Measuring club

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  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Hello everyone. I started yesterday to do the Fast 800. I tried it before but fell off the bandwagon very hard and put on more than I weighed before.
    I wondered about starting a measurements thread for anyone interested to join. Tomorrow I was going to measure (waist, thighs, upper arm) and keep a weekly measurement diary. I don’t want to weigh myself much at all to start with as I found that depressing each time I tried to restart.
    I read something which helped me – “if you were asked whether you wanted to reduce weight or inches and could only choose one, which would you go for?” A no-brainer, right? Well I know the two go hand in hand, but this way I hope to feel more motivated than watching stagnant scales.
    I am not diabetic but have a very serious carb addiction and digestive problems to boot so I hope to clear these up again and feel happier about myself.

  • posted by Theodora
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    Maid2measure, I think this is an excellent idea. I won’t be joining myself, as I have been in maintenance for about 9 months and seriously don’t want to get any thinner, but quite often when one hits a “stall” in weight loss, one continues to lose inches, particularly if there is exercise involved as muscle is far denser than fat, so takes up far less space than the equivalent amount of space of fat. So it stands to reason that, if you are actively building muscle and getting fitter, the scales may stall, while the body shrinks – I hope that makes sense?

    When I started BSD800 I didn’t think to measure first (you live and learn) but if I had, I suspect I wouldn’t have become quite so despondent when I hit a plateau – take as many measurements as you can so that you can make accurate comparisons. Go for it, I suspect you’ll have many companions join you.

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Thank you Theodora – hopefully this can work πŸ™‚
    Well today the measurements are:
    Waist: 33 ”
    Thigh: 20 ”
    Upper arm: 18 ”
    I never really tell myself this sort of info out loud let alone type it down so it’s a big step for me.

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi Maid2Measure

    Great idea. This is timely for me so I’ll join you if I may. I’ve measured (and recorded) myself twice so far, when I started BSD in August last year and then at the beginning of the New Year. My measurements were:

    August 2017
    Bust: 40″
    Waist: 39″
    Hips: 42″

    January 2018
    Bust: 38″
    Waist: 35″
    Hips: 40″

    I’m now at the very top of the healthy BMI (9st 11lb or 62.1kgs ). I’m planning on losing another 11lbs (4.9kgs) to 18lbs (8.1kgs). 18lbs will take me to 8st 7lbs – midway point on healthy BMI range, but where I decide is my goal weight will be as much, if not more, to do with my waist size. MM reckons as a good predictor of future health your waist should be less than half your height so at 5′ 2″ my waist should be less than 31 inches. Ways to go yet!

    My waist measurement has been so slow to change so may not see much difference weekly but will definitely keep posting.

    Cheers
    Btw, love your name and the title.

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Hello marie123, really glad you’ve joined me πŸ™‚

    Thanks for the detailed post – tonight I will also take a bust and hips measurement – may stick with the hips and discard the thighs one as it gets a bit difficult to measure the same part of the thighs! Plus I have very wide hips with proportion of the rest of me so it will be nice to see that decrease a little.

    It does work out that my waist is actually half my height but that depends…. do you actually measure your waist… (dictionary definition: the part of the body in humans between the ribs and the hips, usually the narrowest part of the torso) or the part below which is usually fatter! Well it is with me anyway!!!! πŸ™‚ πŸ™

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi M2M
    Yes, a good question about where to measure. So, I have a waist and a belly and they’re not necessarily in the same place!! I do measure my waist as you’ve described it – the narrowest bit between the ribs and the hips – although I did ponder it for a bit.

    The other thing I’m measuring is the % visceral fat in my body. I used one of those bodyscan-type things (technical term) when I started a GP referred exercise programme beginning of October and repeated it in December; I’ll measure it again in March. So even if I still have a belly when I reach my goal weight I’m hoping my % visceral fat is much reduced. I’d post these figures but to be honest I don’t understand the measure (it doesn’t give a % just a number). Need to look this one up.

    So, are you not planning to weigh at all? or weigh and measure?

    Btw, I’ve not included arms or thighs because I never thought to measure them in August. I can tell I’ve lost inches though, particularly on my arms because they’re quite scrawny now. Sigh!
    Marie x

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Hello Marie πŸ™‚
    I didn’t get round to measuring bust and hips but plan to on Wednesday.

    I’m not going to weigh at all until the end of the 8 weeks – I really want to see if this works! Then if I’ve lost even a stone off my last remembered weight I’d be really happy as I’m focusing on the inches and I haven’t felt swayed by the highs and lows of weight that I would have seen along the way…..

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi M2M
    Sorry not to get back earlier. My laptop broke – aargh – and had to be taken away to be fixed so I’m just trying to catch up with over a week’s worth of new posts!

    Good for you for not weighing. How are you getting on with the BSD? Are you feeling a bit lighter?

