Happy Halloween - The Seketal Edition

Happy Halloween, or Samhain for the traditionalists!  In a fun happenstance I went for my body composition test (DXA) today,and received a nice little scan of my skeleton.  I wanted to share some of the results from that scan, and the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) test I also did today because I'm a geek for this kind of stuff, but also because it is tangible evidence of the work Dan has been doing with me over the last six months.  Yeah, I lifted the weight and cooked all the food I put in my pie hole, but he programmed this, and he deserves a lot of credit for that... and putting up with me.

Let me start off by saying that shortly after I started lifting in February I decided to have a Bod Pod and RMR test done at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Department of Kinesiology.  Those were baseline tests for me to know where my body's general composition was at before I started powerlifting.

Six months later I returned to have a more comprehensive DXA scan and another RMR test.  The DXA is like lying in the bed of your printer's scanner.  A big arm goes over you and produces an x-ray of sorts that shows essentially three things: your fat and lean mass, and your bone density.  Unlike the BodPod, which only factors out fat and then lumps together lean and bone mass. With the DXA you get to see your bone density and lean muscle mass. 

The RMR test is a more precise way of knowing how many calories you burn at rest.  So, if you never got out of bed in a day, this is what your body needs to survive.  It also breaks out how much of that caloric burn is through carbs, versus fat.

So, what does six month of powerlifting do to a 48 year old woman?  Here's some basic stats from my test today...

• I gained almost ten pounds (72kg in April, 76kg today).
• I reduced my body fat by 4%.
• My bone density is at an age adjusted 2.5 (3 is the highest you can go).
• 66% of my body is lean mass - muscles.
• 4% of my body is bone.
• 30% is fat.
• Overall I'm in the 34% percentile of body composition for my age and gender.
• In April I was burning a carb to fat ratio of 35% to 65%, now I am burning 43% carbs versus 57% fat... my metabolism is working more efficiently, even when (especially when) I'm not doing anything.

That's really interesting for a lot of reasons... I gained weight, and lost fat... so, I'm leaner.  You can see this in my measurements... less around the middle, more on my thighs and arms.  I'm metabolically more efficient now.  And my bone density is that of a person in their twenties.  At the present level of activity I engage in I need to eat 2,800 calories a day.  Yes... 2,800 calories a day.

Here's the thing about this... the journey over the last eight months of lifting has been an incredible gift to receive at this point in my life.  I've genuinely enjoyed every day on the weight floor, and every conversation with my coach (Dan-Dan, Superman) about how to move through this process.  I've learned to see food in a completely different way.  It is not a restrictive, prohibitive regime any more... I eat to build my muscles and my bones - and I've achieved that.  Lifting itself is intensely philosophical for me... I no longer see a goal weight, but a process of acceptance of what my body is capable of now, and what it is capable of in the future with proper training, rest and food.

Here's the other thing, it's not over... it's never over.  I have some goals with those numbers (I want the z-score to stay up as I age, and I'd like to drop the fat percentage down a few points), but those are in process... and it's a process I love and derive incredible pleasure from.  I love going to the gym.  I love prepping my food.  I love giving Dan shit about everything.  And I love building a business that's in alignment with all of that.  There is no "when I lose ten more pounds I'll be good," or "when I get to 700# cumulative weights in my lifts I can back off."  I'm actually at the place of happiness right now, I'm totally fulfilled with being in the process of living life like this.  

Life is a quick ride when you get right down to it... make it as fun and fabulous as you can.  And lift heavy... it's good for your bones.

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