Officially Normal - 90 lbs later

Today is a big day in my 2big journey. When I got up this morning and stepped on the scale and the weight said 167 it marked the time when my "official average" dropped to 168. I don't use the scale as my "official" weight, but rather I use my average as my "official" weight. My average is calculated by using PhysicsDiet.com. Today with the 167 on the scale my average weight dropped to 167.93 which marks my official drop to 168.

Here is what my chart looks like since starting 17 months ago:
As you can see.... things get tough as you get close to your goal weight. If you consider my activity level in the last few months you would think that there wouldn't be any red dots at all near the end.... and that the curve would be way lower.

What this 168 means is that I have officially (according to Government's BMI Calculations) obtained the normal status. I think it was awful nice of them to actually use my height as an example on their website. :)
With a BMI of 24.8 I have passed by the 24.9 that says that I am normal. Now, I am sure that this is the only measure in my life that makes me normal.... but I am still quite pleased. Now, before I get comments.... which I will.... on the government's BMI.... no, I don't put a lot of stock in it, but is still quite cool to be normal in the government's eyes.... does this mean I now get a tax break? :)

Here is a snapshot of where I started.... and where I am now, taken from the BMI Calculator at the Mayo Clinic:













The other big accomplishment that today at 168 helps me attain is my official toppling of the 90th pound. Starting off at 258 in January of 2007, and hitting 168 today, May 7th, 2008. It has not been as fast as some, but I have taken off an average of 1.25 lbs a week. Based on any doctor I have ever heard, the slower you take it off the better for the long term keeping it off and the better it is for your body to adjust. I still have some droopy skin, but that gets better all the time as well.

Am I done? Well, not really. I am happy with my weight if it never drops another pound, but I am not yet done. I would like to lose a little bit more, but I am more concerned with toning up a bit and losing the flabby belly. I am fairly certain that my belly is not as bad as it looks, as it is still a bit flabby because of the droopy skin.

What can I close with? I can close with.... if you are reading this and you are not yet there, or have not yet started.... If I can do it - you can do it. It just takes determination and not giving up when things don't go great. I had many times along the way where I was down and depressed. I also had many plateaus, one lasting almost 3 months where I hardly dropped a pound. You can see where I started here. Keep it up - you can do it!

The first signs of normal

OK, I know that BMI is not the greatest form of measurement for weight loss and fitness success, but it is out there and screaming at us all the time. This makes it very hard to ignore. I don't tend to worship at the alter of the great BMI, but I do watch it. If you look at my weekly stats, I list both BMI and what the caliper says. I know that most people would trust the caliper over the BMI, but I am not sure how accurate I am with the caliper.

Here is where I get to the first signs of normal. According to the BMI charts, when I started in January of 2007 I was obese with a BMI of 38.1. I celebrated when I finally became overweight at 29.9. I now am inching in on the normal range of 24.9 with a current BMI of 25.8.

Monday morning when I was doing my stats I went to enter my weight on www.skinnyr.com for the chart that shows up at the bottom of my blog. I think their calculations are off a little bit, but was I ever excited when I saw that they had my BMI showing normal. You can see in the image to the right that it shows normal. Now, I know according to the official BMI I am not normal until 24.9, but for someone to think I am normal makes me very happy! Thanks Skinnyr!