gassenins's Journal, 04 September 2019

tldr; If it's available to you, get a Hydrostatic Body Composition Analysis done TODAY!

Got dunked today at the local college Exercise Physiology Lab for hydrostatic body composition analysis. You put on a swimsuit, blow all the air out of your lungs and they weigh you underwater. They compare that weight to your weight on dry land, run it through an equation that takes into account the buoyancy of adipose tissue, and end up with very reliable estimates of your lean mass and body fat percentage.

I know I'm currently WAY fatter than I should be, still estimating 40 lbs to lose, but I want an accurate body fat measurement early on. Besides just having nice fat % measurements for your before and after photos, it really aids in planning your desired final weight, body fat & lean mass percentages:

9/4/19
body fat: 27.5% (holy crap that's high!)
Weight: 191 lbs
lean mass: 138.48 lbs
fat: 52.53 lbs

So this is where the fun begins! If I assume I keep the same lean mass throughout my weight loss (I know, a big assumption), with a target body fat of 8%...

body fat: 8%
lean mass: 138.38
fat: 12.04 lbs
weight: 150.52 lbs

Or, that's 40.5 lbs of fat I still have to lose to reach my "goal body". My weight loss has been a very steady 1.8 lbs per week. At this rate it will take me a little over 22 weeks, with a final target date of 02/02/2020.

I even went so far as to develop a handy spreadsheet calculator for all of this, with adjustable values in yellow and everything else calculated automatically. I've already lost 13 lbs but didn't get an initial body fat measurement, so I worked backwards assuming no change in lean mass. Estimated starting body fat: 32.1%

Down the line when I reach my target weight and wish to just maintain or gain lean mass, I'll need an accurate measurement of my resting metabolic rate. My local lab can do this! They fit you with a breathing mask and measure how much CO2 you generate while at rest. From that they calculate how many calories you burn without any physical activity.

Final note: the lab's weight scale is regularly calibrated while mine at home is not. My home scale is actually 2 lbs too light!

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1518 kcal

Fat: 52.87g | Prot: 143.74g | Carb: 111.94g.   Breakfast: Zoi Greek Yogurt Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt, Egg, Butter, Smucker's Simply Fruit Strawberry, Signature Select Whole Wheat Bread. Lunch: Apples , Skinless Chicken Breast, Signature Cafe St. Louis-Style Smokehouse Red Ribs. Dinner: Zoi Greek Yogurt Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt, Hormel Homestyle Mashed Potatoes, Pork Chops (Top Loin, Boneless). more...