health mode v1 - results

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Hi guys!
So I have reached the end of my first health period since the start of this blog.
As you might remember these were my goals when I started:

GOAL:
bellybutton = 72 cm
weight = 50 kg

By the beginning of last week I told you guys that I would focus on cardio and fat burning exercises but after a rough start 3 hours of sleep in 72 hours I could not manage to get up in the mornings and the rest of the week I've been dead tired.
I've also had a fair amount of wine and other drinks and foods not matching the diet I set for myself. So I was prepared for the worst when I headed to the gym to weigh myself.

.: week 5 - final data :.

Female (yup, still female)
Age: 26
Height: 158.5 cm
Weight:51 kg (+0.45 kg)
Estimated BMR: 1300 cal

Measure points are taken with my body relaxed.
Problem areas are my waist under my bellybutton and lower back.

body part
chest:
upper arms:
waist:
bellybutton:
buttocks:
thighs:
calfs:

one week ago
83 cm
26.2/26.2 cm
66.6 cm
71.8 cm
87.5 cm
49.5/49.5 cm
33.3/33.3 cm

now
85 cm (+2 cm)
26.3/26.5 cm (+0.1/+0.3 cm)
66.8 cm (+.2 cm)
71.5 cm (-0.3 cm yay!)
88 cm (+ 0.5 cm)
49.5/49.5 cm (+-0 cm)
33.3/33.3 cm (+-0 cm)

body part
weight:
chest:
upper arms:
waist:
bellybutton:
buttocks:
thighs:
calfs:

final results
-0.6 kg
+1 cm (probably due to 'that time of the month')
+0.3/+0.2 cm
-1.2 cm
-3 cm
-0.5 cm
-0.5/-0.5 cm
+0.3/+0.3 cm

Analyze of the results:
If we start off by looking at the previous week only and look at my weight. My weight and measurements might puzzle some of you...because I gained weight but still lost some around my bellybutton. I was puzzled too but then when I measured the rest of my body it became clear. As far as I know I haven't done any plastic surgery and still my chest grew by 2 cm...it's almost that time of the month, so my body is probably holding on to more water.

So if we look at the big picture instead. Even though my health period was interrupted by a two week vacation I managed to reach my primary goal which was transforming my waist from 74.8 cm down to 72 cm...I ended up on 71.5 cm which is great!
I reckon it's not only the change of diet and more cardio that did it but also some of the exercises I did which tightened up the muscles in the abdominal area and back.

So what about my weight? I started at 51.6 kg and ended up at 51 kg and even though my goal was 50 kg I'm not crying rivers. First of all, you can't fight begin a woman...I'm suspecting that my body is holding on to more water as it is that time of the month. Secondly, I trust the measuring tape more than the scales, I've been planning on writing about why scales are devious and I will soon. But I think the results have proven my point enough for now. I gained weight but still lost fat around my waist...so do I trust numbers on something I stand on once per week or do I trust what I see in the mirror?

Over all I'm very happy with my results, looking back on how many times I strayed from the path I laid out for myself which includes more alcohol than usual and one or a few pizzas. I've had some side effects from being healthy too. I've gained some muscle mass and I've gotten stronger...proof of this is that when I started I could do 25 push ups and now I can do 40. I would probably have lost more weight if I hadn't added more proteins to my diet and a little bit of weight lifting...but it would have been muscles and not fat and I don't want to lose my muscles :)
So not only can I see the change in the mirror, I'm also stronger and I feel that I don't get as winded as easily as before. I've also got a much better posture...which I think you can see from the images!

I hope that I've shown you guys that it doesn't really take that much to change your body and that you don't have to be a slave under your diet or exercises...the most important step is the change itself and how your mind is set.

This is what I look like now (got 2 new bites :/):


This is what i looked like four weeks ago:

health mode v1 - week 4

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Hi all, this is the beginning of the final week, the last week I have left to achieve my goals.
The past 2 weeks have been a bit off track with the whole vacation and all...but result wise it isn't as bad I thought it would be after all those drinks and late dinners. Luckily I remained pretty active during the day with kayaking and paragliding.

.: starting data week 4 :.

