The Fuzzy Math of Personal Health

Something that certainly helps, but hasn't yet been discussed, is trying to walk for thirty minutes a day around lunch time. The the distance doesn't matter, but push to increase the heart rate. This is supposed to be the thing about cardio exercise – the amount that you can increase your heart rate is very important. Subtract your age from 220 (220 – 59 = 161 for me) and then subtract your resting heart rate from that (161 – 64 = 97 called the reserve heart rate). Now, for the heart rate you want to shoot for if you are trying to lose weight, multiply the reserve heart rate by 65% (97 X 0.65 = 63); and add your resting heart rate back to that number (64 + 63 = 127). So, to burn calories, a target heart rate of greater than 127 beats per minute is recommended. There is an upper limit of heart rate for cardio benefits. It is calculated by multiplying the reserve heart rate by 80% and adding the resting heart rate back in to achieve a maximum target heart rate ([97 X .8] + 64 = 140). To find your target heart rate for maximum combined cardio and weight loss benefit, you simply average the upper and lower number ([127 + 140]/2 = 134). That tells you that a heart rate of 134 bpm will give more cardio benefit, while not necessarily being any better for weight loss. The heart rates are not true limits in that you can increase your heart rate to 200 bpm or greater during some work outs (such as strength training).

While I have the calculations going let's talk about the one that is most dubious' Body Mass Index, or BMI.

BMI = weight in pounds x 703/(height in inches) x (height in inches)

It doesn’t take into consideration: changes in the bone mass, percent body fat, or percent muscle mass. All of these are make us individuals.

According to the BMI calculation, when I was the most fit in my life, I was 72 “(6’) and 225 pounds – the BMI was 30, or obese. I had a 31 inch waist and rode a bicycle for hours at a time over the hills in the San Francisco area. BMI is again 30, and while a lot closer to being obese than at 19, a 37” waist is less that the 40” waist that the National Institute of Health says causes the risk factor to increase.

Of course the BMI at a target weight of 190 is 26 (still overweight), not that that tells anything worth knowing. It’s sort of like credit score – it doesn’t tell you anything that you should care about. If you have good credit, you'll be able to get a loan when you need one. If you have bad credit, you won’t be able to get that loan. Some made-up calculation for determining credit rating is inane at best. The fact that there are at least three of them and that they are all different tells you that they are a distraction – Too Much Information. You should expect that the financial institute that you go to for a loan to use what ever they want to determine if you get the loan. That should be your bottom line - do you get the loan or not.

The risk factors in personal fitness are: high blood pressure (currently controlled to a more normal level by medication), high cholesterol (currently controlled to a much lower level by medication) and borderline high blood sugar (not yet in the diabetic range, but not becoming diabetic is my major reason for getting more fit and healthy).

Weigh-in today is 222 lbs. We'll look at diet next - maybe some changes can be made to kick this project in the pants. Not too much, as 1-2 lbs. a week is pretty good if you want to be able to keep it off, maybe we can get it closer to 2lbs. than 1. At the end of this sojourn, maybe the blog will be about keeping it off.