Skinny Fat

Which of the following has more than a quarter of their body weight as fat?

Trick question because they all do. Personally, they look pretty good to me. I would say that I am flabbier than all 3.

I found a home body fat test, that will give you an approximate estimate of your body fat percentage.

My result was not very good. Still it is exactly what I expected. My estimated body fat percentage is 27% and should be between 15% - 23 %. The women above have from 29% to a whooping 39% body fat. One way of determining if you have a high fat percentage is that waist to hip ratio. A healthy amount of fat is akin to a ratio of less than 0.8. Being skinny but having a high fat percentage is called skinny fat.

I am skinny fat.

Yep, I am my ideal weight, but I am too fat. I keep saying it, being fat isn't about a single number, it is several factors. I am getting fitter, but I have a way to go. I think even at my lightest my fat percentage is still relatively high.

Previously, I had always lost weight focusing on my diet. Sure I exercised, but not like I am now. Now I am going hard. I break into a sweat and don't stop until 50 minutes later. I push my limits until failure point. This time I will build muscle and lift weights. I have to say it feels great.

I was watching Biggest loser and several contestants had a bad week, Jillian pulled them aside and it was revealed that they hadn't eaten enough that week. They had starved themselves, further slowing their metabolism.

Eating is important, if you are embarking on a diet, make sure you are eating plenty of food. A diet should not be hard to maintain because you need quite a few calories to survive and those calories add up to a lot of food if you are eating well.

So, I am going to make sure I am eating lots and keep exercising. This is great statistic to have gotten as I think it is a much better measure for want I want to achieve.

27% and there I was feeling good about myself. 27% body fat and only about 58kgs. The scales lie! Maybe not lie, but it really isn't the whole picture.

I ran at level 9.1 for 13 minutes yesterday. I have come so far and yet I have so far still to go.

Self Image - Body Image.

Lets take a break from all the really interesting stuff, like diet and exercise and get serious. I am sure you found those stats particularly interesting, but it is time to discuss the real issues.

Today, I want to talk about self image and body image because in my opinion the two go hand in hand and I am wise in such matters.

As you can probably tell I have a pretty good self image, I am pretty comfortable in my skin and generally like myself. I am after all a 5 foot 2 Amazon, what isn't there to like?

I guess, I have few different self images. There is of course the "mum" image of myself, the "wife", the "daughter", the "sucessful career woman" image. Yeah I have a few, I have listed all my favourite ones because I feel pretty good about those ones.

I have a few unfavourite ones, the "selfish fat bitch" one for instance. The "mentally disturbed, nobody could love me" one. I don't really want to list all of negative ones. They make me feel ick just thinking of listing them, but they are there.

So, I have a few images of myself, with those images I build a picture of what that person looks like. That is my Body image.

Now if I paid particular notice to my self images that were negative, I might not think that I should look attractive. I might think that I should have greasy hair and be fat because I don't like myself.

Lets say that I do have greasy hair and I am fat and I have these negative thoughts about who I am, that say I am bad, that I am selfish and that I am fat. Sure enough when I look in the mirror, I look like that person.

The way I look reinforces that negative self image. More importantly the people I meet, see me this way and will treat me like that sort of person. Again reinforcing my negative self image.

So lets say, you finally bite the bullet and lose the weight, but don't do anything about the way you feel about yourself. You look in the mirror and you now don't look like the person you think you are. This could be a good thing. Your appearance no longer reinforces your negative self image and you might start to think of yourself in a positive way. This is what I tend to do, being the model of great mental health, Amazons don't hate themselves (much).

But, some people have such little self confidence that they just don't believe what they see.

This is really unhealthy, the worst. It can lead to eating disorders or unconsciously sabotaging all your good work. The way we treat ourselves is reflected in the way we look.

So what am I trying to say?

You need to have a positive self image. You need to feel good about yourself. This doesn't necessarily happen before you lose weight (or gain weight or whatever you are changing), but if you are going to keep it off you need to have a positive self image.

My problem wasn't that I had a bad self image, not always anyway. Positive self image didn't stop me from being overweight. I was pretty happy with my self and my life, until I saw a picture of myself and then I was saddened. Not because I looked unattractive, but because I didn't look like how I thought I looked. I didn't look like the person I felt like.

Around this time I had just had my second child. I strongly identified with being a mother and being maternal and caring. I had an image in my mind of what that would look like. It wasn't slim as such, but it was curving and voluptuous. Nigella Lawson is a pretty good example of how I wanted to look.

Did I mention, that I have size A breasts? For those of you who don't know Australian measurements, that means I have teeny tiny boobs.

