I'm more or less back into the swing of it all again.
Summary
I had a pitiful May, an okay June, a great July, and am aiming for an awesome August, but only time will tell. :) So far, so good, though.
I've been in the saddle commuting (it's really easy to get 30 minutes a day this way) and walking with Calen in the mornings to the store to pick up fresh produce for the day's breakfast (another 30 minutes roundtrip). I even started swimming and it was much easier and so much more pleasant than I last remembered. I've been on several longer rides (50 miles) over the weekends and a lot of shorter (1 hour), but intense interval ("Muscle Monday") rides as well. Even added in a little weight training and Pilates to round it out. I've been a little scant on running, but I'm not really planning on running most of the Pacific Grove Triathlon event, anyway. (I'm planning on jog/walking the 10k. I'm only looking to finish, not be awesome!)
What I haven't been doing
I've been slacking on the food control for about two years. I've gained back 26 of the 45 lbs. I'd lost. I was looking at the weight charts today and I was pretty amused at how I've been gaining two pounds every month for the past two years. That's 7,000 excess calories a month. It really does add up over time! (Shit!) Anyway, I figured I'd start back with exercising in May (check) and once that was manageable, I'd get back into eating healthy and watching my portion control (which started this month). I have to say, it's not bad since I've enlisted the help of Le Boyfriend. I've tasked him with arriving at restaurants earlier than me and ordering predetermined "healthy" options for me. Plus, he's been eating half of my food and that's been great!
I encountered a bit of an odd situation this week. As many of you know, I wrestle with my weight, mainly because I'm wrestling to find the time to exercise (something that I actually love to do and would definitely describe as a "serious hobby"). Now, it's not uncommon to have friends who are/were as you are/were. Like most heavier people, I have/had some heavier friends. We share the other hobby of fine dining and cooking (another "serious hobby" of mine). What struck me as odd was that this week one of my longtime friends (who also struggles with weight) posted pictures of a trip, but completely excluding images of me. Why? Because he was considerate of the fact that I may be sensitive about having "fat" pictures of me all over the Internet.
Am I the only fat person in the world who is not ashamed of being fat?
I was fat. It's not a bad word, it's a description! :) I was fat, then I was skinny, now I'm sorta' pudgy ... I suppose I wouldn't want someone to literally say to me, "Amber, you were/are fat," but I cannot deny that such a thing was/is the truth. Besides, I was fat, not DEAD.
Just because there are less than flattering pics out there doesn't mean I wasn't having a good time. I have to admit, sometimes I grimace when I see pictures that show how heavy I had become. I also admit that sometimes I like seeing myself being heavier and obviously having a blast at whatever it was I was doing. It reminds me that there is so much more to life than how we look. And that is an issue that I'm constantly wrestling with now that I've been "skinny" and have gained back some of my weight. I've learned the dark secret of "skinny" people and that is that they abhor fat folks. There is a good number of folks who are appalled by extraneous flesh; they feel sorry for us fatties. They hope to never "let themselves go like that." Really, I feel very sorry for them.
I've been on both sides of the fence and would have to say that I'd rather be fat (but fit) with a healthy zeal for life than be obsessed over my looks and appearances and what others may think of me. Do I deny that I would like to be skinny? No, but I have a limit--a price point at which it seems an unreasonable price to pay. I never want to feel that I'm too fat or skinny to do anything ... and I believe that is the real key to weight management. Truth is, I'd rather be fit and athletic if that was an option. Like right now ... I'm a little pudgy, but I'm damn fit. I'm doing high-intensity cardio 6X a week, Pilates/Yoga 3X a week, and am about to add weightlifting 2X a week. I've got a few bicycling Century (100 miles) events coming up and I'm planning to re-race the first Triathlon event I had ever done.
I'm not ashamed of being fat or overly proud of being skinny. These are purely side effects to my true goals: to enjoy my hobbies (exercise and eating) whenever and wherever I can! Come to think of it, the only "weight-loss" goal I have is simply to have as much fun as possible no matter what the scale says.
Measurements and nutrition information ...
Measurements and nutrition information ...
