Thursday, January 12, 2006

Words of wisdom

As we start losing weight remember that initially all you are losing is water. This is true at least in the first week.

Which brings us to a more important point. The goal should be to get healthier regardless of how many pounds are lost. The ultimate goal is to reduce body fat index. This is not in a direct relationship with body weight. You could gain muscle, maintain weight and yet lose body fat. I will see whether we can come up with a measure for body fat but the math could be much more complicated.

Also note that once our goals are achieved it would be too easy to let go again. This is most likely to happen if you define your goal in terms of weight. Weight loss is the main criteria for this little competition but you should define healthier goals for yourself. Change the way you eat and how much you exercise. So when you can fit in the polka dot bikini or a gorgeous summer dress or a bridesmaid dress, or have 6-pack abs, you still can find the motivation to stick to your new lives.

3 comments:

Px said...

may i recommend the body mass index. there are other more complicated formulae out there.
the other option would be to use a more complicated equipment that measures the water in the body and other things. it then give you a breakdown of % of fat, water in the body, weight etc. and based on the info you provide it, it also gives the healthy ranges for those breakdowns

berly02 said...

Ya, I agree. I don't just want to lose the weight. I want to keep it off.

Jennifer said...

Sounds like sour grapes Yrautca, you didn't lose very much water in your first week!