Not bragging... just excited

well for me this is a big accomplishment....

Well i've been able to switch my focus on weight loss from the numbers on the scale to the numbers on the caliper... i'm starting to measure my progress by the loss of body fat %.

In January the gym at work had a program and they took your measurements for body fat composition. Back then I was 24%. All I was doing was running and very little to no weight training. in march I started to get more focused and now I'm at 20% body fat. My goal is no longer to reach 190 lbs but to reach 18% (thats for now). Eventually I want to get close to or below 15%. but my main goal right now is 18% or below by the start of my vacation in 8 weeks.

Please share your recent accomplishments

congratulations!  i think it's a great way to check your progress rather than using numbers on the scale!  i think it's so much more meaningful personally to make that a goal of health and fitness rather than weightloss.

I'm in the same boat with you. I finally reached my goal weight of 105 through lots of cardio. Only recently have I realized more need for strength training. My body fat is at 24.5%. My new goal is to reduce my bodyfat. I don't have a % in mind yet, but probably around 18-19%.

WTG anlewis!

I suppose it's 105 Kilos not 105 lbs.

Either way, great job!

105 lbs. I'm only 5'0" so this isn't too thin.

I've been focusing more on fitness recently too. If I'm staying within my calories and exercising, my body will reflect that, so instead of focusing on the numbers, my new focus is increasing how long I can run. I'm up to 12 minutes so far!

Sadinplaid,

I just started running again.  I only get to 10 minutes on ground.  It's a mile, but then I have to walk for three minutes or so before starting up agian.  Great job.  Next time, I'll try to push it to 12. Thank You for the motivation!!!

As my uncle would say----It ain't bragging if you can back it up.  So far you can.  Keep up the good work.

Congratulations!!  Hopefully, I'll be able to bring myself to start working out soon.

How did you measure your % of body fat? Can you do it without machines etc? I have to stop working out so heavily for a while due to my new tattoo and not being able to have my sports clothing cross my back, so hopefully I will be able to get back to it soon.

Kgal521, I believe you'd have to use a machine or device to calculate body fat % accurately. You can check amazon.com for at home devices. Some scales now provide both weight and body fat calculation (mine does). Congrats on the new tat! I've been dyin to get another. I keep sayin when I lose the weight.

Thanks for the inspiration guys! I've recently been so frustrated with the scale fluctuations but I'm going to alter my focus. My focal point would now be increased agility in spin class.

That's fantastic!! Yay!

I went shopping for jeans today and I've dropped a size! I was pretty excited.

That's excellent, Good Job!

So what specifically did you do? Take up weight training and change cardio??

I'm so glad you brought up the body fat percentage as a measurement of your success and fitness. I try not to focus on the scale but it still matters to me. However I have had my body fat etc. measured every three months for the past year and I've reduced to 18%. It's funny because even though that's a good number I still feel I carry too much fat around my thighs, hips & butt. By the way I lost over 100 pounds 2 1/2 years ago (over 3 years). I'm 58, female and just last weekend completed my first half marathon. It was absolutely a great feeling and it felt good the whole distance. I've been racing now for the past year ( three times on the podium) doing road races, trail races, duathlons, triathlons and this summer I think I have a race almost every weekend. I workout 6 days a week doing lots of cardio, weights and core. I realize that what you weigh is of little significance if you don't have lean muscle mass to back it up. Its really hard work and takes a long time to see results. But focusing on what my body is made up of i.e. body fat vs lean muscle mass has allowed me to become a competitive athlete. No dress size will ever give me this degree of satisfaction.

Hey Guys!

i m new to calorie count. trying hard to loss weight.

i m 5'2'' and i weigh 182 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. i feel so embarrased when i go out for shopping. Though i have lost 4lbs in 1 1/2 months, i m stuck at 182lbs and i m not going down.

recently i m diagnosed with spondylolisthesis. makes it worse, not able to do my normal exericeses.

i feel good and motivated reading u guys! hoping to get back to my routine soon.

eagles86 - Thanks for the pep message

Kgal521 - they gym I go to does it for free with the caliper tongs. They have one of those handheld machines but they say those are not accurate. my trainer had me hold it and put my info in (weight, height, sex, age etc) it came out to 24% (with the caliper it came out to 20%). Then he had me change just my weight and it rocketed to 28%. He said that if the pulsations that go to measure the fat would be true it would have measured the same % of fat regardless of weight. So as you can see the machine isnt' all that accurate.

pachycephalusaurus - Congrats on the smaller jeans!

Gorgeous_jen - I took up weight training and changed my regular long distance running for HIIT on the elliptical and jumping rope.

mcgownanr - WTG on your half! I used to run long distances and it takes a special mentality to do it... you gotta have tons of will power to go for 13.1 miles.

privaa- welcome to CC!