For the longest time I wanted to lose a bit of weight and get breast implants, so that my body image reflected my self image. For about 10 years I wanted bigger breasts. Even when I was down to my ideal weight, I still wanted bigger breasts. I am after all a bottom heavy kind a gal.

You know what, if I had the money I would have done it and I think it is perfectly acceptable to get plastic surgery to make the changes to your body, that you can't get any other way, so that your outside matches your inside. So that you look like who you are.

Strange thing is just recently I haven't wanted breast implants any more.

Two things changed. Firstly, I have been able to maintain my ideal body weight improving, the way I look and improving my mood.

The second thing is; My self image has changed. I am now connecting more to the Tom Boy inside of me. The girl who loves to play with action figures, is good at math and is now in the army.

I don't want to be the mother figure anymore, now I want to look more like Zeva from NCIS.

No oversized mamory glands there.

Which makes me think, so while it is ok to get plastic surgery if there is no other way to look like the person you are, perhaps you should also consider changing your self image slightly.

You think you are sex on legs, but you don't have the legs? Perhaps you need to see yourself more as a Marilyn-esque style siren or let go of that image altogether, surely you have worth other than being sexy?

Body image is all about being yourself. Self image is all about choosing to be your greatest self.

Those inner demons that tell us we aren't beautiful or aren't deserving of being beautiful need to be exorcised. Do they have priests for that?

"My name is Father Dominique, I am here to tell you that you are beautiful, you are kind, you are smart and you don't need chocolate to help you get over a heartbreak."

No, I guess they don't.

How we feel about ourselves determines how well we treat ourselves. How we treat ourselves changes the way we look. How we look affects our body image and how we feel about our body image affects how we feel about ourselves. It's one big circle or is it a spiral? Either way we get to choose which direction we head in and you can change direction at any of the points.

Know yourself, your true self. Love yourself. Be your greatest self, don't settle for less. Be prepared to learn.

I said I was wise. Wise as a woman who has stuggled with her body image since she was in puberty.

Trail mix

My trail mix is a combination of dried fruits, pepitas, goji berries and nuts. (no peanuts)

I am certain that I have a larger serve of this than I am really accounting for. I am not going to change this unless I find that I stop getting results.

Weightloss is not my primary goal, but being healthy is.

My trail mix is at the moment an important ingredient. I take exactly 2 handfuls (I have small hands) and it is full of great nutrients oils and a little protein. More importantly it fills me up and doesn't leave me feeling hungry unlike a lot of other snack foods.

Museli bars are all about the carbs.

Fruit is all about the fructose.

Vegetables are great, but don't initially satisfy.

I only have one serve a day and it works for me.

Sometimes it isn't about the calories. Sometimes it is about what those calories are made of.

So I am going to keep having my snack, unless I stop getting results.

Weight today

I weighed myself again today.

Note that my goal is not necessarily to lose weight. My main goal is to become fitter and stronger.

Mind you being thinner, trimmer and more toned would be very nice as well. Luckily I can achieve both.

So, already the scales have shown a change and I haven't done that much exercise or been that strict on the food.

I am now 58.4 kgs in the same clothes I weighed myself in when I started the blog. Which was 59.4 kgs.

Now, my weight can fluctuate up to a whole kilo in one day, so I am not going to put a lot of stock in the number, but it does show that I am not gaining weight.

Anyway it is good to see some change, something quantifiable, that affirms that what you are doing works.

Now to eat some vegetables.

The toilet matter

OK, lets not be squeamish here. We all need to poop and if you want a good indicator that you are improving your diet and health, then your bowel movements are a good indicator.

Keep in mind I am not a doctor, so make sure you get your own advice if you are concerned about something.

The frequency, apparently this varies from person to person. A minimum of 3 times of week is the least I have heard quoted. A lot of people say at least once a day and I am of the same opinion for my body.

I once had a severe case of constipation, which lead to haemorrhoids and being very uncomfortable. It happened after the birth of my first child, one of those things that people don't tell you about. My diet near the end of my pregnancy and after the birth of my first child was not as good as it could have been, that combined with the huge loss in fluid during child birth, left me constipated. I was told to eat more fibre, that though was not my problem, my problem was a lack of fluid. So even though I ate 1 to 2 bowels of bran for breakfast every day, I still didn't do a bowel movement. I didn't for an entire month. I was drinking a lot of tea and very little water. When I did eventually do a bowel movement, my bowel tore. It continued to tear every time I went to do a number 2. The straining to go caused the haemorrhoids, although I think pregnancy also contributed. Eventually I got some good practical advice (not from a doctor) and the haemorrhoids have all healed up.

