Metrics - What To Measure and Why

Metrics are essential to long-term success.

I've always had an issue getting on the scale which is silly considering my jeans tell the real story whether I've gained/lost weight on a daily basis.  Psychologically, the scale and its daunting number can be intimidating. However, while I might dread it, the number of pounds I weigh really don't matter, as long as my jeans fit the way I want them to.  There's a difference between losing weight and losing fat.  If your goal is to lose weight, a scale is a great tool to track progress.  If losing fat is more important to you, measuring your waist (and other areas) is essential and more important than the scale, really.  If you want to do both, then measuring weight and waist daily are recommended.

Why is measuring your waist so important?  There are many studies that link cardiovascular health to the size of the waist, meaning, the larger the waist the higher the probability for heart disease and/or cancer.  It's no secret as we age, we tend to hold more fat around the belly.  There are various reasons for this additional storage but one common culprit is related to Cortisol, the stress hormone.  High levels of Cortisol can also contribute to high blood pressure, suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances, decreased bone density, decreased muscle tissue and more.  You can begin to balance Cortisol by introducing daily meditation, exercise and good dietary practices.

How do you measure waist consistently? eHow.com describes how to easily find and measure your waist:

1. Find your natural waist. To do this is to stand in front of the mirror and bend at your side. The crease that forms indicates your natural waistline, directly above the belly button and below the ribcage.

2.Stand up straight and relax your abdominal muscles. Wrap the measuring tape completely around your natural waist aligned above the belly button. Begin at the spot on the tape where the measure reads "0." Make sure the tape is level around your waistline not too loose, not too tight.

3. You'll get the most accurate results on bare skin. Make sure the tape is not squeezing into your skin. The number that meets the "0" after you have circled your entire waist is your waist measurement. It's a good idea to measure 2-3 times to ensure consistency and accuracy.

4. Remove the tape and jot down your measurement for future reference.  Try to measure the same location using the same tension each time.  It's best to do your weight and measurements first thing in the morning before consuming food/beverage.

You may see a 1/4" to 1" variance in your waist after consuming a sodium rich meal. Measuring provides important information about what your body likes (in terms of food, water, exercise) and what it doesn't (sodium, fried foods, gluten, sugar). Health is a long-term commitment requiring patience and commitment but the benefits will come in so many forms.

To help measure consistently, I recommend using a tape measure specially made for body measurements. I ordered Myo tape from Amazon and it was less than $9 including shipping. The tape is included in My Favorites "I Recommend" Amazon block to the right.

In future blogs, I'll introduce other beneficial methods of tracking your goals including TI (total index) and DEXA scans.  I'll also discuss the "whites" (flour and sugar) and how they negatively affect waist size.

Until next time.
Melissa

Two Simple Changes To Lose Fat

If there is an eating plan out there, I've probably tired it.  I avoid the word "diet" because I feel like diet limits me too much and I automatically become hungry.  So, eating lifestyle is how I prefer to think about my relationship with food.  A few organized plans I have followed include Body for Life, South Beach Diet, 40-30-30 Plan, Zone Diet, Weight Watchers, Clarence Bass Plan and 4 Hour Body.  This doesn't include countless diets like Skinny Bitch, cabbage diets, fruit diets, eggs and grapefruit diet and on and on.  Anyway, over the duration of this blog I'll give you some tips that have worked best for us (I'm including Rich here because he's been an amazing and willing guinea pig over the years).  

Here are your nuggets for the day:  eat (or drink) 30 grams of protein within 30-60 minutes of waking up in the morning.  Preferably, this is clean and good quality protein but it can also be a protein shake (Jay Robb egg white protein is highly recommended).  Try and be a little picky and make sure you aren't drinking a load of sugar at the same time. I prefer egg-based protein and avoid whey-based mixes, myself. More about this in a later blog.

Next, drink a gallon of ice-cold water daily.  This is not easy especially when you're my size (5'1").  What doesn't work is the typical recommendation of half your weight in ounces (the basic rule is that a person weighing 120 pounds would drink 60 ounces). Going to a gallon rids your body of retained water and jump starts your fat-burning metabolism.  A gallon of water daily is a minimum - if you're 6' and weigh 200 pounds you may have to drink two gallons daily to start the fat-burning process.

The ice-cold water goes against Chinese medicine practices; however, so is carrying extra fat on the body, so one must occasionally (and temporarily) bend the rules.

One last bit of advice for today: weigh yourself and measure your waist before you implement the changes above.  Losing weight and losing fat are different.  I'll go into this more tomorrow and just drag yourself to the bathroom and do it.  Be sure to remember where you're measuring your waist because you want to be consistent.

Drink up friends!

Until tomorrow.

Melissa

What is your "why"?

This time, my reason for being fit is much different than in years past.  Before, my reasons were more event driven.  For example, going on vacation next month, getting married, have a big event to attend and want to wear a hot dress and super high heels.  I find it fascinating how a single event motivated me so much in my 20's and 30's but once I got to 40, my reasons were much different.  I wasn't concerned about my bikini body nearly as much as I once was.  I'm now more concerned about my core health. I see the difficult health issues friends and family are dealing with and that's my why.  I don't want to wake up one day and realize my body is a mess because I made too many poor choices.  By poor choices I'm referring to food, exercise, alcohol, etc. I've gone through spells where I've convinced myself that my bad choices were temporary and acceptable because I wasn't really old yet and had plenty of time to turn it around.  I think that's probably normal behavior, however, leaving it unchecked for any length of time is where the problem lies.  This time it's different for me. It's more about creating an amazing environment for my body to function and enjoying the benefits of feeling amazing, looking great and knowing that my health metrics (cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, pulse rate, volumetric recovery rate and waist) are all on the right track to satisfying my why.

Are You Ready To Be Great?

One day I woke up and I was 40ish with a growing belly, jiggly legs and crows feet.  Ugh, so depressing but hey, who's to blame?  I was busy - had too many things to do. Career, family, school, on and on.  I had time for everything except taking care of myself.  Instead of going to the gym after work I'd come home and drink wine.  Ahhhh - self medication.  I deserved that glass, it was a stressful day.  Before I knew it I looked haggard, unfit and pretty much felt sluggish and crappy.

Most of my life I've been quite healthy.  I've exercised most of the time, I tend to eat well, rest plenty and pretty much just enjoy life.  Like everyone, I've gone through spells when I fall off the wagon for a short time but all in all, I try to live a healthy lifestyle.

However, once I got into my 40's, regardless of the relatively clean living, this wacky body was not what I was expecting.  I mean, I obviously knew that "some day" I would age, but when I looked in the mirror that one day and saw it had already started to happen to me, I was shocked and extremely displeased with these changes.

So, I decided that I was going to invest the time and energy necessary to create the best me that I can be.  Who says I have to be frumpy and wrinkly and just accept it?  Nonsense!  I refuse to accept the fete that just handed to me - instead I'll work like mad to be the best I've ever been.

I hope you will enjoy my learnings and along the way implement a few things that will help you be the absolute best you can be too.  In this blog I will write about food, gluten-free living, wellness (acupuncture, massage, herbal remedies, food for health), exercise, and products or services that meet my "most awesome" seal of approval.

I love feedback - I look forward to hearing from you.

Melissa