More Motivation

Shirley emailed to say she would pledge $1 for every pound I lose. I told her that could get expensive. She said it was for two good causes. :))

Dina Windsor, who offers women's fitness classes, emailed her January Class Schedule to me. I posted in on the Society's website at www.dennistonsociety.org under Donate the Weight, Prizes and Participating Businesses. Dina will also provide extra suppport to Donate the Weight participants via weekly health / lifestyle tips, menus and recipes. She has shared "Clean Eating" recipes with me in the past, and they're great!

I checked out the scale that will be used to weigh participants. The competition is based solely on the percentage of total weight lost, but the scale provides a lot of other useful information.
For example, it shows the % of body fat, which in my case is a staggering 41.9%. According to charts that came with the scale, as well as what I found on the Internet, I should aim for 25% to 30% body fat. I guess I have a bit to lose :))

My total body water is 42.9%. Because body fat contains some body water weight, body fat and body water percentages will not add up to 100%. The guide which accompanies the scale says water makes up approximately 50-70% of the body's weight and is present proportionally more in lean tissue compared to fat tissue. Water is a medium for biochemical reactions that regulate body functions. The optimal % total body water of an individual varies according to age and gender. According to the chart that came with the scale, and what I found on the Internet, when I'm down to 21 to 29% body fat my total body water should be 52-58%. As you lose fat, you need to have more water in your system to compensate. Your body will tend to do this naturally for you. That is part of why it's key, as part of any healthy diet, to drink a lot of water. You should never "lose weight" by losing water. That can cause dehydration issues, which can be quite serious!

My Bone Mineral Mass is 59 pounds and muscle mass is 44 pounds. According to the user guide, weight change may occur from a combination of losing or gaining fat or muscle. A 10-pound weight loss will be approximately 70% fat loss and 30% muscle loss. This scale allows us to determine the composition of lost weight. The idea is to build up muscle in the body, which supports stronger, healthier bones.

According to the scale I must eat 1797 calories per day to maintain my current weight. My ideal weight (according to the scale) is 150.2 lbs. and I would require 1724 calories per day to maintain that weight. I find that confusing. First of all, I was close to 150 pounds not so long ago, and it was definitely not my ideal weight!

In any case, I'm sure Zee will tell me what I should know, and I can pass it on to campaign participants who are weighing in at the Society office. Some past winners did not use a gym or a trainer, choosing instead to simply increase their activity and decrease their food intake. That's what it boils down to!