I had to make going to the toilet a priority and it is now something I continually monitor.

If I don't go once everyday, there is a good chance I am constipated.

As soon as you need to strain to do a bowel movement, you are constipated. Constipation occurs when you don't digest your waste fast enough. The waste becomes firmer and harder to pass.

Your stools should be soft and squishy, like toothpaste.

If it isn't you need to change your diet, but changing your diet won't necessarily help you go straight away.

If I miss a day, I take a fibre supplement and drink lots the next day.

Fibre supplements are great, but you shouldn't need to take them everyday. Remember moderation is the key.

It should be enough to change your diet to have long term improvement. Change from white bread to wholemeal, eat lots and lots of vegetables matter and reduce your red meat intake. Drink lots of water and drink more water if you drink coffee, tea or cola. 6 to 8 glasses a day is a minimum, you may need to drink more in hot weather or after exercise.

Monitoring my poo, is part of my weight loss program.

How often am I going?

Is my stool hard or am I straining?

How much is there after I go?

I don't exactly check the colour, but if you notice the colour become reddish, or look particularly unusual, go to your doctor.

I find exercise increases how many times I go a day. A good indication to me, that the more I go, the healthier I am.

One other thing I do, that is related to bowel movements, is that I flush my system. Nothing particularly radical, but if I have a splurge on some particularly fatty or sugary food, I drink a lot of water afterwards and may even take a fibre supplement to help move it through my system.

I have no idea if makes any difference to the amount of calories my body takes in from the food, but at least the toxins don't get a chance to build up in my system.

I guess, what I am saying is, when you change what you put in your mouth and change the amount you exercise, you should see a change in what comes out. If you don't notice a change, then you may need to overhaul your diet plan again. Bowel movements are like a litmus test, if you think you are healthy but you find it hard to do a number 2, then you probably aren't as healthy as you thought.

You need to know your own body, first and then look for improvement.

New goal for me, get to 2 times a day.

Where I am today

My current statistics:

Weight with shoes and clothes: 59.4kgs

Height:160cm

waist measurement: 78.5cm

hip measurement: 101cm

bicep: 30cm

calf: 38cm

BMI:23.2

and two spare tyres around the waist.

My plan:

Exercise more eat less.

I have joined a gym and I am beginning with going 3 times a week.

2 cardio and 1 weights session.

Currently I can run at level 9 for 13 minutes and cover 2.18kms in 15minutes.

Goal is to run 2.4kms in 12.5 minutes so I have a way to go there.

I want to be able to do the shuttle run to level 10. I can currently can scrape in at level 7.5.

My upper body strength is not great and I want to be able to do a chin up or possibly 10. Currently I can't lift my body weight. :(

Eating

I will be following the weight watchers points plan, which is as good as any other plan.

I may supplement the plan with a protein shake as I find that these can help a lot with controlling hunger while exercising. They also provide a lot of basic nutrients.

I am going to minimise the amount of carbs I eat, by having at least 5 serves to a maximum of 7 serves a day. 1 serve is equivalent to a slice of bread if you were wondering.

Sugar, ahhh, my nemisis. What to do about sugar.

There are two options the complete abstinance approach or the only in moderation approach.

I am going with the moderation approach. There are times when nothing will suffice other than chocolate, but lets make sure that chocolate has a high cocca percentage and keep the amounts small.

So, tonight I am off to the gym to pound the treadmill and row on a machine.

I believe that the trick to doing anything is to make it as easy as possible to motivate yourself. So you have to know yourself well.

I can't stand the frosty mornings where I now live and the nights are cold too, so my usual exercise routine of taking a jog round my neighbourhood is not happening. So I have joined a gym knowing that it is easier for me to face a drive to an airconditioned gym with my favourite show on the telly, rather than deal with the cold.

I also know that I love a routine. Once going to the gym becomes a routine I will find myself going there with out thinking.

Secondly, I don't want to give up time with my husband to exercise, so he is doing it with me. Luckily right now he is keen. His motivation is worse than mine and we are both guilty of enabling our bad habits. It only takes one of us to cave for us both to cave in, in either our eating or our exercise. This is something I will need to address.

I am not one of these people that love exercise and I can think of a thousand more fun things to do.

Lets face reality here, being unfit and unhealthy does nothing for your appearance or your mood. Being fat and cranky is not my idea of fun. So all those other fun things I can think of doing will all be 100 times better doing them while fit.

I have made huge amounts of progress in the past few years, but I can feel some of that progress going backwards. So it is time to recommit and refocus.

I assume if you are reading this, it is because you are on your own journey to getting fitter or healthier. It doesn't matter what your goal, it matters that it is enough to get you started.