Weigh in - week of Nov. 6 [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

Veronica

11-07-2006, 07:47 PM

I'm coming up on my five year anniversary of losing 30 pounds.

http://www.tandemhearts.com/temp/before.jpg

This is me in June of 2002 after losing 30 pounds.

http://www.tandemhearts.com/temp/after.jpg

This June 2006, same weight, but I think I look leaner. That's why I think weight is only one way to measure how you're changing your body for the better and shouldn't always be the only way you measure. I could be really bummed that I weigh the same after all the hard work I've put in in the last year.

V.

Bikingmomof3

11-07-2006, 08:42 PM

Congrats on the weight loss everyone. :)

V-I agree. I shed over 60 pounds of fat, have built lean muscle and am back in a size 6 (have been for almost a year now). BUT, I weigh slightly more than I did at my lowest point in weight loss, but I am leaner, due to lean muscle build up. Hopefully I made some sense. ;)

Main point, the scale is not always the best indicator. It is a wonderful guide though.

kelownagirl

11-07-2006, 09:09 PM

V-you look great in both pics but I covet your arms now!!!! Do you lift weights? What's your routine?

Dogmama

11-08-2006, 03:56 AM

V - great deltoids!

Veronica

11-08-2006, 04:51 AM

Pushups with my feet on my fitball. That's it. I don't even have a set number or routine. I do them when I'm waiting for something else.

I like pushups because they work so many different parts in so little time.

V.

kelownagirl

11-08-2006, 07:07 PM

Hmmm, feet on a fitball eh? Maybe I'd better start with 10 "girl" pushups. If I can do 10 without stopping... :o

Veronica

11-08-2006, 07:11 PM

I've never understood the point of girl pushups. Maybe I've just never done them right. To me it seems to work more body parts to do regular pushups, even if you can't do as many.

Pushups with the ball are hard! When I'm doing them regularly I can do 12 - 15 in a set. I slacked off, so I'm back to 8 - 10.

V.

kelownagirl

11-08-2006, 09:37 PM

LOL, the only "point" of girl pushups is that I can't do more than one real pushup.... I guess if I want arms like yours, I'd better start trying harder. :)

Grog

11-08-2006, 10:01 PM

Doing just one is good enough. In about a week you should be able to do two, assuming you do one every day! I was the same and I built up to about 15, then neglected them. I'm down to 5-7 again. Will start working on that again right now.

Dogmama

11-09-2006, 03:17 AM

If you can raise your upper body a little higher, e.g., put your hands on a step, a regular push up might be easier. A regular push up also works your core more.

Hand placement can alter the body part you are working:

Elbows close to body - working back of arms more (triceps) This is harder

Elbows flared out - working pecs and anterior deltoids

Hands closer together - inner pecs and triceps

Hands further apart outer pecs and anterior deltoid

In any of these positions, be mindful of stress to your elbows and your shoulders. The hands close together can be tough on the elbows & hands further apart can be hard on your shoulders.

Veronica

11-09-2006, 06:02 AM

One thing I forgot to add. I'm 12 pounds heavier than "ideal" weight for my height.

I suppose I could lose 12 pounds... but I think I would not be happy.

V.

Bikingmomof3

11-09-2006, 12:14 PM

V-
You look awesome and yes, I want arms like yours. :D You do not need to shed a pound. You look great and are fit. I never cared for the "ideal" body weight charts.

Veronica

11-09-2006, 03:37 PM

V-
You look awesome and yes, I want arms like yours. :D You do not need to shed a pound. You look great and are fit. I never cared for the "ideal" body weight charts.

Thanks! I think I look pretty good too. But that's my point, just one more pound puts me at overweight for BMI.

It's so easy to get sucked in to thinking these charts are "right." When maybe they just don't work for certain individuals.

I've actually decided to put a little effort into losing five pounds, ideally eight because it will make a huge difference in a 200 mile hilly ride. I'm not quite sure how I want to tackle it. A bit of consumption modification but mainly up the output.

V.

tprevost

11-09-2006, 09:36 PM

CycleChic06

11-10-2006, 06:04 AM

Weighing myself this morning, I found I have lost 2.5lbs. The weight I'm at now is kinda my threshold, I've been here before and it's hard to go below it.

Along the same lines, I found this BMI calculator online. Along with calculating my BMI, it gave me an "ideal weight" range for my height. The low end of the range seemed kinda low and when I punched it into the calculator for my height, it came up as "underweight" WTF? Is this BMI stuff a bunch of BS?

