I’m know I’m oversimplifying this, but here’s the basic gist of how you get fat:

You eat carbs. Your body breaks down the carbs for glucose, a source of energy for your body. The glucose is absorbed into your blood stream. Insulin is secreted by your pancreas to “carry” the glucose into your cells as a source of energy for both cell functions and physical activity.  With muscle cells, some of the glucose is stored as glycogen to power muscle contractions. … see the full entry

So my primary goal right now is to reduce body fat. I’ve been doing a lot of research on the best way to do this. Cardio? If so, what kind? Weights? Diet? Everything?!

First, I wanted to understand exactly how and when the body breaks down fat.  I’ve came across a few articles, which I was hoping to link to from the end of this entry, but I accidentally X-ed out of my Firefox window while I was trying to move … see the full entry

So, it’s been 3 days and I haven’t lost all of the 7 lbs I gained on Sunday yet.  I have lost 4 lbs though, and the strange (scary?) thing is that I have weighed in at 107 lbs for 4 weigh-ins now.  This is unheard of for me.  First of all, for me to still weigh more than I’ve ever have is unusual.  Secondly, my weight always fluctuates a lot during the day and from day to day. It … see the full entry

I went to Target yesterday and, because they were on sale and I’m a sucker for a bargain, I picked up a pair of dumbbells.  They’re 10 lbs each, coated, and made by Reebok.

At the gym, I use the bicep freemotion machine (cables and handles), the tricep freemotion and tricep press machines, and occassionally the preacher curl bicep machine.  I don’t like to use the preacher curl machine because my arms are short and I can’t position them comfortably on … see the full entry

When I was awaiting the arrival of my pedometer, I was worried that I would find out that I’ve been overestimating my activity level. A lot of reviewers wrote about how they thought they were at the “active” level of 10,000 steps per day, only to find themselves barely breaking 3,000.

Now that I’ve had my pedometer for several days now, I understand why I have been able to eat so much and not get overweight: I am a … see the full entry

As I mentioned in my previous post, I bought a pedometer to get a better grasp of how many calories I burn a day. In order to do this, I needed to know my activity level and a measurement of one’s daily step count is a good indicator of this (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, active, etc.)

I bought the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer from Amazon.com based on reviews … see the full entry

I stumbled upon this website today and it has some really insightful articles relating to diet, exercise, and nutrition. Here’s one that I just finished reading that I found really interesting. It contains information I’ve heard before (about high intensity vs low intensity mainly), but it helps drive home that concept for me and convinces me that I need to focus more on high intensity exercise in order to achieve the body I want.

Why Short Workouts Work … see the full entry

So today, being Saturday, was my optional day. After going to the gym every day during the week, I decided that my weekends were going to be a bit more relaxed. However, I ended up going to the gym today around noon, and boy, I’m so glad that I did. I had a great time!

I mainly did cardio today. I usually run on the treadmill or use the stairmill. I truly enjoy running on the treadmill … see the full entry

I feel bad that I didn’t blog at all yesterday. I’ve been so tired! I’m still not used to getting up so early, and I haven’t compensating by going to bed earlier. I went to bed Tuesday night around midnight, and last night it was around 1 AM. I really have no excuse for staying up so late - I’m just so used to it plus I’m a night person who tends to get energized in the evenings.

Also, … see the full entry

I worked out for about 45 minutes this morning, focusing on my legs. I started out by walking very briskly to the gym (1.7 miles). After this great warm-up, I did seated leg presses, 110lbs, 3 sets of 15 reps. It was tough, but I could have gone harder. Just want to take it easy for now.

I did leg curls, 2 sets of 18 at a slightly heavy weight, and then 3 sets of 18 on … see the full entry