Body Fat Test

I got up Saturday morning and headed to a CrossFit box in a neighboring town.  I immediately saw the Body Fat Test van (it was smaller than I expected) in the parking lot, so I just parked and stood outside.  After a minute or two, a guy came from the building and stood with me.  He had just finished a workout and his was the appointment right before mine.  Shortly thereafter another guy came out and his was the appointment right after mine.

We all spoke briefly.  They were re-testing and both looked like "normal" CrossFitters with healthy body weights.  They were both very nice and seemed to have a similar attitude as the men I work out with at my box.  Before I knew it, I was up.

The guy doing the test introduced himself and asked me a few basic questions.  I was wearing my bathing suit under my sweats, so I just took of the sweats and was ready to go.  The only things in the van was a large metal tub, a metal counter with a computer and a curtained off area at the back to change, if needed. 

I was nervous, but I got into the tub which was warm enough, not hot...like a bath.  He instructed me to blow out all of my breath as I submerge myself and once all the bubbles are gone, he will take the measurement.  Then I can come up.  He said that air=fat on the test, so it is very important to get all of that air out.  So, I took a practice breath and then I went down.

Here is something I have learned about myself.  I'm not good at this.  I tend to reserve breath and not blow it all out.  So I ended up getting a nose full of water and had to come up before he got a measurement.  He said that he should have told me to hold my nose.  I tried again and that helped, but at that point, I think I just couldn't squelch my panic.  So, he ended up having me do it by keeping only my nose and mouth outside the water.  Even then I had a hard time blowing out all of my breath.  So bizarre and something I need to practice for next time. 

Anyway, he finally got a measurement that he felt was adequate.  I had a number in my head of where I hoped to measure.  I was .5% over that number.  I was disappointed, but in the end, it is what it is.  Now I know exactly where I am and what I need to do.  I think my biggest disappointment was that I am still off the chats.  For once in my life, I would like to be measurable. 

So, I think that is a very good goal.  In 60-90 days, I would like to be on the chart.  Honestly, I wasn't that far off, so with hard work I COULD be there in 30 days.  60-90 days to do this is beyond a reasonable goal. 

Two things I want to focus on:

1.  I'm still 80 pounds below where I started.  Assuming the same muscle mass (which I believe to be a generous assumption), my fat % used to be double what it is now.  So, that is a pretty amazing thing I have done...to decrease my fat % by HALF and keep it off for years.

2.  This is not a race.  Whether it takes me 6 months or 6 years to reach my goal, the important part is to keep fighting for it.  Keeping that balance of living my life with moving toward that goal is what defines success for me. 

I have less than a week in my 30 day paleo challenge.  I had a few lapses this weekend.  I had some roasted nuts that had sugar in them.  I also had a tamale along with my carne asada last night.  But as of today, it has been 26 days since I have had any kind of cake, cookie or sugary dessert, artificial sweetener or dairy.  That is pretty damn amazing for me.

Today's meal plan:
Breakfast:  Black coffee, chicken apple sausage (I heard this was AMAZING, but I thought it was only okay) and a boiled egg.
Lunch:  Hibachi chicken, Filet Mignon & scallops with veggies.  Probably got a little more oil and butter here than I should, but it was my best choice.  I did skip the soup, salad and rice.
Snack:  apple with nut butter, if needed
Dinner:  chicken burger with veggies
Snack:  homemade roasted nuts, if needed  (If I already ate the nut butter for a snack and I'm still hungry, I will have an egg.)

Hugs!