I reviewed my situation last night and came up with some small but immediate goals for myself. I will share them with you in hopes that you can help keep me accountable. Beginning with the most obvious goal, the one this entire endeavor is about- my overall weight loss goal. I have a goal weight of 145 pounds. For a woman who is five feet, four inches in stature, that may not seem too big a goal, but trust me it will be. I started this journey at 290 pounds. That means if I accomplish this goal, I will have lost in pounds the same size person I am hoping to be. Imagine trying to lose as many total pounds as what you weigh now??!
The government recommends a weight range of 124-138 pounds. I actually think they may have increased that a little from what I remember in the past. Either way, not gonna happen! And I wouldn't want it to happen! These weight charts are bogus. This may be why so many medical institutions have moved to using a BMI factor. Though, all guidelines rarely fit every individual and often do not take certain athletic components into account. At my lowest weight, when I was athletic and toned, I weighed 155 pounds. I ran 4 miles a day. I weight trained incessantly and had quite a bit of muscle. I wore a size 6 and would get approached by people on the street and in the gym asking me how I achieved the definition in my legs. Even then, I was no where near 124 to 138 pounds.
I believe I would be a skeleton at that weight. People will tell you that my weight was high for a runner, but it is an example of how general guidelines don't always fit. My father is seventy and has been running for the last thirty-five years of his life. He weighs about 185. No one would ever guess him to be anything more than 160. At my finest, I could have lowered my body fat a bit more (hence the new goal of ten pounds less) but there is no way I personally would have been happy at a weight any lower than that. Some people prefer the long and lean model look. I prefer the slight satisfaction that comes with being able to make a bicep muscle pop out.
So I have 145 pounds to lose. To keep my head from exploding I have decided to break that into twenty-five pound increments. I have already lost the first twenty-five pounds and we won't talk about how long it took me to do that! Instead, we will talk about my next goal. I would like to lose another twenty-five pounds by Labor Day. Hear my reasoning. I first have to work off the three and a half pounds I gained during my week of ballpark food and neighbor chow-downs. I am giving myself this week to do that. Then from the Weigh-in Tuesday of next week (July 4th) to the Weigh-in Tuesday of Labor Day week (September 6th) I would like to lose twenty-five pounds. That is an average of about 2.5 pounds a week. I believe that to be an attainable and healthy goal.
I believe I would be a skeleton at that weight. People will tell you that my weight was high for a runner, but it is an example of how general guidelines don't always fit. My father is seventy and has been running for the last thirty-five years of his life. He weighs about 185. No one would ever guess him to be anything more than 160. At my finest, I could have lowered my body fat a bit more (hence the new goal of ten pounds less) but there is no way I personally would have been happy at a weight any lower than that. Some people prefer the long and lean model look. I prefer the slight satisfaction that comes with being able to make a bicep muscle pop out.
So I have 145 pounds to lose. To keep my head from exploding I have decided to break that into twenty-five pound increments. I have already lost the first twenty-five pounds and we won't talk about how long it took me to do that! Instead, we will talk about my next goal. I would like to lose another twenty-five pounds by Labor Day. Hear my reasoning. I first have to work off the three and a half pounds I gained during my week of ballpark food and neighbor chow-downs. I am giving myself this week to do that. Then from the Weigh-in Tuesday of next week (July 4th) to the Weigh-in Tuesday of Labor Day week (September 6th) I would like to lose twenty-five pounds. That is an average of about 2.5 pounds a week. I believe that to be an attainable and healthy goal.
My mother has a little thing she does where she buys clothes a size or two too small and then tries to fit them within a certain time frame. I have never been a fan because I can't tell you how many times I've seen those clothes hit the donation pile when this plan fails, but in the interest of goal making I'm gonna play ball on this one. I have purchased a windbreaker that is two sizes too small for me. I can zip it closed, but it looks like one of those saran wrapped mozzarella balls you'd find at the deli counter when I do. I would like to be able to wear this jacket comfortably and maybe even have some room for a sweater underneath. I will be making a trip to Maine in October. This jacket will come in handy. I would like to be able to comfortably wear it during my visit. I will take some pictures of the before and after for this goal.
That is it for now; three small but noteworthy goals in place. I will continue to develop more specific and involved targets as I move further along in this journey. First I have to get myself to a weight where certain fitness indicators become measurable. I think before I can focus on more finite areas of progress, I must first get the pounds off!
That is it for now; three small but noteworthy goals in place. I will continue to develop more specific and involved targets as I move further along in this journey. First I have to get myself to a weight where certain fitness indicators become measurable. I think before I can focus on more finite areas of progress, I must first get the pounds off!
“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
-Jimmy Dean
At 5'6" I'm 145lbs most days (sometimes 143 or 146.5). Last summer while on the Paleo diet for six weeks I was down to 137lbs, my parents claimed I looked anorexic. I have thoughts on that...indeed I was leaner, but folks just aren't used to seeing lean folks and immediately think there is something wrong with you (for eating healthy...go figure!). In any event, 145 is my happy weight! I can eat smartly and exercise an hour a day and maintain...no "diets"...I'd rather exercise so I can continue to eat my pretzels! :) wk
ReplyDeleteI'm a little shorter than you, forgive me, but a little curvier too so the 145 should work for me. I know anything less than that would be impossible for me to maintain. For me, this isn't about how skinny can I make myself?? This is about being strong, healthy, muscular, and still curvy feminine. Everyone has different taste. I don't want to agree with your parents because I understand that in this county "fit" is like spotting a white buffalo, but I like you with a little more meat on your bones. Once you cross into that Ethiopian track star look, to quote my mother, "it's just muscles and bones, muscles and bones!" LOL ;-)
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