Female (yup, still female)
Age: 26
Height: 158.5 cm
Weight:50.55 kg (+0.10 kg)
Estimated BMR: 1300 cal

Measure points are taken with my body relaxed.
Problem areas are my waist under my bellybutton and lower back.

bodypart
chest:
upper arms:
waist:
under bellybutton:
buttocks:
thighs:
calfs:

two weeks ago
84.5 cm (+ 0.5 cm)
26.1/26.3 cm (+0.1/0 cm)
67 cm (-1 cm, yay! )
72.8 cm (-1.9, cm yay!)
88 cm (- 0.5)
49.5/49.5 cm (-0.5/-0.5 cm)
33.3/33.3 cm (+0.3/+0.3 cm)

now
83 cm (- 1.5 cm)
26.2/26.2 cm (+0.1/-0.1 cm)
66.6 cm (-0.4 cm, yay! )
71.8 cm (-1 cm yay!)
87.5 cm (- 0.5 cm)
49.5/49.5 cm (+-0 cm)
33.3/33.3 cm (+-0 cm)

GOAL:
bellybutton = 72 cm
weight = 50 kg
in one week from now.

Analyze of the results:
As you can see I've achieved one of my goals already, my bellybutton waist is down to 71.8 cm and my goal was 72 so that's all good. I'm not quite sure what conclusion I should make about the weight...but 0.1 kg is probably just a bit of fluctuation because of the water level in my body. I'm suspecting I've added some muscles too after a couple of gym sessions, kayaking and paragliding and since muscles weigh more than fat it could be another reason to why I've gained weight.
It will be interesting to see if I can make it to 50 kg this week :)
I will continue doing some gym sessions where I mostly target my abdominal area and with a bit of cardio at the end and I will also try and do a bit more low impact training like walking and swimming when I don't go the gym.

This is what I look like now. I'm not sure if there is much of a change:


This is what i looked like two weeks ago:


This is what i looked like three weeks ago:

health mode v1 - week 2

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So a week has passed since I first started and if you look at the numbers it's all good but they don't really match up to what I've been doing.
I have been a bit slack though, mostly on the exercising part and to be honest I haven't been eating enough so I suspect that I've lost mostly water and a bit of muscle mass instead of what I really wanted to target, fat.

So what have I been doing the past week?
I had my mind set on walking for about an hour every morning...i did 3 mornings...I have a tendency to go to bed after 2 am and that makes it really hard to get up by 6:40...I will have to work on this a bit more, make sure I go to sleep earlier.
I've done 3 gym sessions where I've mostly used my own body as resistance working my entire body but focusing on tightening up the abdominal area and about 30 minutes of cardio after the workouts.
When I start out in the gym I always get sore, it's just part of the process!
Diet wise, I'm very anti most of the diets out there, so I eat what every I want but SWAP out the bad things for not so bad things. I'm not going for the miss fitness title 2007...if i did then I would have to be more strict.
One big change is eating regularly and at least 5 times per day.
I'm drinking a whole lot more water than I usually do. I just never get thirsty so this is sort of a problem for me, but I now have glasses and cups every where to remind myself to drink. I have at least three or four protein shakes to make sure I get enough proteins through out the day, I usually take these before and after a workout but also in between the bigger meals.
I've replaced bad fats with good fats. The way I do that is by cutting out fat in my cooking and supplement with good fats in the form of omega 3 and CLA capsules. I'm also eating additional calcium, this is good for your metabolic process but I also need it because I don't eat/drink any milk products because I'm a bit sensitive to lactose.
I also try to cut carbs after 3 pm, except after a workout when I eat a fruit or two.
Before workouts, if I remember, I also take the recommended dose of Lean System 7 capsules for a bit of an extra boost of energy and fat burning effect. I would only recommend this if you're reached a plateau or if you trying to lose more weight than what your body think is healthy for you e.g bodybuilders and what ever else you have where you need to get rid of fat to show your muscles. They are quite expensive and it would suck to use them when you don't really need them...you'll just end up with very expensive pee and a lighter wallet.

I will write more about all of these topics later.

.: starting data week 2 :.

