After Alexander’s post I got to wondering about body fat percentages and what is healthy.

There are several ways of measuring body fat such as calipers or a hydrostatic tank.  I saw the latter on the Biggest Loser TV show.  I used this Online Body Fat Percentage Calculator with the tape measurement method.  First I was quite pleased to find out that I had lost one inch off my waist and one inch from my hips since I last recorded my measurements back in January!  Then I entered the numbers online and see that my body fat percentage is 34% which is overweight.  Regardless I am not letting this weigh me down (pardon the pun) and take joy in the fact that I am making progress!

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Ok it’s my turn right?

2 week late, but it’s better late, then never! How many times I tried to get in shape, but after I finally DID launch my site I feel that there is no way back. Which is gooood!

April 16
My weight: 189
Goal: 175

Maybe it seems like not a big deal, but the thing I really want to change is my body fat %. It’s 17 right now, and my goal is 12 which means I need to lose more then 14 pouns of fat and gain some lean body mass. And that’s a challenge!

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Jan 8 2006: 149
April 03: 142.5
April 14: 141.5
Goal: 125

In the past two weeks since BC2 began the scale has been up and down several pounds. (Water retention?) So when I saw 141.5 on the scale this morning I was estatic.  And the great thing is that since I’ve been exercising with both cardio and weights I know that I’ve also built muscle. (Dieting alone without exercise may result in loss of muscle as well as fat.)

Now I’m also really looking forward to the rest of this challenge!

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Last Friday I weighed in — Week 1 of Challenge 2 — and I clocked in at 78.80 KGs (173.36 lbs), which is the same weight that I ended Challenge 1 with…

Over the past 12-13 weeks I’ve got to know my body and its limits, probably more than that I have ever before. As such, I’m setting a 12-week goal that is realistic… this time

12 Week Goal: 75 KGs (165 lbs)
Need to Loose: 3.5 KGs (8.36 lbs)
Week 1 (Apr 7): 78.80 KGs (173.36 lbs)
Week 2 (Apr 14): no weigh-in

Have been to gym 4 times this week… and did 60 minutes on the x-trainer yesterday, clocking up 730 calories burnt

Didn’t go today as the gym wasn’t going any spinning class due to the public holiday. Oh well, I needed a break anyway…

If I meet this 12 challenge goal I’ll try push my limits a little more and attempt my ultimate goal, 72 KGs (158.4 lbs) for Part 3…

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Okay I admit it, exercise can be difficult. Sometimes when I’m working out I think to myself, “Can I go now?” I’d rather be anywhere else but there!

A little visualization can help make a class or workout more fun. So today during class I imagined I was at the beach. I had this bright idea about going to Australia - believe it or not as a combination vacation/business trip. (One of my affiliate merchants is there and ever since finishing my taxes this year I’m looking for every business deduction I can!)

Plus if I’m going to the beach - even if it’s just Texas or Florida I want to look good!

Toward the end of class the kickboxing instructor has us do these double time routines and fast running drills like football players do before a game. Then I imagined I was in the ocean swimming back to shore - away from a Shark.

Photo Courtesy of Virtual Australia

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One of my biggest hurdles is controlling hunger and I have to work at balancing my diet so that I don’t get ravenous and start binging!

I find that combining protein and carbs helps.  Like a small apple and some peanuts or a slice of whole wheat toast with 1 Tablespoon peanut butter for a snack.  For breakfast today I had one egg, a slice of toast and 6 oz. V-8 juice.  This tends to keep hunger at bay until lunch.

Replace carbs with protein: In the short term, low-carb diets (high in protein-rich foods such as eggs, chicken, and fish) tend to cause more rapid weight loss than low-fat diets (often high in carb-rich pasta and cereal) by suppressing appetite.

More Tips From Prevention Magazine

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I visited the BMI calculator at the Mental Toughness Institute For Weight Control website because I found a link to their site on Joe Vitale’s Gladiator Gym website

I plugged in my values as they appeared at the beginning of this body challenge and it came back with the results above.

BMI = 32 :-( 

I guess I just added another terror-element for wanting to loose weight to my arsenal.

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Here is a page with some photos of our locality in NZ South Island as promised!

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I just read a very useful interview with Lyle MacDonald about the pros and cons, including the facts from studies, of  low carb/ high carb weight loss and what works:  You can read it here

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Just been watching a TV program in which they got overweight people to lose weight by scaring them silly. First they took a photo of them all in a little bikini.  These folk agreed that if they had not lost 15 lbs in 8 weeks then their photo would be shown on National TV. We weren’t shown the images of course. But these people were really embarrassed. In 8 weeks they came back for a check and all except 1 had lost the 15 lbs some had lost considerably more than that. They were all so scared they had been totally motivated and determined not to let it happen. They didn’t give them any diet or exercise regimen - that was up to them.   The one who had only lost 12 lbs was let off of course- they didn’t expose her to TV.

Mind you its easy enough t lose it but how will they keep it off now the fear has gone? Anyway I have my daughters wedding to terrify me into shedding fat!

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