The Science Project

The last 3 months have been a very trying experience for me. I have started my training for the Hotter Than You Know What bike race in August. I am now on the bike up to 5 days a week. That is a lot my peeps... a whole lot! I have also started to experience what can only be described as perimenopausal symptoms. I am not sleeping well and have managed to gain more weight. I am having some hot flashes and am sweating like a pig in the middle of the night. I am totally exhausted about 10 days out of the month and when you train as hard as I do then you can not be tired for 10 days out of the month. I have the overwhelming desire to go postal on people about 10 days out of the month. When I found myself wanting to go postal on my precious daughter Carly Jo, who by the way her only desire in life is to make her mama happy, I knew I needed to get this hormone thing checked out. Finally I have what I have fondly started calling cotton brain. I repeat myself and tell the same story over and over and over. I apologize to all of you who keep hearing the same story over and over. Did I already say that? Anyway, on Tuesday the science project began.
I visited Dr. Block at the Block Center in Hurst. She is a doctor of Osteopathic medicine and I think she is really cool. Dr. Block did an extensive overview of my health history. This included going over my current diet, exercise and vitamin and mineral supplement programs. She then proceeded to collect what felt like 1o million gallons of blood from me.
The blood will be tested for 16 different things ranging from total cholesterol to total iron and lots of stuff in between.
She sent me home with a box and asked me to collect my fecal matter for 3 days. This my peeps was not fun. I was so glad to see the Fed Ex guy come and take that box away. This test will verify up to 22 different things. And this whole time I just thought poop was poop. Anyway enough said about that project.
The next test is the magnesium challenge which entails collecting urine for 24 hours and taking that jug back to her. She will then give me 2 magnesium shots and then give me a new jug to fill with urine. Fun, Fun! This test will show me how I absorb the magnesium. Magnesium my peeps is a good thing. More on why when I learn more about it.
The final test that I must do is the saliva hormone panel. You got it right peeps. I have pooped, peeded and now I am gonna be a spittin'. My understanding is that I am gonna be a spittin' ALOT. A whole month's worth of spittin'! Yee Haw! This saliva test will verify the hormone levels in my body throughout the entire month. It seems that women like me become estrogen dominate during this perimenopausal span of time. My hope is that I can figure out when my estrogen dominates and my progesterone gets so low during the month and then supplement it with bioidentical hormones versus synthetic hormones. Progesterone is the feel good hormone and I am a needin' some of that!
Anyway, I will keep you posted on the science project.
Show up and make it count!

How do I measure my chubby?

Today's blog came to be from a conversation I had with my adult fitness client Missy. We were discussing the different ways to measure body fat aka chubby. I thought I would explain some of the different ways to do it.

The first and most simple is the bioelectrical impedance test. These are those scales that you can buy at places like Wal-Mart or Target. They will measure your weight, body fat % and % of water in the body. You simply step on the scale and it will display your results on the screen of the scale. These probably are not the most accurate, but are a great place to start. Check out the Tanita scale by clicking here.


The pinch test or skinfold measurement is another way to get an estimation of body fat. You take a set of skin calibers and measure in three separate places. On women you measure behind the back of the upper arm in the tricep area, the belly area in between your love handles and your belly button and the upper thigh. On men you would measure the chest area, the belly and the upper thigh. You take all three numbers and add them together to come up with a grand total. Then take this total and find your age on a predetermined sheet of calculations such as the Jackson and Pollack scale formula and just like magic you have an estimate of your body fat. Check out the skin calibers by clicking here.


Another way is to submerge yourself in water and take the hydrostatic weighing test. The test involves suspending a client in a tank of water. Body density is calculated from the relationship of normal body weight to underwater weight. For additional information on this procedure click here.


Also, you can do a BMI test. The short explanation of BMI is adjusting weight for height or stature and calculating a height-normalized index. Blah, blah, blah...just go here and punch in your numbers and see what you get.


The last and most accurate way to measure body fat to me is JUST LOOK IN THE MIRROR! The mirror has a way of being really honest. It will not lie to you. The scales and BMI again are just numbers. You know when you need to adjust your eating or pick up the intensity of your work-outs! Look in the mirror!


Show up and make it count!