I am moderately overweight and happy about it!

I hit 189.0 today. Me, in the 180s! If you told me a year ago I would have been skeptical. If you told me 2 years ago I would have laughed at you. Hope the 180s go as quick as the 190s! :)

So I was surfing around today and found a BMI calculator on a site and put my stats in, and lo and behold, I am only moderately overweight! Never thought I would be happy about that. After playing with the numbers, I guess I crossed that line 5 lbs ago (from being severly overweight). I can sort of remember around that time (195) is when I really started seeing myself as on the large side of normal instead of FAT. According to most BMI calculators I need to hit 179 to be overweight instead of obese, but that's only 10 lbs away. Hooray! And yes, I don't completely buy into the BMI stuff, I know I am built more muscularly than most women so I look better at a higher weight, but it's nice to be nearing that mark.

I spent time also surfing maintenance and feel relieved that it's normal to be hesitant to cease tracking, and what got you to your goal weight. It's also nice to hear the plan I have in place is sound - weigh daily, and set some limits. If I do decide that 150 is where I want to stay (and while it's a good goal, I think I will be ok going lower when the time comes, I think I'm just scared of saying 125 for some reason or another), I'll say that if I weigh more than 153 for 2 days in a row I have to pay more attention to what I'm doing, and at 155 I must resume what I'm doing now until I lose again. And for the scale nay-sayers, I do it now and actually don't mind it at all, it helps me be more in tune with my body and what affects it. While I complain about it sometimes, I know that fluctuations are normal, and usually an up is due to water, not fat. 29 out of 31 weeks since I started sparking, I've posted a loss. 2 weeks I maintained and 1 week I gained 1/2 lb (which disappeared after my exercise session that night). I know how to do this.

I guess the nagging voice in my head is saying "that's what you said on atkins and you never did". Well to that voice, I say "that's because atkins was the wrong way to eat for me and my body knew better than to let me do that to me again". Most times, I crave the good stuff. I would honestly rather grab a turkey sandwich, soup, salad, pho, a wrap, chicken and veggie delight, mongolian, and veggies and fruits, or bbq'd lean meats than the fatty, fried, or ooey gooey stuff. Sure, burgers and pizza and enchiladas and fries win occasionally, but I think I know how to eat them occasionally and in normal portions. I plan on having some sort of fitness goal for the rest of my life in whatever endeavour I pursue, so I've got that down. That's all it takes, right?

I guess the question is why haven't I done this successfully before? I think it comes down to doing it purposefully, doing it with others supporting me, and taking the time to journal and work through my thoughts and fears and triumphs right here. So, here's to good food, good booty shaking, good journaling, and good health for a long time to come.