So in my last post, I told you I was fat. Never quite said how fat. As I’m dipping my toe in the waters of revealing my secrets to the internet, I’m not sure I’m ready to divulge BMIs and the numbers on the scale. I also don’t truly pay attention to BMIs because at my lowest adult weight that I was able to maintain, I was rocking a size 6 yet still considered overweight by the BMI chart. The one below is a bit of an eyesore but it was one of the least obnoxious I could find.
Where am I on the chart? I will tell you I’m an orange which means “obese.” Just sounds horrible to me and not who I want to be. As I pull myself out of denial, I am insisting on pushing myself back to the blue zone. Yes, ideally I’d love to be in the green zone, but let’s take it one step at a time.
I’m insanely competitive by nature and decided I needed to give myself a challenge. As I said, 40 is around the corner and getting to the middle of the blue zone is approximately 40 pounds so there I set my challenge: 40 pounds by the time I turn 40 on October 4th. A little less than 6 months, and about 24 weeks (I’ll have to do some detailed calculations later) but we’re looking at about 1.5 pounds per week. Seems doable and healthy, right? Let’s hope.
I know this will not be without its challenges. First, I have a lovely metabolic disorder known as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Yes, it really a metabolic disorder, although my bigger problem is eating too much! Anyway, I’ll spare you the nitty gritty science explanation, but PCOS interferes with the ability to process sugar. The best “diet” for a PCOSer is low carb and low sugar. (Please note I’m not plugging any one diet, nor am I a doctor or dietician blah blah blah. I’m simply sharing what I’m doing and what has worked for me). That’s the food plan. Limited carbs and sugar. Lots of protein and veggies.
Now the exercise plan. Have I mentioned I HATE exercise? It’s true and I’m not going to deny it. I always appreciated Oprah saying how much she hates it (whether she’s in a thin or fat stage). Even when I’ve been in better shape, I’ve always hated it. Never quite got the endorphin rush everyone talks about. I was always just happy it was over. Now I’m almost the heaviest I’ve ever been and probably in the worst shape. Gotta start somewhere right? Now that the weather is getting warmer, I’m going to try to do some outdoor walking and build back up to some running (a whole other post, but I have a secret dream of running a marathon one day. Guess I should get off the couch first.). Then I’m going to try and hit some classes at the gym, but unfortunately the schedules aren’t that great with my schedule. I have also gotten some Zumba DVDs and once I can briskly walk around the block without wanting to die, I’m thinking I might try P90x or Insanity. For right now, the goal is just to do SOMETHING at least 5x/week for at least 1/2 hour.
So there it is for the whole internet universe to see. I’ll keep you posted!
Fit, Fab & Forty 