BMI, average US Woman's stats, another milestone number to aim for, and "Hi" to all my future co-challengers in the next weight loss bloggy event for moi--Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge!

Tanita-san: 182.4

I loved seeing another half-pound down. I want to be in the 170s so badly. Another milestone will be hitting 172. For two reasons. It's the last weight at which I remember feeling truly sexy and good and flexible and well. Before the big illness hit and made me an invalid at 30, with miserable years thereafter soaked in black goo of depression and doctor visits, etc.

172 . I remember doing aerobics in my white shorts and white tank and feeling young and strong. 172. Milestone number in my brain. I wanna hit it.

Out of curiosity, I put 182 lbs (me now) and "172 lbs" (future me) in the BMI calculator to see what percentile that would put me in.

182 = 58th percentile
172 = 50th percentile (smack in the middle)

I then entered my goal weight to see where that would put me:

160 = 38th percentile (a much better place to be on that curve)

(I did hubby's stats on the calculator,  too, the man who's leaned out like mad on our lacto-primal-ish eating, and he's in the 11th percentile. Go, long and lean prince o' mine!)

I found this from the CDC about the average American woman's measurements:

Women:
Height (inches):   63.8
Weight (pounds):  164.7
Waist circumference (inches):   37.0

Nice to have a below average waist, when I'm above average in height (by 2 measly inches, though).  Not nice to see the average US woman is overweight. Unless she's an athlete, full of heavy bones and muscle, 5'4" and 165 lbs is hardly lean.

I make myself this promise: I will get BELOW average weight. Yeah, baby!

 Hello to the gals joining me in the Christmas Dress Countdown Challenge (henceforth, CDCC). As I mentioned in the comments section of in the rules post over at the CDCC blog, having a dress or outfit serves another purpose.

Ever have that week--those weeks--when the scale won't move but the body changes some, so you FIT BETTER in your clothes? Well, having a dress/outfit/coat/grass skirt/etc that you use for motivation is also having a tool to get you through the stalls. Cause if you are exercising, your body can still improve when the scale stalls. A dress can fit a little more even when the number stays the same on your home scale.

This is why it's a good tool. Visual. Tactile. And...a non-scale measure. Worth the investment. Motivation for less than 100 bucks. You can't get a life coach for that.

If you aren't already in a challenge and want some motivation-mojo to get through (most) of the year, go read the rules (see previous link for challenge blog) and see if it's the kind of challenge you CAN do and WILL do and are ready to do.

The blogroll on the right sidebar of the challenge blog is the roster of ladies already IN the ready-to-self-challenge for 14 weeks come September 11. View it here.

Which "Obesity Stage" Are You Living In? I like being a ZERO!

BMI isn't so useful a tool. I use it as a milestone marker. But I know it's got serious limitations and problems.

Some docs want better ways to gauge obesity and its effect. So, I was reading the stages in the Edmonton Obesity Staging System:

STAGE 0: Patient has no apparent obesity-related risk factors (e.g., blood pressure, serum lipids, fasting glucose, etc. within normal range), no physical symptoms, no psychopathology, no functional limitations and/or impairment of well being.
STAGE 1: Patient has obesity-related subclinical risk factor(s) (e.g., borderline hypertension, impaired fasting glucose, elevated liver enzymes, etc.), mild physical symptoms (e.g., dyspnea on moderate exertion, occasional aches and pains, fatigue, etc.), mild psychopathology, mild functional limitations and/or mild impairment of well being.
STAGE 2: Patient has established obesity-related chronic disease(s) (e.g., hypertension, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, reflux disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, anxiety disorder, etc.), moderate limitations in activities of daily living and/or well being.
STAGE 3: Patient has established end-organ damage such as myocardial infarction, heart failure, diabetic complications, incapacitating osteoarthritis, significant psychopathology, significant functional limitation(s) and/or impairment of well being.
STAGE 4: Patient has severe (potentially end-stage) disability/ies from obesity-related chronic diseases, severe disabling psychopathology, severe functional limitation(s) and/or severe impairment of well being.

