Goals and Setbacks, and the Future

It is important to set a Goal, but more important is to set interim Goals: this helps when there are set backs in your regime; this happened to me this past November;

In September I began walking again, after a long hot, humid summer; my son-in-law Paul works as a contract employee, as an IT consultant, and his latest contract had ended without another to take it's place; rather unusual in his experience, and indicative of the economic uncertainty we are all facing; so we began walking the dog, from 1 am to 2:45, on a regular route, but on occasions when Paul was off on interviews, I would vary the walk, and take longer; but as we walked I built up stamina, though I didn't loose weight, and the time at best was whittled down to 1 1/4 hours; at the same time I was also varying the weight I was carrying; it is a known fact that heavy people loose weight faster than people who weigh less; this is due to the work needed to carry the weight increasing the use of excess calories / fat; so I began at a comfortable 14 lbs and worked up to 30 lbs withing 5 weeks; this had the added benefit of putting stress on my legs and building up the stamina; however what I didn't realize, was that it was also putting a strain on the knees; and the good knee at that;

and that is where the setback has occurred; on November 4 after over 2 months of walking practically every day, in all weathers, I was taking out some compost to the bin, and when stepping off the driveway, onto the grass, and twisted the left knee; this it was a sprain, not a major break or muscle damage, so I set about dealing with it independent of the medical profession; I had noticed before this, that the knee was giving me some pain, arthritic I am suspecting, so it was did not come as a complete surprise; Rest, for 3 weeks and gentle usage for a week, and by the end of the month I was feeling at 90% with the odd ache; strength wise it is now even with the right leg for getting up the stairs; not perfect, but it brings me to the next step in my progress;

The Mini-Gym; this I have been working on for 11 months now, a bit at a time as I can find money and space; it sits in a corner of the kitchen and I do have a few pictures, incidental, not intentional, of it, as a by-product of taking pictures of other stuff; this January, I am hoping to have the funds to get it at a early stage of usability; with a 75% stage of usability by the end of Winter, March 28th; with first stage dealing with the leg, and progressing through to upper body and stomach; as I get different apparatus, I will photograph and post the progress, with explanations;

Some of these posts will be ongoing developments, as time and events warrant, which I will update and bump to the top of the list as I go along; so for now will end this one and get on with Chrimbo ;-) Cheers

BMI, WHR, or WHtR

Since the advent of the use of Body Fat Measurement Index, Waist to Hip and Waist to Hight Ratio have been utilized;

from my reading BMI was only intended as a statistical tool in large numbers of people, not for specific diagnostic treatments; as well, it is not a very good indicator if the person is active physically as in athletics and weight training, as the muscle mass masquerades as body fat;
as well, these are the ranges of measurement results:

BMI Weight Status
Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 -24.9 Normal
25 - 29.9 Overweight
30 & Above Obese

Waist to Hip is useful mostly in women, as their hip to waist displacement is usually greater than in men;

there fore I am sticking with the Waist to Height Ratio as the most sensible one;

however the ratio indicators that they list as being appropriate for individual age groups don't make a lot of sense, so I have decided to stick to a lower ratio number of .5 and a BMI of 25; if I reach an equilibrium between the two I will be happy; that means a waist measurement of between 34-36 and a weight of about 165-67, give or take a few lbs; this would place me at the upper limit for Normal weight on the BMI scale; we'll see how it looks when I get there;

My present height varies between 68 and 69, depending on how active I have been; mornings I am taller than evenings ;-) so I split the difference; 68.5 inches

I am hoping to become more active and exercise oriented over the winter, with the Mini-Gym, and therefore my Muscle Mass (MM) should increase; but of course this will require constant exercise, as stopping will only allow that muscle to return to fat ;(

at present my WHtR is thus;
Waist 40 inches
Height 68.5 inches
Ratio 0.584 or 58.4 %
Goal 0.5 or 50%

BMI uses this formula
BMI = (weight in pounds * 703 ) / (height in inches²)

that's why a BMI Calculator is useful ;-) Google BMI Calculator and there are MANY on line; This one on Fuse.net looks to be a good one: http://home.fuse.net/clymer/bmi/ as it covers all the popular ratio indicators;

For my own Calculations,

the BMI is this:
Weight 192 lbs x 703
Height 68.5 squared
or (192 lbs x 703) / (68.5 x 68.5)
Ratio 0.288 or 28.8 %
Goal 0.25 or 25 %

