My Lil' Health Journey

Genetics is an interesting subject.  Apparently crucial when it comes to building muscle.  Some people are "hard gainers" and others build muscle like gangbusters.  I attempted to check more genes in my 23andme raw genetic data to find the following: MSTN (myostatin, regulates muscle growth): important gene, but 23andme did not test me.   ACTN3 : (rs1815739) I was tested to have the CC allele, which is over represented in power athletes.   AGT: ( rs669 ) Tested to be GG which is associated with power sports performance, but also hypertension. IL6: ( rs1800795 ) Tested to be CG (found in a mix of athletes), not sure of relevance. NOS3: (rs2070744) Tested to be CT.  TT allele significantly higher in power athletes ( paper ). AMPD1: (rs17602729) Tested to be GG (normal activity).  People deficient can benefit from d-ribose .  I'll keep that in mind since I know someone with the "deficient" allele. rs7832552 TT associated with greater lean mass, but...

Last night, I was able to see if I am making progress strength-wise at the Jiu Jitsu gym.   Dumbbell Curl: 30 lbs (both arms) Dumbbell Deadlift: 70 lb (140 lb total) Dumbbell Row: 50 lb (both arms) Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 30 lb (60 lb total at the same time)  Hammer Curl: 25 lb (at least) forgot to check 30 lb    I also can do the following: Bench Press: 75 lb (checked last week) Squat: 70 lb (3 sets of 10, unsure about 1 rep max) Pushups: 22 in a row   Helping my husband with outside work, I needed to pull a chicken coop up hills, move a bunch of gravel, raise the coop roof over my head to fill up the feed bucket, and the list goes on. It looks like I'm stronger than a lot of women who have been lifting for two years (from strengthlevel.com ):     Raising 60 lb over my head is not too shabby: There is a lot of carrying stuff and kids going on at my house, 25 lb not too bad: I currently don't have the equipment to do bench pressing at home, but here i...

Having been an engineer, I like charts.  So I decided to chart my progress.  Using data collected using the Body Fat Calculator ( here ), I created charts of my lean mass gains, body fat percentage, and fat mass over the 17 weeks of training.  The training over that time varied:   June 29: began body weight training 2x per week for legs with 10lb dumbbells for arms, walking 2-3 miles 3x per week. July: Sometime in July I decided to "bulk" (caloric surplus) By August 8: I was using 20 lb dumbbells for arms and doing some leg exercises with 10 or 20 lb dumbbells.  Reduced my walking to 1.5 miles 2x per week and increased weight lifting to 4x per week. August 11:  Earliest time I remember taking protein powder. August 21: Began "cut" (slight caloric deficit) October 12-26: Was sick from reaction to allergy medicine and had to reduce weight lifting to 2x per week and no walking or martial arts due to gout flaring. October 26:  Still increasing weight on so...

I heard of the BMI, Body Mass Index, but have not come across FFMI, or Fat Free Mass Index, before going on my present fitness journey.  Using my measurements from the beginning of my journey versus now my FFMI was and is as follows:   June 29, 2020: 16.44 (BMI: 26.9 " overweight ") Oct 5, 2020: 17.79 (BMI: 25.5 "overweight")   FFMI accounts for height, weight, and body fat percentage whereas BMI only accounts for height and weight.    In June my body fat was estimated to be 38.95% using the two calculators ( here and here ).  My lean mass was about 93 lb.  In October 30.25% body fat and 100.4 lb of lean mass.  Using the 30.25% body fat percentage and plugging it into the Fat Free Mass Index Calculator yields the 17.79 FFMI.  The following chart shows how I should stack up:   Initially, I was in the category of "fat woman".  No surprise there. It looks like I'm still on the line for being a "fat lady", but if I were to gain more lea...

I wish I could have been professionally measured, but it looks like I gained about 0.5 pounds of lean mass and lost 1.1 lb of fat mass per week since June 29th.  There is reportedly a wide variance on how fast someone can gain lean mass.  The average woman gaining 0.12 to 0.25 lb of lean mass per week (see here ).  Using my tape measurements and two online body fat calculators (see here and here ) my body fat went down from about 39% (Yikes!) in June to 31% in October.  I lost about 4.5 inches around my waist and naval measurements.  I wondered if there was some genetic component to this supposed lean mass gain, so I checked for variants in the MSTN gene, but 23andme does not test anything on that gene.  Bummer.  I do have the homozygous power athlete allele on ACTN3.  I lost about 7 pounds since June, presently 145 pounds.  I am getting close to being able to comfortably fit into some pre-pregnancy pants from when I was 135 pounds.  Per...

I used my measurements from June 29, 2020 to back calculate (estimate) my beginning status, with the average being: June 29, 2020 Weight: 152 lb Lean Mass: 92.80 lb Fat Mass: 59.20 lb Body Fat: 38.95 % Waist: 37 in Bellybutton: 40 in * Around July 24, 2020 was trying to "bulk", ended on Aug 21, 2020 Aug 28, 2020 Weight: 150 lb Lean Mass: 93.93 lb Fat Mass: 56.08 lb Body Fat: 37.38 % * Started protein supplementation around Aug 1, 2020 * Started slight caloric deficit on Aug 21, 2020  * Diastasis Recti less than a finger on Aug 31, 2020 Sept 11, 2020 * Started taking 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with a glass of water twice per day, before breakfast and dinner Weight: 150 lb Waist: 33.50 in Bellybutton: 38.00 in Oct 1, 2020 Weight: 146 lb ( - 8 lb since June 29, 2020) Lean Mass: 101.54 lb ( + 8.74 lb) Fat Mass: 44.46 lb ( - 14.74 lb) Body Fat: 30.46% ( - 8.49%) Waist: 32.50 in (-4.5 in) Bellybutton: 35.75 in (-4.25 in) Well, it seems to be unbelievable that I gaine...