Weigh-in Week of January 15

[kelownagirl]

Congrats to everyone who lost weight this week!!! Keep working at it!! Yesterday, I hadn't shown any loss which surprised me, but this morning, I was indeed down a good pound so I am happy.

[kelownagirl]

And can I add how amazed I am that my weight can fluctuate SO much within one 24 hour period? I tend to step on the scale for curiousity's sake several times during the day and can't believe how I can gain or lose 3-4 lbs in a day. Sometimes, I lose 3-4 lbs over night. I know I don't pee that much in the morning. I DO have night sweats quite often though so that's probably where it's going. Grosses me out that I could be losing 2 lbs of sweat on my sheets every night.

[Wahine]

OK. It's time for me to join the club. On Saturday I weighed 147 lbs at 5'7". Not considered overwieght, I'm at the high end of normal. That was also the day I got my period. So today I weighed in at 145 lb. I know from experience that my best competition weight is 135 lb. So I'm shooting for that. I've got 7 months to do it before IM Can. The problem is that I'm already training pretty hard and I feel like I'm starving all the time. I have never counted calories in my life. I suppose I should start. Need to make sure that I'm getting enough to fuel my activity but cutting back a little so I can lose wisely.

Little bit of trivia for you all. I participated in a research study that looked at metabolic hormone levels in highly active women and how they change depending on restriction of caloric intake. It turns out that the most efficient caloric levels for maintaining healthy metabolism and maximizing weight loss is 80% of caloric needs. That is, if I need 2000 cal per day to maintain my lean muscle mass and I burn 1000 doing exercise, the ideal amount for me to eat would be 2400 cal.

Just a little food for thought.

[LBTC]

Wahine, I love your new avatar!

DH and I did our first weigh in on New Year's day. We have a fancy scale that weight fat %age, muscle mass, metabolic age and a bunch of other stuff....how accurately we don't care, as long as it moves in the right direction when these things change...

We each set an end of June goal, then just divided that evenly between the months leading up to it. We weigh in Saturday mornings. From previous experience, I know better than to step on the scale more often than that....we always weigh in under exactly the same circumstances each week.

The important parts of my objectives:
Jan 1 weight: 136.4 lbs. June 30 weight objective: 125
Jan 6 weight actual: 133.8 Jan 13 weight actual: 134.6

Fat %age Jan 1: 29.4 June 30 fat %age objective: 23
Jan 6 fat: 29.6 Jan 13 fat: 29.9

Muscel mass Jan 1: 91.6lbs June 30 muscle goal: 100
Jan 6 mm: 89.4 Jan 13 mm: 89.6

What I learned from the first 2 weeks: to reach my objectives I must do muscle strength workouts. Since then I've started a kickboxing class which I plan to attend on Mondays and Thursdays. I plan to spin (trainer - there is lots of snow here) for at least a half hour the night after kb. Weekends, if I can't get out snowshoeing, plant to do a combination of spin and weights and/or heavy bag.

Food - just trying to eat little 1/2 cup containers about 4 times a day, and keep my evening meal about that small...not counting calories.

Not sure how my newly discovered health issue (crohn's) will affect all of this. I have to be careful with food, for sure, but still don't know which foods are problematic for me. And I've learned that there is a noticeable fatigue factor that I'm trying to figure out. I hope to be able to do the weekly exercise I have planned. Last week was bad, but this week is good so far.

I do have a little spreadsheet to track the weigh ins, and am also measuring waist, hips, bust...

you should probably also know that I'm only 5' 1 1/2" tall. From the last few years of training, my ideal fitness weight, when I feel strong and go fast, feel energetic and look pretty good, seems to be in the 120-125 range.

Congratulations to all of you on your goals and achievements so far!! Keep it going!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[bike4ever]

I'm adding in here. Down 5.8 lbs this week using Weight Watchers.

[Offthegrid]

Congrats, bike mom! Everyone is doing fantastic.

I also have been surprised by how much my weight will vary day to day. I don't weight every day (only at the gym, and not every time I go), and it really seems like there's no rhyme or reason to why one day it's way down and the next it's way up.

[chickwhorips]

being curious this morning i hopped on the scale, and i mean hopped. never realized it could be difficult getting on the scale with one foot.
i have actually lost 2 lbs. i know i've been eating more frequently, possibly not as much, but not working out (not by choice). i'm very excited.

[kelownagirl]

Little bit of trivia for you all. I participated in a research study that looked at metabolic hormone levels in highly active women and how they change depending on restriction of caloric intake. It turns out that the most efficient caloric levels for maintaining healthy metabolism and maximizing weight loss is 80% of caloric needs. That is, if I need 2000 cal per day to maintain my lean muscle mass and I burn 1000 doing exercise, the ideal amount for me to eat would be 2400 cal.

Just a little food for thought.

That makes sense to me. According to most online calculators, I should be eating about 1525 calories a day to maintain my weight, and not exercise. When I'm working and can't bike outdoors, I'm lucky to burn and extra 1000 calories in a week, so that would add about another 150 calories a day.

80% of 1675 = 1340 calories. I try to stay close to 1200 but I'm usually much closer to 1300-1350. Now I'll feel better if I want a little snack or a glass of wine in the evening. Thanks for the info!

It also shows me why I gain weight when I eat "normally." On my "bad" days, when I'm dieting, I can easily eat 2000+ calories without even trying.

[snowtulip]

Wow, surprise, surprise. I went to the gal doctor today and she has one of the fancy scales similar to what LBTC mentioned...it said I had 34% body fat!!!

I have always considered myself a muscular girl, I was shocked! Time to kick it into high gear!

[LBTC]

Snowtulip! Do not despair!!! 34% is not terribly high for a woman!!

Relax, treat yourself right, and get out and do some high intensity cardio! The fat will melt away and then you'll see those pretty muscles that are underneath!

Hugs and butterflies!
~T~

[Wahine]

Wow, surprise, surprise. I went to the gal doctor today and she has one of the fancy scales similar to what LBTC mentioned...it said I had 34% body fat!!!

I have always considered myself a muscular girl, I was shocked! Time to kick it into high gear!

15 to 25 % is pretty ideal but up to 35 % can still be healthy for a woman. but remember, if you were dehydrated or have dry callused feet, the scale will read higher than what your true body fat percentage is. The only way to get an accurate body fat measurement is to have a hydrostatic weighing done.

[SalsaMTB]

Wow, surprise, surprise. I went to the gal doctor today and she has one of the fancy scales similar to what LBTC mentioned...it said I had 34% body fat!!!

I have always considered myself a muscular girl, I was shocked! Time to kick it into high gear!

Don't fret, it'll come off once you focus on eating properly. I had the same thing happen. DH decided he really wanted one of the body fat scales, I wasn't so thrilled. I normally come in around 28-30%. It's depressing, but, it just motivates me to eat correctly

[aggiecorgi]

Those scales can measure incorrectly if you exercise more than 10 hours per week. Our Tanitia has an "athlete" setting. In the summer I use this setting, and usually see about 5 to 10 percentage points different between this and regular.

I'd like to join the weight loss thread as well. Yesterday I started Weight Watchers; I'd like to lose around 25 pounds.