Here is the calculator:

http://www.bariatricedge.com/dtcf/pages/bmi_calculator.htm?SOURCE=GOOG&KEYWORD=p

jobob

11-10-2006, 06:52 AM

I like moving the little sliders on the side of the body diagram ... lessee, if I grew 2 inches, my BMI would go down by 2 points ... ;)

It's just a guideline, like anything else.

There was a time a year or so ago when my weight according to that site was smack in the middle of the ideal range, and my BMI was 21. Sounds healthy, but friends would come up to me and ask me if I'd been sick and that I was looking gaunt and haggard. Even my GYN told me I could stand to put on a few pounds (words I thought I would never hear, LOL) - she said, "honey, when you get to be our age, it comes off our face first".

So, I obliged and put on a few pounds. And it started creeping up so now I'm on the outer edge of ideal - and more important to me than than weight, my pants are starting to get snug :( - so I should start watching it again. Self: avoid the donuts at work, you nit.

Dogmama

11-10-2006, 07:32 AM

Hmmm, I put in my BMI and it read underweight too. But the print under the big red UNDERWEIGHT said that my ideal weight was from 5 pounts less to 20 pounds more that I put in.

Methinks there's problems with that counter.

Bikingmomof3

11-10-2006, 11:20 AM

The ideal weight ranges made me laugh. If I weighed on the low end, I would look as though I was on my death bed. Better yet, DH would look dead. :eek:

Some are better than others. Age does play a factor IMO. How I looked when I was 18 (and weighed much less) is not what I should look like now, almost 20 years later.

I use them all as a guide. I am more interested in being fit, healthy, and building lean muscle. I stear clear oif the scale. It is just a number. Easy to say? Example. I weigh more then several people (I know of) on here, yet I wear smaller sizes in clothing. We all come in different sizes and shapes. Line 10 people up who all wear the same size and they will all look different (and probably all weigh different amounts).

kelownagirl

11-10-2006, 08:50 PM

My hieght 5-3 says ideal weight 104-127. I currently weigh 126. If I go below 114 on that calculator, it says I'd be underweight. ??

The thing I can't figure out with BMI is that I have lost some weight since I started biking (about 15 lbs) but I KNOW I have gained LOTS of muscle. BMI doesn't seem to take the difference in weight of fat versus muscle into consideration.

kelownagirl

11-10-2006, 08:53 PM

More on pushups - I am absolutely pathetic. Motivated by Veronica's arms, I tried to do some "real" pushups last night - couldn't do ONE. So I did 10 "girl" pushups, and the last 5 were really hard. I am going to do pushups every night from now on and I WILL improve. I think I need a "pushup check in" thread. :)

Dogmama

11-11-2006, 03:01 AM

Re: BMI - athletes with muscles (football players, basketball players) are overweight according to BMI charts.

Congrats on the 5 pushups!!! You'll be doing the boy pushups & clapping your hands in between before you know it!

CycleChic06

11-11-2006, 06:33 AM

Ok, I thought I was going crazy with that BMI calculator. I don't really want to weigh 110 lbs...even if that what my ideal weight should be.

And you're right, Dogmama, I don't think it's good for athlete's since it doesn't take account muscle versus fat. Maybe BMI in conjunction with body fat percentage would be better indication. But it still doesn't say anything about fitness.

Bikingmomof3

11-11-2006, 08:18 AM

I ignore the BMI and go by Body Fat %.

kelownagirl

11-11-2006, 08:26 AM

Can you figure out body fat % without the calipers etc? I tried on a machine at the grocery store but I don't know how accurate it is... You punched in your info and held on to a handle while I ran a current or something thru your body. I've heard it's unreliable too...

I was down to 125.8 this morning. My goal was to lose 5 lbs in 1 month. I have one more week to lose the last .8 lb :)

Bikingmomof3

11-11-2006, 08:45 AM

I have my body fat tested every few months. I also bought scale that tells me my weight, body fat %, % water, etc. So far it has been the same as the "professional" tests.

kelownagirl

11-11-2006, 09:08 AM

I've seen those scales and wondered how accurate they are. Maybe I'll get one. What % body fat does an athlete have? How about a 46 year old, athlete wanna-be? :)

Veronica

11-11-2006, 10:52 AM

I have 20%. Or at least that's what I had 3 years ago. So I can dream that now it's a little less than that.

I had mine done as part of a whole series of tests at a sports medicine facility. I'd like to go back and do teh testing again now.

