Five Days In

Well the new scale is proving to be an interesting part of my latest attempt to get my weight under control. I purchased a Withings wireless scale. It sends your weight and other statistics like Fat and lean mass content and BMI (Body Mass Index) to your computer everytime you step on it. It can be configured to report any one or more of these stats as you choose. You can also have multiple users. I am not sure how to set this up or how it would tell (besides the obvios weight differences) but maybe I will set up an account for my cats just in case one or more of them decide to sit or lay on the scale.

As you can see from the chart at the top of this blog, the weight meter is fairly consistant. I have lost almost 10 pounds since I started using the scales 5 days ago. I'm sure that is mostly water weight. However, the Fat meter is all over the place. The directions say that it measures your Fat portion by sending light electric shocks through your feet when you stand on it. The wetness of your feet (i.e. if you just got out of the shower or just took off you shoes or have perfectly dry feet) effects the reading because it messes with the conductivity. So I will have to pay closer attention to the moisture on y feet in future and try to replicate the same conditions every time.

The Withings folks recommend weighing yourself at about the same time under the same conditions once or twice a week. Ideally you should weigh within a half hour of waking first think in the morning. You should wear as little clothing as possible and have relatively dry feet. So there is some info about the device I am using to report my weight loss.

This week I have made it a point to get to the University Rec. Center everyday (except Wednesday when my good friend Lisha and her husband Victor were in town and we went sight seeing in the afternoon) and do a half hour cardio on the eliptical. I want to work up to a half hour on the eliptical and a half hour on the rowing machine for a hour long cardio workout. I also plan to take classes (aerobics, step, spining, and zumba) as I can. I need to start looking at the schedule and plan to be there on the days and times they are offered just to add variety to the cardio workout. When I get about 50 or 75 pounds off I would really like to start going back to Yoga class. Many of the poses are just too uncomfortable for "big folks," and I am embarrassed to be in a class with all the skinny university kids.

I have been eating a sort of "cleansing" diet this week. I have had a nice salad with meat on it everyday to get some protein in. I have had fruit smoothies that I have made at home for breakfast everyday. I usually through a banana, apple, orange, strawberries, blueberries, and some walnuts in the blender with 2 cups of water and puree that mixture into a large smoothie. It tastes good. For supper this whole week I switched between steamed veggies and pureed raw veggie smoothies. I would mix spinach, asparagus, green beans, tomatoes, a small potato, avocado, a scallion, and celery in the blender. The taste was not the best but it filled me up. If I needed a snack later in the evening I would have a small cup of peanut butter (Jiff sells small individual containers of smooth peanut butter) and celery or carrot sticks.

During the day I tried to drin more water. I have taken a water bottle to work to keep in the refrigerator so I can have water instead of buying a coke. I still drink coffee in the morning, but if that is my sole indulgence daily, I can live with that.

We shall see if I can keep this up. I have to go to Indiana next week. My mom and I are going to my Aunt Mary's funeral and will be gon late Monday to mid day Thursday. That will be a challenge to eat right and get in some exercise daily. We shall see. Wish me luck!