In the first 14 months of not smoking, I gained 14 pounds. At the end of June, I joined this workout gym, which is one mile from our office. I retained a personal trainer, who designed a weight lifting program for me. For the past 4 months, I have been quite consistent in doing the full body weight training routine at least 3 days a week. Wednesday morning, I had an appointment with my trainer for a weigh-in and to measure my body fat percentage (sounds fun huh?).
To lose weight in the past, I would have just gone on a diet, restricted my food intake and lost pounds. I am really good at setting goals and meeting them.
I now have a new approach and a new understanding of fitness. It is not about just losing weight. It is about functional fitness - maintaining and building your muscle mass - while removing body fat. It does not matter what the scale says. I am getting smaller and the scale is slightly increasing or staying the same.
I am so happy to report that in 4 months, I have removed 1.25 pounds of body fat and GAINED 6.25 pounds of MUSCLE!!!!! Wow. This is a new framework with a common sense approach. This isn't "weight loss" as I have known it in the past or how we women have been told to go about it.
In the old weight loss paradigm, we go on a "diet" and the scale goes down - we lose both fat and muscle. In this new scenario, you work out, you eat good food at regular intervals and your build your long-term functional fitness - getting it right for good.
Congratulations on your progress toward health and thanks for reminding me why I pay for my gym membership each month. I walk regularly with my Labrador Retriever, but need the weight training to keep my body healthy. Merriam Nelson did some fascinating studies with older women and the effects of regular weight training on bone density. She made a believer out of me more than a decade ago! The benefits of shifting our weight loss paradigm becomes an added bonus for me, a lifetime Weight Watcher.
ReplyDeletegreat progress! are your clothes fitting you differently with your new muscle mass?
ReplyDeleteyes - my pants at the thigh and around my waist, definitely better :)
ReplyDeleteHi Suzann...I've seen your comments on many other blogs, but today I actually found my way to your place.
ReplyDeleteI've read back over your entries since 2005 and just wanted to say I'm so impressed with your growth and moving forward. Your words were so poignant and the emotion came pouring through. From your smiling face that I've seen on other blog comments, I'd never have known the pain you've been through.
Wishing you a happy and sunshiny day. I'll be back to visit. You have a lovely and authentic blog.
You ought to be proud Suzann...you've handled everything so beautifully. I think working out is the key....something I still need to work on to be honest. But, it doesn't stop me from being SOOOO proud of YOU sweetie...Bravo! You're doing it right!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on reaching your fitness goals. :)
ReplyDeleteThe most important is that you feel good.
ReplyDeleteHere in Norway, we are so lucky we can walk and walk and nobody thinks you are crazy - it's in fact a lifestyle - we say "walk for a tour".