January/February weight loss challenge

[limewave]

My goal has been 23% body fat. I am about 24% now. I do have a scale with a body fat function and I like it, but it fluctuates with how hydrated I am.

I've switched from aiming for a number on the scale to body fat% as well. Last time I had my body fat % done at the doctor's office, I was at 24.5%. I'm aiming for 19-20%. I go next Monday to have it done again.

[GLC1968]

Count me in. I managed to maintain over the holidays which while I can't really complain, that was not my goal.

I've got 5 months to drop 20 lbs or so...

SO, I'll weigh in on Saturday to get my starting weight, but my goal for this challenge will be 143 lbs.

[skhill]

Just noticed that I've gone up a few lbs over 2010, so I'm in. Right now, I'm at 132; goal is 128.

[WindingRoad]

Okay so I have had disturbing news today. I'm MUCH heavier than I could have ever guessed. I think a good weight to aim for is 145. I have 19 lbs to figure out how to get rid of it. I went to the gym to check my BMI and found it to be 33%, OMG I am so upset because I ride and run so much. I talked to a trainer at my gym and he says I need to start a weight lifting routine and do more weights than cardio. The odd thing is that my heaviest weight was 175 and I wore a 14-16 and now at about 164 I'm a 10. I've been lifting this past month and feel like I've lost size. I don't know how to account for this kind of weight gain? I'm really frustrated right now.

[Veronica]

The odd thing is that my heaviest weight was 175 and I wore a 14-16 and now at about 164 I'm a 10. I've been lifting this past month and feel like I've lost size. I don't know how to account for this kind of weight gain? I'm really frustrated right now.

I weigh 148 pounds. That's what I weighed when I got married almost 25 years ago. My wedding dress was a size 14 and my clothes were all size tens then.

Today I wore a pair of size 4 pants to work.

Welcome to vanity sizing!

I gain weight and lose muscle mass if my carb intake goes up, even if my lifting and cardio stays the same. I do much better on a higher protein diet - I aim for about the same number of protein grams as my pounds of lean mass.

Veronica

[Catrin]

I weigh 134 pounds today, and want to weigh 130 by the end of the challenge. I am another one that does well with a high protein diet, and with to be very careful with carbs...and haven't been as careful lately as I should. That stops today

[Crankin]

Although I'm not in the challenge, I am in the same boat as Veronica and Catrin. My weight will stay stable if I eat a higher protein to carbs ratio. It's very hard for me; while I don't really eat "bad" carbs, I do love whole wheat bread, bagels, a glass of wine, and an occasional scone. Despite the fact I am still doing lots of exercise of all types, in the last 5 weeks or so, I feel like my body has turned kind of "soft." Since this correlates to the end of the outdoor cycling season, or at least doing longer rides, it's discouraging. My body needs the change and the rest.

[Possegal]

Adding in the link. Some people gave me weights already, but if you want to update on Friday, I will do that. If not, I'll leave those numbers there. Whatever works for folks!

Let me know if there is any problem with the link.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...thkey=CLyrwPwI

[WindingRoad]

164 starting for me and 145 is my goal.

[WindingRoad]

Vanity sizing makes me crazy! I wish they would just do it like mens sizes.

I weigh 148 pounds. That's what I weighed when I got married almost 25 years ago. My wedding dress was a size 14 and my clothes were all size tens then.

Today I wore a pair of size 4 pants to work.

Welcome to vanity sizing!

I gain weight and lose muscle mass if my carb intake goes up, even if my lifting and cardio stays the same. I do much better on a higher protein diet - I aim for about the same number of protein grams as my pounds of lean mass.

Veronica

[indysteel]

WR, by what method did you have your body fat tested? Each have their pros and cons and some can be influenced one way or another by certain factors. It might be worth it to have it retested, by the same or another method, just to verify the results.

[WindingRoad]

Indy - I used one of the hand held devices they have at the gym to get my BMI.

[indysteel]

Indy - I used one of the hand held devices they have at the gym to get my BMI.

Do you mean the calipers or something else? You might do a bit of reading to see what factors could have potentially influenced your results. For your weight and activity level, your 33 percent BMI struck me as a surprise, too.

[WindingRoad]

Its not calipers, it was a little plastic thing you held on to and it told you your BMI. I'm not sure I am taking that reading to heart any longer. Now if my blood work comes back with super high triglycerides then yeah I will be a little more concerned.

Do you mean the calipers or something else? You might do a bit of reading to see what factors could have potentially influenced your results. For your weight and activity level, your 33 percent BMI struck me as a surprise, too.

[GLC1968]

WR - you mean you used the hand-held Omron device? That tests Body Fat, not BMI. BMI is just a relationship between your weight and your height and it has no relation to body composition. Body Fat would be a % like you mentioned.

Are you top-heavy, by chance? Like maybe busty or an 'apple' in shape? If so, that might explain the high BF reading and it probaby is off. When I use the hand-held, I get a realistic number (close to caliper numbers) because I'm bottom-heavy. When I used a BIA scale (same device, except uses your feet/lower body), I too get a high reading.

Readings using bioelectric impedence (hand-held and scales) are highly affected by how hydrated (or dehydrated) you are and even where you are in your monthly cycle...so don't put too much stock in the actual number. Just look for trends as an indicator of progress (like have it measured again in a month)....