Sat, Jan 26, 2008
39.9 Percent
Posted to Exercise category
According to my weight-and-body-fat-percentage scale, my body fat percentage is below 40 for the first time in ages. That's with the measurement taken after my shower, per directions, so the skin on my feet was properly hydrated for the measurement.
I did several measurements. One was above 40, and two others were slightly lower, so I feel safe in claiming 39.9. (How you stand on the scale can make a big difference.)
I wonder if getting rid of most of the heel callouses -- so the sensor contact was with something approaching living flesh -- made a difference?
In any case, this is encouraging, since I haven't really been exercising much for the past week or so because of giving my hip time to heal. And I had (probably too much) pizza for dinner the last two nights in a row.
My weight is staying pretty stable, but that is OK if some of the fat is being replaced by muscle. I've noticed my belts are being a bit ambiguous about which notch they want to be on, which is also encouraging. Once the hip has stabilized a bit more, I'll start up the Abs Yoga again, which should also help on the belt-notch and fitting-into-jeans front.
Exercise for the past two days has been PT exercises followed by AM Yoga in the morning and PT exercises in the evening. I think even after the prescribed week, I'm going to keep doing the PT exercises before the AM Yoga and other workouts. Giving my hip a little extra encouragement to stay where it belongs is probably not a bad idea before I go stretching it in all sorts of directions.
Despite the fat, I'm not in too bad shape even compared with some times in my life when I was a lot thinner: I was just (after loosening up with yoga and a hot shower) able to come within about an inch of touching my toes. That is VERY good for me: the times in my life when I have been able to touch my toes at all have been few and far between. Having a petite body and tall arms and legs doesn't help.
Having very tight hamstrings doesn't help either the toe touching or the hip stability or the yoga. (My downward dog is pitiful at the moment -- good thing Rodney Yee can't see me out of the TV.) But I have figured out a place where I can do the legs-up-the-wall thing to stretch my hamstrings without causing a book avalanche. When my treadmill is folded up, it bottom will provide a nice stable surface to lean my heels against. And the treadmill is on the part of the floor that is over the basement, not the unheated crawlspace, which makes a big difference for these restorative poses where you are holding still and letting gravity work instead of warming yourself by moving.