Since I’ve been out of the game for awhile I thought it would be a good idea to get a jump-start on my training for next year, which I’m calling Commitment 2009. This all really started when I found out that my university gives free fitness tests and does free nutritional analysis for students. What?! Yeah! Pretty awesome, right?
So I went down and got my fat tested, aerobicized while hooked up to a machine and kept track of my food intake for a couple of days. And I got my results today. Let’s just say, it wasn’t pretty. Apparently my couple of months without running has done worse for my health than I had thought. Granted, I have still been getting a little bit of exercise and have been running regularly for a little over a month now, BUT my healthy eating habits over the summer are LONG GONE. This translates to 32 percent body fat, an extra 10 pounds, and exceeding my calorie intake by about 110 calories a day.
On the plus side, taking out 110 calories is SIMPLE. And how excited am I that I was that close?! Most Americans are far worse at estimating their daily caloric intake so I should be ecstatic, right? However, I’m not as thrilled about the 32 percent body fat. My goal is going to be to get down to at least 22 percent which puts me in the 50 percentile range for women (middle of the road). I’d also like to lose about 25 pounds, but I’m going to be realistic and put that at 15 lbs. And, of course, I want to FINALLY take down that half marathon I’ve been talking about all year!
So my goals for this month are to a) get in touch with the fitness counselor so he can set me up with a routine that will help me reach my goals for next year, and b) run at least four times a week (I’m currently only averaging two runs per week). Hopefully this will get me in the groove so when Commitment 2009 really gets started I’ll be ready to take it all on!
What about you guys? Have you already been setting goals for next year?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: body fat, Commitment 2009, fitness test, goals, nutritional analysis
How cool to have those tests available! At my work, we can have our body fat tested, along with several other tests (cholesterol, glucose, etc)., and it was definitely an eye-opening experience! Good luck with your goals! They definitely sound attainable! It is good to get in shape or drop a few pounds before you get to a point when you have to lose 30 or 50 pounds! I need to make some similar goals as you, but I haven’t gotten everything all figured out just yet.
Oooh, cool number tests and results! Numerical goals are the definite motivators for me. Well, in the realm of running, I run because I can, since I’m still so thrilled that I’m able to do it at all. But I love setting goals based on numbers, and I’m already doing that for next year. Number of miles run in a month, in the year. Time in a race. It’s so fun when I watch it all happen!
Good luck with Commitment 2009!
Oooh….goals for miles per week/month sounds like fun! I’d be so bummed if I didn’t make it though. I’d end up on the last day of the month trying to run 28 miles to catch up. Heh.
Thank you for reminding me about 2009 goals! Time for me to get going on those. If you add some weight training to your routine, you will see that body fat percentage go away easily.
Love your goals – keep up the good work!
can we go running when i move back? seriously, i need a running partner, and on a regular basis. i really wanna get back into shape, and while i could probly just stop digesting my food or live off of tequila and pencil shavings like that one summer in 02′(or as i like to call it ‘the summer of love’), i actually want to get(slightly) healthy, and i think running would be good for me. also, afterwards we could get really drunk and apologize for things we did to eachother in 5th grade. dealsies?
About the miles per week/month, that’s not necessarily a strict goal of mine, because it’s more important to listen to the body. But it was a ton of fun and a big mental boost to watch my mileage go up during marathon training.
AZM: Dealsies!
Hey,
If you’re ever in SF and feel like going for a run, give me a call!
Good luck with your goals. It sounds like you’re not too far behind so you should bounce back pretty easy.
My goals are similar. I am up to 6 miles in an hour so I’d like to take a little time off that. I want to run (the whole way) Bay to Breakers in May. I’m working on running up hills now so hopefully that will help complete that run.
I still don’t like running much so this is a little hard for me. I like your goal of running 4 times a week though, I may add that to my list of things to do!! However, I am in a Bootcamp class 4 times a week so running on top of that may be a little hard. I’ll work it out, I’m sure.
Have a safe and Happy New Years!!