By The Numbers

Call me crazy (I'd prefer brave), but what's the use saying I'm accountable to you, my readers, unless you know what I need to be accountable for?  Everyone knows the exercise goal - run a 5K in 30 minutes at the end of my 8 week C25K (which will be on or around June 22).  I'm not planning to do a 5K race (unless there happens to be one that weekend), so if anyone wants to join me on June 22, I'm totally up for the company! 

The diet goal is a bit tougher.  As many of you know, I did Jenny Craig last year after having Connor and lost 41 lbs.  I did this from January 2011 to June 2011.  I managed to maintain that weigh loss until (as I mentioned in my last post) about three weeks ago.  The wheels came off the bus, so to speak.  It was easy to maintain without really worrying so much about what I was eating because I was training - first for the Triathlon, then for the Half Marathon.  Once the exercise stopped, and I rationalized one too many chocolate peanut butter milkshakes, some pounds came back on.  Before I get to exactly how many (pounds, not milkshakes), I'd like to point out that anytime I share my weight with someone, they tend not to believe me until I get on a scale in front of them.  Similarly, when I tell people my clothing size, they don't believe me until they see a label.  In truth, according to the almighty BMI, all my 41 lb. weight loss did is take me from "Obese" to "Overweight."  My diet goal, quite simply, is to be in the "Normal" range (which, incidentally, I've never been in in my adult life... maybe 7th or 8th grade).

So here are the numbers (I'm 5'5"):

Pre-pregnancy weight: 191 lbs. (size 14)
Started Jenny Craig: 206 lbs. (size 16/18)
Finished Jenny Craig: 165 lbs. (size 12 with one or two size 10 items - YAY!)
Weighed in YESTERDAY: 174.8 lbs. (size 12)
Weighed in TODAY: 170.0 lbs. (size 12)

Now, I don't really think I lost 4.8 lbs. in a day, but certainly flushing everything out of my body with tons of water, eating lean foods, and doing my arms/abs helped.  Oh, and I weighed in AFTER I did Day 1 of C25K this morning. 

What does this all mean?  Again, according to the almighty BMI, I should weigh no more than 149.5 lbs. to be considered "normal."  This is at the highest end of the range.  My ultimate goal is to happily fluctuate between 145 and 149.5 lbs. and comfortably wear size 10 (with maybe a few 8s thrown in for the ego).  Do I think I can drop 29.8 lbs. in 6 weeks?  Hell no!   (OK, after "dropping" 4.8 in a day, I'll revise my "Hell no" to a weak "Possibly.")  Do I think I can drop 20?  You better believe it!  It does mean that I'll have NO cheat days for the next six weeks... so if you want to "hang out" - let's do it at the gym or park or taking the kids for a walk through the neighborhood!

-Kellee