January 5th 2007
Today I faced the aftermath of two weeks of hedonism and gluttony. The results are in a table below. Each test was conducted after fasting for 10 hours. I will go through each test and discuss why the information is useful when preparing for a bodybuilding competition! When I can, I will also provide links so you can do calculations for yourself or read about the method for your own information.
The tests will be repeated every three weeks- 6 total testing sessions will be completed:
Test (Session) Session 1: 1/5/2007
Height: 5′ 2 (157.5 cm)
Weight: 128.4 lbs (58.4kg)
BMI: 23.5
Resting Energy 1142 kcal/day
Expenditure (4781 kJ)
Multi-Frequency BIA, Intracellular 20.69 L
Multi-Frequency BIA, Extracellular 13.53 L
Multi-Frequency BIA, Total Body Water 34.22 L
Handheld BIA #1 (Rough estimate BF %) 21.1%
Handheld BIA #2 (Rough estimate BF %) 20.8%
Waist Circumference 27 (68.6 cm)
Hip Circumference 36.75 (93.3 cm)
Left mid-thigh circumference 19.5 (49.5 cm)
DXA Total Mineral Z-score 1.0
DXA Lumbar Z-Score - 0.5
DXA Total Body Fat % 17.5%
DXA Individual Part Fat % L Arm: 16.2%
R Arm: 13.0%
L Leg: 20.8%
R Leg: 21.8%
Trunk: 15.2%
Weight
Weight is a convenient measurement because it is easy and can be done every morning. Since I am a light weight bodybuilder, I will have to make a weight of 114 lb (51.7kg) to compete- I will need to be about 111lb to be lean enough, however (please see the DXA print out for calculations of target weight and body fat). Though weight is not the only indicator, you must loose a substantial amount to prepare for a competition. As much fun as it would be, you cannot loose only fat, especially when you are trying to get very lean, so muscle losses must also be considered when choosing a target weight!
BMI
The unitless BMI is the current quick way to estimate body fatness in the United States- at 23.5, mine is on the higher end of what is considered healthy. BMI does not directly correspond to a body fat percentage level. I am much leaner than a health care professional would assume by looking at my BMI, which is true of most bodybuilders and many other athletes.
Calculate your BMI: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
Resting Energy Expenditure (REE)
The REE is basically the number of calories that you burn in a fasting state lying down, awake, not moving at all. My REE of 1141 kcal/day was calculated by a Parvo metabolic cart, which is a highly accurate method. It works by measuring the amount of oxygen taken in and carbon dioxide out to indirectly calculate the amount of energy the body is using!
For more info about this method please see: http://www.vacumed.com/293.html
Hospitals and people who do not have metabolic carts must resort to formulas. The accuracy of formulas is highly debatable; literally hundreds have been developed for different age, ethnicity, disease and gender groups. The most commonly used in the hospital is the Harris-Benedict equation, which is different for men and women:
Harris-Benedict Equations (calories/day):
Male: (66.5 + 13.8 X weight) + (5.0 X height) - (6.8 X age)
Female: (665.1 + 9.6 X weight) + (1.8 X height) - (4.7 X age)
weight in kilograms, height in centimeters, age in years
Calculate online at http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
My REE, based on the above equation comes out to about 1392, which is 22% higher than it was measured to be!!! If I based my diet on the Harris-Benedict I might not have much success- this equation tends to over estimate REE because it is largely based on young and non-obese people. I am young and not obese, however, and my value was still WAY too high!
Throughout the diet I will base my calorie levels, in part on the REE values. For instance, if my value decreases a substantial amount, I will know that I am becoming hypo-metabolic, a dangerous and counter-productive state.
Multi-Frequency BIA
BIA is the best way to measure total body water. A rough estimate of body fat is also calculated from the BIA; however, the calculation is based on the assumption that each person is carrying the same percentage of body water and that all muscle contains the same amount of water, which may not be true!
You can also measure the amount of water held inside and outside of your cells! This is important for a few reasons. Remember water outside of the cells (extra-cellular) includes the dreaded subcutaneous water under the skin! Also, high intracellular water (water inside of the cells) means that the body is actively synthesizing protein, which we all love.
For more information about the BIA: http://www.rjlsystems.com/docs/bia_info/fundamentals/
Though there is not a good formula to assess intracellular and extracellular water levels, if you are a fit, healthy person your water distribution is probably not a major concern.
