My company recently acquired this nifty little machine that analyzes your body in a whole lot of different ways.
It sends an electrical pulse through your body on several different frequencies, and measures not only BMI, but the amount of water in your cells, outside your cells, how much muscle is in each leg, each arm, and oodles of other stuff.
After getting my report I slipped into the “Huh?” factor and needed to talk to the company health coach about it, because the report told me I need to lose 22.6 pounds.
Now, If you take a look at the pictures of me on my site, you will be in “huh” mode with me… those were taken earlier this year. Do I look like I need to lose 22 pounds? A few maybe, but not 22.
What she explained to me is that my body is mis-proportioned. My arms both only have about 85-86% of the muscle they should have to fall into the “normal range” and proportionally, I should only have between 18-23 percent body fat….. [**GACK**] I have 36.
Honestly, I totally believe this percentage part because let’s face it… writing is sedentary. My thighs are a little thicker than they used to be… okay maybe 36 percent thicker… but I’m glad this little machine told me… because now I have a goal.
No, don’t worry, I am not going to try to lose 22.6 pounds… I’d have to starve myself for that. What I am going to try to do is get down to my high-school weight… back when I was still a “babe”. That’s losing sixteen pounds from where I am now.
Luckily for me, my husband in the last year or so has lost 65 pounds… and he’s offered to be my personal trainer. I am going to try to lose as much fat in my legs and tummy as possible, while building muscle in my arms.
I need to get in the best shape I can in the next two weeks, and then I will jump on that nifty little machine again.
My goal is to push all my “underweight” areas into the “normal” zone by gaining muscle, and bring down that high fat percentage.
Hubbs said the chances of losing 16 pounds in two weeks is slim… but I probably consume that much in chocolate and ice cream alone in two week’s time. I need to make healthier choices.
Diet and exercise. Yep, I can do this…
What about my writing routing? Yeah, I can’t possibly cut more time out of my sleep, so the writing and marketing time is going to suffer. Social networking? Erghhhh…. Might be a problem too… but this is something I need to do for my health.
Hubbs has been complaining we don’t spend time together… now we will. And I WILL be a babe again, dernit!
Have you gained weight since you started writing?
If not, how do you make time for exercise, along with the laundry, dishes, taking kids to sports, dog training, and all the other normal things people do?
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Jennifer M Eaton 
Yikes. I’m certain that machine would tell me I’m about to die! I already know my BMI is in the ‘red’ range, though I don’t put much stock in just that since it doesn’t take muscle into account. But I know I’m fat. Since getting preggers I put on a whole load of weight that I had lost previously and now I’ve to work on getting it off again. I have a goal, but it will take me much longer to get there this time than before. Then again, if I give it a year or two I’ll have to kids to run after so that should help. :p
When those babies start walking you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to keep them from killing themselves trust me.
They’re rolling over themselves now; I wake up in the night and they get into the oddest positions. Hell, I put them on the floor and they seem to travel a foot or two in the time I blink! When they’re walking… *deep breath*
Ah such fun lie ahead!
Good luck, Jennifer! I shudder to think what a machine like that would tell me…
Ha! It was really quite painless. It was neat to see how much each arm and each leg weighed.
For me it was getting married that killed my weight. I’ve been lucky in my genes. I inherited a fast metabolism (or poor absorption in my digestive system, I’ve never established which), a choloesteral level that doesn’t even register on the charts (less than 80 total is best they’ve been able to estimate) and a good body fat ratio. In spite of all this, I gained 40lbs once I got married. Eating 3 course meals instead of a can of chef boy ardee and some peas might be a factor. Also, instead of biking or walking everywhere, I got a car and all my work is sedentary by nature. I’m not about to kill the remaining portion of my day after work by excersizing, so…40lbs was added. Lost 30 of it last year but I stopped the diet and regained 20 of it at least. >.<
Ha! I think you’re the third guy to say that.
I’m watching you.
Why a 2-week time frame? I would have given myself a month, but then again, I’m not nearly as motivated as you seem to be. 2 1/2 years ago I quit smoking and gained about 20 pounds. Then, in May of last year, I got pulmonary embolisms and didn’t get out of my lazy boy chair for a month…bang, another 20 lbs. This past January, I did something called the Pink method (diet and exercise) and lost 35 lbs. Took me about 6 months. I still have almost 20 lbs to lose to get to my ideal weight but I’m having trouble with my asthma lately. I’ll get there though! 🙂 Good luck!
AWe… Good luck Wendy! I know you can do it!
Two weeks is just how long my company has a trial of this peice of equipment. I want to gain as much mucle and lose as much fat as I can in that timeframe.
That way I can check myself once more before they send it back. (Of course, If they keep it, I can check my progress regularly.)
Aww….ok, that makes sense. Well, if anyone can do it, it’s you chickie! xo
A few years ago I managed to take off 20 pounds through better diet and exercise. Then we moved closer to DC, and while I still exercise regularly, the number of incredible restaurants has put some of those pounds back on. Grr!
So losing weight and keeping it off really does require BOTH exercise and a healthier overall diet. I will say don’t deprive yourself entirely of things like chocolate. Your body will rebel. Allow yourself small portions of your favorite indulgences and it’ll be easier to stick to that overall healthy diet.
Mix up the exercise, too, so you don’t burn out on the same thing over and over. Got some favorite songs that make you dance all out? Get them playing! Great exercise while you have fun.
And for me, exercise really stimulates my creativity—so it’s good for the writing brain, too. 🙂 Win win win situation!