While it would appear that I have only a short way to go, realistically, I won't enter the safe zones (non obese), until I get down to 175 lbs and about 36 inches, which at the rate I have lost the last 20 lbs (September to December)about 3 1/2 months, with Christmas before me and a long winter indoors, means that at best I can expect to be there by March/April; about time for my first check up, and stress test, which is with the Cardiologist; my GP has me booked for June Physical at which I am hoping to be within range of my goals;

but as I indicated above, the goals are not written in stone; a lot depends on how healthy I feel and look; looking and feeling like a prison camp survivor is not my idea of being healthy and the Doctors will be less than impressed ;)

Progress on the Weight Front

I have been eating with an eye to keeping a limit on the intake by using set bowls for meals; that way, if I have more than one bowl at a meal, I know I have eaten more than a given amount; this keeps me accountable for my intake; and if I do indulge in a pastry or cookie, I balance it with a corresponding decrease in intake elsewhere; this has lead me to drop down to 191 lbs as of today, with the prospect that within the next week before Christmas, I should be below 190;

though I am sure, given the minimal eating I have been doing, Christmas will be a temporary set back; but with a bit of restraint, 2 cookies instead of a dozen ;-) I should be able to keep the damage to a minimum, and recoup those gains as losses in a short time;

one thing that I had noticed in November, which I wasn't ready for, was swelling in my feet and legs; after a week or so I asked Thomas, and he said that it is most likely Toxins leaching out of the fat, into the blood stream and I should increase my water intake, and perhaps go onto Cranberry Juice; well I did the water, and it worked the trick, and for the last 2 - 3 weeks I have been moderately better; not completely, as I don't think that is possible until I reach my ideal weight and the fat is reduced to 1 or 2 %;

My friend Trysha sent me a book by Nigel Lawson, on dieting; it had a chart for BMI, and with some searching and finding another chart on Waist/weight, I have come to the conclusion that I am probably heading for a range between 160 and 168 pounds; with exercise, developing muscle, I should not be as emaciated a figure as that weight would suggest;

The Mini-Gym is coming along slowly; put on hold until after Christmas; I have the supports for the weights ready, and plans for a folding bench with a 15 inch width; various ideas are peculating in my brain for cabling and weights interactions; one being a bar at just below full extension of arms, so that as I bend my knees into a crouch, I have support to help raise myself up; hoping that and a few other ideas will help raise the muscle tone in the thighs;

that is it for now; will post again after Christmas; I might have a surprise or two for this blog ;) cheers

Onward Joe Soaps Army of ONE

If you have never heard of the song, Onward Joe Soaps Army, it comes from a Musical Hall Comedy called Oh, It's A Lovely War!, set in WW One;

and it is 2 days and 2 months to Crimbo (Scouse or Cockney, never sure, for Secular Christmas ;) I have been advancing on the front, amidst a barrage of incentives to break the fast, like the pumpkin pie, and the Mincemeat ;( but aside from letting the devil get me with the pumpkin pie on day one, I have managed to keep to some sort of regular eating habits, and lose 2+ lbs; not bad, but I am aware that the most weight is lost in the first week or so of any change in eating habits; so while the offensive goes well, and we are taking a few meters of land, pushing back the foe with our heroic efforts, this is just the beginning, and stalemate will once again rear it's ugly head in the near future;

But am I downhearted?? NO!! we will forage on and continue in our efforts to take Hill 200, so that we may be able to see over it and plan our next offensive ;)

Today I weighed 209.6 (205.6); WHAT DOES THAT MEAN: it means that my scales read 209, but they are electronic, and actually according to the Doctor's scales, I weigh 4 lbs less ;)I started out at 211.8 (207.8) on October 23rd;

In General, I have been eating:
Breakfast: slice of bread, and slice of tomato (today I ran out of Tomato, so substituted slice of Cheese)
Post walk snack: slice of bread, and slice of tomato
Late Dinner 7 PM: a large bowl of soup, bun,
Bedtime snack 9-10 PM: Bun or Apple
and lot of tea ;-)

