Sites of the week

As I get closer to my goal, I am finding myself more and more interested in knowing my actual body fat percentage. Initially, I was all for the weight loss being measure by the numbers on the scale. Then, I because interested in the inches lost around my hips, waist, thighs, biceps, etc. Now, I kind of want to know if I am really lowering the fat, while keeping most of my muscle.
So, how do I find that out, I wondered?

Well, the first of my goals was to get my weight down into a healthy weight range as indicated by the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart below.
GREEN is Healthy Weight. YELLOW is Overweight. RED is Obese.
I am 5’1″ and I am 132.5 pounds…ALMOST to 130, which will put me in the healthy weight range! (Actually 132 will get me there, but either way…the medical community will soon consider me to be at a healthy weight.) I started my weight loss quest at 164 pounds…I was actually considered to be obese then…that boggles my mind.

What is the History of the BMI chart?
Well, about 10 years ago, NIH (National Institutes of Health) released its new healthy weight guidelines. The purpose was to find a uniform method that the medical community, insurance companies and the general public could use to measure body fat and healthy weight. One interesting thing that happened back then is that they actually lowered the overweight threshold from a score of 27.5 to 25. That meant that quite a few people who were once considered to be at a healthy weight range were suddenly overweight. There are quite a few BMI calculators and charts online to help determine your BMI score quickly and easily.

How accurate is it?
The chart is best used as a screening tool – not as a definitive calculation of your body fat percentage or your overall health. One of the reasons for this is that it does not account for a person’s age, gender or the amount of muscle mass they have. Football players, for instance, might score high on the BMI chart when really their fat percentage is low. It’s the weight of their muscle that skews the results for them.

So, the BMI chart may be a starting point for a person or a medical provider in trying to determine a person’s health weight and body mass, but there are better ways to test for actual body fat. For me, once I get myself into the healthy zone, I am going to look into getting tested for my actual body fat percentage (probably via a skin-fold measurement test.) They sell calipers online and if used properly, I should be able to get a very accurate idea of my fat loss success.

HEALTHY LINKS

1. WebMD – BMI information.
2. BMI calculator
3. TopEndSports.com – Information about the Skin Fold Measurement test for body fat.
4. Accu-Measure Fitness – Purchase calipers to measure body fat

Okay, so I weighed in this morning…132.5 thankyouverymuch!
Oh, my weight loss, where have been? I have been waiting for you for weeks!

I exercised late last night – aerobic dancing and a full back/biceps and legs workout. My aerobic dancing was 33 minutes long with 239 calories burned at an average of 142 BPM. My strength training was for 26 minutes-174 cals burned – 137 BPM.
It had been 3 days since my last workout routine, so I definitely welcomed it.

I am now just on the very edge of normal body weight. As indicated by the BMI – Body Mass Index chart. I am in the middle of composing an entire post dedicated to body fat calculation based on the research I have done about it. The BMI chart is not always accurate when it comes to determining a person’s body fat, but I’m still quite happy to know that the medical community will soon consider me to be in the healthy weight range. Yay, me!

I just finished my Kashi Lime Cilantro Shrimp dinner. Yummy and all natural. I will definitely be buying that again. Okay, that’s it for today! It rained all day, so no exercise for me, but the next 4 days will be run, run, run!

Happy Mother’s Day!

We have some good food planned for today…brownies being the one thing I am looking forward to, definitely! I will still be tracking calories today, but I can’t guarantee how accurate it will be. I don’t care if I go over my calorie goal for today, but I still like to get an accurate idea of what I ate. I’m going to do the best I can with that.

I have been fighting a 15-day weight loss stall and I just saw the scale begin moving downward yesterday and today. It looks like those changes I made last week actually worked.

April 26th – May 8th Plateau Busting Plan – Dietary Changes

1. Drink more water – at least 6 water bottles a day. (I have been slacking on that recently!)
2. No processed dinners for a week.
3. Keep sodium at the recommended level.
4. Change my macronutrient ratio.
5. Eat more.
6. Change my regular bedtime snack.

The most important changes I think were the last two. I haven’t made a post outlining how I count calories, so I will just give a basic explanation for those two steps.

Basically, my exercise routine in the past few weeks has increased. I found myself exercising harder and more often. The problem (I think) occurred when I ended up adding all that extra exercise, but never increased my calorie intake to properly cover it. I think I was actually under-nourishing myself.
I suddenly saw my weight stall. 15 days at nearly the same weight. So I decided that increasing my calories might be a positive change to make.

The other big change was my bedtime snack.
My bedtime snack is almost always the same (Skim cottage cheese, a pear, 1 piece of dark chocolate and 1% cheddar cheese), nearly always the same amount of calories (250) and nearly always at the same time (9:00-9:30PM).
So, I changed my snack. I made it 100 fewer calories and now I eat it a hour sooner.

I can’t be sure if one change or a bunch of changes made a difference, but I believe my weight loss stall/plateau is over. I finally dropped a pound after 15 days of waiting.

This coming week, I will stick to the same plan and I will reassess by the end of the week. If the progress is not what I am expecting, I will start with exercise changes. I figured I would try dietary changes first and save the exercise changes for last.

Sometimes the body just doesn’t want to keep losing weight. I’ve been restricting calories since January 27th and I think it feels that enough is enough! I still have quite a few tricks up my sleeve, so I’m not too concerned. I can wait. I’m patient. If I am at a calorie deficit and if I am nourishing my body and not pushing it into the legendary “starvation mode” then weight loss will occur! It just gets slower sometimes and needs a little push. Which is what I am doing.

In any case, I am on the right track. A lot of weight (35 pounds!) has been lost and I am feeling good so I must be doing something right!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

———-SHORT-TERM GOALS———-
[] Drink more water every day. Fill up 6 water bottles and drink them all!
[] Stick to my new weights routine. No more than 2 days in between.
[] Break this weight loss stall/plateau!

———-LONG-TERM GOALS———-
[*] 137 lbs. (COMPLETED 4/14/08. 10 TDP lbs. lost)
[*] 134 lbs. (COMPLETED 4/27/08. 30 lbs. since 2007)
[ ] 132 lbs. (Normal BMI)
[ ] 127 lbs. (20 lbs lost with TDP!)
[ ] 118 lbs. (My college weight!)
[ ] 114 lbs (50 lbs. lost overall)
[ ] 112-115 lbs or Size 3/4 Jeans
[ ] Healthy Waist to Hip Ratio

———-CURRENT MOTIVATION———–
Currently, trying to lose weight for my health. My doctor wants to put me on cholesterol medication and I don’t want to do it. *stomps foot in defiance* I have been avoiding him since last autumn as I try to lose weight and change my diet to see if that makes a difference. My total cholesterol was 290. I’ll see him again in June. I’ll be at least 35 pounds lighter and hopefully I’ll pass that cholesterol test with flying colors!