Exercise check-in

So, had the one-month check-in with the trainer today. (I’m meeting with him for an hour, once a week, and this was our fifth session.) We looked at measurements, to see what had happened over the first month we’d been working together. It was about what I’d expected — I had only done calorie restriction for about a week, and that had been followed by a week of travel / Halloween, so I ended up losing a pound and gaining it back, predictably. My main goal over the holidays re: weight is to hold steady — he was telling me that on average, Americans gain 8-10 pounds over the Halloween / Thanksgiving / Christmas / New Year’s stretch, so if I can avoid that, I’ll be happy.

More interesting were the other measurements. Body fat was down half a percent, which is very nice. My glucose tends to be high, and I’m at risk for diabetes, so. I still have a ways to go — the ‘acceptable’ range for women is 25-30%, and I’m at 35%, so still registering as obese, according to that scale. I’d actually love to get all the way to ‘fit,’ but let’s aim for acceptable first, shall we? Diabetes, stay away!

My thighs went up half an inch, and my arms did too, which is unsurprising, since I’ve been doing weight-lifting. More muscle, yay! What did surprise me was that my waist went down three inches. I mean, I was guessing it had gone down some, since a dress I’d bought now fit me, and it never had before, but I hadn’t realized it was that noticeable a difference. Most of my extra weight is still carried in my stomach, so there’s plenty left to go, but it’s very nice to see that changing.

(As a side note, I was trying on a fancy dress Wednesday, and the fitter asked me if I worked out, and I said yes, and he said that’s why he was having trouble zipping up the top of the dress. I had muscles that the dresses weren’t designed for. Oh well. Silly dress-makers. That’s what tailors are for, and seam allowances.)

Clearly, if I want to lose actual weight / lower body fat, I need to do more cardio / eat a bit less. That would be great, but as I said above, the main goal for the winter is to hold steady on that front, and build up my strength and my ability to work out for longer stretches without getting exhausted. I’m feeling noticeably more fit and strong than I was a month ago, so I’d say overall, things are going well. Onwards.

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