Eighth Monthly Assessment - August 31st

I usually hate to see the summer end, but this year it has been so much warmer than usual, I'm ready for some crisp fall days.  This month I continued to hover at 129/130 pounds.  I'm hoping it's just a plateau as my body gets used to its new smaller size and I get used to my new smaller appetite.  (Not!)  My waist is 31 inches.  I see the last time I measured was for the June assessment and my waist was 31 1/2...  I wonder if I'm holding the tape tighter, or could I actually have lost some fat and gained muscle??

Here I am in my new Stitch Fix skinny jeans.  I'm having a tough time getting used to the low rise in today's stylish pants.  (That means they don't come up to my waist - just barely over the hips.  It puts the button and zipper right at an unflattering point on my tummy and feels like they could fall down any minute.)

January 31st

August 31st

January 31st

August 31st

What went right this month?

• Actually, I'm feeling Strong!  Here's what I notice:
• I hiked uphill on Mt. Rainier without a problem, and down without knee pain
• Getting up, getting out of the car and going upstairs I have my core tightened without a conscious effort to remember
• At the gym I've increased the weights on the machines
• I'm getting nice arm muscles and the batwings are going down
• When I lift and carry something heavy, I am using my arm muscles and my core is tightened
• I'm eating a lot of vegetables and enjoying them.  My breakfast stir fries and lunch salads are my usual food now and what I want.  They keep me going for a long time, too.

What needs to be improved?

• I'd like to lose more weight.  I can tell I haven't reached my ideal weight yet because I still have plenty of flab in my belly area.

So what is my ideal weight?  I checked my BMI and it is 23.8.  On the chart, a BMI of 25 is the first step of being overweight.  I remembered that because for the last 20 years or so, mine has been 26.  I'm happy to see it lower now!

BMI is Body Mass Index, the relation between a person's weight and height.  So, apparently I weigh 23.8 kilograms per square meter.  The calculator says "About 42 percent of women at the age of 68 are below and 58 percent are above this value."

While Googling around to find a BMI chart, I learned a few things about this measurement.  While some years ago it was considered a good way to assess your degree of under- or over-weight, it is not currently regarded as so important.  There are other methods, like waist-to-hip ratio or percentage of body fat, that take into consideration your level of fitness and whether you are large-boned or small-boned.

I found a waist-to-hip-ratio calculator, and tried that out, too. Here's the result:

You have a waist to hip ratio of 0.79. The information you entered: Sex = Female, waist = 31 inches and hip = 39 inches.
Your shape puts you at reduced risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Frequently referred to as pear shape, you tend to keep fat off your midsection and more on your hips. Your body does not convert this lower body fat as readily as midsection fat, which keeps cholesterol down.

All this time I thought I was an apple, due to my belly.  I know it's healthier to be a pear.  That same site has a body fat calculator, so for a few more minutes of measuring I got the following result - less complimentary and healthy-sounding than my waist-to-hip calculation:

According to your measurements of a 31 inches waist and height of 5' 2" your body fat percentage is estimated to be 32.92 %. This method is not as accurate as a water displacement test, but is usually within 1-3%.
The average body fat percentage for U.S. females is around 32%, with the ideal at 22%. Athletic females should be around 15-20%. You could have an eating disorder if you are below 10%. Remember these are guidelines; your physician should help you determine the ideal weight and body fat for you. 

Aarrrgh!  I am still one-third fat!


The advice I liked best is on Dr. Hall M.D.'s site.  About the BMI, he says:

Women tend to believe they look their best at values between 20 to 22 and men are usually satisfied with a BMI of 23 to 25. If your BMI is between 17 to 22, your life expectancy is longer than average. You don't need to lose weight.

If your BMI is between 23 and 25, you are not considered overweight by most people.

But if your BMI is 26 or more, that's not good. But you knew that already.

Above all, Don't Worry, Be Happy. It's unhealthy to have anxiety over a less-than-perfect body image. And, if this calculator's description of your body seems wrong for you, just trust your own judgment. A healthy mental attitude is just as important as physical fitness.

Contributing to my healthy mental attitude was a visit from my granddaughter, Mira.  Stan and I took her to our par 3 golf course and played Best Ball.  Quite a few times Mira's was the best ball!  She did great!  I made a "Stitch Fix" for her with some cute clothes from Lands' End and she liked them  : )

  When Mira's here, it's tempting to throw caution (and diet) to the winds and eat whatever food I think she will like.  (She actually likes pretty much everything, so we eat lots of healthy food, but some treats as well.)  Here's our lunch, and how I tried to keep mine under control.  That's mine, on the right.  I enjoyed some mac 'n cheese, but finished the salad first.  We had fun!

Paleo Muffins for a Treat

I've been eating bread lately - yup,  from actual glutinous wheat flour - and I notice once I have some, I want more.  Must quit that!  Earlier in this year of health I had made some paleo muffins, and they were a real treat when I wasn't eating any grain or carby items, so I decided to stock up.  Here are five recipes that I really enjoy.  Four of the recipes are available online - just click the recipe names.

