Gym log

[hawkwing_lb]

Weigh-in: 110kg

Benchpress: 2x10 @60kg, 1x8 @60kg, 2x3 @60kg
Squats: 3x10 @90kg
Bicep curl: 3x10 @8kg/arm
Lat raise: 3x10 @8kg/arm
Intervals: 2x 00:45, bike
Two sessions on the bike, non-interval: 1km in 3:20, 1.6km in 4:00

I also finally googled basal metabolic rate and its relation to energy expenditure. There are apparently formulae that provide a rough guess. I don't intend to start counting calories, but it is interesting to note that for a woman of my age and size, BMR is nearly 1900kCal daily. And if I am doing "light" exercise (1-3 times weekly) my daily energy expenditure rises to over 2500kCal.

On the other hand, I suspect my BMR is lower than average: the women in my family are built for famines, and I have (treated) hypothyroidism and am taking SSRIs, both things which are supposed to contribute to lower BMR.

It would be really interesting to get my BMR professionally assessed. But that seems like a lot of effort.

Comments

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I always growl at those guidelines that say a woman my age and size should have a BMR around 1900-2000 calories. Because I *did* count calories. And exercise. Back when I decided to re-negotiate my relationship with my body. And what I was able to demonstrate is that my BMR is somewhere under 1500 calories. And to lose weight, I need to average a balance of ca. 1000 calories a day, factoring in both food and exercise. I managed that for several years and had startling success, but 1000 calories a day is a very hard thing to sustain permanently.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Meep. That is a very little amount of calories. How did you ever manage?

(I eat like a machine for eating, which probably makes sense considering how much I lift.)

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I managed with a limit of 1500 cal/day (average for the week) consumed, and a minimum average 500 cal/day vigorous exercise (some combination of 10 mile bike ride, 40 minutes elliptical, misc. other exercise). I called up my powers of spreadsheet and turned hitting my targets into a computer game. And over the course of a couple of years, I lost 80 pounds. Unfortunately, sustaining that endpoint has been harder. I suspect my metabolism has re-set itself but haven't felt motivated to do the intensive data tracking needed to confirm.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

That is a hell of a lot of work, that.