12 August 2011

a pinch to grow an inch

When I started this journey to lose weight and be healthier almost nine months ago, I hadn't thought a stitch about my weight "goal". I just knew that I was squeezing into a size 14 jean and I REFUSED to have to even consider going up another size.

Enter lots of hours on the treadmill (that I hated every single second, by the way, just so we're clear), wiser food choices and smaller portion sizes and I managed to hit the forty pound mark this week. As in, I've lost forty pounds. Crazy. That's almost two thirds of the total weight of my youngest kid who just grew taller for the last two years and didn't put on any weight.

He's up to 64.5 pounds now at 4'5", the little squirt. I'll turn around and he'll be looking me in the eye.

But this week, I started thinking about my weight "goal". As far as sizes go, and yes, I know they aren't the same as they used to be. grrrr, I''ve gone from a tight "lay down on the bed and suck it IN, for heaven's sake, you're NOT buying bigger pants!!" 14 to a comfortable 10. And the change to a 10 in my khaki work pants is just within the last two weeks, after I finally couldn't keep the 14's up anymore. (It was getting embarrassing!)

And I'm happy-ish here. I feel good and most days when I glance in the full length mirror at the top of the stairs, I don't hate what I see. So that's progress. HUGE progress, actually, pardon the pun, that I would even stop to see my reflection.

But the number. Oh, the number.

According to the most recent findings at the doctor's office, I'm all of five foot, one and three-quarter inches tall without shoes. Now, looking at this site, that means that my goal "number" should be anywhere from 95 (really? REALLY? I don't think that's even possible! I will disappear if I turn sideways at that weight!) to 121. (Again, even that's a little crazy for me to comprehend right now, since the lowest weight I've achieved in the last seventeen years has been 128, and that was on my wedding day!)

Realistically, I'd say that I'm shooting for 135 right now. That's 15 pounds away. And I know that muscle is leaner than fat, blah, blah, so I may even be able to get away with 140 if I bump up my weight training routine. And in less than a month, when the boys are back in school, I plan to make time for just that.

But if I were 6'4", I'd not have had a weight problem in the first place.