V.

Bikingmomof3

11-11-2006, 12:37 PM

I've seen those scales and wondered how accurate they are. Maybe I'll get one. What % body fat does an athlete have? How about a 46 year old, athlete wanna-be? :)

If you were to do a search you would see a wide variation, of course.
23-34 is roughly what is recommended as healthy in your age range.

Mine is 22, which is in a healthy range for my age. Now if I went by my BMI, I would be overweight. So I stear clear of scales, occassionally have my body fat % professionally checked to make certain my scale matches, and I go by how I feel and my clothing fits. :)

emily_in_nc

11-11-2006, 08:07 PM

According to the BMI calculator, I am underweight and have a BMI of 18 point something (forgotten already). However, I can pinch large chunks of fat on my belly, upper thighs, hips, and I even have back fat. I am blessed (???) with teeny, tiny bird bones, though (you should see my wrists!!), so I am quite sure I have *more* fat than the calculator figures....so it can err in both directions!

On the plus side, motivated by Veronica's man push-up post, and never having done anything but girl push-ups in my life, I decided to give man push-ups a try in the gym yesterday. I did 10, and with pretty decent form if I do say so myself! I guess all the working out (including upper-body weight training) is paying off. Even if I am "underweight" but overfat! :D :D :D

Emily

DeniseGoldberg

11-12-2006, 06:06 AM

The BMI calculator that was posted earlier in this thread seems to give the wrong answer from an underweight, normal weight, overweight standpoint. That is, the calculation is correct, but the words are wrong. I've seen several comments about this, plus on my own calculation it showed me as underweight but well within the normal weight standpoint from a BMI standpoint.

I've found this calculator from the CDC to give the correct verbal answer based on the BMI:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/index.htm

And in spite of the fact that this calculator is hosted on a US government site, it does allow you to select English or metric measurements.

Veronica

11-12-2006, 06:20 AM

Thanks Denise! That calculator puts me in the overweight category. :D

V.

DeniseGoldberg

11-12-2006, 06:24 AM

Thanks Denise! That calculator puts me in the overweight category. :D

V.
Oops! Sorry...

The two calculators come up with the same BMI for me - but one says normal, and one says underweight. Based on the weight range for my height and weight, both should say normal.

And as said elsewhere in this discussion, BMI is just one factor of many - I don't think that you can go by this as the sole indicator of weight "status". Certainly having body fat measured by a reputable and trained individual is a better indicator anyway.

Veronica

11-12-2006, 06:31 AM

The first says 25 is normal. The second says 25 is overweight. I don't worry about BMI. I have lots of muscle. :p It does drive me nuts when I go for my yearly physical and the doctor doesn't really look at me and suggests I need to lose weight just from my chart. That's usually when I kick them. :)

V.

jobob

11-12-2006, 07:54 AM

Ah, not to worry, V. From the website Denise provided:

--------

How reliable is BMI as an indicator of body fatness?
The correlation between the BMI number and body fatness is fairly strong; however the correlation varies by sex, race, and age. These variations include the following examples:

At the same BMI, women tend to have more body fat than men.
At the same BMI, older people, on average, tend to have more body fat than younger adults.
Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather than increased body fatness

----------

so there :p

(body "fatness"? m'kay.)

btchance

11-12-2006, 10:19 AM

Oh, those BMI and weight charts drive me nuts. The ideal body weight for me ranges from where I'm at right now, down to 20lbs less. Yikes, I look extremely scary and anorexic at that weight - that's where I used to be at when I danced alot. Right now, I would like to lose about 10lbs and see if I can maintain the same amount of strength I have right now. If I feel like I'm losing it, believe me I'll put back on a few pounds. Because of this, I'm adding weights back to my routine, and am looking to lose 10lbs by the end of March, only 2lbs per month. We'll see if it works.

HipGnosis6

11-12-2006, 01:44 PM

The charts are all.... hm. I guess for some folks the ranges on all the charts and BMI listings etc etc are OK, but they're a really bad indicator for me. I used to box and got my body fat percentage down to 20%. I had TONS of muscle but still had a nice healthy amount of body fat - I still had boobs, and wasn't showing a six-pack. I weighed 189 pounds, which according to those BMI calculators, made me overweight and not far from obese.

They all say they're "guidelines", but the charts aren't very good guidelines for most of us. Even body fat percentage can lead us astray. I guess what I'm getting at is that we shouldn't let ourselves get too bound up on what some chart is telling us. Set your weight goals on what will make you comfortable.

