Morning Weight: 151.0
This Morning's Exercise: I slept in a little...just couldn't get out of bed this morning. I think it is because I did not sleep well Sunday night and I was just plain tired. My plan is to run at lunch today. There is a gym just a few blocks from work.
Yesterday's Afternoon's Exercise: 38 minute brisk walk at lunch
Yesterday's Calories: 1604
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
I don't have time to write this morning as I want to get to work early so I can run at lunch. I thought I'd update my stats just in case you checked in to see if I was any closer to goal. I gained 2/10ths of a pound, which is not a big deal - or even a little deal. It's to be expected when I lose 2 pounds overnight. I feel completely confident that I will reach goal before I leave for China a week from today. Thanks for checking in and keeping the vigil with me. I am excited about the prospect of having my red line cross the x-axis any day now. You'll probably hear me whooping and hollering from here, wherever you happen to be!!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
1/7/2013: Less Than One Pound to Reach Goal!!
Morning Weight: 150.8
Today's Exercise: Strength Training - Upper Body
Yesterday's Exercise: 1500 meter swim (40 minutes) followed by a 5K run (34 minutes and 22 seconds)
Yesterday's Calories: 1714
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
Wow!! I am almost there. I could hardly believe my eyes this morning when I got on the scale and only weighed 150.8 pounds. I had to get off and get back on again, to make sure it was right. Yep, 150.8 again! By mid-day yesterday I knew I would see good results on the scale this morning, I just didn't know they would be this good. Finally, my stomach felt better, I was no longer feeling bloated, my digestive system was behaving normally again, and I was peeing like crazy. All of a sudden, my body seemed to be ready to give up the toxins and let everything flush out. It felt so good to feel good again that I knew things were getting back to normal and that the results would show up on the scale in the morning. I only have 8/10ths of a pound left to reach my goal of 150 pounds, and I have three weeks left on my chart! By George, I think I've got this!! Of course I leave for China in 8 days, so my goal is to reach 150 before I leave on the 15th. I think I can do that. It shouldn't be long now!
Yesterday I did a "brick" as part of my preparation for the triathlon that consisted of a 1500 meter swim and a 5K run. It was pretty brutal. I was wiped out for most of the evening, afterwards, and actually watched TV with Jack for a couple of hours. That is unusual for me, I am not much of a TV watcher, but last night I just didn't feel much like moving after my swim/run workout. Obviously, I have a lot of work to do to prepare for the event in August. I need to be able to run twice that far and put a 42 mile bike ride in between the swim and the run. Ruth and I will need to come up with a training schedule with goals that I need to hit by certain dates. It would help me a lot to have specific targets. We have seven months to train. I'll be ready!!
My calories were higher than my normal 1600 yesterday because of the amount of exercise I did yesterday. I was flat out hungry last night, so I ate more. Obviously, from the results on the scale, that was not a mistake. As soon as I hit 150 I'll increase my calories to 1800 - 2000 per day and see how that goes. My goal will be to maintain my weight as I gradually change my body composition to more lean muscle tissue and less fat. The good news is that I don't expect to see dramatic results in a short period of time. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a couple of years to get to 24% body fat, but that is OK. At this point the purpose of the goals is to continue to pursue excellent health and fitness through good diet and exercise. This blog will be less about achieving something specific in a short period of time and more about the routines I establish as I become healthier and more active. It will be interesting to me to see how this transition goes over the coming months.
Today's Exercise: Strength Training - Upper Body
Yesterday's Exercise: 1500 meter swim (40 minutes) followed by a 5K run (34 minutes and 22 seconds)
Yesterday's Calories: 1714
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
Wow!! I am almost there. I could hardly believe my eyes this morning when I got on the scale and only weighed 150.8 pounds. I had to get off and get back on again, to make sure it was right. Yep, 150.8 again! By mid-day yesterday I knew I would see good results on the scale this morning, I just didn't know they would be this good. Finally, my stomach felt better, I was no longer feeling bloated, my digestive system was behaving normally again, and I was peeing like crazy. All of a sudden, my body seemed to be ready to give up the toxins and let everything flush out. It felt so good to feel good again that I knew things were getting back to normal and that the results would show up on the scale in the morning. I only have 8/10ths of a pound left to reach my goal of 150 pounds, and I have three weeks left on my chart! By George, I think I've got this!! Of course I leave for China in 8 days, so my goal is to reach 150 before I leave on the 15th. I think I can do that. It shouldn't be long now!
