Tonight was another session with Keith the Trainer. I swear he's out to kill us, but I must say that I was so much better tonight than last week. He seems to enjoy making us do lots of lunges, squats, suicides, and sprints...with, oh, about 10 - 15 seconds rest time between sets. There was a new girl there testing out the class, but I don't think she'll be back. I'm so glad I have tomorrow off from the gym. I so need it.
I think that my tone is definitely returning now - and quickly. I'm so excited to see what my bf% will be in 4 weeks at the next assessment. Maybe I shouldn't set myself up for disappointment, but I am feeling so good right now.
So, I read this thing online today about body fat percentages and weight loss. Bear with me here...it took me a few minutes to digest what it was saying. Let's say that I weigh around 140 lbs, and my body fat is 21%, but I'd like to lose 20 pounds. 140 x 21.3% = about 30 pounds of fat, so that means I should have 110 lbs of lean body mass. If I lost 20 pounds of fat, I'd only have 10 lbs of fat left, right? This would put me at about 8% body fat. This is a completely unhealthy bf% for a female. I don't think we're supposed to get below 14%. So...let's say I want to be at 17% bf. 140 x 17% = about 24 lbs of body fat. 24 bf + 110 lean body mass = 134 lbs total. So, as long as I don't lose any lean body mass, I should only aim for 134 lbs as my goal weight to be at 17% bf. Does this sound right? Is bf% the most important thing? And is it possible that I actually have 110 lbs of lean body mass right at this moment? I still feel as if I have a ton of fat to lose - especially around my midsection. Help me out here. How accurate is the skinfold method? The past three of mine have been anywhere from 21.3, 21.9%, and 22.9%.
Sorry to throw all these numbers out there, but I've been obsessing over it all day...
I did well today with my eating. I fought off temptation several times. Serious temptation. First, I walked to Starbucks with someone today, but I didn't get anything. It was almost lunchtime, so I decided I actually needed food instead of more caffeine. Then I asked if they'd go somewhere with me to get something to eat, because I didn't want my Lean Cuisine. However, I thought about the fact that we were going to grab lunch tomorrow, so I should just suffer through my Lean Cuisine, which ended up being good anyways (love the Spa line). Last, but not least, I told the kids last night that we'd get Little Caesars tonight after the gym. Don't scold me, please. I dished out their servings, and put the rest in the fridge. It's sitting in there right now, and I'm not even feeling tempted. I think I'm just so focused right now that I don't want to blow what I've been doing in the gym on a stupid piece or 3 of LC pizza. Instead, I grabbed a bowl of Optimum Recovery (does anyone have an opinion on these?).
I think that's about all I have to say tonight. I look forward to hearing your opinions on my issue. Please don't forget to welcome Silvana.
11 comments:
i didnt think weight had that much to do with it. I am 126 pounds and yesterday my bf% was 25%...
Hey Kristen!
Thank you so much for welcoming into FAT Coalition!!!
Don't obssess, you're doing great!
BTW how did you let everybody know I wanted to joing? just curious!
Hmm.
I think it might have to be more of a visual thing for you rather than just a strict numbers thing. I would agree that bf is probably more important than weight, but how you feel and how you like the way you look is more important. Perhaps find a photo of somebody who's body you admire and find out their fat%.
What is Optimum Recovery? And I'm glad your enthusiasm has returned. I love reading about your boot camp. Too scary for me right now, I'm leaning towards yoga.
Boot camp sounds like a hoot. I don't know how you do it, but I'm impressed, I'll tell you that.
Another fantastic post, Kristen. Inspiring as hell, and I've been needing that lately.
The article's right on - it's not rocket science, it's a matter of desire. Thanks for the reminder.
I think I'm gonna take that article and hang it in the fridge, in the pantry, in the grocery store...
As for the bf% thing - try to keep in mind that your numbers are on sort of an "as is" basis. As you continue to strength train, you'll likely increase your lean body mass while decreasing your body fat. So when you get to 134 lbs, you may actually have less than 17% bf because you'll probably have more than 110 lbs of lean body mass.
Wow I had to read that like 5 times before I finally understood. Yeah Im a little slow sometimes.
Great job passing up starbucks! And no LC when its right in the fridge. Impressive. I love when you have that willpower that you have your mindset in the right place. You are doing great :)
Hey Kristen,
BF is important. The amount of fat you have impacts your risk of cardiovascular disease among other diseases as well.
Skinfold testing is the second best method outside of hydrostatic testing.
The key to accuracy with skinfold is you need to have the same person perform the test each time under the same circumstances(ie time of day, in relationship to your last meal, etc...)
If different people do your test then youll have 3 different readings do to individual error.
Your body fat in relationship to your lean mass is all relative to your muscle condition. You and someone of your same weight could have different lean mass to fat ratio based on muscle. This is why resistance training is so key. If you have any other questions feel free to ask...
PS - youre right that women should be around 14% bf...elite athletes get a little leaner.
Last thing, like Phenom said your bf could be different when you reach 134 depending on if youre losing muscle or fat along the way. So the key is to lose fat not muscle...
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