Week 16: the Wall

Everyone hits a wall to their weight loss eventually; I hit mine. For the first time since I began this journey I wasn't able to lose any weight this week but that's okay because I celebrated my birthday and enjoyed indulging in Oreo's, Ice-cream, Brownies, Pizza, and Chocolate Lucky Charms, not in that order, but you get the idea. Also, last night the Blue Star Card organization (a club for spouses of deployed soldiers) took me and my niece out to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, and then we got to see 'Eat. Pray. Love.' There was also free childcare provided.... anyway, I'm certain I ate too many calories and woke up fatter this morning, but that's okay... everyone needs to celebrate once in a while; as long as it's not everyday.
To help feel a little less guilty about last night I attended a 90 minute Kickboxing class and I ran 2 miles this morning. I've also been watching my food again today.

If you want to make sure you're burning fat in your workouts there are some simple rules to follow:
-Find your target heart rate (THR)
-Exercise for at least 20 minutes within that THR.

To figure out what your target heart rate is, here's a calculator. that gives you a rough idea,
or use the Karvonen Formula:
Example:
206.9 - (0.67 x 23 (age)) = 191
191 - 65 Resting heart rate (rhr) = 126
126 * 65% (low end of heart rate zone) OR 85% (high end) = 82 OR 107
82 + 65 (rhr) = 147
107 + 65 (rhr) = 172
The target heart rate zone for this person would be 147 to 172

206.9 - (0.67 x (age)) = A
A - Resting Heart Rate (rhr) = B
B x 65% (low end of heart rate zone) OR 85% (high end) = L or H
L + (rhr) = X
H + (rhr) = Y
Your target heart rate zone= X-Y

If you stick toward the lower end of your THR then a higher % of calories you burn will come from fat, about 50 %. The high-end THR will result in more calories burned all together, but the percentage of calories from fat drops to about 30 %. So, a nice brisk walk for a long time is ideal, but if you only have a small amount of time, exercising for at least 20 minutes will help raise your metabolism for the rest of the day. I make sure I do at least 30 minutes in my THR at least 4 x's a week besides my weight/resistance training.

I'm going to try mixing it up with more intervals of fast and slow and more muscle confusion from a greater variety in the type of exercising I do. With any luck, this will help me knock down the wall. Wish me luck!