Yesterday I did a "brick" as part of my preparation for the triathlon that consisted of a 1500 meter swim and a 5K run. It was pretty brutal. I was wiped out for most of the evening, afterwards, and actually watched TV with Jack for a couple of hours. That is unusual for me, I am not much of a TV watcher, but last night I just didn't feel much like moving after my swim/run workout. Obviously, I have a lot of work to do to prepare for the event in August. I need to be able to run twice that far and put a 42 mile bike ride in between the swim and the run. Ruth and I will need to come up with a training schedule with goals that I need to hit by certain dates. It would help me a lot to have specific targets. We have seven months to train. I'll be ready!!
My calories were higher than my normal 1600 yesterday because of the amount of exercise I did yesterday. I was flat out hungry last night, so I ate more. Obviously, from the results on the scale, that was not a mistake. As soon as I hit 150 I'll increase my calories to 1800 - 2000 per day and see how that goes. My goal will be to maintain my weight as I gradually change my body composition to more lean muscle tissue and less fat. The good news is that I don't expect to see dramatic results in a short period of time. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a couple of years to get to 24% body fat, but that is OK. At this point the purpose of the goals is to continue to pursue excellent health and fitness through good diet and exercise. This blog will be less about achieving something specific in a short period of time and more about the routines I establish as I become healthier and more active. It will be interesting to me to see how this transition goes over the coming months.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
1/6/2013: Before and After Photos
Morning Weight: 152.4
Today's Exercise: Will swim later
Yesterday's Exercise: Strength Training - Lower Body
Yesterday's Calories: 1510
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
I know I am not quite to goal yet but I finally moved off of the 154 mark again, so let's call it close enough for before and after photos.
Today's Exercise: Will swim later
Yesterday's Exercise: Strength Training - Lower Body
Yesterday's Calories: 1510
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
I know I am not quite to goal yet but I finally moved off of the 154 mark again, so let's call it close enough for before and after photos.
I started my program on 2/27/12. The first photo in the series was taken on 2/26/12, the evening that I made my chart and the evening prior to me starting my program. The second photo was taken on 3/11/12, two weeks later. I include it in my Before and After photos because I am wearing clothes that don't hide much. Even though it is two weeks later and I had already lost about 5 pounds, it is so much more telling than my true Before Photo. The third picture was taken yesterday, 1/5/13, after I had lost 71 pounds.
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| Before: 2/26/2012 |
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| 2 Weeks Later: 3/11/2012 |
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| 45 Weeks Later: 1/6/2013 |
Yes, I'm happy with the way I look and I feel great, now that my tummy has settled down again. I am also excited about my 2013 goals to reduce my body fat% and to participate in my first triathlon in August. The Tri will be on August 10th in Muncie, Indiana. My sister and I are doing it together and it will be a 1500 meter swim, a 42 mile bike ride and a 10k run. I don't know why I need goals, but I do need them, and having these two goals for 2013 will help me stay on track for this year.
I am looking for a place in the Kansas City region to do an accurate Body Fat % test. The only one I have found so far is a men's health center. Jeremy said he would check into KU for me and one of my coworkers is seriously into weight lifting and runs with a body builder crowd. I've emailed her to see if she knows of any place in Kansas City that does submersion or Dexa testing for body fat.
Other than that, life is settling back into the routine after the holidays, which is nice. We have a lot we want to do this year so we need to figure out how to squeeze it all in. First up is my next trip to China, which will be on the 15th of January. Early in February I'll be traveling to Utah to help my daughter-in-law out after she has her baby, and who knows what comes after that? Unfortunately, we have more that we want to do than I have vacation time for, so we'll have to do some shuffling around to fit it all in, this year.