Luckily for me, chocolate is prescribed as part of my diet. Doctor’s order. (I love my doctor) I just have to have the dark stuff, which is better for you, so I won’t be cutting back on my favorite foods… just cutting portions and stopping the munchies.
I don’t fit it in 😀 I exercise once a week for two hours of fast swimming, which I know isn’t good enough. Really though, I’ve heard just moving around more speeds up your metabolism and is healthier for you (plus I’m quite unfit at anything that isn’t swimming.) Good luck with this! (And I didn’t know you had a JOB! I always imagined you to spend your days in a corner writing.)
H! I wish. Nope. Full time job still. I love swimming too, but we just had to close our pool for the winter yeasterday. 😦
just a little balance is all you might need.that machine can’t figure in all the factors that one might have.certainly your arms look pretty toned from the pic i see. toning the legs would be a good thing, but would you really need to tone the arms much more than what they are…just saying and not implying one way or the other. as to myself, i’ve got a certain pill that i have to take and that is a weight gainer. if i wasn’t taking that i’d probably be incredibly thin. also, i have that genetic thing where the stomach is just a natural protrusion. i don’t think any massive amount of excercise could tame that, though, it might create some abs..*L*. i think your fine in my opinion, but a little excercise can be a good thing.
In real lifemy arms are very slim. I would like them t be more shapely (in a muscle way)
My legs I KNOW are fat. That’s where it’s all gathering.
Hey Jennifer! You do NOT look like you need to lose 22 pounds or even 16! I do have a recommendation though for the whole building muscle thing. I started Jillian Michael’s Total Body Revolution 3 weeks ago and it is tough but I’m definitely seeing results. Here’s the kicker – each workout is only 30 minutes and she claims the workout boosts your metabolism for 16 hours. I don’t know about that claim, but the fact that it’s only 30 minutes makes it easier to stick with it. I either get up 30 minutes earlier before the kids are up or I do it right after I take them to school. It’s just a great compact, time-efficient workout. However you do hear threats from Jillian that she’s going to crawl out of the TV screen and kick your *^?# if you stop.
Ha! I’m doing Tony Hornton with my husband. ALso 30 minutes and a five minute 100 ab crunch workout. Any movement is good for me at this point.
You’re a total babe now! Sounds like a cool machine though. And yessss, I’ve gained soooo much weight in the past 3 1/2 yrs of writing. Like you said, something had to go to make time for that and exercise was it . . . and eating junk to keep me awake at night on the computer didn’t help either.
Oh Yeah! Snacks to crunch while your writing. I tried to eat fruit today. It didn’t pack the same punch. The sunflower seeds were okay.
Good for you on your decision to get fit. Once you’re there, keep going. With my 84 year-old dad, I see at first hand the steep cost of not moving.
Yeah, I know. Juggling all I have to do on the computer is a problem though.
You look just right, the way you are.
Awe, you are sweet… especially since you are one of the few people on this string who have actually seen me in person. 🙂
I hope you lose the weight, it’s tough! I need to drop a few being diabetic but…. You know the rest. My wife says anything after “but” is bs… 😉
Ha! Yes. I need to make a schedule. Hubbs wanted to spend more time together, so this will be “killing two birds” as they say.
I’m terrible when it comes to exercise, I really don’t do any. I don’t have a problem with my weight and obviously weight problems are often the motivation for exercise, whereas actually I know really need to for general health reasons! I always make excuses about no time, but really we can make time for anything we want if it’s important enough can’t we. Good luck with your goal!
I never had a problem with my weight, and I wouldn’t say that I do now… but if I don’t tackle it now, while I can still see my toes, who knows what I’ll look like in a few years.
I was told many years ago what causes the problem. But it was too late for me as well. Wedding cake! Specifically, eating your own wedding cake is what does it. And it has this cumulative effect. You only need to eat one slice and the weight gain it causes is spread out over the rest of your life. 😉
I try to jump on the bike whenever I can, or whenever the weather allows. There are some great trails around my area which are perfect for cycling. I just need to do it more.
Oh yeah! I “did the hills” with my kids on our biks this weeked… We went to the woods and road our bikes on the dirt bike hills and trails in the woods. Whew! Wat a workout!
I swear by my $40 treadmill shelf. It looks dorky, but I can rest my laptop on it and walk at a slow pace–not enough to get exercise per se, but enough to get me off my fanny. Humans weren’t meant to sit all day long, and I can’t sit at a desk much longer than a couple hours or my back starts to scream. Being upright helps signficantly, and I get work done in the meantime. Of course, I still do my morning work out, but my dorky little plastic shelf gets me out of the chair at other times during the day.
I wish you luck with your goal!
I need something like that! I try to walk around the building at work a few times a day. My employer actually encourages it… but I’m always worried about what people think
I can’t believe you’re entering “the Zone”. Yes, yes, yes, I’ve gained weight since high school. I’ve actually gained lots of weight since taking on a sedentary job. Gained even more when I lost sedentary job and took on writing full time. My BMI…I don’t dare utter the horrid figure. Let’s just say I wish i had a magic wand. It doesn’t help that I’m men(tal)pausal or that I’m type 2 diabetic, two things working against me to lose weight. I am taking my two 30-minute walks every day and watching what I eat, but my fat is quite stubborn. I hope you have better luck whipping yours into shape.
I want that peice of cake soooo bad.
Dang I’m hungry, and those stinking sunflower seeds are doing nothing for me!