My birthday present...

I woke up much earlier than normal this morning in order to make it in time for my appointment in town at 7:00am, which happened to be my birthday present from my parents. We drove into the parking lot of the Mercy Fitness Center while it was still dark, and I had to laugh as I looked into the windows and didn't see anyone under 50 years old. This was going to be interesting!

My reason in going to the Fitness Center was to take part in their Active Metabolic Training program. My mom had read an article about it a few weeks ago, and she thought it would be a great present for me. My first question was, "So....what is it?". In a nutshell, Active Metabolic Training helps you how to work your body smarter, not harder. I took part in the initial testing which determined my resting metabolic rate (the total calories burned at rest), and my active metabolic rate. This provided me with an understanding of where I stop burning fat and at what heart rate I burn fat most efficiently.

So, I first went into a room with a fitness trainer named Adam. (Yeah, I was hoping for a female, but he was great!) He asked about my reason for coming, and I explained that I felt like I'd hit a plateau in my weightloss and was hoping this would provide me with some answers on how to keep losing. He also asked if I had a goal weight, and I told him, "Sort of!". After punching some numbers on his calculater and measuring my height and weight, he agreed that 150 pounds would be a good goal for me. Hurray! I was right about something.

I was encouraged when Adam told me that I am actually in the normal range for body fat, though barely. :-) He used the little "fat pincher" (aka a calibrater) to come to that conclusion.

And then, it was time to stop the chit-chat. He explained that I was going to wear a mask which was connected to a special machine that would measure the carbon dioxide that I exhale and the oxygen that I inhale. This little machine would be able to tell me how many calories I burn while at rest and it could also tell me my "fuel mixture" - the percentages of fat and carb calories I burn while at rest. Amazing! So, I sat in the room and simply breathed - in and out - for about 30m minutes. Pretty boring.....he warned me not to fall asleep. But, it worked great! I walked away from that knowing how many calories I burn each day. And now I can figure out exactly how many calories to eat and work off through exercise. Sweet! I wish I'd known this earlier.

After my time of rest, it was on to the treadmill. I still had to wear my goofy mask and heart rate moniter while exercising. Adam kept track of my heart rate and my breathing told him what kind of calories I was burning while exercising - fat or carbs. And he pushed me hard toward the end! I was sweating and huffing, swinging my arms furiously. He asked me how I was doing, and I responded with a "thumbs up", and then he finally lowered the incline and let me cool down. I walked away with a personal exercise plan, and I was able to see at what heart rate I burn the most fat. And the most amazing part is that I burn the most fat at a mid range, not when I'm exercising my hardest. Yippee! It's actually more to my benefit to keep my heart rate at a medium intensity, which I will now be able to track with my new heart rate moniter. Yep, I bought myself a birthday present, too.

I could share lots more info, but I don't want to bore or confuse you. :-) If you want more details, send me an email! I'll gladly share. Enjoy the pictures below! Isn't my mask simply adorable?

Smiling ~ Bekah