My Weight Loss Journey... Or Lack Thereof

I've been passively trying to lose weight since late 2012.  By passively I mean working out sporadically, making some progress, and then losing it.  Working full time and going to school full time makes weight loss even more difficult than it already is.

But this summer I committed myself to active weight loss.  I read up on some different workout methods, decided on one, researched nutrition, and developed a meal plan.  I've been tracking my meals using MyFitnessPal along with my exercise.  I've been focusing on balancing macronutrients while strength training and doing cardio.  I've been doing some form of this for 3 months.

I joined a local gym the first week in May.  Since then, I've been going 3-5 days/week doing strength training and cardio.  I'm going to breakdown the last 3 months of workouts by weeks, mainly so I can see it in black and white.  I really don't care if anyone reads this as it's really just for me to make sense of what I've done up to now.  If you do go through and read all of it, great.  If you read it and you have suggestions or an opinion you'd like to throw out there, feel free to leave me a comment! 
Here's the breakdown:

Tues May 6th: joined local gym.

Week 1 (starting Wed May 7th): 3 days strength training using machines (the Line), 3 days cardio (10-15 minutes walking at 3.5 mph on the treadmill)

Week 2: 3 days strength training on the Line, 3 days cardio 10-15 minutes walking at 3.5 mph on the treadmill

Week 3: 3 days strength on the Line, 4 days cardio (2 days - 45 minutes on the recumbent bike, 2 days 10-15 minutes on the row machine)

Week 4: 3 days strength training on the Line, 5 days cardio (2 days - 45 minutes on recumbent bike, 3 days 15-30 minutes on the row machine), also took measurements for the first time

Week 5: 3 days strength training on Line, 5 days cardio (2 days/45 minutes on recumbent bike, 3 days/15-30 minutes row machine)

Week 6: 3 days strength training on Line, 4 days cardio (2 days/45 minutes recumbent bike, 2 days 10 minutes row machine)

Week 7: 3 days strength training on Line -- switched to higher reps (20+) and lower weights, added leg press, adductor, abductor, ab machines, 3 days cardio (2000m on row machine)

Week 8 (last week in June): 3 days strength training/high rep low weight, 3 days cardio 2000m on row machine -- this is about the time I started exploring meal plan ideas and building my diet

Week 9: REST WEEK -- bought protein powder and quest protein bars from GNC, and started trying to include more protein in my diet

Week 10: 1 day strength training/high rep low weight, changed workout: strength training back up to high weight lower rep (2 days), 3 days cardio 45 minutes elliptical trainer -- really tried to begin following my meal plan... LOTS OF CHICKEN!

Week 11: 3 days low rep/high weight, 3 days cardio switching between recumbent bike and row machine

Week 12 (we're going to call this a short week because I'm cutting it off on a Saturday instead of Wednesday):  2 days low/rep/high weight, 2 sets per machine, slacked a bit on cardio

Week 13 (THIS WEEK): New workout routine breaking into free weights, doing HIIT cardio on the row machine for 20 minutes, working a main section of the body + a secondary muscle group per day, 4 days: chest & tris, back & bis, shoulders & abs, legs.  Leg day is tomorrow (Saturday).


Not to get too personal on the internet, but my menstrual cycle was off for June and July.  Aunt Flo finally decided to show up today after I finally made a doctor's appointment for yesterday.  Go figure.  That's not the only reason I made the doctor's appointment, though, and writing out my workout routine for the past 3 months is not the only reason I began writing this blog post.

You see, in the last 3 months, I haven't lost any weight.  None.  Not 1 measly pound.  Yes, I've lost inches, yes, I've made some gains, especially in strength (I am much stronger now than when I first started), but there has been no progress in weight loss, my primary goal, and little progress in the overall shape of my body.

I took before pictures at 4 weeks.  I've taken progress pictures every few weeks with no change.  I took progress pictures last night, 8-9 weeks after the before pictures were taken, in the same bathing suit, and I look exactly the same when compared to the first set of pictures.  Needless to say, I am FRUSTRATED.  I get that muscle is more dense than fat and therefore seems to "weigh more", and I understand that progress takes time, but it's been 3 months.  Shouldn't I have seen SOMETHING move on the scale?  Shouldn't I see my body tightening up more than it has?

When I was sporadically exercising, I started an exercise program called TapouT XT (home videos using MMA and resistance bands).  I lost 10 lbs in about 2 weeks; it was awesome.  That was over a year ago.  I gained all 10 pounds back and have been unable to lose them again.

The longer I go without noticeable results, the more discouraged I get.  I don't want to give up.  I've told myself time and again that I won't.  I plan to just keep trucking until something snaps and I start making progress because I really don't know what else to do and quitting isn't an option. 

Even if I have some sort of health issue keeping me from losing weight, I refuse to stay weak, flabby, and full of self-loathing.  My doctor ordered blood work after determining (with a 4th pee test) that I am not pregnant.  If that doesn't pan out with some answers I plan to go see my chiropractor, maybe an acupuncturist or an ayurvedic specialist.  There's something not right and I am going to find out what it is and attempt to fix it so I can get on track and get healthy.

If you read all the way down to this part you're either really bored or really interested in my life problems.  Either way, thanks for trudging through my long-winded yammering.  If you have any encouragement, advice, input, etc. to share, please feel free to leave a comment.  And again, thanks.

Changing the Model by Which We are Judged

I think it's obvious that one of the solutions to our body image crisis is to portray our models and other people in the spotlight more realistically. The real question is: what is it going to take to get the mainstream media to agree with that?

Lean Body Mass, Muscle Mass, and Muscle Percentage

Ever wonder what all that fitness jargon means? Me too.