    I was referred to an exercise on referral programme at the beginning of November (I’m diabetic) and have got my end of programme review later this morning. The trainer took my waist measurement so I’m guessing he’ll do that again today. Will let you know how it goes.

    Hope things are going well.

    Marie x

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Hello Marie

    Thank you for your reply. Sorry but I have only just read it. How did the measurement go, any luck? πŸ™‚

    I’m really struggling. Fell off the good eating ways shortly after my last post. I need help! How can I stick at something so I feel better, not only just losing the unneeded weight but everything else. πŸ™

    M2M

  • posted by marie123
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    Oh, M2M, I’m sorry to hear that your struggling. You’re not alone, a lot of us struggle at times.

    Do you know what my best advice is – to come and join in on the new 4 week challenge which has just started today. It’s title is ‘Success in March without the starch’ and it runs until 20th March. It’s just a way of people supporting each other over the next 4 weeks. I’ve found it so much easier than trying to do it all on my own. It’s also a really good way to get to know other people on the Forum.

    Some people set weight goals, but not everybody does; some people focus on other things like reducing dress sizes, eating healthier, upping their water etc or just join for company and support. The people on the Challenge are all at different stages of the BSD, including people who have just started, and people who have come back for a second go.

    It’s really friendly and there is masses of experience – any issue you have and people will be there to offer ideas, including the maintainers who keep a friendly eye on us all.
    Have I persuaded you yet? I hope so, but if you prefer not, then if you let me know what you’re struggling with I’ll do my best to help and I’m sure a few other people would come along to help, too.
    Take care
    Marie xx
    nb Good news – my waist measurement is now 33″ – yay! and snap! Bad news – my weight loss stalled – or rather I stalled it – for 3 weeks – bummer!

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Hello Marie
    Thanks so much for your reply. Excellent news about the new waist measurement! Really pleased πŸ™‚
    You did convince me indeed – I’ve just joined the other thread and really wanting the best.
    ATB
    M2M

  • posted by weebleswobble
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    Can I join you in measuring please? I’m going to weigh as well.

    I’m on R1W1D4 so no second measurements yet.

    The recommended waist size for me is 85cm or less and I’m currently at 96.5cm. I carry most of my weight on my hips, bum and limbs though and I want to lose a lot of cm from these areas

  • posted by alliecat
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    Maid2measure, like Marie, I’m sorry that you’re struggling !
    I completely agree with Marie on the benefits of joining in
    on an active challenge though. I didn’t find the forums until
    I had successfully shed over 140lbs, because I didn’t even
    know that they existed. I more or less joined at the beginning
    days of maintenance, which I had more anxiety about than
    actual weight loss. I’m 10 months into maintenance now,
    and the friendships and support you will find when being a
    regular poster will get you past any and all moments of
    self doubt. There is a very active community of maintainers
    here who have been through every bump in the road, and
    we like nothing better than sharing our experience with
    those just beginning the journey.
    I’ll keep an eye out for your posts! Every wish for your
    success!

    Allie

  • posted by Theodora
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    M2M, I too am sorry that you are struggling. You’ve had good advice already. Join in and post as much as you can. Make friends on the forum, they will support you when things get tough. Join in a monthly challenge, far less daunting to manage small goals, but each small goal reached takes you closer to your target. Make use of us maintainers, between us there are not many hiccoughs we haven’t encountered and overcome. Keep going, if we can do this, so can you.

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi Maid2Measure – I haven’t seen you out and about for a while so hope you’re still around and just getting on with things. xx I promised I’d give an update on my measurements so here they are:
    August 2017
    Bust: 40β€³
    Waist: 39β€³
    Hips: 42β€³
    January 2018
    Bust: 38β€³
    Waist: 35β€³
    Hips: 40β€³
    March 2018
    Bust: 37.5β€³
    Waist: 33β€³
    Hips: 39β€³
    So things are still reducing which is great.
    Welcome weeblewobble – hope you’re going well. I’ll look forward to hearing how you are getting on when the time is right. x

  • posted by alliecat
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    Thanks for posting your results, Marie. The all important waist measurement, as indicator of visceral fat around
    the organs, is fantastic. So pleased for you πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

  • posted by marie123
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    Thanks Allie – I’m really delighted particularly with the reduction in my waist measurement – I’m 5′ 2″ so need to get my waist at least below 31″ but I’m getting there. xx

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    I’m not going to go on about how I’ve struggled, as I’m a failure without excuse and I’ve had lots of good advice.

    Here I am – I haven’t logged into this website at all this month and to come back on and see in the other 4 week chat just ending, that you Marie123 was asking about me, it just affected me and its given me the courage to keep going. I was scared to log in and see everyone’s success stories and see my thread by the wayside – but it’s not by the wayside so NOR AM I.

