Starting Weight: 187
Yesterday's Weight: 187
Todays Weight: 185.6
Released: 1.4 pounds
I took my measurements this morning.
I'm really happy with my progress and according to the size chart at Banana Republic...I'm now a size 12. This thrills me to no end but it's also been giving me much to think about today. All my life....I wanted to be a 12. When I was a teenager...I always wore a size 11 (junior sizes run odd numbers for some crazy reason) and I thought I was perfect at that size.
After I graduated from high school and gained weight...I always dreamed of being a size 12 again. I considered that a healthy size for me and it was where I always longed to be again.
When I look at myself in the mirror without clothes....I like what I see. I'm not skinny but I'm much thinner and proportionate. I still have pockets of fat (my little mommy belly) but much of the fat rolls have disappeared. The pants that I've bought fit me really well and they look good on me.
At 185.6 pounds my BMI is 28.3 and according to the charts....my normal weight should be 164 pounds.
So...here's the thing. I know that I have more muscle and possibly bone than a normal person. I am not a small boned person. This morning I did this little test to figure out what my bone structure is and it's medium....almost large. This would put my normal weight between 169 and 180 according to this website.
Then I took their body fat test and it told me that I have 21% fat. Which comes to 38.9 pounds of fat and 146.1 pounds of muscle, bone and body water. According to their data...a healthy body fat percentage is 22% and now I'm just below that.
You're probably wondering where I'm going with this.
I don't want to be skinny. I don't want to bust my ass to maintain a weight that is unrealistic for me. Which brings me to the reason for this post.
Do I really need to lose 20 more pounds?
I'm trying to be realistic and I'm thinking about my daughter and how my weight is going to effect her life. I would rather easily maintain a size 12 than struggle to maintain a size 8. My goal was to get my weight under control before she could remember me being overweight and not have my struggles influence her body image. The goal was to be a normal, healthy weight and not skinny.
I've been so wrapped up in losing weight and I love seeing the results on the scale and I almost feel like I've become addicted to the excitement of seeing results everyday. But how much is too much? How much weight (pun intended) should we put in the charts that insurance companies and doctor's offices use?
What should my normal weight be....and when should I say enough is enough and stop dieting?
Great job with the loss!
ReplyDeleteI don't know I think everyone is different. I got down to a size six, and stayed there for a few months, and then even though my I was still exercising and eating right, my body went up to an 8. I think everyone has a resting weight their body wants to be at. The trick is finding it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, tough call. I think we will always perhaps inwardly want to be a little bit of something or another that we aren't. If that makes sense. I keep telling myself I want to lose 10 more pounds. But it's HARD work and I think I just like eating too much to deprive myself when I am already considered "normal". I think my BMI is 22-point something. I am a size 10. But I keep thinking I'm only a size away from single digits, something I don't think I've every really accomplished.
ReplyDeleteBut really, I want to eat and drink red wine so I probably won't get there and most of the time I'm okay with that. :)
I think you look great!
I LOVE Banana Republic b/c I'm always a smaller size in their clothes than in others. :o)
ReplyDeleteYou have done such a great job with your weight loss!!! If you are feeling great and comfortable in your body, then stop and focus on maintaining. Breaking bad habits with eating ... and enjoying foods that are good for you ... is a huge, HUGE accomplishment. (I'm still struggling with it!)
You keep "dieting" until you hit the normal weight you want, but you continue exercising for as long as you need to hit the body composition you really desire.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda there although I have no set goal weight, I have an idea, but it's not set in stone. I just want to look at say this is good! I'm ok with being done now.
ReplyDeleteBMI! really what does it matter? Not that someone really ever asks what your BMI is. Not that they'll ask your weight either. But I think the reality of it all is you just need to be happy with yourself. What someone else things doesn't matter.
Lots of valid points here. If you are happy with where you are & won't obsess over it, then be happy where you are! Better for your kids to see you making healthy eating choices and exercising than to fixate on a number. I'd stop when you feel good in your own skin (and it sounds like you do now).
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you posted your numbers - I weigh 35lbs less but my waist measurement is the same, and my hips are only .75 inch smaller. My thighs are actually BIGGER than yours by 1.75 inches. You've definitely got me beat in the bust department :) So I'd say yes, you're pretty proportional (I'm a pear).
See...I think I'm actually LARGE boned or or my brain weighs a lot more than normal people.
ReplyDeleteI've always weighed more than it appears that I do.
I don't know the answers to your questions, but I think that it's awesome the way you are looking at it. Being a good example for your daughter, not letting her see you obsess over weight, showing her how to make healthy choices, all things we should ALL think about. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI think BMI is a load of crap. It's only somewhat accurate for an average person. I'm not average. I have a large frame and I have a lot of muscle. Even when I was 15 (my best body year) and skinny (size 7-9) I still was not "skinny". I couldn't look bony if I tried, honestly. So for someone built like me, the BMI chart is off. There's no way that the max weight on it could be overweight for me. No way. I read somewhere that you add 10 lbs if you are athletically built. That makes perfect sense IMO. So I don't take the BMI numbers too seriously.
ReplyDeleteI like what Kyle said - makes sense to me. Maybe it's time now for some toning and sculpting with what you got. I think it's easier to do it once you get rid of the fat rolls and you have.
ReplyDeleteI hear a lot about those 'insurance' tables and it's never positive.
Mich
SA
I agree with Kyle, too.
ReplyDeleteI know on the HCG diet you haven't been able to exercise much.
Hopefully now you can step up the exercise to get the shape you want (now that you've lost so much weight!!)