If you want to learn how to calculate your Lean Body Mass, click here. I wrote a post about calculating Lean Body Mass and your ideal weight a few days ago.

Now onto the question of muscle mass. It seems obvious that muscle mass is the amount of muscle present in your body, and that a muscle percentage statistic would show you the percentage of your body that muscle mass takes up. From all of the googling I've done, this seems to be the case, but when you pose the question of calculating these numbers, they don't tend to agree!

Let me explain. I just bought a body composition scale. In fact, I bought this one:

It's a Beurer Body Analysis Scale.

Anyway, some scales measure muscle mass and some scales measure muscle percentage. Mine measures muscle percentage. I have also used a scale that measures muscle mass. Here's where it can get confusing. I googled how to calculate muscle mass, and instead the few websites I found seemed to be giving me a formula for calculating lean body mass, which I already know how to calculate (see previous post). The formulas would use your body fat percentage and simply figure out what your supposed muscle mass is by subtracting your BF% from your total weight... but that leaves all the other stuff in your body in that number as well like bones, veins, and whatever else is in there. Then, somehow, I got a number that seemed close to what a previous scale had given me for muscle mass, but it seemed wrong too because if you took my body fat mass and my supposed muscle mass and added them together, there were only about 4 lbs left over to account for bones and stuff. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that all the bones in my body probably weigh more than 4 lbs.

So I'm still lost, unfortunately. If anyone can explain to me how these scales measure muscle mass vs muscle percentage, that would be awesome. If it's exactly what it sounds like and the 2 scales that measured the 2 different statistics on me are just miles apart with regard to accuracy, I can understand that too.

I think that the closest I've gotten to a real muscle mass is actually by using the muscle percentage provided by the scale I own. This number seems to take into account my body fat percentage while also leaving out bones, blood and vessels, and non-muscle organs like skin. If my scale is reasonably correct, my muscle% is 29.4% or right around 51 lbs of muscle.

Herbalife Update

It's been 5 days since I posted my initial post on Herbalife.  It's been a week since I started the program.  I have gained 4.4 lbs during the past week on Herbalife which has basically put me right back where I started.  Needless to say, I'm not too happy with the program at the moment.

It doesn't help that the shakes aren't very appetizing.  I mean, they're not disgusting but they're not amazing either.  When I first tried an Herbalife shake I thought it wasn't too bad and actually tasted pretty good.  The problem I'm having is repetition: it tasted alright the first couple of times but now I'm waking up dreading my breakfast and dinner routine.  I've found that if I add greek yogurt it tastes a little better, and my Herbalife coach likes that because greek yogurt is a good source of protein.  But even that is getting old really quick.


Anyway, I think I'm going to try and head in a different direction.  My father-in-law told me I should watch this documentary called Forks Over Knives.  It's really good.  The focus is on nutrition, and how the right nutrition can change everything about your health.  My in-laws have started trying to eat healthier, less animal-based products and more plant-based products.  I think I might try and do this as well.

If you are concerned about your health and about your diet, I highly recommend Forks Over Knives.  It's on Netflix.  Watch it.

Rather than spend $150/month on shakes that don't taste all that amazing, I'm planning on focusing on whole foods and plant-based foods.  I'd like to cut down on processed foods, start eating more vegetables, and just become more healthy in general.  I'm tired of being tired and exhausted after doing nothing.

Herbalife

I just started Herbalife.  What is Herbalife, you ask?  It's a nutrition system based primarily on "Healthy Meal" shakes.

So here's the breakdown of what I'm doing:

Breakfast: Formula 1 shake powder with 8 oz of skim milk + Formula 2 multivitamin + Formula 3 Cell Activator

Morning snack (around 9:30 or 10am): fruit usually

Lunch: some kind of homemade meal with lean protein and veggies + Formula 2 multivitamin

Afternoon snack: (around 2:30 or 3pm): protein snack bar or fig newtons

Dinner: Formula 1 shake powder with 8 oz skim milk + Formula 2 multivitamin + Formula 3 Cell Activator



Weight as of beginning Herbalife: 174 lbs.  We'll see how fast this comes off.  I'm giving this nutrition system a try for 1 month at least.

Real Women

The above photo is supposedly from a Swedish department store. These mannequins are "normal size" ranging from size 12-16. Here in America, size 14 is the beginning of "plus sizes".

For those of you who have never seen me, I just hit a size 14 a few weeks ago and I've been struggling with my self image big time.

I have 2 things to say about the above image. The first is that it makes me feel much more normal to see mannequins that look a lot more like I do. The second is that I thought a size 8-10 was average, not 12-16, so either I'm misinformed or the person who posted this picture on Facebook is. Either way, my goal is to get back down to at least a size 10.

--begin tangent--

Most people tell me I don't look like I wear a size 14. I honestly don't know if they're lying to make me feel better or if they're actually sincere. People also can't seem to get very close when guessing my weight. I have the same questions about those comments. Are you just trying to make me feel better or do you really think I look like I weigh 140 lbs and wear a size 8?

The truth is the last time I had the courage to step on the scale I weighed 173 lbs. I just bought a whole new set of size 14 dress pants because my 12s were too tight. I honestly feel like a whale. I'm 5'6" and according to my BMI I'm overweight.

This blog post was supposed to be about creating a positive self image but it's turned out to be me complaining about being fat. Sorry y'all. Guess I needed to vent. Between working full time, going to school full time, trying to actually keep a high GPA, and fitting in sleep here and there, I have no time for exercise. I have come to love mountain biking and I don't have time to ride, I definitely don't have time to try and restart Tapout XT, I don't have time to run... I have a severe lack of time. If I could quit my job I probably would even though I love it now that I've moved to a unit with less stress.

Well, sorry for becoming a Debbie Downer, y'all. Better luck next time.