    Tomorrow is a new day and I will post measurements. I won’t join the new 4 week challenge until I am in the right mindset. Thank you for posting yours, Marie123 – the reductions are great πŸ™‚ I am so pleased for you :):)

    I need to stop eating:
    crisps (kinked on them)
    I need to stop drinking:
    gin (love it – must stick to rare treat with sugar free tonic once a month maybe)
    I need to start doing:
    daily lunchtime walks to clear my brain

    Thank you all so much for your support

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Welcome, weebleswobble. How are you progressing and have you taken any measurements yet? Hope to hear from you πŸ™‚

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Maid2measure, there is no judgement here. Nearly all of us struggle and mess up at some point – we are all human and sometimes life mugs us. There is no failure here unless you give up completely. You have already been proving that you can do this, so put whatever has kept you from the forum firmly behind you and start afresh. Keep posting even when things aren’t going well, ‘cos that is the time to turn to the support on the forum.

    Good to see you have set some clear goals for a restart, but if they don’t all happen immediately don’t panic. We’ll be here to help spur you along. Don’t limit yourself to just one thread, get yourself out there and people will be happy to welcome you and provide support, advice and a pad on the back as necessary. All best wishes to you ….. just make tomorrow a new start and I’m sure you will soon be reporting some positive results.

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    March 20th 2018
    Bust: 34″
    Waist: 36″
    Hips: 45″

    Thank you SunnyB

  • posted by SunnyB
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    Well done on putting today’s start point out there, Maid2Measure. Hope tomorrow goes well for you.

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi Maid2Measure
    I can’t tell you how delighted I am to hear from you. I have missed you and wondered how you were getting on quite a few times. I know it’s taken some courage to come back and start posting again – so really, truly well done for that.
    Please don’t be too hard on yourself; I think going wrong from time to time (well, completely awry in my case – I could tell you tales from being on the Weight Watchers circuit that would make you weep with laughter ) is just part of the process of trying to change our behaviour. It’s hard work. But it is completely do-able.
    Someone on this Forum (sorry can’t remember who) once posted ‘Count your achievements, make plans to improve, view relapses as being human’ – what great advice !
    Go well today and keep posting whatever happens.
    Marie xx
    nb
    In the spirit of your thread – ever since Nonna Mary told us on another thread how to work out the hip/waist ratio (a good health indicator), any time I see those measurements I can’t resist working it out. M2M – your hip/waist ratio is 0.8 – perfect!

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Sounds good Marie123 – I think my diet tales would also make you laugh!
    How do you work out the hip/waist ratio? I am intrigued. I have always considered myself to have very wide hips and a large bum compared to the rest of me. To see you say the ratio is perfect is no end encouraging! I’m a proper pear shape, lol.
    Today all my calories logged so far. I must do this.
    xx

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi M2M
    You divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement = your waist to hip ratio. (I think a big part of my liking to do it is it’s a bit of maths I can do!)
    Apparently a woman’s WHR should be ideally .8 (or it might have been .85) or below (a man’s is different – can’t quite remember what).
    I know I was surprised too (mine’s O.84) for the same reasons as you.
    I’ve just checked out what it says when I put your stats in an online WHR calculator “You have a waist to hip ratio of 0.80. The information you entered: Sex = Female, waist = 36 inches and hip = 45 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”.
    Marie xx
    nb So, I’ve just put mine in to the same calculator and apparently it says I’m still at increased risk because I’m an apple shape – oh, bum! – still a work in progress for me then.

  • posted by JGwen
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    Hi guys,
    It may be good or bad news, but I looked into the theory that hip / waist ratio is an indicator of level of visceral fat. When you use our friend g**gle, the result is that various scientific studies have discovered there is no link between levels of visceral fat and the waist / hip proportions.

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Thanks Marie, it made me smile! Whether reliable or true or not, my aunt has a similar figure to me and we often joke that we’re fat in the right way – ” if it’s on the hips, its not clogging up our organs”
    My actual tummy has never been particularly big – just everywhere else – so maybe I’m not likely to get T2… (nice thought anyway)

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    I’ve just been for a walk at lunchtime for the first time in ages. It was good to see that the daffodils had bravely defied the cold snap. Surely I can be as strong as a daffodil…….

  • posted by Californiagirl
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    I loved your post so much Maid2Measure that I just wrote it down in my gardening journal. It is a lovely and powerful sentiment β€” β€œsurely I can be as strong as a daffodil” β€” it can apply to so many things in my life right now. Daffodils are my favorite springtime present from the earth. I’m going to take your thought with me today.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Me, too, Julia! Sometimes we don’t know what strength we have within us until life comes along and insists on testing
    us, however πŸ™‚

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi JGwen
    That’s interesting. I don’t know about the science behind the hip to waist ratio at all. I know on an individual level I do tend to gather the weight around my middle – so an apple to M2M’s pear (although I’ve always had big hips – and been fat all over, too!).
    This has made me reflect that whether I get to a good WHR or not (if that’s even relevant from what you say) I’m always going to have the tendency, if I ever put on weight, to lay it down as fat around my middle which is not good. So a helpful thing for me to remember.

