BMI (Body Mass Index) is an outdated, and pretty inaccurate, tool which measures height to weight ratio (for any of you who don't know). You get a number based on your height and weight which lets you know if you are underweight (<18.5), normal (18.5-24.9), overweight (25-29.9), obese (30+), morbidly obese, take-your-wall-down-to-leave-the-house obese (you get the idea). It was invented by a mathematician who never intended it to be used the way it has ended up being used. Now, while I will readily argue that BMI is a ridiculous way to still be measuring people's health as it takes into no account body composition, I still don't want to be considered overweight by its standards! Hypocrisy? Perhaps.
At my heaviest and most pregnant my BMI was 38.1; at my heaviest not pregnant my BMI was 35.5 -- which would put me in the obese II category. I don't care which standard of measuring a healthy body weight you use, I was obese! And NOW I am normal! I'm a normal weight! WOO HOO!
I've also lost over 80 pounds now! When I started I honestly didn't think I'd EVER make it this far. I figured however far I got was fine as long as I was not as big as I was then. At some point along the way I decided I didn't need to put limitations on myself and that I could succeed and reach any goal I wanted to. That was very freeing! I came to the conclusion that I was allowed to strive for the body I TRULY wanted, not just a body that was "meh". Back in March I had hoped I would be a normal weight by Halloween: GOAL MET!
At this point I can say that I like the way I look for the most part, but there's still some work to do. I still have a hard time really feeling 80+ pounds smaller -- my mind hasn't quite caught up with my body. Sometimes I still turn sideways to get through a small space, even though as I go through I realize I could have walked straight through with room to spare. Sometimes I look at an article of clothing and think it will fit me, but when I put it on it's huge; and on the other side of it, I know logically I'll fit into a certain size but it looks small to me, but then when I put it on it fits! I had size 18s that were too tight to even wear, and now I fit into a 10 comfortably! I'd like to wear a 6, so that's my goal. I've found that the smaller I've gotten, the less weight it takes to go down a size. I think probably around 130 I'll fit into a 6, but we will see -- if it's sooner, great, if it's less than 130 that's ok too, it's just an estimate.
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Revised mini-goals.
Mini goals:
7th mini-goal: 152, how much I weighed when I met Jason.
8th mini-goal: 149.8, because it's the 140s! Holy crap!
9th mini-goal: 145, drivers license weight.
10th mini-goal: 142, lowest weight I've seen as an adult, maybe even as a teen, and my wedding day weight.
11th mini-goal: 139.8, because it's the 130s! OMG!
12th mini-goal: 135, my original goal weight.
13th mini-goal: 130, my new goal weight.
(Secret 14th mini-goal: 125, so I have a fluctuation buffer of 125-130 for maintenance.)
Great job accomplishing your goals! I know what you mean by realizing that BMI is not a true indicator yet trying to get into that "normal" range. I remember when I reached normal, I didn't feel any different. It wasn't like I was teetering between life and death yet it was a milestone :)
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