renewal
heya.
so from the last time i've been blogging about the exercise progress, i've had a thesis to finish. that's no excuse, but i just needed to focus on finishing up. therefore, it's been a little hiatus. summer heat + stress doesnt bode well for motivation.
however, i recommenced the regime 1.5 weeks ago on august 3 (thursday), just when the weather was turning into unseasonably cool climes. i was shopping around for online health support communities, and the best one i found was sparkpeople. not only is it free (take that, ediets), but it really is a great circle of people, and a very healthy and holistic approach to sustainable weight loss and fitness.
i've been exercising regularly since then, alternating days running outdoors for 45 minutes and then doing the bar method dvds. the bar method is amazing... it's kind of like pilates (i'm guessing?) but it really isolates the muscles in tight isometric movements. it really burns. i find myself throughout the day walking with better posture after getting used to putting my body in the 'bar method tuck' (where you drop the tailbone, tuck in the butt and suck up the gut). i'm so poetic -- the 'tuck' sounds better. ;) it stretches out the upper thighs and sort of tightens and frames the core. i am planning to get the lotte berk dvd set from amazon pretty soon. i'm also curious about callenetics -- anyone remember doing them? i've heard amazing things about this 80's-style technique, but the dvds are pretty pricey (about $20 each disc).
i want to keep track of my progress, but using a tape measure is kind of annoying because i'm not sure if i'm being consistent each time (one inaccurate angle or circumferencing of the tape can change the reading). i'm tempted to get a scale with fat composition (something from tanita or whatever) but i kind of have a love hate thing with the scale. i know i should be tracking myself more with how my clothes feel and stuff, but since i'm only hoping to drop 1 or 2 sizes i know that the progress from day to week wont be extremely obvious. i'd be happy even with dropping one pound per week, which may or may not translate into looser clothes (especially when it's humid outside). will a scale break me or keep me in check?
i've also been keeping track of my daily food intake (packing my lunch, too) and i manage to eat around 1500 calories a day. plus, drinking a TON of water constantly and cutting back on the diet coke. i'm getting pretty good at that, surprisingly. :)
so here are my stats:
i'm 5' 0" tall.
after college (two years ago) i wavered a bit but i think i was stable around 140. i'm plenty dense!
june 6 i had a medical physical and i was 151. i'll round to 150 because i needed to pee. :)
between june 6 and today i have not had my weight checked but i think it hasnt been anything drastic one way or another.
as of this week (they took my vitals when i went in for my splinter), my blood pressure is very good (120/70 i think) and my resting pulse is 58. i've always been good on this, but this is reassuring.
so how do i feel?
well, i can be pretty confident i'm not getting steadily fatter, which is what i always fear when i just keep living life without really putting a conscience mind to losing weight. i'm eating less and moving more than i used to. so the worst case scenario is that i'm staying exactly the same.
my goal weight (according to the BMI thingy) is around 125-130 lbs. i'll be happy to get within 130-135.
my BMR is 1500 calories, so that's like the bare minimum to keep alive.
so sheer calculation: if i consume 1500 calories a day, and do my cardio (which burns around 400-500 calories), and also walk all over cambridge and take the stairs and everything, let's just say i burn 600 additional calories. that gives me a daily deficit of 500 or so calories. if i do this every day, i should be losing one pound of fat per week (not counting muscle gain). therefore i should be theoretically two pounds lighter from august 3. it's hard to tell.
new york times article on obesity was pretty insightful. not sure how much truth to glean from it, but basically one really challenging thing is that people who used to weigh more than a certain weight have to consume *less* calories than someone who normally weighs that just to maintain it. that is, if i make it down to 135 and maintain it, i have to have a net gain of calories that is less than someone who is just naturally 135. doesnt that SUCK? it's like the physics of calories in and out just doesnt hold fair logic. another thing is that some people are better or worse at metabolizing calories thanks to the little microbes in the body. it's hard to tell whether or not i caught a virus that will be with me forever (hello, hips) but it's actually pretty interesting. never before heard of this area of research.
all this really makes me excited and tired at the same time. i really enjoy working out and adopting my lifestyle -- it feels great, but i want to see it work, too!
