Updating my blog has been on my 'to do' list for a few weeks now, so I'm finally doing it! Since my last post about a month ago, I've accepted a new job, graduated from college, and joined a gym (previously used the gym on campus). I'm starting my new full-time job next week, I'll be working for a non-profit, community outreach organization, which I'm pretty excited about! I graduated this past Sunday, and now I'm trying to take this week as a break from school / work, attempt to get in a routine with things, and prepare for my new job!
There's been so much going on this past month, I don't know where to begin! I guess I will start with joining the gym. I joined Anytime Fitness a couple of weeks ago during a promotion, and I've worked out there about 4 or 5 times so far, attempting to get into a more established routine, now that I'll be on a new schedule. At first I had mixed feelings, I liked that it is accessible 24/7, offers insurance reimbursement, as well as the flexibility to use any of their gyms; however, I was feeling a little disappointed by their gym equipment, some of the machines were noticeably off on their mph readings, and I also felt like my endurance was decreased. I figured I'm just getting used to it, and/or I had kind of fallen off of a consistent exercise routine, and that I can start off slow and build my way back up. They have all new members go through a fitness orientation, seemed more like an evaluation. I had it scheduled for Thursday morning, but I was there this afternoon, so I ended up doing most of it then.
Admittedly, I was a little nervous for the orientation; the thought of knowing my body fat percentage, and the various tests and measurements, along with developing a plan and making goals, was a little bit intimidating. Part of me wanted to know these numbers, as I could track any progress I might make, but another part of me knew that I wasn't going to like what I heard, and that it may throw me off track. Not surprisingly, my weight was two pounds heavier at the gym, than what I weighed this morning, and my BFP was definitely not ideal, though it could have been worse. I hesitated to get on the scale, and I looked away, but he told me my weight anyways. I'm not sure how productive our conversation was, I feel a bit overwhelmed and confused after our meeting. He told me a good goal for me would be to reach 15% Body Fat, I glanced at the photos on the wall showing men and women at various percentages, and 15% for a woman, you've got 6-pack abs! I want to tone up and lose body fat, but not quite that much! We agreed that maybe 18 to 19% would be more suitable.
He then went on to explain how I shouldn't focus so much on cardio, but work on "waking up my muscles". I asked him a lot of questions, mostly about things that have always been confusing about health and fitness; things like whether or not anyone can really tone certain areas, if building muscle will cause weight gain despite fat loss, and how should I plan my resistance training workouts? I feel like these are things I've always heard contradictory information about; some say that, yes, you can tone certain areas, well others say there is no such thing as spot reducing, some say to focus on cardio, well others say cardio really has no benefit to weight loss whatsoever. Then there was the talk about protein, and the vegan diet. He provided me with a sheet titled "Best Foods for Losing Weight", and every single item listed under protein was animal-based: fish, eggs, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, and seafood". He said we would talk more about finding adequate vegan protein sources later on. He also said that 70% should be vegetables, 15% lean protein, and 15% fruit. I asked 70% of what? Of my total calories, of food servings, or something else? He drew a picture of a plate, and said by the plate. This did not seem like a very logical or easy way of measuring with any accuracy, it also fails to mention anything about whole grains, nuts and seeds, carbs, or fat.
Now, I should mention that for the last few days I was trying to eat according to the book, "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He advocates for a plant-based diet and I've seen him featured in many of the documentaries and articles about health and wellness. I read the entire book in a day, and it's not really a diet, in fact I don't really go on "diets". It's more of a guide to a different way of eating, more of a lifestyle change. Basically, it emphasizes vegetables as a large part of your diet, followed by beans and legumes, fruits, whole grains, and nuts and seeds. The idea is to eat foods with a high "nutrient density", meaning a food high in micronutrients and low in calories, has a higher nutrient density than a food with little nutritional value, but more calories. Besides the oatmeal I ate tonight, I've followed it pretty well, and I think I'd like to continue. But then after my meeting with the personal trainer, I felt confused again - should I take his advice and consume more protein (but I'd only do so from vegan sources!) and focus on strength training, or should I continue with how I was doing things?
I feel like it is largely, the contradictory information out there, that keeps me in these inconsistent cycles; always switching around how I eat, or what my focus will be on, or how I should form an exercise routine. To simplify that a little bit, I go back and forth between realizing I've only ever lost weight by doing things my own way to cut a lot of calories, versus attempting to go about my goals the "right" or "healthy" way.
Ahh! Well, this is getting long, but that's what's been on my mind tonight. Maybe I can find some balance between all of this, or maybe I should just forget everything I heard tonight, and get back on track with my plan. Maybe I will get a second opinion from a different personal trainer, preferably, a woman, who could better relate and answer my questions, or maybe I'll just let some of this go for now, and bring my focus back to reality - starting a new job next week! I'll update again soon, but other than this confusion from my fitness orientation, things have been going pretty great lately! Glad to return to my blog!