Monday, November 14, 2005
The Measurements
Scale 166.4 lbs. (< 22.8 lbs.)
Body Fat ~35.5% (< 10.0%)
Neck 14"
Chest 35"
Waist 38.5"
Hips 41.5"
Thighs 25"
Calves 15"
Upper Arms 13"
Forearms 10"
The Nutrition
No longer watching caloric intake. Not even accurately recording caloric intake. No caloric cap. Hunger is very manageable, though.
(All values below are averages per day based on information gestimated between Sunday-Saturday.)
Calories: 2200 kcal (ideal: 2100 kcal)
Protein: 118.7 g (ideal: 20% or 104.9 g)
Carbohydrates: 225.6 g (ideal: 50% or 262.3 g)
Fiber: 12.5 (ideal: 25 g)
Total Fat: 104.3 (ideal: 30% or 69.9 g)
Saturated Fat: 33 g (ideal: 23.3 g)
Measurements and nutrition information ...
Sunday, October 16, 2005
The Measurements
Scale
170.6 lbs. (< 18.6 lbs.)
Body Fat ~36.5% (< 9.0%)
Neck 14"
Chest 36"
Waist 39.5"
Hips 43"
Thighs 24.5"
Calves 15.25"
Upper Arms 13"
Forearms 10"
The Nutrition
No longer watching caloric intake. Not even accurately recording caloric intake. No caloric cap. Hunger is manageable, though.
(All values below are averages per day based on information gestimated between Sunday-Saturday.)
Calories: 2200 kcal (ideal: 2100 kcal)
Protein: 118.7 g (ideal: 20% or 104.9 g)
Carbohydrates: 225.6 g (ideal: 50% or 262.3 g)
Fiber: 12.5 (ideal: 25 g)
Total Fat: 104.3 (ideal: 30% or 69.9 g)
Saturated Fat: 33 g (ideal: 23.3 g)
Measurements and nutrition information ...
Sunday, September 18, 2005
The Measurements
Scale
172.7 lbs. (< 16.5 lbs.)
Body Fat ~38.0% (< 7.5%)
Neck 14"
Chest 37"
Waist 40.5"
Hips 42"
Thighs 26"
Calves 16"
Upper Arms 12"
Forearms 10"
The Nutrition
Watching caloric intake, Hunger is manageable.
(All values below are averages per day based on information gathered Sunday-Saturday.)
Calories: 1879 kcal (ideal: 2100 kcal)
Protein: 90.6 g (ideal: 20% or 104.9 g)
Carbohydrates: 247.6 g (ideal: 50% or 262.3 g)
Fiber: 19.8 g (ideal: 25 g)
Total Fat: 59.7 g (ideal: 30% or 69.9 g)
Saturated Fat: 18 g (ideal: 23.3 g)
Measurements, nutrition, and workout reports.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
The Measurements
Scale
186.0 lbs. (< 3.2 lbs.)
Body Fat ~39.8% (<>
Neck 12"
Chest
38"
Waist 43"
Hips 45"
Thighs 26"
Calves 15.5"
Upper Arms 13" (<
0.5")
Forearms 10.5" (<>
The Workout
(Total output for Sunday-Saturday)
Swim: 400 yards (Tues 400 + Thur x)
Bike: 32.4 miles (Sun 14.4 + Wed 18)
Run: 2.5 miles (Tues 20 min.)
Weights:
Lat pull-downs, Leg press, Ham curls, Chest press, Shoulder press,
Torso extensions, Back extensions, Ab Curls, Deltoid press, Triceps
pull-downs, Bicep curls.
The Nutrition
No longer watching caloric intake. Simply recording caloric intake without a caloric cap. Hunger is insatiable.
(All values below are averages per day based on information gathered Sunday-Wednesday.)
Calories: 2200 kcal (ideal: 2100 kcal)
Protein: 118.7 g (ideal: 20% or 104.9 g)
Carbohydrates: 225.6 g (ideal: 50% or 262.3 g)
Fiber: 12.5 (ideal: 25 g)
Total Fat: 104.3 (ideal: 30% or 69.9 g)
Saturated Fat: 33 g (ideal: 23.3 g)