Do you mind sharing how you lost 100+ pounds?
I considered myself a professional dieter. I think I had tried almost every diet there was yet couldn’t lose weight and keep it off. I had terrible eating habits and often ate to relieve stress. When my daughter was going to graduate from college, I told myself I was not going to be so grossly overweight, so decided on a few basics. I swore off fast food and told myself I could not eat anything that was handed to me through my car window (drive-thrus). I followed Michael Pollan’s Seven Rules for Eating. I counted calories. I joined Planet Fitness and spent a lot of time on the elliptical at first, then on the treadmill. Another poster here on CC was extremely inspirational and motivating, very encouraging and supportive. Later on, I followed a plan “Precision Nutrition”. I started running in actual races and started doing Pilates. It just all kind of came together. The less I weighed, the more I could participate in activies I enjoyed. I have gained about 20 pounds back but am less focused on my weight and more so on my actual health.
Same here. I started losing weight when I stopped worrying about my weight. I just focused on changing my eating habits and exercising. Will I get to my “ideal” weight? What exactly is “ideal” at my age?
Played soccer last night in the pouring rain. It was super fun but I was completely soaked through by the end.
There may be some post-soccer dehydration involved but I woke this morning to see a number on the scale that I haven’t seen in months (in a good way )
You want low enough visceral fat to avoid metabolic problems that are caused by high visceral fat.
Instead of focusing on the number generated by your scale, I would focus more on your lean muscle mass versus fat (visceral and subcutaneous) %.
There are body fat calculators online or the more accurate methods are performed with either calipers, hydrostatically (water tank) or DEXA scan.
But as @ucbalumnus mentioned above, eliminating visceral fat is most important for one’s health. Subcutaneous fat is more for aesthetics as well as being helpful for reducing the load on your joints, feet, knees, hips, ankles, shoulders, etc.
The easiest to measure proxy for body fat without special equipment (like DEXA) is probably a waistline measure (not weight). Waistline more than half of your height is an indication of increased risk.
Calipers can also be done easily at home, but they mainly capture subcutaneous fat rather than the more risky visceral fat.
Sure, but that assumes one can accurately measure their waistline.
If one can’t find a waistline, that’s a good hint that the weight may not be ideal.
Let’s face it, we’re human.
The difficulty of measuring one’s waistline can come from not being able to find the precise location, proper posture, pulling the tape too tight or “sucking it in.” I don’t even know that I can do it properly.
On separate note, I haven’t had much time to prep for the local Memorial Day “Murph,” but I “Murph’ed” today, unfortunately running in Vivo Barefoots (mistake, but I forgot to bring my other shoes), and ran 44:04.
I didn’t “sell out,” so I’m very happy with that time all things considered.
I don’t make a habit of measuring my waste but I agree I never know how loose/taunt to make the tape!
Funny typo!!!
Just wanted to report that I really like using the Yuka app… was fun at TJ the other day, comparing snack options. I’ll give more details over at my HealthyHabits thread because I think there are folks that are interested in nutrition but not (or not yet) interested in reading about our exercise reports.
Fun flex here…
I spent hours last weekend helping H shovel 4 yards of topsoil into a new planting bed we are building. I was sure I’d be so sore the next day, it really was a lot of work. I guess the ab and back work I’ve been doing has paid off - the only soreness I felt the next day was in my forearms (which, admittedly, did cramp on my as I tried to slice a block of cheese ).
A year ago, an effort like that would have had me stiff, sore and hobbling around for days afterward.
A good summary that doesn’t involve lbs on a scale.
Interesting! I’ve been tempted by those ‘body mass’ scales for home use - wonder if they are better than calipers?
According to the article, the con(s) of those body mass scales is accuracy.
Cons of Bioelectrical Impedance:
Bioelectrical impedance measurements are generally less accurate than other methods. Readings can be greatly affected by variables like hydration levels (since water also conducts electrical impulses), mealtimes (a recent meal can skew results), and workouts (taking a reading directly after exercise leads to a lower body fat reading). For the most consistent reading, take readings at similar times during the day in the same conditions.
Both the electrical resistance scales and calipers may be off from methods like DEXA and underwater weighing, although if used in a consistent manner, they can be used to track medium to longer term change.
Resistance scales can be confounded by bone mass (bone is more resistive like fat compared to muscle and water, which is why some have an “athlete mode” that assumes higher bone mass in its formula). Calipers mainly capture subcutaneous body fat rather than the more dangerous visceral body fat.
Thanks! I would love a dexa but don’t think can get from my doc - only get a bone density dexa once every 2 years.