Body Betrayal

Yesterday, I had an emotional setback in terms of my personal fitness. After my personal success at the Modo 8K on Sunday (he said modestly), I was feeling fairly stoked and self-righteous.

At the suggestion of my personal trainer, I made an appointment with Bodycomp Imaging. Bodycomp uses unique technology to do a full body scan and provides analysis of your body fat and bone density. The results are more accurate than BMI or skin calliper testing.

While I knew that I was holding some weight in my belly area, I will still pretty confident about my over fitness level and general health. What I learned was less encouraging than I had expected. Without going into details (or numbers or percentages!), I discovered that:

• My overall body fat is considerably higher than I expected
• My bone density is somewhat low
• I have very little muscle mass in my upper body

And here I thought all of these runs would be having a more positive impact on my body!

What to do?

I’ve got to make some changes! Armed with recommendations from Peter at Bodycomp, my objectives are:

1) More Vitamin D

Particularly in sun-starved Vancouver, this is crucial – and has an effect on bone health. This is fairly easy to supplement going forward.

2) More protein

We don’t eat red meat, although we do include seafood and dairy in our diet. However, I know that I tend toward more of the carbs and veggies, and often skimp on protein. I feel very butch, having gone out and bought one of those giant tubs of protein powder, and I guess smoothies will become a regular part of my routine. (Anyone who is a regular smoothie maker, feel free to share suggestions and recipes in the comments!)

I also need to cut down on the amount of potato chips I hoover by the bag get a craving for once in a while.

3) More resistance training

I’m not a gym bunny. If you regularly follow my blog, you’ll note that I’m mostly outside. My indoor exercise is usually of the yoga/Pilates variety. I know that I need to get in more weight training, but it’s not something I’m drawn to. But realizing how lacking my upper body strength is – clearly I need to do something! So I’m going to start focusing on a weight training program ASAP!

As a result of this, I’m feeling a little forlorn today. But after work, I took advantage of the 20-degree weather and went straight out for an 8k run. Insanely warm! I bought a protein smoothie on the way home.

GIVEAWAY RESULTS

On a completely different note, my Giveaway for the Laughlin/Bullhead Half Marathon wrapped up yesterday. Very happy to congratulate Amanda at Just a Mom who TRIs – she can register for free! If you didn’t win – or didn’t have a chance the enter – you can still get $15 off a race entry. Just use the discount code DAMRUN at checkout!