  • posted by Joes Nonna
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    JGwen that is interesting as the expert on TV was in fact a scientist, but then I suppose one scientist does not a positive make…however, in my defence… “This is an easy but not entirely accurate way to measure your visceral fat” was a comment that I posted. That was also googled. Sometimes I think we can over research things. There are always opposite opinions….don’t get me started on statins! lol.

    Nonna Mary
    xxx

  • posted by JGwen
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    There’s possibly two aspects to the waist/hip ratio. It may be a useful indicator of some other health issues. – I just thought it was worth mentioning as so much is made about getting rid of fat around the liver to help reverse T2. I was just interested in what the waist/hip ratio indicated on visceral fat levels given the shape of my spare tyre, but apparently when they do detailed body scans there is no correlation between fat around key organs and the waist/hip ratio.

  • posted by alliecat
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    JGwen, all of this is an interesting intellectual exercise though, isn’t it? Back in my college days I took a number of
    courses in the field of Anthropology, and there is solid evidence that men chose women with a hip to waist ratio
    of ten inches to preserve the proliferation of the species, with the belief that these women were better “breeders”.
    When I was in my teens and early twenties, I did some modeling to earn some extra spending money. I had to
    be able to accurately take my measurements so that the correct size would be on my rack on fashion show day.
    At that time, perfect measurements were considered to be either 34-24-34, or 36-26-36!! Quite a hard ideal to
    live up to! No wonder so many women have “issues” with body image! In reality, we all resemble fruit of some
    sort, be it apple, pear or banana! πŸ™‚

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    My visceral fat is about 40 – not sure if that links with the other measurements or not – sort of in the middle … what JGwen is saying makes perfect sense though – a 36 waist and 45 hips might mean I could have any amount of visceral fat really.

    At least I’m an attractive proportion, lol πŸ™‚

  • posted by marie123
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    I guess all of these measures – BMI, Waist to Height and Waist to Hip Ratio – are going to have their limitations because they’re so simple and they’re trying to calculate something that’s complex whether it’s body fat/visceral fat levels, CHD risk etc.

    But I’m happily still going to use them all because they are easy to do, they motivate me and taken together they’ll still indicate changes that are likely to be positive for my future health.
    My BMI has gone from 36.5 to 24.1. From starting BSD my waist has gone from 39″ to 33″ and my WHR from 0.92 to 0.84 – what’s not to love.

    But it’s an interesting issue you raise for me, JGwen. As I near my goal weight I do want to learn and understand more about body composition, my body fat % and lean mass % etc and as an older woman what I should be doing to become better balanced, stronger and fitter – while, of course, still enjoying life!

    Hope everyone is going well today. The sun has just come out so I’m off for a walk.

    p.s. Mary, I’m still chuffed.

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Hello all – today I did the unthinkable and weighed myself. If I achieve my goal of measuring smaller by the end of the 4 week challenge I will add a weight goal to the next four week challenge. This shows how far I have come in the last few days – I get very demoralized by the scales but in a few weeks I will weigh again πŸ™‚
    The measuring will still be the key numbers for me however.

  • posted by marie123
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    Wow, M2M – that’s impressive and strong!

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Bust: 34
    Waist: 33
    Hips: 45

    The only one changed is my waist – dropped 3 inches – surely this is an anomaly!

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Lost 2 inches off my hips since about 3 weeks ago I measured them – so pleased as it has been stagnant there, this is the first loss.

  • posted by alliecat
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    Maid2measure, 2″ off your hips is wonderful progress! I’m so happy that you’ve hung in with all of us πŸ™‚ I found
    that this WOL is so efficient at burning fat, that my mildly pear shaped body has now turned into a banana instead.
    I’m altogether “narrow” now, no hips and a pancake for a butt! πŸ™‚ It is crazy, but just try to enjoy the adventure! It’s
    monumentally worth it πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

    Best,

    Allie

  • posted by marie123
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    Hi M2M
    That’s another great milestone – 2″ off your hips – woohoo! I haven’t forgotten about measuring myself and posting on here but I’ve put on a few pounds recently – not too many, but enough to keep me away from the tape measure for now. It’s an absolutely beautiful morning here, hope it is with you – great going. xx

  • posted by Maid2Measure
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    Thank you Allie and Marie for your kind words 😊 it is rather encouraging as I have now lost 2″ proportionally – off hips, waist and visceral fat. My chest has stayed the same which isn’t bad because I’m smaller there anyway. I don’t think I will ever be a banana Allie! That description did make me laugh. Even at my ideal weight I am very much a pear still!

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