Daily Maintenance Weigh In - Friday, September 6

I've never started the daily thread before :)

123.4 today. Everything is going in the right direction. And it's Friday. And my husband will be home tomorrow. And and and . . . Lots to be thankful for!

175 this morning...

Did the DEXA scan yesterday... I wrote this for the main VSG group, and some of you don't hang out there much anymore so I thought I'd post it here too...

Hi all - back again after some more tests... I posted extensively about my labs a few months ago, now it's time for a body fat check-in...

Summary...

April 2012 - weighed 295, started pre-op diet

June 2012 - surgery at 260 (35 lost pre-op)

November 2012 - lost 90 more post-op, hitting my goal weight of 170

Since hitting goal I've been bouncing around in a range of 170-175 99% of the time.  I've been over by a pound or two, and under by a pound or two. Also since hitting maintenance I've begun a supervised/coached cycling program with workouts typically 5 or 6 days a week (shortest are 1 hour, longest are up to 8 hours).  Hard days are usually followed by "recovery days."  One day a week is totally off, and 1 week out of every few months is totally off - I will have a full month off coming up soon.

Lately I've been very stable right around the high end of my range - 175.

One thing I've preached a bit about on this forum is to be unconcerned (or at least less concerned) about BMI as a measure and focus more on Body Fat %.  BMI is really a (very poor) surrogate for Body Fat %.  Serious athletes (especially weight lifter types) can have nearly no body fat, yet have an "overweight" BMI.

Taking my own advice, I started last year (in November - as I neared goal) by having a fairly accurate BF% done using the BodPod method. I used this information to set my final goal range.

As my training progressed, I went back five months later and did another.  I've increased my training intensity over the summer, so it was time to do a third.  I was feeling a little concerned as my weight had risen a pound or two on average and I wanted to be certain it was muscle and not fat.  This time I decided to go for the best test available - the DEXA scan.  Basically it's like sitting on a giant computer scanner - but YOU are the thing being scanned.  The beam can differentiate between different types of tissue - fat/muscle/water/bone/organs... you end up with a very accurate accounting of were things lie.

SO the interesting thing is that my weight has changed very little over the last two measures, but my BF% continued to decline... whew! so the training is paying off - and my very slow weight gain over the past few months is actually muscle replacing fat, not added muscle AND fat... which is a big relief.

Here are the numbers:

10/30/12 - just prior to entering maintenance:  Weight: 184, bf% 16.3% (BodPod)

03/13/13 - 5 months into maintenance: Weight: 175, bf% 12.7% (BodPod)

09/05/13 - 10 months into maintenance: Weight: 176, bf% 10.9% (DEXA)

Even though the methods used were different, I think the results seem to be what I'd expect given the overall weight trend combined with the training I've done over the summer.

It's worth noting that my Tanita BioImpedence scale has consistently reported during this period that I was between 15 - 17% bf... I think that it just doesn't work too well at lower BF percentages.)

The DEXA scan was performed at a large clinic here in the Twin Cities and it cost $75.  I'll probably do it every 6 months or so to make sure things don't reverse.

At about 11% BF, it's unlikely I'll be able to lose and easily maintain much weight.  I kind of feel that my body is starting to rebel now if I restrict calories too much... I don't have a lot of experience at sub 10% BF levels.

I do feel that calibrating your BF% is a very useful tool as you get near to or into maintenance.  I think it's worth the $75 to get very clear in your head where you stand - if your BF% is low you know your done.  I know we've had discussions here about people feeling like they weren't totally successful based on the BMI they achieved.  Before you let that mess with your head, test your BF% in an accurate, credible way... ESPECIALLY if you're working out consistently.  You may be shocked to have a so-so BMI but a great BF%.  My BMI right now is technically "overweight" (by about 2 lbs) but according to my DEXA scan, my BF% is in the top 0 to 1 % of my age group.  That's quite a difference!  If I looked at my BMI I'd feel a little depressed. If I look at my BF% I can only feel complete success!

For the future I'm planning to do the DEXA twice a year. Probably spring and fall - beginning of cycling (end of winter) and end of cycling season.  It will be good to track the changes based on this rhythm over time.

-Tom