i'm doing something new and going rock climbing at a gym today with my roommate, who's a climber. it'll be an adventure for sure :)
so from the last time i've been blogging about the exercise progress, i've had a thesis to finish. that's no excuse, but i just needed to focus on finishing up. therefore, it's been a little hiatus. summer heat + stress doesnt bode well for motivation.
however, i recommenced the regime 1.5 weeks ago on august 3 (thursday), just when the weather was turning into unseasonably cool climes. i was shopping around for online health support communities, and the best one i found was sparkpeople. not only is it free (take that, ediets), but it really is a great circle of people, and a very healthy and holistic approach to sustainable weight loss and fitness.
i've been exercising regularly since then, alternating days running outdoors for 45 minutes and then doing the bar method dvds. the bar method is amazing... it's kind of like pilates (i'm guessing?) but it really isolates the muscles in tight isometric movements. it really burns. i find myself throughout the day walking with better posture after getting used to putting my body in the 'bar method tuck' (where you drop the tailbone, tuck in the butt and suck up the gut). i'm so poetic -- the 'tuck' sounds better. ;) it stretches out the upper thighs and sort of tightens and frames the core. i am planning to get the lotte berk dvd set from amazon pretty soon. i'm also curious about callenetics -- anyone remember doing them? i've heard amazing things about this 80's-style technique, but the dvds are pretty pricey (about $20 each disc).
i want to keep track of my progress, but using a tape measure is kind of annoying because i'm not sure if i'm being consistent each time (one inaccurate angle or circumferencing of the tape can change the reading). i'm tempted to get a scale with fat composition (something from tanita or whatever) but i kind of have a love hate thing with the scale. i know i should be tracking myself more with how my clothes feel and stuff, but since i'm only hoping to drop 1 or 2 sizes i know that the progress from day to week wont be extremely obvious. i'd be happy even with dropping one pound per week, which may or may not translate into looser clothes (especially when it's humid outside). will a scale break me or keep me in check?
i've also been keeping track of my daily food intake (packing my lunch, too) and i manage to eat around 1500 calories a day. plus, drinking a TON of water constantly and cutting back on the diet coke. i'm getting pretty good at that, surprisingly. :)
so here are my stats:
i'm 5' 0" tall.
after college (two years ago) i wavered a bit but i think i was stable around 140. i'm plenty dense!
june 6 i had a medical physical and i was 151. i'll round to 150 because i needed to pee. :)
between june 6 and today i have not had my weight checked but i think it hasnt been anything drastic one way or another.
as of this week (they took my vitals when i went in for my splinter), my blood pressure is very good (120/70 i think) and my resting pulse is 58. i've always been good on this, but this is reassuring.
so how do i feel?
well, i can be pretty confident i'm not getting steadily fatter, which is what i always fear when i just keep living life without really putting a conscience mind to losing weight. i'm eating less and moving more than i used to. so the worst case scenario is that i'm staying exactly the same.
my goal weight (according to the BMI thingy) is around 125-130 lbs. i'll be happy to get within 130-135.
my BMR is 1500 calories, so that's like the bare minimum to keep alive.
so sheer calculation: if i consume 1500 calories a day, and do my cardio (which burns around 400-500 calories), and also walk all over cambridge and take the stairs and everything, let's just say i burn 600 additional calories. that gives me a daily deficit of 500 or so calories. if i do this every day, i should be losing one pound of fat per week (not counting muscle gain). therefore i should be theoretically two pounds lighter from august 3. it's hard to tell.
new york times article on obesity was pretty insightful. not sure how much truth to glean from it, but basically one really challenging thing is that people who used to weigh more than a certain weight have to consume *less* calories than someone who normally weighs that just to maintain it. that is, if i make it down to 135 and maintain it, i have to have a net gain of calories that is less than someone who is just naturally 135. doesnt that SUCK? it's like the physics of calories in and out just doesnt hold fair logic. another thing is that some people are better or worse at metabolizing calories thanks to the little microbes in the body. it's hard to tell whether or not i caught a virus that will be with me forever (hello, hips) but it's actually pretty interesting. never before heard of this area of research.
all this really makes me excited and tired at the same time. i really enjoy working out and adopting my lifestyle -- it feels great, but i want to see it work, too!
i'm doing something new and going rock climbing at a gym today with my roommate, who's a climber. it'll be an adventure for sure :)
posted by christine at 8:00 AM
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