11-30-2020  My Weight

I really hate being asked how much I weigh or ever admitting how much I weigh. It isn't because I am ashamed of my weight - far from it. I just really loath the response from people.

Normally, the response is "Oh, that isn't very much weight" or "you look good why are you worried about vanity weight?"

First off, my weight is not vanity weight. Second off, weight is relative to your height.

So yeah, I weigh 159 pounds. 

159 pounds might not seem all the heavy to you. You might even think to yourself, "I would love to be 159 pounds". Which is awesome.

159 pounds is not awesome for me.

If you decide to go old school and look at a height weight chart, I fall into the obese category.

You see, I am only 5'1". 

That's right, 5 feet and 1 inch. 

That isn't very tall. 

And when you are not very tall, a lower number on the scale can and will be overweight or obese.

For someone taller, 159 pounds might fall under the overweight category or the normal weight category, or the underweight category. It all depends on your height.

For me, at 5'1", the normal weight range is 100 to 131 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly. 100 pounds.

Am I going for 100 pounds? No. I will be very happy with 131 pounds, thank you very much. When I got married at age 27, I was 125 pounds. Obviously, having three kids and doing a terrible job of exercising regularly ontop of an out-of-control sweet tooth means I am now, 28 pounds over my ideal. 

At 5'1", 132 to 157 pounds is overweight. At age 49, I would be happy with overweight. But my goal is a normal weight for my height.

Now, you might be thinking that if I look at a BMI chart that I won't fall under the obese category. I mean we all have heard the funny stories of guys like Brad Pitt being classified as obese when it is obvious they are in great shape.

I looked that up as well, my BMI number is 30.04. That falls under the obese category.

On the BMI chart, 18.5 - 24.9 is considered normal (that happens to equate to 100-127 pounds).

25 - 29.9 us considered overweight (roughly 132 - 153 pounds).

See? I am obese. And I need to lose weight for my health. This is not vanity weight.

Oh, you might ask about my waist circumference. Yeah, it is 38.5 inches. All I know is that for women your waist circumference is suppose to be below 35 inches. Obviously, I have some work to do.

I don't know about you, but with all this extra weight, I feel sluggish, and fat, don't sleep well, don't have a lot of energy and I seem to spiral into ever more bad eating habits. 

I would love to go back to the days when I could eat anything and never gain a pound. Yes, I was one of those kids. 

I am not that person now. 

Every calorie consumed and every calorie burned makes a difference in my weight and on my body's overall health (and even on my mental health).

I am proud to be 5'1" and 159 pounds and 49 years old.

I will be even prouder when one of those numbers goes down for good while another number increases every year. I happen to love my age as well.

My goal is every Monday to post my weight and waist circumference. If I don't track it, it won't change for the better. That is one thing I have learned this past year.

What about you?