It’s been a while since I’ve written an update. I’ve been a bit all over the shop lately mentally and emotionally, but I feel like it’s time to update you all on what’s been happening in the last couple of months.
A lot has changed recently and this picture sums it all up quite nicely. Recently I sat down and made some decisions and listed some goals – and once they were put in writing, they actually became real. It’s funny how more achievable things become when you know what you want and have it down on paper.
So, where to start? Well, at the end of October I took a few days out and went away on my own. Things had been particularly stressful and 5 nights away from technology and my everyday life was exactly what I needed. It was here that I was able to re-group and to really have some quality me time. I also had a few appointments with various health professionals which were very beneficial. The location was breath-taking and really allowed me to escape. Below is a photo I took on a bush walk I took one morning.
Australian nature in all its gloriousness
Whilst away I listed things I wanted to achieve, both long and short-term. Actually having the time to do some proper “soul-searching” was really nice and I came back feeling refreshed and motivated. Whilst there we ate really healthy, delicious foods and although the portions were smaller than I was used to I never went hungry.
I tried out archery while I was away! And actually really enjoyed it…and yes, this is me…going out of my comfort zone a little and posting a pic….
A gorgeous sunset on my last night away
I also had a Physical Health Assessment done and learnt that my blood pressure and glucose levels were both healthy, my waist-to-hip ratio was fine too, my push up and sit ups tests were “average” and “above average” for my age but my BMI was 26.5 which put me into the “mildly overweight” category. Now, I know that you shouldn’t rely on Body Mass Index results and instead I went with some different results….
I had a “Body Composition and Cellular Health Analysis” done. It is a non evasive test where an electric current is sent through your body and the results are sent to a machine which works out various measurements. For more information check out this site which explains it better than I can 😉
From this test I learnt quite a number of things which helped me set some good goals for my health/fitness.
At the time of my test I weighed in at 76.4kg (168.4 pounds) and I am 170cm (5’7) tall. I was told that I am quite lucky as I distribute my fat evenly and so even though I was told my body fat percentage was 41% (I was shocked and disappointed to learn this) it doesn’t look like this. I learnt that this percentage equated to 31kg of fat (68 pounds), however my ideal fat mass would be almost 16kg – therefore I have 15kg (33 pounds) of fat to lose!
As I have a small frame the results advised my ideal weight is 58.79kg (129.6 pounds); however I was told about 63kg (138 pounds) would be more accurate. This would be almost the 15kg of fat – and hopefully I would gain muscle too as my muscle is currently less than the minimum for my weight (mind you it is 20.7kg at the moment and the ideal is 22kg) so it’s interesting to know that I only have to gain 2kg of muscle but need to lose 15kg of fat!
I was pleased to learn that my body is well hydrated so no room for improvement there! The main thing I needed to focus on was losing the fat and gaining muscle! This excited me, I now had some figures, I knew what I needed to lose and what I wanted to achieve!
And that’s where I will leave this post for now…..next post I will let you know how I’ve been going since I learnt this back in October and after speaking with my Personal Trainer on my return. It was then time to put an action plan into place!
Until then take care 🙂
Progression.
Progression of me 