You'll notice all are based on almond flour.  I used Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Almond Meal/Flour.  In the past I've ground my own almonds in the coffee grinder (don't use the food processor - it made ugly scratches on the plastic bowl) but that made a heavier flour than Bob's.  The texture isn't truly "carby" but they taste very good, and one is satisfying without causing a craving for more.

Here's a product I highly recommend - silicone muffin/cupcake forms.  These grain-free muffins tend to stick to the muffin tins or papers but they lift right out of the silicone.  You can wash them and use them over and over, and they save all the time of greasing the muffin tins.  Here they are as I fill them with the zucchini muffin batter.

Zucchini Muffins from Against All Grain

Could have filled the cups a bit less and gotten 10 muffins instead of 9.  The grain-free muffins don't rise as much as a regular wheat muffin, but these did go over the top just a bit.  I like these muffins with a little butter spread on them.

Abascal Way Breakfast Muffins

These have a lot of egg protein and are great for breakfast, as well as an anytime treat.  They are the most hard-core healthy-tasting of the five muffins, as they have no sweetener other than the bananas, but they have a rich pumpkin flavor, and the addition of some chopped apple, chopped walnuts and a dash of cinnamon makes them quite tasty.

This recipe calls for one cup of mashed ripe banana and I measured - this is two bananas.  Whenever some bananas get overripe, I toss them whole into the freezer.  They look terrible when I take them out, but they can be thawed in the microwave and slit open and used for cooking and smoothies.  The flavor is just fine and they are pretty much already mashed.

The Detoxinista's Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yum!  These muffins were introduced to me by my daughter-in-law Alethea, and they are delicious!  I can't think of anything that could possibly improve them, except perhaps a second helping  : )

Hidden Veggie Muffin from the Against All Grain cookbook

These have a lot of ingredients, but they go together pretty quickly and are yummy.  They are sweetened with dates.

Blueberry Muffins from Bravo for Paleo

This was my first visit to Bravo for Paleo.  Monica Bravo is a pre-med student who blogs about healthy food.  I think her patients are going to be very fortunate!  I'll be checking out more of her recipes.  I used less of the cinnamon than in the recipe, and these were delicious.

Okay - now our freezer is stocked with healthy, legal treats that I can have when I just need a little something mid-morning or before bed.

Staying on Track on a Camping Trip

Last week Stan and I spent two nights at the White River campground on Mount Rainier.  I must admit, I am not the most gung-ho camper in the world.  My goal isn't so much to enjoy the time, as it is to survive until we get back home.  That said, I love hiking around the loop from Sunrise, on Mount Rainier, to Frozen Lake and back.  It is a bit less than 4 miles, and very beautiful, all in the shadow of Mount Rainier.

This year, both Stan and I were busy right up until the last minute, and neither of us got in gear with packing until the day before we planned to go.  (Note to self:  Never leave planning and packing until the day before we go!)  We realized we didn't have extra butane fuel for the camp stoves, and we spent most of the day before driving around looking for the right kind.  Found them at MacLendon's - go there ahead of time next year!  Other than that, we did pretty well, except for warm jackets and hats.  It was at least 90° the day we left, and packing the car in the blazing sun we both forgot to take something warm for the nights on the mountain.

Here's our home away from home.

We've hiked at Sunrise several years, always in August.  A few times we've hit the wildflowers just right, but this year they were pretty much gone and dried out by the time we made it.  It was still incredibly beautiful - mountain scenery under a very blue sky.

We were surprised to find Frozen Lake had no snow at all.  We don't know whether this is normal some years, or a sign of global warming.  There was also less snow than usual on the mountain itself.

Frozen Lake - 2015

Frozen Lake - 2014

You can see bare spots, even at the very top

In the past when I have gone hiking, I have found going down very painful in my knees.  This time I remembered the advice of my physical therapist, Anne Morgan, and kept my core and my gluteus medius strongly clenched.  It worked great!  No knee pain!  Our "glutes"  (maximus, medius and minimus) are our strongest muscles and apparently when put to use appropriately they can protect our hip and knee joints.  So far, I have mostly been using mine as a cushion  : (

Our camping menu is pretty traditional - we take the same food every time.  I wanted to continue my good habits and my getting-back-on-track plans, but without interfering with Stan's camp cooking.  I decided to keep the same menu, but to make sure I had a vegetable and/or fruit with every meal.  I didn't want the hassle of cooking something like broccoli each meal, and I was packing at the last minute, but I tossed in what I had - a large package of heirloom cherry tomatoes from Whole Foods, blueberries, a couple of apples and a peach.  Here are my meals:

Breakfast - blueberry pancake, sausage and apple

Lunch - roast beef, ham and cheese roll-ups, tomatoes and peach slices

First night's dinner - franks, beans, sauerkraut and tomatoes.  Oh yeah, and wine.

2nd night's dinner - Stan uses packaged mix and adds mushrooms and sour cream

Stan gave me this big portion, but must admit I ate it all

I also made some trail mix:  pecans, raisins and chocolate chips.  A bit high-caloric, but pretty much healthy ingredients.  It tasted great on our hike!

In spite of being a bit chilly, and having to brave the dark walk to the "facilities" in the middle of the night, I enjoyed our three days.  It was nice to be out in nature and to talk with Stan without the distraction of TV, phones and the stock market.