipflexor stretch: 10 each side held 2 sec
draw-in w/heel slide: 20 each side
glute max retrain: 5 each side held 45 seconds
(briefly tried doing both legs at once but there was no way!)
hamstring stretch
stretch w/JC arms (no, not it's real name)
squat: 3 sets of 15 w/15# single DB
flossing (a stretch)
hip circles: 20 clockwise, 20 counterclockwise
one leg lift on ball: 20 each side held for a count of 10
knee drop w/ball: 5 each side
one arm cable row: 40#, 3 sets of 12 each side
taps (w/Reebok step): 3 sets of 15 on each side
DB press on ball: 1 sets of 15 w/ 8# DBs, 2 sets of 12 w/ 10# DBs
DB triceps ball swim: 2 sets of 15 w/ 5# DBs, 1 set of 12 with 8#
kneeling reverse chop: 3 sets of 15 on each side w/ 6# med ball
trunk traction on ball
Then I did 30 minutes on the ARC with my heart monitor. Lately the elliptical has been hurting my hip (maybe because I'd worked up to a resistance that's about twice what I started with?) and it was really nice to have no pain while doing sprints tonight.
5 min warm up (100-120)
3 min at 135-155
repeat 5 times:
- 1 min sprint at 155-170
- 2 min at 135-155
1 min: one last sprint at 155-170
6 min cool down (100-120)
Then when I got home I ate, then rested on my back w/feet up on a chair.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
I've been chewing on a recent conversation with Alan. I'd mentioned that I wasn't "aiming for the cover of Oxygen" and Alan suggested to me that I might be closer to my desired weight than I realize. We talked about the numbers and I spent some time thinking about it. Anyhow I realized that my stated goal of 130 pounds is probably lower than I actually want to go.
Thinking about where I'd started thinking of 130 as my goal, I realized I'd been pretty heavily influenced by the BMI charts. The BMI chart insists that from 97 pounds up to almost 128 pounds would be a normal weight for my height and that 130 would be edging into the overweight category.
However, last June the gym's bio impedance gadget (InBody230) measured my lean mass at 116.8 pounds. That means that (if I haven't lost lean body mass) 130 pounds would be 10% body fat for me. So apparently the BMI considers 10% body fat to be "overweight" for me?! Ummm, yeah.
I'm still absorbing this.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
Thanks. I feel like I'm getting back in the swing of things.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
jennifer! I just spent some time getting caught up in your log. thank you so much for documenting your thoughts so eloquently. I learn a lot about myself when I read your words.
I really love the inbody 320. it was very accurate for me during my latest downswing and so far, has been right on for my husband as well.
bravo to you for deciding your own healthy weight with the help of your professional team. the running books say that my ideal running weight is 120. HA!! I am currently maintaining at 150. my avatar was taken when I was 150. I simply don't see 30 extra pounds on me, and I refuse to buy into some arbitrary measure of ideal running weight.
my weight right now is my ideal living weight--it is a weight where I eat plenty of nutritious, yummy foods, along with enough recreational non-nutritious foods. this weight enables me to bound up stairs two at a time whenever I want, to disassemble a bed and carry it down the stairs and out to the shed without help. at this weight, I am certainly at much lower risk of obesity-related diseases compared to 80 pounds heavier.
I would get rescanned by the inbody and figure out how much of your lean you maintained during this last bout of aggressive fat loss. I find that the "ideal weight" calculation on the inbody is very close to what would be optimal for me. my last scan calculated 145. I think this is very accurate, that would put me at about 23% body fat. for now though, I am not willing to be in a deficit since my training is really cranking up to prepare for marathon season.
you are doing a fantastic job!!! think about where you have come from, and look at your pictures at your highest weight ever. you may lose an occassional battle, but girl, you are winning the war against obesity. you are an obesity survivor. and you don't need to be on the cover of oxygen to proove that to yourself.
I've been chewing on a recent conversation with Alan. I'd mentioned that I wasn't "aiming for the cover of Oxygen" and Alan suggested to me that I might be closer to my desired weight than I realize. We talked about the numbers and I spent some time thinking about it. Anyhow I realized that my stated goal of 130 pounds is probably lower than I actually want to go.
Thinking about where I'd started thinking of 130 as my goal, I realized I'd been pretty heavily influenced by the BMI charts. The BMI chart insists that from 97 pounds up to almost 128 pounds would be a normal weight for my height and that 130 would be edging into the overweight category.
However, last June the gym's bio impedance gadget (InBody230) measured my lean mass at 116.8 pounds. That means that (if I haven't lost lean body mass) 130 pounds would be 10% body fat for me. So apparently the BMI considers 10% body fat to be "overweight" for me?! Ummm, yeah.
Thanks so much Wendy. I've actually been going through old pictures this month to find ones of me at different dates. I don't have alot of ones for the last few years, but if I can pull enough together and can figure out when some of them are from I might post a retrospective. I am definitely going to check if I can get re-scanned as I think that you are right that the inBody will give me some good input.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
Wow - that's pretty cool... how tall are you?
Exactly 5 feet. I make an excellent measuring tape!
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
5' and 130 would be too light... Interesting! Not that we're identical in any sense, but I'm 5'2" and been worrying that my goal of 130-135# is too heavy still. But I know I'm strong and definitely have muscle and fit into size 4 jeans already, so...??? Just kinda adding evidence to my "the scale # means almost nothing" repertoire...
