I didn't make any official New Year's resolutions, but I have decided to finally get in shape and lose the extra weight I've been carrying around since... FOREVER. Grad school took a particularly harsh toll on my general size and health. At one point I had ballooned up to 280 from my already overweight time in high school around 225. Towards the end of grad school, I went through a health kick and dropped my weight down to about 240 and maintained that for about a year. After I secured my post doc job, I went through another phase and dropped that down to about 225. I have managed to maintain (within 6-7 pounds to either side) that weight for the last year.
According to the (bullshit) BMI, my weight, as of three weeks ago (232), was considered "overweight" - and nearly" obese". I know that I am overweight, but the BMI only takes in to account height, but not a general build (for example - this guy, pro-wrestler Dave Batista. is considered to be obese by the BMI - and not just a little obese, but more like massively obese. I don't have Batista's muscle mass, but I do have a frame that is capable of holding that kind of mass). I'm 6'3" and have a broad build. Most people that have bumped in to me on the basketball court or in other sports... don't let it happen again. Anyway, the point is that my build will make it nearly impossible to get my BMI to a value less than 25 ("normal")... without looking sickly. So... I'm aiming for 25, which just happens to be the nice round number of 200 pounds.
My logic is this - I'm thirty and I'm running out of time to get in shape. My peak athletic days are here, so this is it. At this point in time, my project at work is running smoothly (so I'm not having to work ridiculous hours to make up for lack of results) and my social calendar is pretty open... So, I happen to have a multitude of free time on my hands. Honestly, I have absolutely no excuses.
The plan is to get down to 200 in six months. As with any healthy method of weight loss, I am coupling a healthier diet with increased activity. I had been getting semi-regular exercise (starting in late November), but my eating habits were still pretty poor, but better than in the past. So, the current health kick is just a scaling up of what I had already started, hopefully making the full transition to getting into peak physical shape much smoother.
As of right now, I'm three weeks in to my "program" and I can already report significant progress... but more on that later.
Coming up... Health Kick: Part II - Healthy Eating
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4 comments:
Good luck!
I'm trying to talk myself into not living so much by the number on the scale and that bullshit bmi index. I just want to be in much better shape and eating better and well, looking better.
Thanks!
You seem to have the right mentality, the best goal is feeling good about yourself. Good luck to you as well!
Your plan sounds really good. 6 months is a healthy time frame to lose that amount of weight. And with the success you are having, I would not be surprised if the weight comes off even quicker.
Are you doing weights to try to build muscle as well? I guess I need to wait for installment #3...
Actually, the weight has been coming off MUCH more quickly than I had expected... but I'm expecting a plateau pretty soon, so it may still take the six months... we shall see.
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