An Explanation
1. I have been feeling terrible lately. Really, I have. Most people are only aware of how good they usually feel, once they feel ill! Not me. I know I usually feel great and I am not often worn out. I might be a bit sleepy-tired, but not exhausted physically and mentally.
2. I have too much fat on the outside; it follows that I must also have too much fat on the inside, as well. This is not good. My body fat percentage is 30 or 31% at present and that is not healthy.
3. My clothes do not fit well. This is uncomfortable and annoying. It means I'm wearing a small percentage of the clothes I own. I am bored with the clothes I am wearing. I could squeeze into the others, but would look and feel horrid.
4. A high percentage of body fat is ageing. This is very bad. Apart from all the other facts I could throw at you, just get this........did you know that eating too much sugar is one of the best ways to age your skin? Sugar attaches itself to the proteins in our collagen (the stuff that makes our skin elastic) and causes them to become stiff and inflexible, thereby causing wrinkles and sagging (a very simplified explanation). It's true. And, of course, a diet too high in sugar and fat is going to make you...fat.
Right. All the above reasons are why I've decided to document this journey (if you're wonderimg why make such a big deal of losing ten pounds, I'll tell you: it's not that difficult to lose ten pounds, but it's harder to lose ten pounds of fat. And ten pounds of fat makes a huge difference for a person of 5ft 2). My aim is to lose 7 or 8% of body fat, and be 23% and 8st 2 (I've done my calculations). I'm only 5ft 2, so it's not skinny. I don't want to be skinny and if it starts looking like 8st 2 is going to make me look unhealthy, I will alter that target. Skinny is not my aim. Healthy and fit is. And I certainly don't want to look skinny whilst having a high body-fat percentage, like lots of skinny people. So, the aim is to lose body fat and not lean tissue, which is where exercise is so important.
I am not going to fastidiously eat the correct proprtions of fat, carbohydrate and protein, as I did before. It was very time-consuming and took over. I had to find out how many grams of protein, fat and carbs there were in everything I ate, and then convert it to the number of calories, and then enter it into an excel chart, which calculated the percentage of calories obtained from fat, protein and carbs. Then I realised that, since I'm not into competitive body-building, it was a bit over the top. Nevertheless, there are some useful lessons I learnt, such as: don't go crazy on too many carbs, eat some good protein every day, get enough fat (good fat) and try not to go for more than about three hours without eating, to keep the metabolism working.
The best e-books for inspiration are Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, and Jon Benson's Fit Over Forty. My favourite clinical nutritionist is Patrick Holford. No, I'm not going to go crazy. Just sensible. I found that if I eat sensibly and work out a bit on most days (including some resistance training), it works. And the best thing is the energy. Oh, and the fact that you don't have to go to a gym. Do it at home.
Vital statistics:
2004 (this is scary)
fat 34%
weight 9st 8
Hips 39"
waist 34" (get that!)
Arms 12"
Thighs 22"
New Year's Eve 2005
Weight 8st 10
Fat 28%
hips 36"
waist 29"
Thighs 21.5"
Today
weight 8st 12
fat 31%
thighs 21.5"
hips 37"
waist 30.5"
arms 11"
1. I have been feeling terrible lately. Really, I have. Most people are only aware of how good they usually feel, once they feel ill! Not me. I know I usually feel great and I am not often worn out. I might be a bit sleepy-tired, but not exhausted physically and mentally.
2. I have too much fat on the outside; it follows that I must also have too much fat on the inside, as well. This is not good. My body fat percentage is 30 or 31% at present and that is not healthy.
3. My clothes do not fit well. This is uncomfortable and annoying. It means I'm wearing a small percentage of the clothes I own. I am bored with the clothes I am wearing. I could squeeze into the others, but would look and feel horrid.
4. A high percentage of body fat is ageing. This is very bad. Apart from all the other facts I could throw at you, just get this........did you know that eating too much sugar is one of the best ways to age your skin? Sugar attaches itself to the proteins in our collagen (the stuff that makes our skin elastic) and causes them to become stiff and inflexible, thereby causing wrinkles and sagging (a very simplified explanation). It's true. And, of course, a diet too high in sugar and fat is going to make you...fat.
