Eowyn Challenge: (There and) Back Again

[pegkerr]

I added up the mileage I've gone since leaving Mount Doom, and spent an absurd amount of time making an Excel spreadsheet to calculate how far various members of the Fellowship traveled, both There and Back Again, subtotalling at various landmarks, using Karen Wynn Fonstad's figures. I've calculated that Frodo's entire journey (Bag end to Mount Doom and back again, and then onto the Grey Havens) was 3884 miles. Sam's (the same as Frodo's journey, adding miles back to Bag End from the Grey Havens) was 4091 miles. Merry's journey was 4334 miles, give or take a few. Aragorn's journey (if you count him starting from the Prancing Pony) was 3223. Pippin did the honors for the longest journey: 4531 miles.

Anyway, I have gone from Mt. Doom (1779 miles) to Morannon where Sam and Frodo were nursed by Aragorn (1879 miles), to Minas Tirith for Aragorn's coronation (1999), and I am now 28 miles past Minas Tirith, on the way to Isengard.

I did workouts both days this weekend. I'm trying to devote myself anew to eating healthy and cutting portion sizes.

But I remain intensely irritated by the fact that I've done 225 workouts this year, the most I've ever done in a year, but yet I weigh five pounds more than I did last year. And yeah, yeah, I know that muscle weighs more than fat. But I'm still over the normal range of weight for my height. This is So Unfair. Phooey.

Comments

[king-tirian.livejournal.com]

Do your clothes fit better than they did at the beginning of the year? Do you feel more energetic? Do you get sick less? I don't want to take a side in the whole "fit and fat" debate, but I'll go so far as to say that weight and height alone are not enough datapoints to determine health.

You should track down someone who can do a fat percentage analysis on you. I get that through my health club, but I don't know who else has those fancy electrical impedance calipars on hand. That would be a more sensible indicator of whether your lifestyle is paying healthy dividends.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Well, I have been pretty healthy this year (aside from the shingles) and energetic. I did take all my measurements on January 1 last year, and I plan to do so this year, too. We'll see how they compare.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Serious athletes often weigh more than the "normal range for height," I believe, which is not a terribly accurate way of measuring whether your weight's in a healthy range anyway.

You should just keep exercising and eating a healthy diet and ignore your weight. But if you'd like to be reassured, your doctor could get a more accurate measure by checking your percentage of body fat.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Also be aware that the "standard" height/weight charts used by the insurance industry are fairly far skewed to the "too light" range. Especially if you have broad shoulders or a fair amount of muscle.

The Navy's charts are a bit more useful, as they're calibrated for real people who are physically fit:


MEN WOMEN
MAXIMUM MAXIMUM
Weight Height Weight
(pounds)(inches)(pounds)
97 51 102
102 52 106
107 53 110
112 54 114
117 55 118
122 56 123
127 57 127
131 58 131
136 59 136
141 60 141
145 61 145
150 62 149
155 63 152
160 64 156
165 65 160
170 66 163
175 67 167
181 68 170
186 69 174
191 70 177
196 71 181
201 72 185
206 73 189
211 74 194
216 75 200
221 76 205
226 77 211
231 78 216
236 79 222
241 80 227
246 81 233
251 82 239
256 83 245
261 84 251
266 85 257
271 86 263

The maximum allowable body fat limits are 23% for men and 34% for women.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

men (w) - h - women (w)
201 - 72 - 185

((blinks)) Wow. I think my ideal weight at 6' is about 175, although that was when I was just thin, not muscular or working out at all. (Of course, dummy me, when I weighed 145, I thought that was Just Awesome -- hey, who needs menstrual periods anyway?! -- and then was crushed when I found out models who are six feet weigh 125 lbs. Stupid college girl that I was.)

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

So your ideal weight is well under the max weight, and you'd be fine for your entrance exam if you suddenly, for some reason, wanted to enlist. *g*

And mine at a little under 5'7" when I'm fit is around 163-165, so I'm right up against the tippy top of the scale (155 is hollow cheekbones and projecting hips)--but I've got a *very* heavy bone structure (I am, alas, considerably more than that currently. Viva Las Vegas!). And when I was the fittest I've ever been in my adult life, I weighed in at 180--but I was weight training and kickboxing.

I don't know how the Navy does it, but the Army has slightly lower max weights, and allows people to go over them as long as their measurements are within certain parameters.

The point is--ideal weight is a chimera. *g* Or, if not a chimera, a guideline at best.

[dawn-came-dim.livejournal.com]

I don't know how the Navy does it, but the Army has slightly lower max weights, and allows people to go over them as long as their measurements are within certain parameters.

It's because of ice water training -- the more pounds you have, the better your odds of surviving full body submersion in near-freezing water.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Just chiming in with what everyone else said -- just sheer weight loss is not a great marker of physical health (people can lose lots of weight and be v unhealthy, or not lose weight and still be healthy). I think the questions about having more energy and insurance charts being off are great. Also, in the various weight loss plans I've been in, the emphasis was not on weighing yourself -- we were encouraged to do that maybe once a week, and chart it -- but whether or not you were losing inches and going down in clothes sizes (altho that last isn't a great marker since American sizes, esp for women, aren't standardized). Body fat percentages, cholesterol levels, endurance levels &c are all better indicators of health, IMHO, than how much weight someone's lost.

[mereilin.livejournal.com]

(altho that last isn't a great marker since American sizes, esp for women, aren't standardized).

Oh, that's a good point, and one I didn't consider (because I so rarely indulge in new clothing). I don't even own a scale anymore; I judge by the relative tightness of my everyday clothing. And of course, the "skinny jeans" I keep tucked away, just in case.

And as far as muscle weighing more than fat, I can personally attest to this. I divide most of my time between carrying trays (I'm a waitress), chasing my two small children, and dancing, and at my last checkup I weighed at least 15 pounds more than most people (and this would be dancers, who see me in dancewear) generally assume I do.

So, Peg, don't be discouraged! Although the scale is useful, as others have pointed out, it's not the last word in the success of your efforts.

[gamps-garret.livejournal.com]

Great job on all those figures, Peg. I'm far, far behind you, but started quite a bit later and don't walk as much as you do.

Just for curiosity, how do you calculate your daily distance? I know there's a way of calculating time spent in workouts as distance traveled -- do you do that? I do yoga and glider workouts, but don't calculate them in -- I just wear a pedometer and aim for four-five miles every day.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I wear a pedometer, too, and I wear it all day, including during my workouts (I do a whole bunch of different kinds: step, hi/lo aerobics, karate, kickboxing, treadmill, elliptical trainer, weights and yoga--although of course I don't achieve much mileage when doing yoga!). I did a ten step measurement, divided it by ten, and thus calculated my stride as approximately 2.7 feet. I have an excel spreadsheet that calculates the distance in miles when I plug in the number of my steps, and I just keep a running total and check it against the Eowyn Challenge milestones.