Tracking My Success - Am I off to a good start?

Alright, so I never did check my weight at work, so I have no idea where I started at, or if I lost weight. No worries. I do know that during yoga with the ladies at work, I did not like my thighs and that I still have some belly fat around the middle but I feel like that's getting better. My measurements today will tell the true tale.

Date: January 18th, 2nd measurement (yes, I missed the week one check....)...but look for a later post where I have a different check I did with the ladies at work.

Resting Heart Rate:  69 beats per minute (that's down a lot from 84)

• For the readers: 84 is on the bad side of average. Over 85 is an indicator of poor health, 75-85 is is average, 65-75 is good, and less than 65 is excellent. If that's my resting heart rate - no wonder I feel so crazy when I am stressed.
• Meaning - I made it from the bad side of average to a good heart rate! So one thing has been vastly improved. Hopefully, this will correspond to my stress levels.

Weight: To be ignored I guess.....if I ever get around to buying a scale, or weighing at work, I'll let you know. Best guess is that I started somewhere above or around 165 lbs and am getting closer to 160 now. I'm 5'7....so to be healthier, I'd like to at least be under 160 and would be happy around 145. My (identical) twin sister was consistently in the 130s for a while....but now she lives with a man and realizes how much harder it is to control what you eat with two in the house.

 Push-ups: 5 - no new measurement

• For this measurement you should count the total number of push-ups, nose-to-the-floor through to arms fully extended, before you reach exhaustion. You can rest between push-ups but only in up position.
• So why is there no new measurement? I am concerned I gave myself a sports hernia yesterday during yoga. It is something I have done before and I don't want to aggravate it as it made running absolutely miserable a couple years ago. When I tried to do push-ups, I felt that almost immediately hurting....so I might try again later.

Curl-ups:  108 (previous measurement - 75)

• Bent-knee curl-up test: Lie on the floor with knees bent and palms of hands facing down by your side. Lower your lower back to the floor and curl your upper spine while sliding your hands until they reach your heels. This is used as opposed to a sit-up to avoid lower back strain. Don't lock your feet under something - it changes what muscles you are using.
• The springer spaniel left me alone this time, so that helped. Can't be a sports hernia because I could do these. I felt the injury, but it was not terribly painful that way it was for the attempted pushup.

Measurements: (This is where some of my major reasons for doing this appear, although the biggest reason is stress) All measurements are in inches and taken from the widest location.

1. Neck: 12.75 (no change)
2. Chest: 36.5 (no change)
3. Upper Abs: 31 inches - yeah! lost an inch (5 inches about belly button)
4. Waist: 30.75 - lost another inch!
5. Lower Abs: 34 - 2.5 inches lost! (@ belly button) <-- Target zone
6. Hips: 43.5 - I wish it was more than this, but I will have to be happy with .5 inches
7. Thighs -Upper: 24.5 - another 1/2 inch lost (again, I wish it were more)
8. Thighs - Lower: 18 - whole inch lost there
9. Knee: 15.5 (no change....sadness)
10. Calf: 15.25 - 1/4 inch change (13 inches from floor)
11. Arm- Relaxed: 11 - 1/4 inch lost (*3 1/2 inches from elbow)
12. Arm- Flexed: 11.5 -1/4 inch lost (*)

Total Inches: 284.25,  old measurement = 291.5, 7 total inches lost!
 
Average dress size: (I find dresses and skirts to be totally inconsistent based on style....so I opted for pants instead) 10 --> I haven't bought new clothes, so it's not like I can test this - but most things are still on the snug side so I am safe to say, no change

Body Fat: Definitely less than 30% body fat now....considering the changes to my belly, I'd estimate I am closer to 25% now.