Handheld BIA
The handheld BIA is that little body fat contraption seen in many gyms- it is a rough estimate, however. My values came out about 3-4% higher than the more reliable DXA value. From what I’ve seen in the lab, values are usually within 3-5%. Lean and athletic people tend to show values that are too high on the handheld, while obese people tend to come out a little closer to their actual values.
The handheld BIA can give you an idea of whether you are generally lean and track trends over time. The link below is the hand held analyzer that we have in the lab:
http://www.healthgoods.com/Shopping/Health_and_Fitness_Products/Omron_Body_Logic_Pro_Body_Fat_Analyzer.asp
The really beautiful thing is that they are very cheap, about $50, which is totally reasonable for a person to buy. Some quick pointers on the handheld:
- Void completely (go to the bathroom) before using it
- Don’t use it right after exercise, drinking, or eating
- Best if used in the morning after going to the bathroom and before eating your first meal
It’ll be really interesting to see how closely the changes in the hand held compare to the DXA over the next few months!!
A quick note about calipers: Like the REE equations, there are literally HUNDREDS!! of caliper equations out there, the best one for you is based on your gender, ethnicity, age and many other factors. Furthermore, as many as 9-10 sites can be measured to plug into a formula- no less than 6 should be used. As such, it is nearly impossible to get an accurate body fat measure with calipers!!! Also, there is a very specific method for obtaining the fold that few people perform correctly:
http://www.exrx.net/Testing/SkinfoldProcedures.html
That said, if your measurement changes from 23 to 12, congratulations, you’ve definitely lost some body fat, but you probably can’t calculate a neat percentage.
Circumference Measures
For a bodybuilder, a simple tape measure is probably more of your most useful tools! When you’re gaining, there are certain areas that should be growing faster. In like manner, on a diet, your waist (and hips in my case) should shrink a whole bunch, while the arms shouldn’t show a drop that is as dramatic. In combination with calipers, you may be able to tell whether you are losing inches from fat.
Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA or DXA)
DXA is the best way to measure bone mineral density and risk for osteoporosis. Bone density is a measurement of how much calcium and other mineral are packed into the skeletal matrix. The denser your bones, the less likely they are to fracture. Additionally, it is also the easiest and one of the most accurate ways to measure body fat. The former gold standard, hydrostatic weighing, has substantial limitations in terms of user and measurement error (there are many steps in the process). DXA can be done by a trained monkey and, with a newer machine and current software, is posed to be the new gold standard for body fat measurement.
As a female bodybuilder, I am concerned about my bone health through the dieting process. The essential fat for a female is somewhere around 10-12%- to be prepared for a bodybuilding competition, the body fat must be lower than this, as the judging currently stands. As such, I have NEVER prepared for a physique competition and maintained a period. In fact, last year I didn’t have one for nine months- my body fat during that period of time ranged between 10-15%. Since my body fat is at 17.5% at this time, I am likely to loose it again within a month or two- I’ll report it when it happens.
Is this optimally healthy? No. But I’m working on some nutritionally strategies to delay the inevitable- I will write a separate blog on this topic, since it is too often ignored in conversation about women in physique competition.
The DXA measurements will help me to determine if I am losing bone mass during the dieting process. Though it is a short period of time (15 weeks) I will also track whether bone mass is lost at a faster rate after menstruation stops. The lumbar spine DXA measurement is a more sensitive indicator- at this time, my lumbar Z-score is -0.5. This value means I am at the 27th percentile for women of my age and ethnicity. That means that means that 73% of 24 year old white women have denser bones in the lower spine than I do. If my Z-score reaches -1.0, I will be at increased risk for fracture in my lumbar spine.
http://courses.washington.edu/bonephys/opbmdtz.html
The DXA is also super-exciting because it is a highly accurate and sensitive way to measure body fat percentage. For more info about how the DXA determined body fat percentage, please refer to the link below:
http://www.new-fitness.com/body_fat_analyzing.html
A further benefit of the DXA over the underwater weighing method is that the amount of muscle and fat in grams from each region of the body is estimated, which is just cool. At this time, I am clearly holding most of my fat in the lower body- the percentages are both over 20% in both legs. I’ll be able to tell where each pound of muscle or fat is leaving from. The information could change prioritization of workouts or nutritional strategies.
