Blog Archives
Driveshaft Drama: “Getting Healthy Requires a Budget”
Something is clunking in my truck. CLANKing even. *SIGH* This is not a good thing.
The health of my truck affects everything, even my health! I have to have a vehicle to drive the 44 mile round trip to and from work or else I don’t have a job! If I don’t have a job, I’m on the streets.
And let me tell ya, those street people don’t look too healthy! And we won’t even THINK about what all this will do to my budget and how it will affect my ability to dance and compete! Eeeeeeeeekkkk Urrrrrrkkkk Ugh!
So, sit back, or lean forward, your choice, and enjoy my tale of woe and angst while I use the process of telling you about my tale of woe and angst as a way to get my thoughts in order and come to a decision about “OMG What am I going to do??????!!!!!!”
But I digress… 😉 Back to the clunking and clanking…
Saturday, yesterday, at lunch I went out to my truck, got in, turned the key and *CLICK*. Nada, nothing, not a chirp, not a peek. Not a single erg of power. Not good.
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Ya Gotta Play With Numbers, Rejoice in the Math, and Revel in the Research!
My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Arts; I majored in Library Science and Drama. Which means [drumroll please] I have a B.A. in L.S.D.! Honest! I’m not kidding. Neat huh? 🙂
One nice thing about getting a liberal arts degree was that only one semester of the lowest level of algebra was required. Yay! Yippee! Woo Hoo!
So, who knew that years later I would actually *need* some of that math to become fit! The other thing that college taught me is how to do research. Which is a good thing, I guess, since I’m a Librarian. A big chunk of my job is finding information. But who knew that I’d be using that skill set to get healthy?
After writing Setting Goals: You gotta do the math! Ugh!, it occurred to me that I’ve been using some fitness formulas, terms and guidelines without really defining or explaining them. This post will elaborate on the following points:
- How I arrived at a goal of 194 lbs and 12% Body Fat
- The maximum safe amount you should plan on losing per week is 1% of your total body mass.
- When losing weight the goal is to lose body fat, not muscle; in other words your “lean body mass” should remain fairly constant.
- The “Healthy at Every Size” Movement. It is important to “listen” to your body; weight and body fat are only two indicators of health, they should not be relied upon to the exclusion of other factors.
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Rejoice and Revel for it has been a good week!
Let the reveling and rejoicing begin! 🙂 Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh! (doing a chair dance and the circle your fists in the air thingie!)
Ok, ok, ’nuff silliness already! This is serious stuff here! 😉 I’m following my own advice and rejoicing in the little things. Because those little things eventually add up and “Voila you have met your goal!”
This has been a good week! And I’ll get to check off some of the things on my “Check List“. So in no particular order, let’s get on to the recap.
The switch has been flipped…
The gauntlet has been thrown, the tide has turned, the balance has shifted, midnight has past, and the dawn has begun; a lot of what I’ve been doing over the past month, but especially this past week is happening in my brain rather than in the “real” world.
In other words: I’ve been “thinking” a lot. And it hurtz! Owie! I needz somebodies to kiss itz and makes itz bettersz. (Preferably some hunky guy in a speedo–Yummy!) *AHEM* But I digress… 😉 Back to the topic at hand…
It boils down to this: (1) Being healthy is now my top priority and (2) creating positive momentum is vital to working on that priority.
My health and fitness, or current lack thereof, affects everything in my life. EVERYTHING. It seems simple doesn’t it and very rational to make the thing that affects everything else in your life your top priority? Sounds good to me! Sadly, in life, the things that seems conceptually simple are actually incredibly complex and difficult to execute.
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Setting Goals: You’ve Gotta Do the Math! Ugh!
Ok, first let me state without question that goals are a guideline, not the law.
Goals are more like the “Pirate Code” from the Disney movie “Pirates of the Caribbean” than the “Law” as handed down from the Supreme Court.
And, not to put too fine a point on it, laws change. So should goals.
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Setting Long Range Goals
I have this Excel spreadsheet where I track my daily weight and body fat percentage and compare it against my goals. And when I started plugging in the goal numbers, I realized I was being unrealistic in my goals. I had set my ultimate goal for 190 lbs. But to achieve that without loosing any muscle mass I would have to have 7% Body Fat. Given my age, that is not realistic.
My NEW adjusted goal is 194 lbs and 12% Body Fat. However, pay attention dear readers, all six of you who are actually reading this blog, IF I don’t get to those numbers that’s ok. As long as I feel healthy then that’s awesome! As long as all the quantitative measurements like a smaller waistline, better flexibility, more energy, no high blood pressure, and better more restful sleep, all say I’m healthy, then who really gives a flip what the final number is.
However, having some specific goals does help keep you on track. At least it does for me. I like to think of it as a quick and handy “shorthand” that describes in two numbers how I’m progressing toward living healthy. But if I end up 220 and 14% BF, so be it. Because you can be healthy at every size. Read the rest of this entry
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Rejoice in the Little Things for “I’ve been a GOOD boy!”
Here’s a quick recap (my friends can stop laughing now). For those just joining the us, the “joke” is that I have a reputation for *NEVER* telling a story in 10 words when 10 paragraphs will do.
Siiiiiiiiigggggghhhh
Today’s post is all about patting myself on the back. Bravo! Cue the Applause! Yay! Woo Hoo! Yippie! Good Job! I rock! I am FAB-u-LUS!
I’ve actually done quite a bit this week towards my goal of “being healthy” and “living healthy”. Each of the things, in and of itself may seem tiny but each tiny step is still a step.
So here, in no particular order, are some of the things I’ve done this week which move me closer to my goal:
- Coffee: Finally bought a bottle of plain white vinegar to use in my coffee maker to clean accumulated oils and coffee gunk from the guts of the machine. (How to Clean a Coffee Maker With Vinegar)
.. - Morning drugs: For two weeks now I’ve been taking my morning “pills” which consists of (1) a daily mufti-vitamin and (2) my high blood pressure medication. I’m not counting this as a “done” thing yet because you really need to do something regularly for three weeks before it really becomes a habit. On my shopping list for this week is “Calcium with Vitamin D”. There is a history of bone problems on both sides of my family in the guys and the gals so I figure it is time for me to start doing the supplement. (Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Calcium) (Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements) (18 Tricks to Make New Habits Stick)
.. Read the rest of this entry
5-6-7-8 Dancing My Way to a Healthy Me! 