You need to remember that BMI is a statistical measure used by insurance companies to make predicitions regarding health across a broad spectrum of individuals.
The vast majority of those people are not exercising in the manner you do, if at all. The vast majority of those people don't eat a proper diet as you do. You can only measure against yourself and the you you were yesterday. You can look to people who do similar activities to you and eat in a similar manner for some guidance, but you can only truly measure yourself against your past self.
5' and 130 would be too light... Interesting! Not that we're identical in any sense, but I'm 5'2" and been worrying that my goal of 130-135# is too heavy still. But I know I'm strong and definitely have muscle and fit into size 4 jeans already, so...??? Just kinda adding evidence to my "the scale # means almost nothing" repertoire...
I figure part of it is that even given a similar height or frame there is no one exact "too heavy" or "too light" because personal preference comes into play.
My current guess based on pictures Leigh has posted in the past is that I'm not looking to drop below 20% bodyfat. (Of course basing anything on pictures of other people only gets me so far, but I'm trying to at least get some rough estimates of my goal. In the end the real decision will come down to me and the mirror.)
If last summer's lean body mass is still accurate, then 20% BF for me would be about 145 on the scale. So for my personal preferences 130 might be too low, but if I was looking to hit 10% 130 would make perfect sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregl515
You need to remember that BMI is a statistical measure used by insurance companies to make predicitions regarding health across a broad spectrum of individuals.
Yup, the more I realize how little the BMI numbers fit me as an individual the more I realize that. The scary thing is they do get used on individuals all the time.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
Gawd all you beefy and muscley women!! I am in awe and completely jealous. Here I sit just praying to be 125lb at 10% when this is all said and done and I am over 5'4" tall! I would KILL to be 5' and 130lbs at 10%. Rock on!
We seem to want what we can't (or shouldn't perhaps) have....
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Thanks so much Wendy. . I am definitely going to check if I can get re-scanned as I think that you are right that the inBody will give me some good input.
you are so welcome!! I am really looking forward to your scan results. I will have another one sometime in may, so we will see what my running is doing to the muscle. so far, nothing visually except for some slow continued fat loss and looser clothes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
Gawd all you beefy and muscley women!! I am in awe and completely jealous. We seem to want what we can't (or shouldn't perhaps) have....
not sure if I am part of the beefy, muscley contingent, but just wanting to exclude myself from the "we" in this sentence. I am very comfortable with the shape and size of my body. working on this issue has been a very key part of my overall wellness. I see too many women at my gym and in my practice become unhappy with their basic frame size/shape and try to "beat their bodies" into some idealized shape that they have in their minds. pursuing optimal wellness and optimal body comp is a wonderful goal, but fixating on an absolute number (10%) can often lead to chronic disappointment. similarly, the level of restriction required to reach a certain level of leanness and size may not be a lifestyle that is maintainable, particularly without chemical assistance.
leigh posted here overtraining/undereating
about 10% body fat, and based on the work I do in my office, I would agree with her.
Gawd all you beefy and muscley women!! I am in awe and completely jealous. Here I sit just praying to be 125lb at 10% when this is all said and done and I am over 5'4" tall! I would KILL to be 5' and 130lbs at 10%. Rock on!
We seem to want what we can't (or shouldn't perhaps) have....
LOL. The grass is always greener and all that. I've spent a lot of my life wishing for a little bit more height. So far I haven't found a good recomp program to do that.
As far as being muscle-y, in my case some of it is probably bone and basic framework stuff. For example a lot of bracelets are too small for my wrists so I'm guessing that's a bone structure thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fengshway
you are so welcome!! I am really looking forward to your scan results. I will have another one sometime in may, so we will see what my running is doing to the muscle. so far, nothing visually except for some slow continued fat loss and looser clothes.
not sure if I am part of the beefy, muscley contingent, but just wanting to exclude myself from the "we" in this sentence. I am very comfortable with the shape and size of my body. working on this issue has been a very key part of my overall wellness. I see too many women at my gym and in my practice become unhappy with their basic frame size/shape and try to "beat their bodies" into some idealized shape that they have in their minds. pursuing optimal wellness and optimal body comp is a wonderful goal, but fixating on an absolute number (10%) can often lead to chronic disappointment. similarly, the level of restriction required to reach a certain level of leanness and size may not be a lifestyle that is maintainable, particularly without chemical assistance.
leigh posted here overtraining/undereating
about 10% body fat, and based on the work I do in my office, I would agree with her.
Definitely food for thought here. My own personal take on the ever constant tug between recomp goals (whether they be based on aesthetics, athletic goals, or medical reasoning) and loving the body you're with is that it's an ever shifting balance and one we all have to find for ourselves.
It's good to seek out good advisers. My medical doctor, trainer, and nutritionist all rock and each brings valuable knowledge and perspectives to the table. I've also learned a lot from discussions here. But at the end of the day all of our goals will be our own and to me that's a good thing. It'll be about what kind of choices make each of us happy and comfortable about how our bodies move, feel, and look.
I can (and do) aim for some pretty arbitrary numbers and stats (20% BF and 10 to 20 pounds of fat loss are the numbers of the moment) but I won't really know if those numbers are "right" for me until I inhabit them, walk around in them for a bit, and see if they are chafing somewhere.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
as I am sore in all sorts of interesting places today. But it's all good since I'd much rather whine about being a little sore than whine about not being able to really workout.
I hate those things.
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