Just minuscule reductions. My belly sags less than last week.
Weight: 103.5 Kg
BMI: 33.21
What is Obesity? What is BMI (Body Mass Index)?
January 18, 2010 – 3:30 pm
If you’re curious what obesity means, and how BMI is related to it, you can check out this link:
What is Obesity? What is BMI (Body Mass Index)?.
It’s a good resource for understanding this condition. Here’s an excerpt from that resource page regarding obesity:
An obese person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health. If a person’s bodyweight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese.
Now for the BMI, here’s another excerpt:
The BMI is a statistical measurement derived from your height and weight. Although it is considered to be a useful way to estimate healthy body weight, it does not measure the percentage of body fat. The BMI measurement can sometimes be misleading – a muscleman may have a high BMI but have much less fat than an unfit person whose BMI is lower. However, in general, the BMI measurement can be a useful indicator for the ‘average person’.
So if you naturally have big muscles like I do, our BMI will be higher. Now this is a dilemma for me. Where should I base my weight loss targets now? Should it be on BMI or should it be on overall physical appearance? With regards to my insurance premiums, I’m obese. So should I just target the normal BMI? But what if it is impossible given my body type?Hmmmm.
Anyways, I’m still overweight, so I still need to lose weight. Once I achieve a slimmer and firmer body, I’ll reevaluate my targets again.
For now, it’s back to my workouts and healthy eating habits.
Original article source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/obesity/what-is-obesity.php
“Want some poop in your drink, sir?” – Think again
January 15, 2010 – 2:08 pm
I came across a very alarming article in CNN Health, about how researchers found “Nearly half of the 90 beverages from soda fountain machines in one area in Virginia tested positive for coliform bacteria — which could indicate possible fecal contamination.” Yup you read that right, “fecal” contamination. Bacteria in poop, sh*t, feces, whatever you want to call it, was found in their sodas. The researchers still don’t know how that got there but what they’re sure of is “Many of the soda beverages from the dispensers fell below U.S. drinking-water standards, according to the findings.”
Directly quoting the article:
“The large number of beverages and soda fountain machines containing E. coli is still of considerable concern… and suggests that more pathogenic strains of bacteria could persist and thrive in soda fountain machines if introduced,” the authors wrote.
Godard and her colleagues acquired 90 beverages of three types, (sugar soda, diet soda, water) from 30 fast food restaurants in a 22-mile area near Roanoke, in southern Virginia. They surveyed beverages from both self-service and employee-dispensed machines and the samples were tested.
There were no reported outbreaks of food-borne illness related in the Roanoke area at the time of the study.
They found that 48 percent of beverages obtained from soda fountains contained coliform bacteria, 11 percent contained E. coli (which are mostly harmless, but some can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia), and 17 percent had Chryseobacterium meningosepticum (which could sicken newborns or adults with weakened immune systems). Read More
Week 1 – Update
January 11, 2010 – 6:24 pm
My first week in this weight loss journey wasn’t that good, due mainly to my cough and cold.
Here’s the breakdown of my ups and downs, downs first:
Downs
- Wasn’t able to exercise daily. I still have a cough and a cold from the previous week.
- Lost only about 0.5 Kg.
Ups
- Reduced my coffee consumption from 4 cups of 3-in-1 coffee mix to 1 cup of normal coffee daily.
- Stopped drinking softdrinks on weekdays. Over the weekend I just had 2 cups of softdrinks.
- Started drinking at least 3 litres of water a day and having more fruits in my diet ( 1- 3 fruits daily).
- Found a good system to lose my unwanted fat. In effect, I need to change the plan.
Things to do this week
- Follow the new workout and diet plan.
- Eat less rice.
- Minimize sugar consumption.
- Do the required intense exercises.
- Get more sleep.
I’m all fired up for my second week so I can try out the fat burning program I found. I got my wife and housemates to join me so everyone can benefit from it. Let’s see how it goes.
Good luck to us!
Slow eaters don’t get fat
January 6, 2010 – 10:55 am
I read in the news today that researchers have found that by using a device to tell obese children to eat slowly, these kids lost weight and decreased their eating speed by 11%.
In a trial with 106 obese children the gadget showed promising results, the British Medical Journal reports online.
After 12 months of use the children weighed less and ate smaller portions. Their speed of eating was reduced by 11% compared with a gain of 4% in a comparison group.
Experts believe eating too fast can interfere with an inbuilt signalling system that tells the brain to stop eating when the stomach becomes full.But early in life, with instructions like “make sure you eat it all up”, children are taught to override these signals.
I guess the old reminders to eat slowly really works.
So how do you eat slowly?
Here are some ideas:
- Chew more. Chew your food until it’s all mushy inside. That will help digest the food better and gives your jaw muscles a good exercise.
- Drink a glass of water before a meal to feel fuller.
- Eat fruits before a meal. Again your adding non-fattening volume ahead of the main meal.
- Use chopsticks. Imagine using chopsticks in all your meals. Good luck to eating fast (unless you’re a chopstick master).
- Don’t swallow a spoonful.
I’m giving this a try. Let’s see if I can manage to slow down.
Workout Tracker
January 5, 2010 – 10:48 am
To track my workouts, I use Nokia Sports Tracker in my E71 phone. It tracks my workout time, distance, route, and speed. It also lets me upload the workout details to the Sports Tracker website so I can keep track and also share my workouts to anybody or everybody.
Check out my work out tracker here:
http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/user/profile.do?u=Russel
The best thing about this service is it’s free (for now). The site is still in beta, a lot of things can change when it becomes official. We’ll see.
Before Photo – Week 1
January 3, 2010 – 9:58 pm
These are my before photos, taken 12 Dec 2009.
Weight: 104 Kg
BMI: 33.37
New Year, New Body
December 29, 2009 – 10:25 pm
We’ve heard it all before, new year, new body. A lot of us have tried to slim down, bulk up, or just get fit and healthy this new year. I’m doing the same thing again this new year, but with a twist. I’ll post my targets and progress so that I’m accountable to everyone. I’m posting a google.com/ccc?key=0AnytvAw4Ef3HdHNmaWdOajB4YjFOVWN1TlkybXE5R3c&hl=en" target="_blank">Google spreadsheet to track my progress against my targets. I’m also posting weekly photos of my body (Rated PG) to show any improvements in my physique.
I got inspired to do this when my former officemate posted his own progress. Check it out here.
My brother also encouraged me to be more active, setting himself as the best example, after he became a bonafide Ironman triathlete.
There are a lot of reasons why we should be fit and healthy and why we should lose weight. The best in-your-face motivator for me was my life insurance. I was categorized as “obese” and charged an additional amount on top of my premium because of my weight. Explaining to them that I was big-boned no longer worked.
So here are my current stats:
Height: 1.77 meters
Weight: 104 Kg
BMI: 33.7
Here are my target stats:
Weight: 77.91 Kg
BMI: 25
In short, I have to lose 26.09 Kg to be considered “normal”. I’m targeting my 32nd birthday for that weight, which leaves me 9 months to achieve it.
To see the Google spreadsheet I created, google.com/ccc?key=0AnytvAw4Ef3HdHNmaWdOajB4YjFOVWN1TlkybXE5R3c&hl=en" target="_blank">http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnytvAw4Ef3HdHNmaWdOajB4YjFOVWN1TlkybXE5R3c&hl=en
Goodluck to me and everyone who’s doing the same thing this year!
