frame size

So I was reading Mrs. F's blog and she talked about frame size. She'd always thought she was medium growing up, but since having lost weight, realized she's a small (through this elbow measuring thing here). Similar to my story, I always thought I had big bones. a) nice excuse for being bigger, b) I was bigger than all kids growing up, even when it wasn't fat. I looked like a year older than kids until about grade 8 or something. Early maturer. Plus I was always really solid and sturdy. I got muscles baby. I was never skinny. Never in my life would I be called skinny. You know how some 9 year old just have super skinny legs and arms and stuff. Looks like they're almost annorexic, but they're just skinny with no muscles or anything. I was the opposite. I always thought it was my bones that were bigger, but it was the muscles on my bones it turns out.

I'm small framed.

Seriously! (at least according to that elbow thing, but I think I may have small elbows but large ribs and shoulders. I have very broad shoulders folks, I don't fit in shirts!)

This also relates to another article I recently read in my Women's Health Slim Down Secrets or something like that magazine. It was at the beginning when you figure out your ideal weight or something. Unfortunately I don't remember the details, but it took your height and some kind of measurement that you could add or subract based on (it might have been if you could overlap your fingers around your wrist, subtract so many pounds, if you couldn't touch your fingers then add a couple pounds.) Anyway I can compeletly overlap my fingers. My wrists are small compared to my hands. So anyway, from that thing I also had small bones and my ideal weight could be as low as like 110 lbs or something! Which is absurd! I have never pictured myself as somebody who could actually be small! Sort of exciting. I always thought I was a short Amazon woman. Guess not.

Let's do some calculations. If I'm 30% body fat (which is what my cheapy handheld electronic thing says, though it may be totally inaccurate, I certainly don't feel that fat, but maybe i'm like a well marbled steak or something.) Anyway, at 137 lbs, that's 41 lbs of fat, 96 lbs of lean body. If I wanted to be 17% body fat, that would mean I'd weigh 116 lbs (assuming same lean mass). Wowsa. Something to think about.

I think it might help me stay on track if I felt not like I was almost there, just 5 lbs or so, but if I was only in the middle. I might not let myself cheat as much. I dunno, it probably should make me feel depressed or something. But I'm excited that I could get that small (though I'm not particularly worried about the number on the scale of course, but less than 20% body fat would be sweet, that's athlete range I think). I think I sort of set limitations on myself based on the "big boned" thing. I still don't really understand it. I know I've got wide shoulders, but that could be muscle I suppose right? I do have small hips. hmmm...

Anyway, other things. Yesterday's eating was no good again. Not horrible. But I was hungry when I got home from work and since the stupid mini muffins were on the cupboard I pollished off about 4 of them while cooking. Not to mention chips and dip (?!?) and cranberry juice and dino-sours. PLUS I ate a burrito (which is what I made for supper) and then had a cupcake for dessert. I need to get this food out of my line of sight. Anyway, I did my new TT workout. I'm doing the original TT thing now. I like this one, so far at least. I missed deadlifts. I do need some more heavier dumbells. Like a set of 20lbs, I've got 5s and 10s. I even did the intervals (though I don't know if they were the ones I was supposed to do, I just did a set of 30s sprints with 90s recovery around this big block I run) it took about 20 minutes I think. I was ready to puke by the end so that means it was good. ;)

Tonight I'm gonna do a bike ride and then a run. That's all I've got on the go tonight. No TT. Tomorrow morning is the swim. (GOTTA DO IT!) I'm feeling a little better about this tri coming up. 11 days! Especially since I've got a brick planned and a swim. I just have to remember to pace myself. While it is a race, it's not against the other people. This is my first sprint tri, the goal is to finish with a smile, not to beat anybody. Ok not true, my goal is also to come in in the top half. Though I don't know what the competition will be like and that might be too high of expectation. It's a goal.

Anyway, today's food should be good. Got chicken slow cooking right now so there will be no waiting around hungry, just gotta stir fry up some veggies as well and I'm set.

Anyway, back to work. Short week for me since tomorrow is a seminar. Only 2 days left of working then! one of them is today!


Edit - how to do the elbow thing. Put your arm up at 90 degrees, like so you can see your elbow in a mirror. Take a measuring tape and measure the width of your elbow, (the bone part) (use your fingers if you can't see the tape or something.) if it's less than 2 2/8 inches you're small. if it's 2 and 3/8 to 2 and 5/8 you're medium, and if it's 2 and 6/8 or larger you have a large frame. Mine was less than 2".