When? What?

I think I have come up with my target weight for my BIG goal.  It is BIG... like REALLY BIG.  Actually, I will be REALLY small by the time this is all over with!  I KNOW I can with HIS help, and I AM EXCITED!!!
Before I share my target weight, I would like to get all my specifics nailed down.  I need a date.  Deciding WHEN I want to reach my target weight will determine LOTS of issues.  This includes the method I choose to use to accomplish this goal.
I have mentioned before that I am NOT a fan of crazy fad diets.  This is something I still feel strongly about.  I need to make a total lifestyle change.  This is the most realistic option for me.  I need to do something that I can stick with after I reach my target weight.  I do not just want to lose, I want to MAINTAIN.
When thinking about my method, I have to think about foods that I tend to go overboard with... foods that tend to make me want to just jump totally off the wagon.   What are they?

• Chocolate
• Fast Food
• Candy
• Bacon
• Cookie Dough
• French Fries
• Bread With Butter and Garlic
• Popcorn With LOTS of Butter
• Chips

Hmm...  I see a pattern here.  My list contains mostly carbohydrates and sugar.  What does this say about ME?  What can I do about this?  More importantly, what can I do about this that will keep me from totally eliminating these things from my diet? 
I know I have to slow down and eat more healthy foods.  Maybe I should try fasting a few of these things for a while.  In the book Made to Crave, the author talks about fasting.  Is this something I should try?  WHAT food or foods should I abstain from?  Have YOU ever fasted?  How wonderful would it be to learn to turn to God each time a craving hit?  Is that not the whole purpose in all this?  Do I not need to learn to turn to God in my time of weakness? 

I Don't Think, I KNOW I Can!

Some days I feel like the Little Engine That Could.  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."  Well, no more thinking!  I KNOW I CAN!  I mentioned before that I want to do something big.  I want to do something REALLY big.

I have done some research.  If there is one thing I know, it is that ideal weight charts are silly.  None of them are the same.  Some say I have a medium build.  Some say I have a large build.  Some say I should weigh around 120 pounds.  Some say I should weigh around 140 pounds.  There are experts who say you should go by weight.  There are others who say you should go by BMI.

According to the charts and calculators my BMI is 32.7.  This is considered obese.  Gross. 

Here are the BMI stats:

BMI Categories:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater 

 

Looks like I have a long road ahead of me.  If I were to weigh 150, my BMI would still be 27.4.  This is still considered overweight.  140 pounds is a BMI of 25.6... STILL overweight.

In order to reach the normal weight range, I need to weigh a whopping 136 pounds.  Keep in mind this is at the very TOP of the range.  My BMI would still be 24.9, and would not leave me any room to play.  In order to be right in the middle of the Normal weight range, I need to weigh 119 pounds.  WOW.  That is 60 pounds less than what I weigh right now.  WOW.  There are no words for this! 

What do you think I should shoot for?

SICK of This

Okay, I am typically a pretty upbeat girl.  I feel that negativity gets us nowhere.  Anytime I post a blog, update a status, text, leave a message, etc., I try to keep it as positive as possible.  Why not?  I am not lying or sugar coating.  I simply try to find good in everything, in spite of the bad.  It makes me feel better, and I truly believe it helps those around me.

The following are some pretty negative thoughts I have been having lately.  I know I should not post them, and I know I may regret this later, but I have GOT to get it out.

I am so sick of being the fat girl in a room full of skinnies.  I am tired of being the fat one in all the pictures.  I have actually untagged myself in pictures so that others might not notice how fat I look.  My clothes are tight.  My body is gross.  Even if I were to lose a ton of weight, I still have this post two c-sections grossness!  My skin (which has always been amazing) is beginning to look older.  I can tell I have definitely hit my peak and am slowly going back down the hill.  Not only do I think I LOOK bad, I FEEL bad.  My legs ache, my back and knees hurt.  I know if I were to lose some major poundage, this would most likely change.  But that would mean I would have to put forth some effort.  UGHHH...

