2012-05-18

Reality can be a BITCH

I mentioned I was excited about doing the BodPod thing
I got my body fat done by one of those Omron hand held devices
I was measured after the exercise so think I need to redo it
Might even get one of my own to start keeping track at home
I had it done as Normal and Athlete
My Normal was 37.4% (down from a starting point of over 40%)
My Athlete reading was 31.6%
Since the tester has the difference I looked up the proper settings
I should be close to Athlete per the manual

Now on to the reality bitch slap
I was fasting for the bod pod
I had been drinking but that shouldn't affect it too much
My ear rings, I was told, would affect the readings but minimal
My reading was 40.4%
My RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) was calculated at 2405 calories
If I was sedentary 3078, Low Active 3632, Active 4185 and Very Active 5002 calories
My weight at the time of the measurement was 311.847lbs
My Fat Free Mass was 185.772lb (which has a funny since the federal charts say I should weigh 168)
My Fat Mass was 126.075lbs (FRAK that looks bad)
At 1.5lb a week (which is most anyone says you should lose over long term) that means I have more than a year to get where I "should" be
I do know, my goal is not weight loss but fat loss so will have to keep that in mind

I will admit after getting the results I was dealing with some VERY bad negative emotions
I was seriously wondering why I bothered
Why, after all my work, was I being pushed back
Why it felt like I had taken 3 steps forward and just got knocked back 5
WTF?

One of the biggest concerns with this number and where I carry the excess fat is that a LOT of it is adipose
That means that is it internal and around my organs
This is the stuff that can and will kill you if you don't do something
I have escaped dying 2 times already
This is going to have to be number 3
The good news, as elsolel (nickname for the girl I have started dating) will always seem to look for, is that if I can get rid of it then most of my medical conditions could go away

Sent a text to elsolel after I got done and was waiting to see my endo
Told her the results and some of the feelings
Got a LOT of support from her
Thank You!!!

Got an email from HH from the VA
She was concerned that the numbers would affect me badly and maybe make me quit
Sent back a note saying I was dealing with negative feelings but wasn't going to stop
We will plan on doing it again in 3 months when I go in next time

The good news on my blood work
My A1c is down to 6.7 from 8.2 in November (doctor VERY happy with this)
My triglycerides are still high but a little better
My LDL is back in normal range since I told my doctor I was stopping the Atorvistatin
HDL went up a little but moving in the right direction now
MCV/MCH/RDW still out of range but hemoglobin good so they will do an iron panel next time to see if I have something causing borderline anemia
Rest of my numbers were good or improved to better

Doctor believes the only way for me to really get my triglycerides down will be with weight loss
The only time they were lower than now was when I was 20lbs lighter
I haven't been concentrating on trying to lose weight but in gaining strength and muscle mass
I know in the long run that is better since muscle will raise my RMR (also known to me as BMR)

For now, I don't plan on making any major changes to anything
I will do 2 things I haven't been doing tho

First, I will start logging my food again
I had been doing it but since what I eat wasn't changing a lot it wasn't varying a lot
It was also stressing me since I was using the defaults and was getting a LOT of reds (bad) in my numbers
I will change the settings to customize it
15-20% carbs
30-40% protein
40-55% fat
Eat clean foods
Keep the paleo concept and avoid the grains, legumes, starchy veggies

Second, I will start incorporating a LITTLE cardio into my workouts
Possibly add in a 4th day that has more
Like Sat morning
I will do stuff like rowing, biking and possibly some elliptical
I will not be doing very much treadmill since that is where I seem to have had issues in my past

I am going to use a concept from rifle shooting
If your first shot doesn't hit the mark, don't make major changes until you have made your second shot
If your second hits the same spot, you know how to correct
If your second shot misses then you aren't consistent and need to check everything over and restart

I will admit this felt like a kick to the gut
I will admit this really damped down my enthusiasm and excitement
I will also admit that this will NOT stop me

2 comments:

  1. You are an amazing, strong man, and I believe in your ability to do anything you set your mind to. I like looking for that silver lining. Those numbers will only improve. And I know you aren't doing it for the numbers.

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  2. I think , to me and seeing your progress, is that you need to focus on your forward progress. It's not so much about where you are now, but where you are now in relation to where you started. You are still nearer to your beginning phase of an entire lifestyle change, and have made leaps and bounds of progress. I think that is amazing, in and of itself.

    And elsolel said it - the numbers will only improve. Knowing that on top of knowing how you have improved since you started your journey seems like great motivation to this outsider.

    Keep on, you are a rock star - that much you have proven!

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