Just look at yourself
It’s a physique contest, right? So the most useful tool will cost you about $10- it’s a full length mirror. A close second are clear photos and you probably know someone with a digital camera. All the methods above are great and useful, but if your look isn’t aesthetically pleasing, it doesn’t really matter for physique competition.
Stay tuned! I’ll post nutritional strategies sometime next week. Included will be (1) my diet plan and reasons for choosing it; (2) how I will use the basal REE and the REE over time to adjust calorie levels; (3) Signs and symptoms of a hypo-metabolic state (4) Important supplementation for health on a hypo-caloric diet; (5) other great stuff.
The next testing update comes in three short weeks!!
January 1, 2007
Today is the second day after returning from New York- I am so greatful to have my fridge back! I decided to start my diet rather early; I’ve noticed that being on a super-clean diet for about three months really does the trick in terms of looking lean AND healthy. It’s not ultra low calorie, but it does not leave a lot of room for cheating either. I went to the grand HEB (grocery store) on Wooded Acres Drive, where fresh herbs and frozen sugar snap peas abound.
Last semester, I got into the habit of baking all kinds of yummy things on about a bi-weekly basis and my freezer was rich with the evidence. The first order of business to was to toss all the temptations. Sour cream coffee cake, peanut butter cookie dough, and a chocolate thing I coudn’t quite discern all made their way to the bottom on my trash can, which had to be double bagged.
Proper nutrition is absolutely vital to success in bodybuilding and supplements can boost a productive diet. Before this fall I had only dabbled inconsistently with supplements. In fact, I didn’t even eat after my workouts!
When I got to Baylor this August I had the pleasure of talking to Professors Kreider, Greenwood and Willoughby about sports supplementation- I also heard Dr. Jose Antonio speak in March. With their expertise, I was able to sift between the supplements that may be worth taking and those that exist only to mock the dreams of 16-year-old boys hoping to morph into Lee Priest.
I have gained about 15 pounds in the last 3 months. Though this sounds frightening, my BF % by DXA 3 pounds ago was still only 14.5% and it really doesn’t look all that bad- my weight is at a two-year high of 130lb.
In a few days I will do a battery of testing to assess what I am starting with. Included with be the REE. DEXA, and muti-frequency BIA.
REE: Stands for “resting energy expenditure” In essence, you fast and lie in a little bubble that goes over your face; the computer measures how much oxygen you are breathing in and how much CO2 you are breathing out. From this information, you can calculate the number of calories you are burning as you lie there doing nothing and what your primary fuel source is (should be fat when fasting)
The REE is useful for deciding how many calories my diet should be and subsequent measurements will let me know whether my body is slipping into a hypometabolic state. When I was on my first bodybuilding diet, I went to the hospital for an unassociated cabbage incident- my pulse never went above 42 beats per minutes. When your body slows down this much it is both counter-productive and dangerous. The solution is to eat more.
DEXA:An x-ray type machine originally used for bone density. With updated software, the machine is also a highly accurate measure of body fat percentage. The analysis divides the body into fat, bone (mineral), and lean components. With a DEXA every 3 weeks, I will be able to tell how much fat and/or muscle I am losing and from which par(s) of the body I am losing from.
Without access to a highly accurate measure like underwater weighing, DEXA, or bod pod, it is not possible to know your actual BF% and speaking in those terms is neither accurate or useful.
Muti-Frequency BIA: A machine that is the best way to measure body water; it also tells you whether the number of liters of water inside and outside of your cells. More water inside the cells is indicative of protein synthesis (muscle growth).
Below are some notes that I wrote out earlier today- it’s just a rough outline of what is to become my full-blown grand master plan
Plan will include 5-6 200-300 kcal meal, with breakfast being slightly larger
Macronutrients to be determined (minimum 130g protein (40%), 130 g carbs (40%), and 30g fat (20%), to begin: 1310 kcal)
Supplements include:
CLA
BCAA
Fish Oil
Flax Seed
ON pro complex whey with added BCAA and glutamine
1000 mg calcium citrate
2 flinstone multi-vitamins
carnitine?
Fat burner in last 4-6 weeks
Lift 4-5 Days a Week
30 minutes cardio, 6/days per week (initially)
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