This Morning's Exercise: 53 minutes on the tread mill. 15 minutes at 5mph, 15 minutes at 5.5mph, 15 minutes at 6mph, 5 minutes at 6.4mph, and 3 minutes walking at 3.5mph for a cool down
Yesterday's Calories: 1404
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
I feel a little foolish because of my indulgence New Year's Eve. We did have a great time, but I was so close to goal and now I have to fight to get back to where I was before I can get to goal. I know I'll get there, though, and we did have a lovely evening. I am scheduled to go back to China sometime in January. I want to be to goal before we leave, because I know the trip will present its normal challenges. Also, I can't mark my chart while I'm away and I want to be able to complete my Phase I chart before January 28th. Perhaps today we will find out what day we are actually leaving and I can start planning for the trip.
I don't have much else to talk about today. I am excited about my 2013 fitness goals and feel good about starting out on track with my new chart, a scheduled date for my first triathlon, and goal to reduce my body fat %. I need to give some serious thought as to how, exactly, I am going to make that last part happen. I am guessing that it will be a combination of further modification to my diet and strength training regimens. I don't know how sophisticated I have to get with my program in order to achieve 24% body fat. On the published charts, 24% body fat for a woman is on the high edge of fit and the low edge of average. I've seen this chart in a few places:
This one takes age into consideration:
Right now, with a body fat % between 31% and 32% (my best guess until I get measured again by Jeremy) I am in the average range for a 50 year old woman in the chart that factors in age but I am border line obese (that is hard to believe) on the ACE Body Fat % Chart. It's hell getting old! This will be an interesting year. I wish there was an easy, effective, and consistent way to measure % body fat.
On March 7, 2012, 1 week after I started my Get Fit Initiative, Jeremy Walters calculated my Body Fat % at 39.9%. I weighed 220.4 pounds that day, so I would have had 87.94 pounds of fat on my body. Oh Dear! Today I weigh *Sigh* 154.2 pounds. I estimate my body fat % between 31% and 32%, depending on the method of measurement I use. I think we are doing measurements at the gym on Friday, so I hope to get a more accurate measurement then, with the calipers. Also, Jeremy Walters will be doing the measurements again, so it should be consistent with the first measurements he took. Assuming I am at 31% body fat, at 154.2 pounds I have 47.8 pounds of fat on my body. That means in the 10 months that I have lost 70 pounds I have lost 40 pounds of fat and 30 pounds of something else. I find it hard to believe I have lost 30 pounds of muscle with all of the strength training I have been doing. I am curious if the volume of blood/water decreases as one gets smaller. That would account for some of the lost body weight. I obviously don't know the details, but I need to work hard over the next 12 months to get rid of more fat and replace it with muscle.
At 150lbs and 24% body fat, I would have 36 pounds of fat on my body. That means I need to lose 11.8 pounds of fat to get to my goal by year end. I want to lose this last 4 pounds. Assuming most of that is fat, I'll need to replace an additional 8 pounds of fat with 8 pounds of muscle in 12 months. That sounds doable.
Here's to new adventures!!
If you are going to use fat percentage as a marker, you might want a better measure in addition to what you can get from calipers or the scale. You could do a water submersion test four times during the year. Or, there is a new test called DEXA, but it requires X-rays. I would also add "girth," which is just your waist measurement. Belly fat is the dangerous stuff, and small reductions make a huge difference to longevity.
ReplyDeleteI would like to get an accurate body fat analysis. I will look for somebody in KC that does either the water submersion test or the DEXA. Believe it or not, I need to buy a tape measure. I think maybe Carla has mine. I will start taking measurements now and monthly, thereafter, and add them to my chart. I know my belly is much much smaller than it was, seeing as how I can now wear a size 6 jeans, and I started with an 18. It is also interesting that the spot that I have the most room in my jeans is around my waist. If they fit my butt just right, then they tend to be a little loose at the waist and a little tight around my thighs. Straight leg jeans are also snug on my calves. The spot where I seem to carry the most fat is on my back. I'd like that to go away. That back fat causes the unsightly bulge where my bra goes around. Ah well...such is life!!
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