Friday, January 4, 2013
1/4/2013: Moving on
Morning Weight: 154.0
This Morning's Exercise: Strength Training - Upper Body
Yesterday's Calories: 1675
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
I worked out with Jeremy Walters today and we focused on upper body. My strength training regimen will change to reflect my new goal to decrease % of body fat. I will alternate upper body workouts and lower body workouts, working each muscle group harder than I was working it before and giving them a longer break to recover.
We did measurements today. I'll update them on my blog tomorrow. Jeremy measured my body fat with calipers and got 28.7%. But even that number fluctuated a lot, depending on the age that he entered into the calculation. Because I am fit and have been working out a lot over the last 10 months, he put in 30. If he had put in 50 it would have calculated my body fat at about 33%. The reason for the disparity is because the formulas assume a larger % of fat around the internal organs as you age. Because of my fitness level, Jeremy believes that is an inaccurate assumption. It's just another example of how measuring body fat is an inexact science. I would like to get my body fat tested using a submersion test or a Dexa scan, but I have only been able to find one place in the Kansas City area that does a Dexa scan and it is a men's health center. I haven't been able to find anyplace that does a submersion test. Jeremy and I talked about it this morning and he said that he thinks I can get it done at KU in Lawrence. He is going to check into that for me. I would like to get an accurate measurement now, and get it measured once a quarter. It is difficult to have reducing body fat % as a goal if getting an accurate and consistent measurement seems to be almost impossible. I will do more research on finding a place that does a submersion test or Dexa scan this weekend.
My gut hurts and it has hurt ever since Monday night. I guess my body is not accustomed to the amount or richness of the food I ate. Or perhaps it was the wine. Either way, my belly is not happy. The gas is painful and my belly feels hard and bloated. I hope that it won't be much longer before it all gets back to normal down there. I am open to suggestions on how to get my digestive system back on track.
This Morning's Exercise: Strength Training - Upper Body
Yesterday's Calories: 1675
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
I worked out with Jeremy Walters today and we focused on upper body. My strength training regimen will change to reflect my new goal to decrease % of body fat. I will alternate upper body workouts and lower body workouts, working each muscle group harder than I was working it before and giving them a longer break to recover.
We did measurements today. I'll update them on my blog tomorrow. Jeremy measured my body fat with calipers and got 28.7%. But even that number fluctuated a lot, depending on the age that he entered into the calculation. Because I am fit and have been working out a lot over the last 10 months, he put in 30. If he had put in 50 it would have calculated my body fat at about 33%. The reason for the disparity is because the formulas assume a larger % of fat around the internal organs as you age. Because of my fitness level, Jeremy believes that is an inaccurate assumption. It's just another example of how measuring body fat is an inexact science. I would like to get my body fat tested using a submersion test or a Dexa scan, but I have only been able to find one place in the Kansas City area that does a Dexa scan and it is a men's health center. I haven't been able to find anyplace that does a submersion test. Jeremy and I talked about it this morning and he said that he thinks I can get it done at KU in Lawrence. He is going to check into that for me. I would like to get an accurate measurement now, and get it measured once a quarter. It is difficult to have reducing body fat % as a goal if getting an accurate and consistent measurement seems to be almost impossible. I will do more research on finding a place that does a submersion test or Dexa scan this weekend.
My gut hurts and it has hurt ever since Monday night. I guess my body is not accustomed to the amount or richness of the food I ate. Or perhaps it was the wine. Either way, my belly is not happy. The gas is painful and my belly feels hard and bloated. I hope that it won't be much longer before it all gets back to normal down there. I am open to suggestions on how to get my digestive system back on track.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
1/3/2013: Quick Update
Morning Weight: 154.0 - OK, I'm a little frustrated with myself, now. Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda...was it worth it?
This Morning's Exercise: None, Day Off
Yesterday Evening's Exercise: Bowling
Yesterday's Calories: 1604
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
Just a quick update to keep myself honest. Yes, I ate and drank too much on New Year's eve and now instead of being 2.2 pounds from goal I am 4 pounds from goal. It is frustrating that it is 3 days later and I am still seeing the repercussions of my indulgence on the scale. We leave for China on the 14th. I want to reach goal by then. I have some work to do. I really am hoping that tomorrow I will be back to my NYE morning weight of 152.2.
