| Title: | Weight Loss and Maintenance |
| Notice: | **PLEASE** enter notes in mixed case (CAPS ARE SHOUTING)! |
| Moderator: | ASICS::LESLIE |
| Created: | Tue Jul 10 1990 |
| Last Modified: | Tue Jun 03 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 933 |
| Total number of notes: | 9931 |
Help please, I need some motivation to keep my training program up. My
work-out consists of warm-up, stretch, aerobic exercise for 20-25
minutes, cool down, muscle tone and stretching, ease off and relax. I
do this usually three times a week.
I had my body fat measured by bioelectrical impedence in October 1992;
it was 33.1%. This wasn't a surprise to me but was to a lot of my
friends as I actually look quite slim. Anyway I worked hard and in
April 1993 had another fat test. This time I had dropped to 25.7%. I
was amazed; the result seemed really good but I was having difficulty
seeing where the fat had actually gone from. Yesterday I had my body
fat measured again and it's back at 31.6. I really don't think it
dropped down to 25.7 in the first place but I now feel really
disappointed and need to motivate myself again to carry on with the
training programme.
I keep telling myself that if I ignore the in-between reading then I am
still losing but the process seems to be so slow. My trainer has
offered to test me again next week to check the result but I think the
result that was wrong was the last one and not this. I wish we'd
re-checked that one so I hadn't got excited about my 'loss'.
Mary
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 815.1 | GOLLY::CARROLL | something inside so strong | Wed Jul 21 1993 20:28 | 23 | |
One question - were you two % fat tests done the same way? If they
were done by different methods, that might explain the discrepency.
Anyway, I know how it feels. That's how I felt about the scale,
too...I would get really stuck on what it said instead of how I felt or
looked. Is there anyway you can track your process internally rather
than my measurements? I know the mirror ("how do I look?") can really
vary, and isn't objective...but maybe to say things like "I know I'm
getting in better shape because I used to get winded after 1 flight of
stairs and now I can do 3?" or "I can control my body more easily and
that feels good."
Since how you feel, ultimately, is really all that matters, can you
think of a way to track that?
I know it's hard. I struggle with this too. There's no accurate
measure of progress - scales lie, mirrors lie, fat tests lie, but most
of all - self-perceptions can lie and that's where motivation gets
lost.
Good luck!
D!
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| 815.2 | HDLITE::ZARLENGA | Michael Zarlenga, Alpha P/PEG | Wed Jul 21 1993 22:33 | 12 | |
re:.0
The only accurate way to measure bodyfat is a dunk test. There are no
other reliable, repeatable, accurate ways, no matter what anybody tells
you.
I can only imagine that the electrical resistance test is more of a
guess than even the caliper. All sorts of things can affect electrical
resistance, most notably, a state of hydration or dehydration.
Go for a dunk every 6 months. It costs some money, and you'll have to
find a club that does it, but it's the best way.
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| 815.3 | Feeling better today | ROCKS::DAVIDSON | Thu Jul 22 1993 13:57 | 20 | |
Thanks for the replies and the support. I do like the idea of a dunk
but have never heard of it being done in the UK.
Yes D! you are right - I know I *am* fitter than I was because I have
to work much harder to get my heart rate into training zone. I bought a
monitor a couple of months ago and find it really useful - before that
I used to feel as if I was working quite hard but when I checked my
pulse it wasn't hard enough - now I know!
It is hard to keep motivation because people keep saying I don't need
to lose weight (and they're probably right) but I do need to lose fat
and build muscle, that isn't so easy to see when I'm fully clothed!
I'm not feeling quite so upset about it today so perhaps I'll get
myself motivated again soon.
Thanks for the support D!
Mary
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