BMI and Goal Setting

Your BMI is 55.1 - severely obese

Your weight is substantially above the healthy range for your height, which means you have a higher than average risk of developing diseases associated with obesity.

Losing enough weight to bring your BMI to below 25 will benefit your health, and the way you look and feel.

You can lose weight by making sure the number of calories you eat each day is less than the number of calories you need to maintain your weight at its current level. This is best achieved by making changes to your eating habits so your diet is healthier, and starting to get some exercise which you can build up and maintain regularly.

It may sound crazy, but that was insanely hard to read.  I mean, it isn't a surprise to anyone that I am overweight.  Overweight and obese in my case are one and the same.  I can wear all the baggy clothes that I want to and it is never going to hide the fact that I am fat.  Uggggh, the dreaded F word.  I hate to say it, hear it or type it.  So reminiscent of my childhood "Fatty Fatty 2x4". "Tub of Lard", "Porker", "Pig", "Miss Piggy".  Is it any wonder I shudder when I hear the word?

I have never had a problem admitting to myself that my weight was an issue, but it certainly is hard to hear it from someone else, whether it be my husband (who is VERY careful to never say it), family, medical staff, clothing store clerks or even my 3 year old who yesterday told me I have a very, Very, VERY large bum!

With an eye toward staying in reality, I don't expect to ever get down to the ideal weight for my height which is 104-127lbs.  I mean, that is just a ridiculous number!  First of all it would require me to lose 200lbs, secondly, that is not a realistic weight for me.  I think that would be setting myself up for failure.  No one in my family is that thin, for a couple of generations back even.  We are bigger boned and at nearly 40, I don't even think I would look good at that weight.


My goal at this point is 175lbs which at a BMI of 31 is still considered obese, I would be much healthier, have much more energy and feel a whole lot better about myself.  It would mean a total weight loss goal of 136lbs (a whole person!).  Still, that feel like an insurmountable number.  Lets say I lost 3lbs week, which I don't think I would be able to do it would take me over 45 weeks!  A more reasonable number of 2lbs a week would take me 68 weeks which is well over a year!


I can hear Christopher Adams in my head already, it isn't a race, its a journey, its a process, don't put such pressure on yourself, it happened over time, it will take time to get it off, etc etc etc.  :)


I am more a reward based kind of girl, so I am going to break it up into more realistic chunks with non-edible rewards!  Things that will make me feel good about myself and be a treat.  The kind of thing a really busy mom of 5 just never manages to find the time for!

• manicure
• new hair style
• highlights
• massage
• pedicure

The chunks will be 25lbs.  Everytime I hit a milestone of 25lbs lost I will pick a treat and go do it.  I will probably purchase gift certificates on a mass purchase site like Groupon or Wagjag etc, to keep the prices down.  When I hit my big goal, I doing a whole spa day baby!  Gimme the works!  :)

Blogging, Tracking, Journaling and Accountability

To quote Christopher Adams..." Open blogs/ journals etc are a great idea - because they bring things out in the open. Being as open, honest and transparent as possible is the key when creating a change."

I might have an open blog and am beginning the process of being open, honest and transparent, but that is only in the anonymous world of the internet.  I haven't told my friends and family about this program.  At first it was because I didn't want to hear their skepticism, sarcasm and jokes.  Now it is because I fear their disappointment if I fail yet again.  I don't have the emotional strength to be accountable, transparent and under the microscope to my loved ones just yet.  As things progress and my success is visible and tangible, then I will give them the link to this blog.

When it comes to tracking, here is my plan.  As soon as I work up the courage I will take a picture of myself - you know the one I'm talking about - how the contestants on The Biggest Loser look - sports bra and shorts.  Yikes!  I just want to apologize in advance for subjecting you to that!  It is not a pretty sight.  There will be lumps and bumps, rolls and flab, stretch marks and scars.  But in keeping with my promise to be better to myself, let me put a better spin on all of it.  The lumps and bumps are my less than firm breasts - the ones that filled up and nourished all of my babies.  The rolls and flab, lots of accumulated baby weight that I just never got around to losing, residual reminders of birthday parties, family gatherings, banquets and picnics.  The stretchmarks are a no brainer - a constant (and pleasant) reminder of the strength of my body, the wonder of the miracle of life.  I love this post I found on Pinterest  

Okay, back to tracking, I will take my measurements and post them beside my headless picture - it has to be headless, I just can't post a pic on the internet of me like that!

I will update the picture and measurements once a month and my current weight 2x a month.

Another Pinterest bit of inspiration.