07.26.07 FitGirl: Entry #1 Reclaiming Body and Soul
-- One Workout at a Time
In The Beginning…You’re ready, aren’t you?Isn’t that why you’re here,
right now? Maybe you’ve made that
decision, that promise to yourself to change your lifestyle, or maybe you’re on
the cusp. Regardless, welcome! This online journal is going
to chronicle the path I’ve decided to take with my health and my life -- and I
hope you’ll join me. Before I begin, I want to
remind you of the same thing anyone else will tell you -- before starting any
new fitness regime, especially if you are quite overweight or obese or have
pre-existing medical conditions, check with your health-care provider for the
all-clear. So, you’re thinking to
yourself, this is all fine and dandy. But now what? For this first journal entry,
I suppose we should get all that introductory stuff out of the way, right? I’m here because I made a
decision a little while back. There wasn’t a defining moment that can be
pinpointed, but I came to the conclusion that if I didn’t make a change now, it
was highly likely that I would never mend my couch-potato ways. I’m also a mom,
and I wanted to be able to keep up with my little girl. Not to mention family
medical histories that include things like heart disease. Scary stuff, right?
Tell me about it. To figure out where you want
to go, though, you’ve got to know where you’ve been. The first thing I did was
get some baseline measurements. You need these to give you some idea of where
you’re starting from. I know some of you likely haven’t stepped on a scale in a
while, so now’s the time to bite the bullet and do it. And because we’re not
going to keep any secrets here at FitGirl, I’m going to lay all my numbers on
the line for you. My height: 5’8”. My weight: 164lbs. Using this, I was able to
then calculate my BMI (Body Mass Index -- a measure of body fat based on height
and weight): 24.9 (Calculate yours here: Health
Canada’s BMI calculator. Oh, c’mon. It’s relatively painless. I
promise.) This put me at the very edge
of the “Overweight” category. And trust me, nobody wants to see that
classification. I certainly didn’t like it. I’m going to guess that you’re
not too happy with your result. Neither was I. And here are some scarier
facts to think about: according to the 2004 Canadian Community Health
Survey, “23.1% of Canadians aged 18 or older, an estimated 5.5 million adults,
had a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, indicating that they were obese…
This is significantly higher than estimates derived from self-reported data
collected in 2003, which yield an obesity rate of 15.2%... Another 8.6 million,
or 36.1%, were overweight.” But you know what? It’s not
all bad. Just losing a mere TEN pounds can potentially have the following
health benefits (from the medical website WebMD): -- a significant lowering of blood pressure These are important points to
keep in mind. And that’s not even considering an increase in energy, a feeling
of well-being and better self-esteem! What have you got to lose? See you next time, when we’ll talk about food, glorious food! (And moderation, of course…!) FitGirl, aka Tanya Saari, is a freelance writer and editor living in the Sudbury Area, who battles daily with not really wanting to work out, and talking herself out of that extra piece of pizza or square of chocolate. She welcomes your comments and questions at tanyasaari@gmail.com. |
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