Thursday, March 3, 2011

Addressing a Weighty Subject

    These thoughts have been swimming around in my head for two days and I've been at somewhat of a loss on how to clearly convey them,  I've even thought about scraping the post entirely.

  But it is something I want to address so I will do my best. Though I'm sure I will miss something I meant to say.

    For the past two months I have had in my monthly goals that I would like to get to 118.   Being that I am already at a lower end healthy weight some might question why I want to lose anymore. . .

   #1 reason for that~ As far as I'm concerned that is my "race weight."  At 5' 4" it is a perfectly healthy weight, but I don't assume that everyone else my height would run or function best at this weight.  From my personal experience I have run my best and with the greatest ease at this weight.

  It is the weight I reach when I am on top of doing my push-ups/ core/ bodyweight exercises during nightly TV time instead of drinking or munching.  (Along with a healthy daily diet and cardio)

  And I won't lie, I do like how I look and feel more confident at 116-118, but I also realize that I could weigh more, have more muscle & less fat, and still look just as good or better.
     In fact Zuzana is 125 @ 5'4" and I'd kill to look like her, well I'd prefer slightly less muscular then her, but I definitely wouldn't say no to looking like this:

I WOULD say no to the silicone though.

    However right now at 122, I have more body fat than I would like.  I mentioned it in my previous post on "toning" my arms  and some commenter's reiterated it, in order to see definition in my arms and abs I need to lower my bf%.  I tend to hold onto fat in these two areas.

    So my goal with these last 5lbs is to hopefully lose mostly bf.   I believe (correct me if I'm totally off), that by eating so that I have a small daily calorie deficit while also keeping up with my resistance training,  I should be able to maintain the muscle I have and burn the fat.

      Part of the reason I wanted to address this is that for women, weight and weighing is an iffy subject (even I dealt with my scale addiction and had past issues).   But I am coming at it right now from the angle of performance and fitness.  I don't want to make anyone feel bad or compare themselves by posting my weight.  There are other factors besides height that effect what your optimal weight may be (ie: musculature, build. . .)

    I'd also like to point out ( I almost forgot this and it is such an important part for me) that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which puts me at high risk for Obesity, Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and High Blood Pressure.  Maintaining a healthy weight has helped me reduce or eliminate all symptoms and I've found the fitter I am the more "regular" I am.  

From  PubMed Health
"Losing weight (which can be difficult) has been shown to help with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Even a weight loss of 5% of total body weight has been shown to help with the imbalance of hormones and also with infertility."
   Just reading about the symptoms and complications associated with PCOS is enough to keep me kicking booty with my workouts for the rest of my life.  While maintaining a "normal" weight is always a positive thing for your health, for me it is ten-fold.  Even being 10 lbs over what I should throws off my hormones and causes symptoms to reappear.

So to recap my reasoning for having a weight goal even though I am at an apparently healthy weight:

1) Tie: Performance/ Fitness/ Health
2) Vanity (Yes, I want to look good [and I am not unhappy with how I look now], BUT it is secondary)
   

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