Tale Of The Tape

Well, the story so far:

Four pounds in two weeks. That's nearly 1/10 of the way to my end of year goal of reaching 200 pounds, and around 13% of the way to my July goal of reaching 220 pounds.

The progress on the measurements was surprisingly consistent for both weeks. A half an inch of my waist each week and a quarter of an inch on my biceps each week.

I've also added another measure: BMI. I have mixed feelings about BMI as an actual measure of health. I'll probably blog about that at some point. But for right now--what the heck. Since I'm only 1.7 points away from being "overweight" instead of "obese," that's as good a motivator as any.

(Actually, do you want to know the frustrating part? Do you want to know the weight that is the lightest someone my height can be and still be obese? 234 pounds. Those of you who read this blog last year know that's the number that sat on this blog's tale of the tape the whole last half of the year--234 pounds. I got down to that on my birthday, and that's when things kind of fell apart. Just one extra pound would have dropped me out of the "obese" category.)

Also, this year I'm actually tracking my numbers week by week in an Excel spreadsheet, so I'll be able to post all kinds of fun graphs in a few weeks each time I do the tale of the tape, since blogger supports pictures now.

Graphs that show a marked downward trend.

Healthy and Energized! -- The Final Answers!

T - F If you're active and exercise, it matters less what you eat.

False! It matters more what you eat. That's like saying if you drive your car a lot it matters less that you take care of it.

It's easier for an active person to create nutritional deficiencies than a sedentary person. The more you do, the more you need.

T - F Having more muscle gives you more energy.

True! Muscles are where your body stores the sugars it uses for short-term energy. The more muscle you have, the better the short-term reserves of energy you have to draw on.

T - F When making healthy eating choices, seeing the word "salad" is always a plus.

False! I blogged about this before here.

T - F If you have more energy, it means you don't need as much sleep.

False! It always matters how much sleep you get. The right amount of sleep maximizes your energy throughout the day, not vice versa.

However, the "right" amount of sleep means a specific amount--not too much, and not too little. Both can be a problem, and both are different for different people.

I encourage you to experiment to try to find your sleep "zone." I know you won't--you're a human being, and how much sleep you get is determined by when people finally leave you alone--but I still encourage it, because I want to sound smart and responsible, and I still hold to the belief that the blogs of smart, responsible people get more hits. Or should. Or something.

I'm going to go get some sleep.