100th Post!

Wow, so today when I logged in to blog, I realized that this will be my 100th post!  How awesome!  I started blogging last February when I sustained a bad sprain/avulsion fracture to my left ankle.  I started blogging so I would not gain back the 30 pounds I had lost at that point even though all activity had to stop.  I needed to stay accountable and really get underneath how I let myself reach 285 pounds in the first place.

And boy, did I ever.

I'm so satisfied with where I am right now.  Not that I think I've arrived in any way, don't get me wrong.  I still see plenty of chiseling left to do off of my figure.  To the tune of about 40 pounds actually.  Nevertheless, I am very excited about how far I have come.

And how not only did I not gain back the 30 pounds when I got injured.

But I lost another 50 pounds.

And not only did I go on to run one 5k race in 2010 as I had planned.

But I ran 4 races.

So 2011 is going to have a similar theme here.  I don't think I've put my goals out there specifically for everyone to see, so this will be the first time on the world wide web. Brace yourself. 

Here are the goals I set in August 2009 when I began my journey:

1) The 50 pounds lost mark = 235 pounds = achieved
2) My Pre-pregnancy weight = 214 pounds = achieved
3) Under 200 = 199 pounds
4) Wedding Weight = 180 pounds
5) GOAL Weight = 165 pounds

As you can see, I've achieved 2 of the 5 weight loss goals on here.  I'm oh so close to achieving Goal #3 as well...should happen sometime in early February.

You may be looking at my #5 thinking, man, 165 is still alot, pretty heavy actually.  Well, guess what?  Some Belgian dude between the years 1830 and 1850 made the BMI chart up.  And he is not going to determine my ending weight.  One thing I refuse to do is sacrifice athleticism or muscle to be "skinny."  I'm interested in being fit.  And healthy.  And a great athlete and runner.  Not skinny. 

Really, the main issue I have is that the BMI chart does not take into consideration frame size and muscularity (per Wikipedia). 

I did find a chart that says for my height, with a large frame, I should weigh between 140-159.  That's the closest anyone will get to what I plan to weigh.  I'm 5'6" tall and have a heavy/large frame. 

I have discussed this with my dietitian (who happens to be my best friend since we were babies) and told her my thoughts on it.  She's definitely thin or skinny herself and I know she'd be honest with me if she felt differently about what a healthy weight would be for me.  We agreed on 165 and will reassess once I get there.  It might be that my body settles at 170 and I feel good and my body fat percentage is in the normal range.  Or, my body may go down to 155 and settle there.  Who knows?

The last time I weighed under 180 I was starving myself, in high school.  I was at 163 during that time.  I have no idea what an athletic, fit and healthy 163 might look like. 

So that rant to explain why I have a goal weight that might be the starting weight for some of you or even above it.  ha!  The point is that we are all individuals and God made our bodies shaped differently.  It's up to us to make ourselves as healthy as possible, but realizing that we can't set our goals unrealistically.

Like its not realistic for me to want to weigh 120.  I'd be setting myself up for failure (and health problems) if I even attempted that.

That was one of the problems I had with Weight Watchers back in the day.  They use those antiquated charts and according to them I would *never* be a lifetime member unless I got down to 153.  Why am I going to work hard if I would never go for free?  Geez. 

So there it is, my rant about my goals and where I want to be.  I'm excited to head in that direction and achieve and possibly even exceed those weight loss goals this year.

I have a few other goals I've set for myself too - (remember these are just snippets, not fully written out goals that are SMART at this point.)

1) Improve 5k time - to under 35 minutes
2) Run a 10k sometime this year
3) Exercise 5-6 days/week
4) Continue healthy eating daily and continue to learn about nutrition and refine eating habits
5) Fit into a size 12!

What are your goals?  How are you doing now that we are a month into the year?   

Me?  I'm doing great.  I'm feeling good.  And yesterday one of my friends gave me 4 pairs of pants - 2 size 14s (that I can wear but are a bit tight) and 2 size 12s that should fit when I reach goal #4.  These were her post-partum clothes, but I don't care.  She's a tall skinny friend and it made me feel good to get clothes from her. :)

Weigh in day tomorrow - will try to post the results tomorrow night!

~Clara