Pretty Thing From My Walk

Notes on Body Types

When I did my initial weigh in, the trainer who weighed me took one look at me and declared me an endomorph--he said that this means carbs are my personal enemy and that I should focus on strength training over cardio. I am just now getting around to doing some reading on this topic.

This site has what looks like a good analysis, and a quiz that helps you figure out your body type and how best to train for it: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker3.htm

I took the quiz, and these were my results:

Traits
Endomorph: 38%
Mesomorph: 63%
Ectomorph: 0%

Your body is between an endomorph and a mesomorph.

Endomorph: Your biggest concern should be losing fat and adopting a lifestyle that keeps it off. Strength training should be done to get a better muscle-to-fat ratio, which will help to boost your metabolism. Use moderate weights at a fast training pace, allowing for very little rest between sets and exercises. Lower your calorie intake and eat frequent but small meals to make sure you're still getting adequate nutrition. Eliminate sugar, sweets, and junk food from your diet. Get your heart pumping by engaging in some form of daily activity such as brisk walking or biking. 

Mesomorph: You have a naturally fit body but, to maintain or improve it, you should adopt an exercise and diet regimen that compliments your build. You can strength train more often and for longer periods of time, but be careful not to overdo it. Train with moderate to heavy weighs and keep a moderate pace, making sure not to rest too long between sets. You'll find you gain muscle quite easily. Don't fear; you won't get "bulky." When you're happy with your muscle size, simply train to maintain. Stick to a good, healthy diet to stay lean and muscular, and watch for any slow-creeping fat gains. Engage in and enjoy aerobic activities, but be careful not to overdo it.

I would actually have guessed that I was more endomorph with a smattering of mesomorph. Lord knows that I always have a pretty high body fat percentage. However, I also have thin wrists and ankles, and it's easy for me to build muscle mass if I try at all. I can already tell a huge difference in my arms and legs after just over a month of strength training. If I wanted to become a body builder, as I actually thought about doing when I was in high school, I think that would be an easy path for me. However, I really, really, do NOT want to get bulky. Strong yes, bulky, no.

So it seems to me that what I am doing is about right. Watch the calories, avoid too many carbs, keep the sugar to a minimum, try to focus on building strength and muscle mass, and do some cardio, but not too much with super high heart rates that could be burning that carefully built muscle. It seems to me like the walking is probably better in the long run than the Zumba, but the Zumba is just too fun to stop, and it keeps me motivated. It's all about balance, right?

Pretty Thing From My (Evening) Walk

Day Thirty-Seven: Jerking the Wheels Back onto the Bus

It's been a week since I posted. Apparently, vacation will de-rail the best laid plans. I stopped keeping track of things in favor of walking on the beach and hanging out with my kids and going out and about with the family. I wasn't great. I wasn't awful. I didn't touch the weights I brought with me so that I could work out at the beach. I did walk a lot. Yesterday and today are kind of transition-back-to-reality days, and I am working to get things back on track.

I gained 4 pounds last week. Sheesh. There was beer, and carbs, and Fried Things, a cheeseburger, and one over-the-top, utterly decadent chocolate milkshake. I don't really regret it, but now there's work to do. Whew!

Yesterday was better. I ate well, and I only drank half a beer (my last for a long while). We went on a beautiful family hike to Hemlock Bluffs--it was cooler than it's been in weeks, and just lovely in the woods: mushrooms and acorns all over, but still lush and green. You can just start to feel that winter might be on the way again.

Today is nearly back to normal. Today, I went for a walk at lunch in the beautiful fall weather that arrived overnight. So gorgeous out! The boys and I took a shorter, after-dinner walk as well, and then I took a short stroll to finish my day's steps. I was nearly chilly there for a minute! Here's to getting myself back in gear.

Log:

Exercise: 

• Lunchtime walk: 2.07 miles
• After Dinner Family Walk: .94 miles
• Evening walk (to finish steps): .56 miles
• Ab work: 40 sit ups, 20 leg raises, 60 crunches, 1 minute plank

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: 2 cups of tea with 2% milk and 1/2 a tsp of raw sugar, two eggs scrambled with cheese, little tomatoes from the garden
• Lunch: deconstructed mahi mahi tacos with nectarine avocado salsa and spicy sour cream (no tortillas), sliced cucumbers, 1 mozzarella Babybel
• Dinner: Leftovers that are off-diet, but that I refused to throw away: pecan crusted grouper with a bacon tomato risotto and a rosemary citrus vinaigrette. The portion was small enough that it was well within caloric limits.
• Snacks: N/A

Stats:

• Steps: 11,765
• Calories: 1037 consumed, 469 burned
• Weight: 203 (yesterday was 204) (home scale)

mahi mahi tacos. mmmm.

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Thirty: Beach Day!

I spent the morning on the beach with the family, lifting Finn and dragging him through the waves about 1M times. I certainly got an arm workout, but I have no idea how one logs that. I am trying hard to maintain decent nutrition and a good activity level while on vacation, and still allow myself to have some treats here and there. Today's treats were a small glass of wine and a little piece of key lime pie with whipped cream--so good!

Meredith and I tried to go for a big beach walk before dinner, but we were thwarted by rain. Luckily it cleared off later, and we were able to gather the Hippie and head out after the kids were abed for a long walk on the beach with thousands of stars, meteors, phosphorescent sea critters, a low tide, and a lovely breeze. So nice, and my word at the steps I have accidentally taken today!

In addition to all the walking, I have completed the 30 Day Abs Challenge! Yay!!! Now, I just have to figure out what to do next, but that can wait till tomorrow. I am beat, and need sleep.

Log:

Exercise: 

• Walk on the Beach: .61 miles, and it started to rain. boo.
• Day 30 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge: 125 sit ups, 65 leg raises, 200 crunches,  120 second plank
• Evening Walk: 3.48 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: tea with 2% milk and 1/2 a tsp of raw sugar, a boiled egg, half a honeycrisp apple
• Lunch: crazy thrown together food on the beach: 3 turkey roll-ups, 15 sun chips (that's a serving, btw), a banana
• Dinner: beer boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce and old bay, sauteed veggies (mushrooms, zucchini and squash, shallot, garlic, onion, and leftover baby lima beans--so good!), a small glass of wine, 1/2 a slice of key lime pie with whipped cream
• Snacks:12 smoked almonds

Stats:

• Steps:17239
• Calories: 1352 consumed, 547 burned
• Weight: no scale at the beach