Right. All the above reasons are why I've decided to document this journey (if you're wonderimg why make such a big deal of losing ten pounds, I'll tell you: it's not that difficult to lose ten pounds, but it's harder to lose ten pounds of fat. And ten pounds of fat makes a huge difference for a person of 5ft 2). My aim is to lose 7 or 8% of body fat, and be 23% and 8st 2 (I've done my calculations). I'm only 5ft 2, so it's not skinny. I don't want to be skinny and if it starts looking like 8st 2 is going to make me look unhealthy, I will alter that target. Skinny is not my aim. Healthy and fit is. And I certainly don't want to look skinny whilst having a high body-fat percentage, like lots of skinny people. So, the aim is to lose body fat and not lean tissue, which is where exercise is so important.
I am not going to fastidiously eat the correct proprtions of fat, carbohydrate and protein, as I did before. It was very time-consuming and took over. I had to find out how many grams of protein, fat and carbs there were in everything I ate, and then convert it to the number of calories, and then enter it into an excel chart, which calculated the percentage of calories obtained from fat, protein and carbs. Then I realised that, since I'm not into competitive body-building, it was a bit over the top. Nevertheless, there are some useful lessons I learnt, such as: don't go crazy on too many carbs, eat some good protein every day, get enough fat (good fat) and try not to go for more than about three hours without eating, to keep the metabolism working.
The best e-books for inspiration are Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, and Jon Benson's Fit Over Forty. My favourite clinical nutritionist is Patrick Holford. No, I'm not going to go crazy. Just sensible. I found that if I eat sensibly and work out a bit on most days (including some resistance training), it works. And the best thing is the energy. Oh, and the fact that you don't have to go to a gym. Do it at home.
Vital statistics:
2004 (this is scary)
fat 34%
weight 9st 8
Hips 39"
waist 34" (get that!)
Arms 12"
Thighs 22"
New Year's Eve 2005
Weight 8st 10
Fat 28%
hips 36"
waist 29"
Thighs 21.5"
Today
weight 8st 12
fat 31%
thighs 21.5"
hips 37"
waist 30.5"
arms 11"
As you can see, some of today's measurements are not that different to the December ones. Do not be fooled. My body has a higher percentage of fat and the eye can really see that, even though the measurements are similar.
Exercise Today
First two parts of Davina's Power of Three video (legs and then upper body). A run around the garden (pushing Charles on his trike).
Cals used: 400 I can tell, as I have a Polar heart-rate monitor.
- millet porridge cooked with lemon zest and cinnamon
- blackberries
- lots of raw spinach, red onion, chilli mackerel, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, sweetcorn (no sugar or salt added)
- red seedless grapes
- 4 pints of water
- 2 cups of fresh coffee
- some naturally dried apricots
- home-made chowmein (yellow & green peppers, mushrooms, beansprouts, spring onions, egg noodles, loads of garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil). Will post recipe one day soon.
posted by Alice at 6:52 AM
4 Comments:
Good luck, I wish you well. That's right, keep it sensible, it frightens me when folk get obsessed. More of the good stuff, less of the naughty and move around a bit more. I know I feel 100% better when I do what I know is right rather than giving in to temptation all the time and maybe one day soon I'll do the same :) Your mackerel salad looks delish!
You make such a good point here, that as important as the clothes fitting and physical health is (though they are important too), it is also important how we feel mentally, because our attitude affects so many things in life. When you are fitter, you feel more motivated and energetic, and better about yourself. Best wishes on your journey! I'm so glad too that you're doing a healthy and not a fad diet. They're easier to stick to.
you go girl!!!
I started today too, what a weird coincidence. I like your idea of publishing it on the internet - there's so much more pressure to stick to it!
Two of my friends and I are doing this together, and I always find it's easier to do with other people than by yourself. I made one of them lemon tea today (instead of coffee with LOTS of cream as she usually has) and bought some nuts for the other, just so we could all keep from going crazy. Sugar is so addicting, it feels like drug withdrawal when you have to go off it. :)
You look like you're off to a great start - I hope to see lots of pictures of your yummy looking food on here. :)
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