Female (yup, still female)
Age: 26
Height: 158.5 cm
Weight:50.45 kg (- 1.15kg)
Estimated BMR: 1300 cal

Measure points are taken with my body relaxed.
Problem areas are my waist under my bellybutton and lower back.

bodypart
chest:
upper arms:
waist:
under bellybutton:
buttocks:
thighs:
calfs:

one week ago
84 cm
26/26.3 cm
68 cm
74.7 cm
88.5 cm
50/50 cm
33/33 cm

now
84.5 cm (+ 0.5 cm)
26.1/26.3 cm (+0.1/0 cm)
67 cm (-1 cm, yay! )
72.8 cm (-1.9, cm yay!)
88 cm (- 0.5)
49.5/49.5 cm (-0.5/-0.5 cm)
33.3/33.3 cm (+0.3/+0.3 cm)

GOAL:
bellybutton = 72 cm
weight = 50 kg
in about 3 weeks from now.

Analyze of the results:
The changes for the first week are usually always pretty dramatic no matter where you start. For me I think I had retained a bit of water because of this: For all the ladies
My body is probably retaining more water than I first thought when I first weighed in and measured myself.
As you can see I've added some to my chest...but to be honest...I really don't mind adding to that area, if only I could add some to my butt as well ;)
My calfs grow like weed...I blame my soccer playing days as a kid...they are a bit unproportional and I don't like that at all.
I might change my goal but will stick to the current goal for the next period and see what happens first.

This is what I look like now. A small change, I know my muscles are under there somewhere :) and yes I did get bitten by something on the side...it's bigger now than last week :/



This is what i looked like last week:

My plans for the coming week will be a changing it from a one week period to two weeks because I'm going on a mini vacation to finally get my pg 1 in paragliding :) I'm pretty sure my plan will be a bit tampered with but I will stay active running around with my glide and also do a bit of kayaking. Traveling and eating healthy is something I've had problems with before but I will do my best and I will make sure to eat a bit more :)
I will also work on my upper body to gain some strength for the kayaking, which I will be doing for two whole days.

Till next time, be safe, be happy

simplified fitness - part 2 - energy in energy out

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It's a proven fact that no matter if you want to lose weight or gain weight you need to know how much energy you put in your body and how much energy you use.

Knowing your BMR is a good starting point when losing or gaining weight. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is basically the amount of energy your body needs to keep you alive when you're doing nothing. If you're interested read more about BMR at wikipedia. Once you know your BMR you add what ever energy you use throughout the day. For example: I have a BMR of about 1300 cals, lets say that through different activites during the day I burn about 600 cals. This means that I need 1900 cals to keep my current weight, if i consume more than that I will gain weight and if I consume less I will lose weight.

To know what your numbers are, you first of all need to find what BMR you're at. There are different ways to do this. At my gym for example there is a scale (with bioimpedance) which checks your body composition and also gives you an approximation of your BMR based on your age, gender, weight, height and muscle mass.
There are BMR calculators on the web, they might be a less accurate but still gives you a number to start with. Here is a free BMR calculator which you can try out.

To track your energy intake all you need is a paper and a pen.
Write down the energy content of everything you eat throughout the day. These days products usually have labels telling you the energy content given in joules or calories. If there is no label search the web or make an estimation.
After doing this for a while you will get a gut feeling for it and then you can just occasionally write down what you eat to see if you're sticking to your path.

Tracking your energy consumption is a bit harder, the amount of energy used for the same activity varies depending on who is doing the activity. You might wonder why...there are many variables such as your age, gender, weight and fitness level etc which all affects the calculation.
There are many calculators for energy consumption out there, here is one activity calculator you can try which is free.

There are also a number of software and online tools out there which can make things easier and quicker. They usually offer free trials which you can use to see if this is what works for you. Here is a list of popular fitness software and what features they have.
I'm sure there are other bunch of other ones out there which might even be better and cheaper for your needs.

With what you've just read you have the knowledge to manage your energy intake and consumption. Here you can calculate how many calories you need to cut per day to reach your goal weight in a certain amount of time. Remember that it isn't recommended to lose more than 0.5 - 1 kg per week. You need to be mentally prepared for what is happening to your body and with losing fat too quickly you might lose your motivation. This might sound weird but the mind is very complex and sometimes plain weird.

One last thing, as you change your body composition you also change your BMR, more muscles requires more energy when you rest and less weight requires less energy in everything you do. So after a period of your weight loss or weight gain plan you should check your BMR again and if it has changed, adjust the rest based on the new results.