Unrelated to Anything Else

Today's morning weigh-in shows that I've lost 95 pounds since I started my efforts on June 10th 2006.

I admit that it's difficult for me to believe that I'm having such success. I sometimes have to look at my drivers license picture to remember that I really did weigh way too much.

When I started, I seriously expected that I would not be able to keep it up. I was pretty certain that it wouldn't work at all. I was sure I was hopelessly fat, and couldn't lose weight without surgery. I am extremely happy that I was wrong. Even more strange, once I got past my initial fear and disdain for counting calories, the actual effort was surprisingly easy. I've had bad moments. I've had disaster days. But overall it's been far easier to lose weight than I expected.

I'm finally starting to adjust more than just my calories. I started with just counting calories, and it worked amazingly well. Now I'm adjusting other nutrients and trying to get a better balance. It's a slow process, and I'm learning more about nutrition daily, but I've got a long way to go.

Now, I've never confessed on this weblog how fat I was when I started to lose weight. I have put it elsewhere, but not here. I was embarrassed by it, and I still am, but I'm going to admit to it now because I'm finally getting a grip on my own health and it might help someone else. In early Spring of 2006 my doctor told me I was over 300 pounds. When I started my weight loss in June, I used 280 as my starting point, despite not owning a scale that could actually weigh me. I know I weighed less than I had earlier in the year, but I wasn't sure by how much. On June 25th 2006 (two weeks into my weight loss), hubby-Eric and I took a trip up to Mt St Helens (a trip I want to take again next summer sometime) and there was a scale there that allowed you to compare your weight to the weight of a bear. I weighed just over 280 pounds. So 280 became my "official" starting point. This morning's weigh-in showed that I have gotten to just under 185 pounds.

I don't have a particular goal weight. I intend to get into a weight range of between 140 and 160 pounds. When I started my weight loss, I determined that at my height (5'7") I ought to be taking in about 1800 calories a day (explanation here). I'm actually averaging a little under that, and my final weight will be whatever it will be... I plan on keeping the calorie counting up forever, and just maintaining at whatever weight the calories put me at. If that sounds backwards... it's not. Aiming for a specific weight is what seems backwards to me. I want to be healthy, not thin.

Previous Unrelated Posts: 20 pounds, 25 pounds, 30 pounds, 35 pounds, 40 pounds, 45 pounds, 50 pounds, 55 pounds, 60 pounds, 65 pounds, 70 pounds, 75 pounds, 80 pounds, 1st Anniversary, 85 pounds, and 90 pounds. All Unrelated to Anything Else posts on one page.