Struggles

If you read my blog, you know I struggle with my weight and fitness. I’m struggling right now.

The recent move didn’t go well for me physically speaking. Mentally, I’m doing great. But I put on weight that I had kept off for a while, and now I need to get it back off. To help me accomplish this, I will be using the Army Wellness Center.

You might remember that J and I did a bunch of metabolic and fitness testing last year. This is the same thing. But with pictures.

I went in for the metabolic and body composition tests. The metabolic is easy – you lie there for 15 minutes with a mask on your face and just breathe.  I don’t understand how it determines your metabolism, but it apparently does. I will get my results next week in the required nutrition class. 

sexy, no?

Next comes the dreaded BodPod. This thing looks like an escape pod from a spaceship. You have to wear very little – spandex shorts, no top for guys, sports bra for women, and a little nylon cap, much like a nylon swimcap. To control your hair. They enter your weight and height and you’re ready to go.

that's their test device in there

You sit in this thing, it vacuum seals and pulses a bit, they open it and close it again, and it goes through another round. That’s it. All done. They give you a printout of your results, and you leave feeling fat. At least, I do.

So here are my results. Yes, I’m sharing these online. No shame. First is the breakdown of all my body: fat mass, other mass, etc. Next is their chart of where I should be. When I had this done back at Bliss, I was a level lower than where I am now. Ugh.

Body Mass is my total weight 

this is what I hope to change the most - I want to get to moderately lean

At the nutrition class, there’s supposed to be a dietician I can talk to. I hope to be able to set up a one-on-one to discuss my personal diet struggles and hopefully get some help overcoming them. I’ll also do the VO2 Max test next week, which determines fitness.

I did a little research and found that the BodPod test usually costs about $45, while the metabolic and VO2 testing can cost $100-$200. And I get it all for free, because J is in the Army. If any of my Army/Milspouse friends are reading, you should check out the Wellness Centers. They aren’t everywhere yet, but they are spreading.

Also, here’s a little more info on the VO2/Metabolic testing, from a magazine J actually subscribes to: http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness/bodywork/fitness-coach/Is-Metabolic-Testing-Worth-It.html

And finally, a cute pic of Remy. Just because.

bandana!