Short Week

What a wonderful week, only 3 days of work and now I am off till Monday. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, there is so much to be thankful for in my life. so much, that this entire entry could be full of what I am thankful for. Tomorrow is a test, can I limit my calories on Thanksgiving. it is going to be hard but it is possible.
Before I get to the rest of my week, I want to talk about were I started this year. So earlier this year in January, I participated in a metabolic testing / body composition tracking program at the Wellness Center at Ft. Carson. This test consisted of several different tests including; body composition testing, VO2 max testing, metabolic resting rate testing and a few strength tests. At that time I was exercising on and off with no real direction or focus. I though I was in pretty good shape at the time. Well I did pretty good at the VO2 max test with a respiratory fitness level of 56.2ml/Kg/min. For my age, >50.4 is considered superior. My resting metabolic rate was 2094Kcal/day. So this is considered fast, and  I burn a lot of calories. On the downside of the test, I was 190.7 lbs and had a BMI of 26.5. This placed me in the overweight category. Worse than that is my body fat was at 21.4%, this placed me in an excess fat category. After getting all this information I was determined to lose weight and get lean. I started working out aerobically and changed my diet. At first I think I did it well and I lost weight fairly quickly, I pushed myself with cardiovascular training and cut back on bad foods. As the spring and summer came I started riding long distance on my bike. My diet was not doing so well though, in an attempt to lose weight faster I cut my calories too much. My body rejected that by losing muscle weight and storing fat. I originally thought, wow, I am losing alot of weight. I was down to 176lbs at one point and felt I was doing OK. Soon I was back for a recheck of my body composition. Boy was I in for a shock.
My repeat testing in July was a disaster. Results showed I had lost weight, I was down to 181lbs. But, and there is a bad but, I had gained body fat and was now at 23.1%. My lean body mass was down as well. So, I had so screwed up my training that I had lost muscle mass and gained body fat. What a depressing day that was. But it was an eye opener for me, time for me to change. This was a defining moment.
From that day on I changed my workout routine. I changed my diet and the way I approached life. From that time forward I started planning my workouts closer. I started doing weight training 3 times per week in addition to cardiovascular training. I changed my aerobic exercises to include running, biking, elliptical and stairs. I changed my diet to include good foods, high protein content with the addition of good carbs. Later I added an additional morning workout 3-4 times per day. I added exercises I had been avoiding to include pull-ups, chin-ups and chest dips. I started to feel stronger, leaner and had more energy. Then it came time for another test.
What a change in my numbers. My training was finally showing. My body fat was now down to 19.6% that was down almost 4%. My weight was constant at 182.3lbs. This places my lean body mass at 80.4%. Now I can say I am on the right track. I am down to the Moderately Lean category.
Body composition testing can be a great way to monitor your training and training. I feel that the information that I am receiving is helping to guide how I train, what I eat and the changes that i need to make.
My goals are easy. In less than 6 months I will be 50 years old. I will continue to work as hard as possible to bring my body fat percentage down to 15%. I want to be in the best shape of my life. That is all. I owe it to God and myself to continue to take care of the body that he provided me. I do this as a tribute to Him. For this I am thankful for. I will succeed.