Gut Check

I have talked about supporting my athletic goals with healthy eating choices. I've been reading a lot about the Zone and thinking about trying an experiment for two weeks following the Zone and measuring my energy levels and body fat. But first, I need to do a gut check. Literally.

Before I can set meaningful goals, I need to know where I stand, so I set about taking a body fat measurement. This proves harder to accomplish than I first thought. I surf through about a dozen sites offering tips on how to measure body composition using one, two or even seven sites. I decide to try them all to see if there is much difference between them. I start with seven body sites, pinching where I can and getting help where I can't reach. Then I do three body sites and finally one - iliac. For the most part, they all come up with the same result. More on that later. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that it doesn't really matter how many sites you measure. What's important is that a base measurement is established and then weekly checks should show a downward trend in body fat levels, along with a corresponding (hopefully) upward trend in lean muscle tissue.

So, now the bitter truth. I estimated my weight at about 184lbs. In fact, I weigh a whopping 192lbs. The callipers measure my body fat at 24%. That means I'm dragging around 47lbs of weight that isn't working for me. Well, mostly isn't working. A certain amount of fat is needed for survival. The AccuMeasure chart puts me in the "Average" category. If I want to be squarely in the "Lean" category, I'll need to reduce my body fat to about 12%, according to the chart. That would amount to removing 30lbs of fat weight.

Okay, I'm back. I had to pause and take a breath there. 30lbs is a lot of weight to release. I don't feel that warm glowing sense of confidence that I'm sure celebrities feel about their fitness goals. How the hell can I accomplish this?

Two ways, actually. First, increase my activity. I added a third Crossfit workout to my week, now that I'm feeling stronger. Two workouts a week gave me some conditioning and taught me a bit about the movements. But I'm going to need to work a hell of a lot harder to start moving the body fat equation in a favourable direction. Second, I will need to be very smart about what and how I eat. There's no way I'm going to meander to a 12% body fat level. "Oh hi. I'm on my way to 12%. Pass me the cookies. Low fat chocolate milk, please."


Enter the Zone. Say it in your best monster truck voice.

Work out of the Day
3 Rounds
10-jumping jacks
7- Burpees
5 - pullups (jumping

3 Rounds
10 -Stiff leg deadlifts off a 10" box 135lb
8 - single arm bench press 50lb

3 Rounds
20 Deadlifts 185lb (hell yeah!)
7 pullups (jumping)