Today is the first day. Is it the first day of the rest of my life, as the saying goes? Possibly. I’d hate to think that my life didn’t start before today, but maybe this is the start of the next chapter. And that chapter is a very very long one.
I’ve always been heavy. My entire life has been one long diet or weight loss struggle. And I’ll talk about that as this blog continues. But not today. Today is about the Why. Why am I doing this? Why now?
This is the Why. My family. My husband deserves to have a wife who is happy with who she is, who is healthy and fit, and who will take care of herself and her family. My daughter deserves to have a mother that sees herself as beautiful and models that behavior. She deserves to grow up in a household where junk is not the norm and a sedentary lifestyle is non-existent. She deserves to NOT have to do this on her own in 30 years. I want to learn that I am strong enough to do this on my own. That I am in charge of my life, and that I have the control to conquer my fears (more on that in another post).
I am considered Morbidly Obese (Definition: a person who is 100+ lbs over their ideal weight or has a BMI of 40+). MORBIDLY obese. MORBID = DEATH. In 2007, we suffered both a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy. The doctor’s notes regarding my surgery with the ectopic indicated obesity as a contributing factor. While I don’t know how they know that, the fact that it was noted really bothered me. To think that I could have possibly caused that to happen, and thus almost caused my death. And according to the website by Obesity Action Coalition: The most common morbid obesity-related diseases include:
- High Blood Pressure
- High cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Gallbladder disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
- Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
So, I could end up with cancer or diabetes or any number of conditions/diseases. And the 3 main contributors are behavior, environment and genetics. Well, I can’t do anything about genetics, unfortunately. But I can work on behavior and environment (and I’ll try to address each of these in future posts).
The How: I will weigh each week and measure once a month to keep myself accountable. Because I am still nursing, I will follow Weight Watchers program for Nursing Mothers right now. As she weans, I’ll reaccess. And I will strive to move every day. My goal will be a healthy 2# weight loss each week.
Day 1 Statistics:
Weight – 225#
BMI – 40
Measurements:
Chest: 50.5″
Waist: 41″
Hips: 50.75″
Right Thigh: 27.5″
Left Thigh: 28″
Right Arm: 15″
Left Arm: 15″
LONG TERM WEIGHT LOSS GOAL: 125 lbs (my healthy weight is between 121 and 135)
SHORT TERM WEIGHT LOSS GOAL: To lose 22 lbs – 10% of my current weight.
HEALTH GOAL: To eliminate that Morbidly Obese distinction from my record.
