my experiment

This is also on my other blog. I did a cut and paste because I am lazy.

We(women in general, i think) focus tooooo much on a chart number when it comes to our weight. We see those rows and columns and feel like failures because we cant cookie cutter ourselves to fit within the data. Doctors tell us we are overweight, or obese because our bodies dont conform to the numbers where THEY think we should be.

Never mind that you are a size 10.

Never mind that you are healthy and feel good and can keep up with your kids and peers and exercise

The charts say you should be 165, and if you weigh 180, then by golly you are a fat cow.

Is it really worth it? Are the chart numbers the end all and be all of who we are?

do we really have to fit in that chart to feel worthwhile?

A few months ago I watched a documentary called SUPER SKINNY ME. Two reporters put themselves through the paces to see if they could get down to the elusive size zero.It was really kind of interesting.

I am going to do the same thing. But instead of getting down to a size zero I am going to see if it is possible for ME to get within my range.

SO I am trying an experiment. According to all the height/weight charts I should weigh an average of 165 pounds. This is for someone 5'11", with large frame. REALLY?? REALLY??

I havent weighed 165 pounds since I was in 11th grade and was a size 9/10 and my mom thought I was too skinny. I ran varsity track, and whittled away to practically nothing. You could see my collar bones sticking out and my elbows were practically bursting through my skin.

Finally I started loading up on carbs and extra junk to put some weight back on so I wouldnt look like Skeletor from He-man.(and to keep my mother from threatening to send me to an eating disorder clinic)

But here I am, 17 years, 3 kids, a load of stress and a gazillion pounds later. Is it REALLY possible for someone of my frame and age to get down to where the "experts" say I should be?

So a few weeks ago I started running. It was a running training program called couch to 5k.basically you start running 25 to 30 minutes a day. You start out by running for a minute and walking for 90 seconds. You alternate for 20 minutes. The best part is, it is only 3 days a week.then as the weeks progress you run farther and farther as you build endurance and stamina.so in the past month I have lost 9 pounds just running and not changing anything else. I still eat at McDonalds, if I feel like a shake from chick-fil-a, then so be it. So I know my metabolism is working just fine. Plus I was able to keep the 9 pounds off after a week of not exercising and not being super careful about what I ate.

Well I will dedicate myself, including a change in food lifestyle. If I want this experiment to be successful I REALLY have to do it. I want to prove that you dont have to be a number. Now I will not be using any stimulants or weight loss aids. Just diet, exercise and vitamins. No hydroxycut, metabolife, herbalife or stuff like that.So here are my new rules/.

No pop, at all.(which really isnt hard for me. I no longer even crave it)
nothing to eat after 6pm
get 7-8 hours of sleep a night
drink plenty of water
take my multi vitamins
limit myself to 2000 calories a day. For extreme fat loss I can eat up to 2200, but am using 2000 as it is a nice, round number.
continue my exercise 3-4 times a week.

I will weigh in /measure weekly and post results on Mondays.
I will log in every few days with updates and calorie counts
So wish me luck on my quest to fit into my appropriate row and column.