Getting real about weight-loss

I've added another level of accountability to my blog. To the right you will see a weight-loss tracker. I will update it weekly. A big thanks to Britton Dennis for this idea! I totally copied you. Just a reminder my goal is to lose 40 pounds by my 30th birthday, which is May 22nd. To be EXTREMELY accountable, my starting weight (per today's weigh-in) is 229.9 lbs. My current goal weight is 190 lbs.

You may be surprised, as many people are when I disclose my actual weight. They don't think I look that heavy. To which I say thank you, lol. I attribute this surprise to a number of factors. First, I know how to dress to flatter my figure. Second, I tend to gain weight all over, so I am pretty well proportioned in spite of my weight. Third, I REALLY am big-boned, lol. Seriously, I have a large frame. Finally, I do carry a lot of muscle, which as we always hear muscle weighs more than fat (really what we mean, is muscle has a higher density than fat, and therefore weighs more by volume).

At my heaviest, I weighed 254.4lbs. It was at that point that I decided something had to be done. My weight had slowly been creeping up since high school, and faced with my 10 year reunion, I didn't want to walk in 50-60 heavier than I had been in high school. So, I took off about 25 lbs at that time (in 2009). Over then next year I lost a bit more weight. At my lowest I was 222. But after losing my job and then heading into a very sad and dark winter, the pounds started creeping back on. I got back up to about 248. All of that hard work down the drain. So late last summer (2010), I started watching my diet more, and managed to get back down into the 230's. After the holidays, I maxed out again around 235. So, my starting weight for these tracking purposes is after having lost close to 5 pounds this month already.

I don't want to continue playing the yo-yo game. So, I am hoping my gym membership and my online accountability will help keep me from backsliding. I have no excuse not to work out, and now I have put my goals and progress out for all to see. I am much too young to be unhealthy and not fully confident in my appearance. I am vibrant and beautiful, and I want full embrace and walk in that. My goal of 190 may seem a bit high, but I've never been conventionally thin. Even at my most active as a jr. high cheerleader, I was a size 14 (I am currently a size 18). So, I think to shoot much lower than that may be unrealistic for my body. At 190, I will re-evaluate, and perhaps I'll choose to shoot lower. But, for now, I think 190 is a realistic and attainable goal. I haven't been under 200 pounds since high school, which was over 10 years ago. I can't imagine how it will feel to see the scale with a "1", but this is the year to find out!