Photo 1/11
Yeah, neither do I.
Which is a huge problem considering my sedentary lifestyle -- and the fact that my jeans have gotten too snug to comfortably lead said sedentary lifestyle. (Seriously, I don't know a fresher hell than having to sit through a workday with my waistband digging into my belly fat.)
But with an eight-hour desk job (these articles don't write themselves, people) and a long commute (I consider the hour-ride home my "me time"), I barely have enough time to cook dinner, much less hit the gym.
So, like any intrepid journalist/lazy girl, I started looking into workout plans that would require minimal time for maximum results. And like a true broke girl (I'm a journalist, remember?), I needed an exercise regimen that didn't require a gym membership or equipment. Could I tone my arms, belly and tush (aka my problem areas) doing five-minute exercises every day for a month? No, said my fitness experts. So, begrudgingly, I bumped up the workout time to ten minutes. Here's how it all went down.
And while some of you may be rolling your eyes looking at my photos, thinking that I'm not exactly breaking the scale, I have some revealing before pictures -- which I'm pretty sure will ruin my online dating life forever -- as well as an undeniable fat scan to prove you wrong ...
Thumb image via Viva Magazine
Photo 2/11
Gettin' Jiggly with It
Photo 3/11
Bumpin'
Photo 4/11
Body Language
At the end of the scan, I got a visual representation of my skeleton, where red symbolizes my fat and green represents my muscle. And believe me, ain't no Instagram filter that can alter the readings on this photo.
The result?
Photo 5/11
Seeing Red
I also got a comprehensive region-by-region percentage breakdown of exactly how much fat I was storing in every part of my body -- from my spaghetti arms to my gynoid (that's the hips, upper thighs and booty area). Most concerning was the amount of unhealthy visceral fat that I was carrying in my android or abdominal area. According to the BodySpec staff, visceral fat should be as close to zero as possible, since this is the type of fat that is associated with metabolic diseases, like type 2 diabetes. But BodySpec staff advise that, at the minimum, android fat should be leaner than the rest of your body (you don't want a disproportionate amount of fat residing in your belly and weighing on your organs). At 38.5 percent fat, my android region was fattier than the rest of my body, which consisted of 35.3 percent fat.