The weather has been co-operative so I have been walking 7 kl every day; and at home I have been rising at 7:30, and puttering about doing whatever I can to organize the rooms, clean and generally keep active; yesterday I increased the weights I carry by 2 lbs with a fanny pouch around my stomach; so now I will carry 20 lbs, plus clothes and water bottle weight to about an extra 6-7 lbs; the weather looks to be good again today, so anticipating another walk; the weather is haphazard lately, and some days it is Scotch Mist and one day, I got drenched in the last 10 minutes of the walk; but I dried out and felt better after a hot shower ;)

I am making the Exercise Machine, (to be called a Mini Gym, when completed;-) a priority for next month, with Crimbo preparations and some constructions to organize the winery and bed sitter, close second, third, and fourth ;) I will get some photos up later, but from the plans I have come up with, (it is my own design) it will be a full work out gym, with upper and lower body exercises, leg and arm, as well as cardiovascular exercises; the winter months have been the worse for me in terms of keeping fit; I have tended to hibernate; so even if I put one hour a day in, it will be more than I have done in the past;

My Aid de camp (Link rank Head Cat 17 yrs old ;-) is telling me it is time to eat, though it is only 10:49 am; I think I had better give him a little bit of chicken, and refresh my tea mug; Cheers

The Soldaten are Marching

Back from a 7 kl walk; takes about 75 minutes; I began these series of walks in September when my son-in-law's contract was not renewed and he wanted to get some exercise; except for 3 or 4 days we have been walking every day, drizzle or heat wave; I weigh in at the beginning of a walk, with everything I will be wearing and carrying in the walk; today I weighed 236.8 lbs and when I came home I weighed 235.3; that doesn't mean I have lost that much weight, but the water weight I have lost; one memorable day, I lost over 5 lbs or 2 kilos in water weight, as much as a Formula 1 driver in the Singapore Grand Prix ;)

I started walking seriously, last January, when I began meeting my grandson at his after school daycare; that and later I was walking around the town, to the shops and the doctor's office; over the summer when it got too hot and humid for outdoor exercise, I tried to keep active indoors, but it isn't the same without the weights in my Backpack;

Now that is an interesting point; why the weights; well, it is a well known fact that heavier people loose weight and become better conditioned in a shorter span of time that those who are lighter; the reason is their bodies have to work against that excess weight; by adding the weight in the backpack, I am simulating that extra weight; realistically, I could go to 25 lbs, but I have to work at increasing my body strength before that happens; in January, I started with 10 lbs and slowly worked up to 30 lbs by the end of June; but with the lack of exercise over the summer months, July and August, I had to start at a lower weight; but I am up to 20 lbs now and can see hitting 25 by the end of November;

As I have said elsewhere, the conditioning is the prime reason for the weights and exercise; it conditions not only my legs, the knees and shins, but also the heart, lungs. back muscles and hips; however it does nothing for the stomach and the thighs; for that I need the exercise machine I am working on; more on that next month;

Just as an Army marches on it's stomach, so does weight loss; today, I have begun an attempt to reduce the amount of food I take in, while still maintaining the quality and quantity that I need to remain fit; with weight loss and exercise, I have been told that protein and carbohydrates are important for muscle development and energy; without either, my exercise plan will peter out like a stream in the desert;

To that end I have started a food diary; that's right, a book in which I write down each time I eat or drink something; don't wait until the end of the day to remember; that is not going to work, because I won't remember ;) not that I have a memory problem, but because throughout the day, it is hard to keep track of everything we do;

I keep the diary on the fridge door; just a sheet actually, 3 hole punch, so that at the end of the day it goes into a binder that is kept nearby; this way, I know when I have been cheating ;) but as I said, the quality and quantity is important; so today, I have started with breakfast as a 500 ml of water, a slice of cheap bread, with margarine and a slice of tomato; later I had a large mug of green tea; now as I came in, I have had another slice of store bought bread, tomato, with a slice of cheese, and another bottle of water; that should see me to dinner, which will be a bowl of home made chicken soup, a bun, and apple, with some more water or tea; later before bed I will have another slice of home made bread (will make that now) and tomato (btw that is from the garden), with green tea (have some ideas for making my own ;-)

Tomorrow I will vary it somehow, but again, limited food, but quality; and we will see how I am in a weeks time; originally I was planning on waiting until 20 days had passed, before weighing myself, think that is rather optimistic of me LOL, I'll do the daily weigh ins and weigh outs for walking and then again in 7 days do a post shower morning weigh in for Sundays ;) no peeking BWG; ok, perhaps I will post a picture; ooooooooooooo la la ;)

cheers, until next time