I know the question of weight loss comes up quite a bit and so I wanted to share something I discovered this weekend.
My local gym has a service where they will measure your body composition. I had mine done about six months ago, just when I started trying to get active after spending far to much of my adult life on the couch.
I was weighed and measured using a tape measure and callipers to see in how many parts of me they could ‘pinch more than an inch’. - Lots of parts as it turns out 🙄
I’m now into the final week of C25k. Although many people complete the program in 9 weeks it has actually taken me 3 months to get to here - plus a month of just walking before I felt confident to even start.
On Saturday at the gym I was offered the chance to have my body composition done again for free. They have a fancy new machine this time. You stand very still in your bare feet and hold onto two silver probes. All very sci-fi. It measures EVERYTHING.
I’ve lost just over a kilo with my BMI shifting from 31.5 to 31. Still very overweight, and not a big loss, but moving in the right direction.
However...
I’ve lost a massive 10cm from my waist. 😀
My body fat percentage has reduced from 43% to 39.5% 😃
And with this new machine they measured something called ‘skeletal muscle mass’.
Mine was measured as 45kg. Obviously I don’t know what it was six months ago because you can’t really measure this with a tape measure.
But the woman doing the service told me excitedly that this is actually a VERY high number for my age/weight/height and suggests a really good level of fitness.
I told her about C25k and she nodded and smiled. Basically, although I weigh much the same as before I have been burning fat. And even better, with every run, I have also been building muscle. Muscle is denser that fat so a kilo of muscle takes up much less room than a kilo of fat.
So somewhere, hiding underneath all my wobbly bits, I am creating a lean strong machine. 💪
I knew my clothes felt looser (and I definitely FEEL fitter and stronger) but seeing the numbers felt fantastic. Our bodies really are amazing!
Written by
Jenny567
Graduate
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Yep... muscle is heavier than fat, so you’re smaller, fitter, but not too much different in weight. BMI doesn’t relate to actual fitness, body builders are morbidly obese on just BMI, so great that you got everything measured. You have also turned yourself into a fat burning machine and muscle growth won’t go on for too long, or Mo would look like Arnie. So the weight loss should accelerate soon, with a sensible (not strict) diet. Very impressive results there.
Yeah, my next focus (now that I have established a fitness ‘habit’) is to eat better. 😊
The woman at the gym was really helpful about this too. She stressed the importance of eating well rather than drastically cutting calories. She says below a certain point your body starts using up all that lovely new muscle as fuel - which is obviously not what I want to happen. She helped me find a calorie range I should be able to stick to.
My actual meals tend to be fairly healthy but I probably need to put a lock on the biscuit tin!
I should mention, my gym is a council run and the knowledge (and friendliness) of the staff and range of services they provide is incredible.
It’s worse than that... if you don’t eat enough calories your body goes into starvation mode and stores as much as it can... as fat. Many overweight people don’t eat enough, bizarrely, and a high proportion of them skip breakfast.
Sounds like your council have invested in passionate people with real knowledge... that’s great to hear.
I struggled with weight for a long time... I still eat anything I want... I just don’t do it like I used to. I make pizza with bases so thin you can almost see through them, then load on my 5 a day. I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I’d use something like a biscuit as an I’m up and gonna run in two hours thing, and just a couple. Then you still get that fix and it’s got to stop at a couple or the run will hurt.
Yeah, I think moderation will work better for me than abstinence 😊.
The funny thing is, as I reach the end of the C25k I think the lessons I’ve learned from it mentally will be as useful as the physical benefits.
So breaking things down into manageable chunks. So all I need to do is get through the next five minutes of running = all I need to do is eat well ‘this morning’.
Also, I know now that progress can feel a bit up and down sometimes but as long as you keep going you can reach whatever goal you’ve set eventually.
Yeah, the hidden benefits and messages are great... I signed up to 5k... adjusted to 30 minutes on day one... but they never said how many other ways it would change me.
Congratulations on your achievements so far. It is a fantastic feeling to see your body changing right before your eyes. Yesterday was the first time I've seen myself in a full-length mirror for months and the difference is definitely noticeable.
Can you just do a comparison for me? The lady in the gym has given you a calorie range but how does that compare to what the NHS gives you on its website? I'd be interested to know. 😃
Yeah pretty similar to the nhs site actually and that I should find it easier to keep off long term if I tend towards the higher end of the range which feels doable.
She noted that some apps/websites have a bad habit of setting weight loss calories way too low.
For example when I’ve put my height/weight into MyFitnessPal and asked it gave me a figure a whole 500 calories per day lower than the middle of the nhs range.
It gives me a range of about 2100-2700 kcals per day. For the past three weeks I've been eating around 1900-2000. I don't know if that's still too low but I am losing about 1lb/week which is what the NHS site recommends.
My problem is eating too much rubbish still. I only have about 2 of my 5 a day. 😫
After the nine weeks doing the C25k and for a year after I experienced no weight loss at all, but was much fitter. Starting in June this year I decided to alter my eating habits. I ate much the same foods but much much less of it, also cutting out biscuits, cakes, and alcohol. I've lost a stone in weight. 13 stone down to 12 stone. I can now run further and slightly quicker.
That’s fantastic. Well done. And yes, for me also the cakes and biscuits have to go 😊
Congratulations. Well done for completing couch to 5k. That's a very hi tec machine. That will also explain why I'm thinner than I was 5 months ago buy my weight hasn't gone down.☺️👍
For sure! It was really useful to have some of the science behind it explained. There must be loads of us who wonder some times why we’re not losing weight when we’re putting so much effort in. It was so helpful to know that the running really is benefiting our physical health even if the scales don’t always show it!
Ps- I’ve not completed it quite yet. I ran W9R2 this morning (yay) and planning my graduatation run by the end of this week.😊
That's really interesting. I started C25K after loosing 8kg and hoping I'd reached a weight that wouldn't put so much strain on my joints. Now in wk8 and haven't lost any more weight, but 'feel' leaner - this may be why. Thanks for sharing.
It makes sense doesn’t it? Keep going. You are almost there. And from what I’m hearing further ‘weight’ loss will happen. Your body is just using calories (any spare fat) to build strong new muscles first. 💪
That’s an interesting post Jenny. Well done to you first of all for starting the amazing journey from the couch . Starting with walking is a good idea if exercise has not been part of your life for a while. That’s an excellent gym with such whizzy equipment and supportive team members.
Enjoy your graduation run as you know you can do it now. Don’t forget to post a picture of your happy face at the end of it! Go girl. 🏃♀️👏
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