I'm fat and admit it. I've gained back every ounce of the weight I lost in training and want to get some of my fitness back. I weighed myself for the first time in weeks today. I'm not shy about my weight - I weighed in today at 254 lbs. So what to do? I made a list of resolutions:

I will select the light option when one is available. (Read as: The salad bar isn't a healthy choice if you ladle on the blue chesse dressing!)
One slice of pizza at the work cafeteria is OK, two or three is not.
I cannot rely on the vending machines at work and school for healthy eating.
On any day I don't have both work and school I will find some time for excercise.
I will wear my pedometer daily.
If I find myself feeling hungry between meals I will drink a glass of water; if I still feel hungry 15 minutes later, then a REASONABLE snack is OK.
I will not substitute sodas or sugary juice drinks for water.
I will not abuse caffinated beverages - one or two cups of coffee in the morning is one thing, but drinking two 24 oz. cans of Rock Star daily is horrible even if it is the sugar free kind.
I will take a multivitamin (at very least) daily.

Wish me luck, girls....

Bikingmomof3

11-12-2006, 02:19 PM

HipGnosis6,
You do not need luck, you have a very reasonable plan and a very healthy body image. You are ahead of a lot of people! I will wish you luck though, since you did ask. :)

emily_in_nc

11-12-2006, 07:01 PM

I've found this calculator from the CDC to give the correct verbal answer based on the BMI:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/index.htm

Okay, cool, that one allows me to put in my 5'2 and a HALF" (5' 2.5"), which the other did not. My BMI came out 18.5, which is "NORMAL" (albeit the very lowest end of normal).

But I still have more body fat than it would seem to indicate. I'm petite, small-boned, and curvy -- not ectomorphic at all. And it sure is hard to get rid of the flab -- if I lose more weight I'd look anorexic. I guess the fat around the middle is just part of being 45....I had a lot less belly fat even when I weighed more at ages 25 and 35! Sigh...

Emily

Offthegrid

11-13-2006, 07:52 AM

Hip,

You can do this! We're all here behind you and with you to lend a hand -- or a shoulder to cry on -- when you need it.

I know for me the key has been to know what I'm eating each and every day before the day begins. Because I work out some mornings, I have to plan and take with me breakfast, lunch and snacks virtually every day, but if you are working and in school you may have to do this, too.

Best of luck. I know you'll succeed.

tygab

11-13-2006, 10:06 PM

ok, I'll start by saying, I am not trying to lose weight, as I weigh anywhere between 114-118 these days, which is about as low as someone my height should be (5'3" n change), and around what I weighed when I was once a very fit college kid. I eat a lot but I try to eat mostly good for me things that my husband or I have made at home.

However, after a summer of exercising and feeling like I was getting much fitter I wanted to see what my body fat% was, so I got a scale that measures that.

On some days it says I am like 25%. I have a hard time believing this since my legs and arms have turned to muscle (though not like Veronica's, wow!). I do have a little soft area around my tummy still but I used to be soft well all over.

There are settings on the scale for 3 activity levels, and an 'athlete' designation, and I am just not sure which to use. I forget the specifics but I can rule out the couch potato one. So, there's moderate, active, and then athelete. I actually think I fit their athelete description (basically several longer high intensity sessions per week), and I've tried that too, but didn't see that it made a difference.

I have gotten one reading at 21% and that would seem to make more sense to me. Should I just pick a setting and do a running average every other day or something?

The instruction book said also I should not do it right after exercise or when I am dehydrated. That may be my real problem... I doubt I drink enough.

Anyway if any of you have help on how to get the most out of these measurements I'd appreciate it.

Bikingmomof3

11-14-2006, 06:17 AM

Yes, keep a running average and measure at the samwe time each day. If you are dehydrated the body fat % increases.

paigette

11-14-2006, 09:22 AM

Went to the doctor today for my bi-annual blood workup (too much diabetes, thyroid, heart disease, etc in my family!). We discussed my weight, and I got a green light on my 'diet' plan:

Weight: 158 lbs.
Height: 5'0(though nurse mentioned that my shoes weren't exactly flat.....)
BP: 109/73

The Plan:
I am on Day 2 of "Eating for Life"--the Fish Tacos rock!
Riding(both road & MTB) 3-4 times week
Signed up for "12 Week Challenge" at local personal training place, starting today til Feb. 12, I will meet with "Trainer Brad" twice weekly.

Goal:130 pounds or a size 4 (whatever looks good)