Weight/Measurements 8/17/12
(closest date I have):
Estimated Body
Fat % (YMCA formula): 33%
Weight: 195.8lbs
Waist: 34” / 38” at navel
Chest: 41"
Hips: 45"
Thighs: 26"
Arms (flexed): 12"
Weight/Measurements 7/20/13
(closest date I have):
Estimated Body
Fat % (YMCA formula): 26% (I don’t use the YMCA formula anymore, but holy
crap!! Using the calculator I depend on now would probably have my August 2012
number close to 36%, and currently has me around 30%... these are all just
estimations, of course)
Weight: 189.2 lbs
Waist: 32” / 34” at navel
Chest: 38"
Hips: 43.75"
Thighs: 25"
Arms (flexed): 11.5"
As you can see I’ve lost
not-quite 6 lbs in the last year… I actually don’t really know what I weigh
right now because I haven’t stepped on the scale in a month. I betcha it’s
somewhere between 189 and 191, though, depending on how recently I worked out,
etc. I’ve continued to lose inches and fat and that’s most important to me
right now.
Which brings me to another point: what is goal?
When I originally started this blog my goal weight was 150
lbs. After Nolan was born and I had
educated myself a little more on what my other fitness/health goals were, I
bumped this number to 160 lbs. Today I don’t think I have a goal weight. I do
have a goal body fat percentage: 22%.
But what’s funny about that goal is that… I’m not sure I actually care
anymore. Not in an “I’m not getting there fast enough so I just give up! Screw
it!” kind of way, but more in an “I am so comfortable in my body and my clothes
and with how I look and feel, it’s just not worth stressing over” kind of way.
July 11th I wrote a note to myself. It said:
Today I
realized that I’ve always thought of “goal weight” as “Once I reach this
weight, I won’t have to eat right or exercise anymore” – and now I realize
there is no magical “goal weight” where I all of a sudden won’t have to take
care of myself any longer. It’s all about adjusting to a new lifestyle. It’s
about living differently and having those “right” choices be part of everyday
life and enjoying that life. And under those terms: I’ve reached goal.
Talk about an epiphany moment.
This doesn’t mean I don’t still have plenty of work to do. I do! My
food choices have been pretty poor over the last month, and I still have some
belly fat I’d like to get rid of, I still want to reach my 22% body fat goal –
preferably in the next 4-6 months… which won’t happen until I start making
better food choices. But overall I am really happy with my body. That is pretty
amazing since I don’t know that I’ve ever been happy with my body entirely
except for maybe the year I was 17. But that was it. It only last about a year,
folks!
I mean, shoot, I’m rocking a bikini this summer:
 |
| Selfie shadow haha! |
That’s some pretty solid body confidence right there. I’ll take
it.
You’ll notice I’ve changed my goals for the month to just cover
the rest of this year. You’ll probably also notice I’ve stopped weighing myself
– I talked about this a little bit already, I know, I’m a little all over the place today! I know
how much I weigh and I doubt that number is going to change anytime soon. I probably
won’t really weigh myself until I see some drastic changes in my measurements
and/or the way my clothing fits. I’m currently back doing Stronglifts 5x5, plus
I’m walking and/or jogging 3-4 times a week with sprints once or twice a week.
It’ll be interesting to see how this all factors in to my fat loss. At this
point all this “exercise” is just something I enjoy doing and feel strange not
getting done. With the stress from other aspects on my life, I’m 99% sure it’s
about the only thing keeping me sane. I’ve truly learned to love it and that’s
probably my biggest accomplishment in this whole health journey to date.
Beginning next week I’m going to back off a little on my food tracking.
I’m going to try to intuitively eat for a few weeks and see what happens. While
I’ll probably still log my food, it won’t necessarily be a “throughout the day”
type process, but more “eat/drink what I feel like, enter it in at the end of
the day” deal. My hope is in doing this, that I may start seeing some accelerated
losses just by dropping the stress of tracking my calorie deficit so closely. I’ve
been wondering a lot lately if my plateau in weight loss and my slow fat loss
is due to the stress of trying to do the “right” thing all the time – which I
talked about last post. It’s time to start focusing on what feels right for ME.
I’ve also been considering doing a purposeful metabolic reset/bulk
period when the weather gets cooler. This would mean eating at/a little above
TDEE for 4-6 weeks and cutting back cardio while still maintaining my strength
routine. Late fall/early winter should be an ideal time for this since I’ll
probably naturally be cutting back on cardio due to the cold/early sunset and
should have heavier lifts at that point.
The bottom line: after 365 days, I’ve learned so much and come a really long way in my attitudes toward food,
exercise, and my body. After nearly 3 years of blogging about my weight loss
and general health and fitness, I feel like I finally get it. It’s about
feeling good and being happy. Liking the way you look is just an added bonus.
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