This Morning's Exercise: None, Day Off
Yesterday Evening's Exercise: Bowling
Yesterday's Calories: 1604
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
Just a quick update to keep myself honest. Yes, I ate and drank too much on New Year's eve and now instead of being 2.2 pounds from goal I am 4 pounds from goal. It is frustrating that it is 3 days later and I am still seeing the repercussions of my indulgence on the scale. We leave for China on the 14th. I want to reach goal by then. I have some work to do. I really am hoping that tomorrow I will be back to my NYE morning weight of 152.2.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
1/2/2013: And the Year Begins...
Morning Weight: 154.2 - Still heavier than I was prior to our New Year's Eve dinner by two pounds. I am hoping the rest flushes out today and I will be back to my pre-festivities weight before I have to mark my charts, tomorrow.
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
1/1/2013: New Year, New Goals
Morning Weight: Too Much - I don't even want to talk about it! You'll learn why, below.
Today's Exercise: Strength Training with Jeremy Wallen. I have two or three sessions left with him
Yesterday's Calories: Too Many
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
Jack and I went out to dinner last night for our New Year's Eve celebration to the Avenues Bistro in Brookside. It's a restaurant I like but we don't go there often because it is more expensive than our normal meal out. It was perfect last night, though. They had a special 5 course menu with wine pairings, so I broke all of my rules last night. I ate too much, drank some wine, and totally indulged in the meal. We had a great time and a wonderful conversation over a long, leisurely meal. No regrets...except that I don't want to talk about how much I weighed this morning. I hope it comes off quickly, that's all I have to say about that!!
Here I am on the morning after!!!
As you know, my goal is to reach 150lbs by January 28th. I don't think I'll have any trouble reaching that goal and completing my chart. But with the new year I was ready to set new goals and make my new chart, even though I have not quite completed my original chart. So for four more weeks I will be maintaining two charts.
Here is a picture of my new chart for the first quarter of 2013:
My first goal is to reach 150 lbs by 1/28/13 and then maintain that weight for the rest of the year. My second goal is to reduce my body fat % to 24% by the end of 2013. I measured my body fat today using three different methods. The first two used tape measure measurements of my neck, waist, and hips and the the third was with my scale, which measures body fat % by running an electric current through your body. The first two methods came back with 31% and 32% and my scale read 31.8%. The scale reading will change rather dramatically depending on the time of day, when I last ate, etc... but since it was between the other two, I decided it was probably accurate enough. I will measure body fat % on my scale once a week, always on the weekend and always right before lunch. I figure if I do it at the same time of the day each time I do it, I should get fairly consistent results. I think Jeremy Walters is planning on doing measurements on Friday, too. We'll see what he gets with the calipers. I want to go down approximately 8% points by year end, from 31.8% to 24%, so my goal by March 31st is 30%.
Ruth and I picked our triathlon. It will be on August 10 in Indiana. We'll register tomorrow. I am excited to have the event selected. I feel like it gives me something specific to train for.
I'm tired now and I need to head to bed. I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year's Eve and that 2013 started off well.
Today's Exercise: Strength Training with Jeremy Wallen. I have two or three sessions left with him
Yesterday's Calories: Too Many
Vitamins: 1-A-Day, D, B-Complex, Calcium, Glucosamine
Jack and I went out to dinner last night for our New Year's Eve celebration to the Avenues Bistro in Brookside. It's a restaurant I like but we don't go there often because it is more expensive than our normal meal out. It was perfect last night, though. They had a special 5 course menu with wine pairings, so I broke all of my rules last night. I ate too much, drank some wine, and totally indulged in the meal. We had a great time and a wonderful conversation over a long, leisurely meal. No regrets...except that I don't want to talk about how much I weighed this morning. I hope it comes off quickly, that's all I have to say about that!!
Here I am on the morning after!!!
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| January 1, 2013 |
Here is a picture of my new chart for the first quarter of 2013:
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| 1/1/2013: Weight and Body Fat % Chart, 1st Quarter 2013 |
Ruth and I picked our triathlon. It will be on August 10 in Indiana. We'll register tomorrow. I am excited to have the event selected. I feel like it gives me something specific to train for.
I'm tired now and I need to head to bed. I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year's Eve and that 2013 started off well.
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