Want to know my positive answer to all of this?  I am going to DO something.  I do not know exactly what yet, but I know it HAS to happen.  Surely my creator and AWESOME GOD did not create me to live a life of fatness and unhealthy living. 

I WILL make changes.  BIG changes.  No more five pound goals.  Well... I will make five pound goals, but I will also set a BIG goal that I WILL reach!  I will use the five pound goals along the way.

Here is the part where I need your help.  I need to set good goals for myself.  Not just physical, but mental, and (most importantly) spiritual goals.  Keep in mind that I am a busy mother of two busy children.  We are on the go lots of the time.  I am also a full time student.  I am about 5'2" tall and (as of this morning) I weigh 178 lbs.  I wear a size 14, or XL.  My goals and rewards need to be inexpensive.

I am totally open to tips or suggestions.  I need BIG ideas!  Feel free to post in a comment or email me at healthybeth@gmail.com. 

Tonight or tomorrow I will try to post some of the ideas I have in mind and some that I get from you.  Here goes!

The Doctor's Scale

Well, I did it.  I broke down and bought a set of scales.  Yuck.  I have not owned a decent set of scales in at least two years.  I bought a set a little over a year ago, but they were really cheap and I knew there was NO WAY they were accurate.  Plus they had the little dial on the bottom, so I could conveniently adjust them to meet my standards.  Admit it, you have done the same thing AT LEAST once in your life.


I have been using the board for the Wii Fit to weigh myself.  I really like doing that because it tracks your weight and even graphs your progress (or lack of) to help you stay motivated.  SEEING what happens makes a difference!  My favorite time to check my weight is first thing in the morning, when I wake up.  Am I the only one who tends to be a few pounds lighter in the mornings?

Our household is usually pretty hectic at that time of day. The problem with using only the Wii is that you have to take the time to turn everything on, take out whatever game Mike or the kids last played and put in the Wii Fit Plus disk, get out the board, blah, blah, blah...  Surely you get the picture.  I basically use all that as an excuse to not weigh myself.  So, I decided it was time to give in and buy a set of scales.

 Really?  "The Doctor's Scale" is what the box says.  I am not even sure I want a "Doctor's Scale".  They always lie and tell me I am like 4 pounds heavier (more like 20) than I know I actually am.  Another thing I find funny is that the name of it is Healthometer.  HEALTHOMETER?!  Could they just be honest and call it a YOU COULD STAND TO LOSE A FEWOMETER?

Notice that the scales are still in the box.  I bought them a few days ago and just cannot bring myself to open them up.  Ugh... DREAD.  I have to admit that I have NOT done too hot the past few weeks.  Life is cRaZy bUsY and I have used this as an excuse to live a very unhealthy life.

Here are a few more pics of my new Healthometer.  I opened it!  

Is it not just lovely?

I love how it says 135.2 in the display, and below that says "up to 350 lbs.".

SEE... "The Doctor's Scale"!

The back of the box.

Are they not just beautiful?

Healthometer

 

 

 

 I figured if I was going to go to the trouble of opening it up and getting the battery all situated I should just go ahead and get it over with.  

Just to be certain I get an accurate reading, I carry my new purchase into my kitchen where I know the floor is nice and level.  Sitting the scales on the floor, I step on.  GUESS WHAT???

WOO HOO!!!!!

Keep in mind this was done at like 6pm.  I cannot WAIT to see what my new friend says to me in the morning!  Talk about some motivation!  I expected MUCH more.  Like maybe 185???

The only thing I can think of that I have done differently is that I have been eating really good breakfasts.  This has kept me from eating as much during the day.  I have also been drinking LOTS of coffee.  This has been instead of snacking.  I have not done this intentionally, it has just worked out because of the fact that my family has been so busy lately. 

I am a happy girl!  One thing I know, is that I have NOT been doing this on my own.  My AWESOME GOD has gotten me through the past few weeks of craziness.  I am amazed at how calm I have been with all the chaos going on around me.  I will have to say that God IS good ALL the time.