And I realized this:

At my very highest at just about 300 lbs, I would have to self-categorize myself as having dipped into Stage 3 for a spell. Not cause of organ damage (though I was damaging my liver, had elevated enzymes, Ultrasound showed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), but cause my activities were severely impacted. Movement...breathing...sleeping...and depression was rampant. "Impairment" of well-being, oh, yeah.

I spent most of my morbid obesity in Stage 2. No question about it.

I look over the criteria, and realize I'm a ZERO, just from how I feel and what doc says: Prediabetes resolved. No hypertension drug now. HDL and triglycerides, amazing. LDL higher, but good LDL particle size. Apnea pretty much gone, no waking up choking... though I'm asleep, so can't really tell for sure, hah. Reflux gone.  Liver hasn't been rechecked via ultrasound, but I'm  guessing way, way less fatty. Easier to move (exercise!). Energy high. Depression not in sight. Joy of life, even with its sad moments--considerable.

I do have damage--to skin, to joints, to liver, I'm sure--from having been obese for more than 2 decades. No joke. You pay a price! I suspect the longer one is obese, the more price to be paid. Some things are irrevocable. Lifespan may be impacted for sure. We can't know for certain. But I do suspect the longer you wait to fix the problem (don't be an ass like me), the less you get to live and the more you suffer down the line.

BUT....for today...for now...being a zero is nice.

I want to stay a big zero when it comes to this.

I can cross my legs. I can touch my head to my knees. I can go up a flight of stairs without being winded. I can walk and feel strong and buoyant, simultaneously. I take such joy in doing these things I could not do before.

And I"m still fat. Overweight.

Just not obese. :)

What stage are you in? Don't you wanna be a ZERO?

Slimmer this Summer Update: Only 21 Days Left, But Hey, Not Obese Anymore and Still Making Progress...and a huge loss (for me, not you mebbe ) this week, which is nearly freakish, but hey, happy!

Loss since last challenge update: 3.2 lbs.

Um, that like never happens. Huh. Yeah? Whoa. Dang. Whoo! Must have been retaining water last time. I better enjoy that loss number. It's a rarity on a list somewhere. ; )

This was my first week back to some challenge order and normality after the tragedy for my family. I still have sad moments and weepy moments and wake up sometimes just....feeling down. But it's gotten better. Life insists we live, ya know?

I'm back to exercising. This week, I moved, while not at my challenge level. Just moving again felt like a victory. Sometimes fun, sometimes challenging.

I'll be honest, it's hard getting back in form and the heat makes me wanna stay inside, where I have very limited room to MOVE--yes, I'm an obsessive-compulsive clutter-hoarder, which you can tell by my pics like in the I'm not Obese Anymore post from Friday. And that's the bit of space I have!

Exercise: I swam x1. I walked x 4. I did some work on the push-ups. And that's all.

Fluids: perfect

Waist: Still 36. My waist is being stubborn. Hips and upper thighs are down a smidge, though.

Food: Went over calories by a hundred a couple days, otherwise stayed under 1400.

Prayer: Yes, I'm still praying for the challengers.

Support: Lacking. I need to get my support mojo up, but I have left some comments on a few blogs. Just not all, of course, and not many. My apologies.

Quitting: Not a chance. :)

My weight today:  183.8

I started the challenge at 195. I should be down 13.5 pounds by this time to be on Challenge Level Timetable.

I'm down 11.2. I'm behind, obviously. And....I am not stressed at all. No joke. I am very pleased.

My progress is fine enough for me given I went through a horrible time when I could have caved altogether. I did not cave.  I continue to make progress. Thank you, Lord!

I'm now down 115.2 pounds from my highest weight,  and I updated my ticker. :D

No longer obese, and getting farther from that obese-overweight boundary of 185.4. Each pound away from that number makes me happier and happier.

It's unlikely I'll make challenge goal of 18 lost. But I will strive to get close. As long as I make progress each week, I will be satisfied. It's all about moving forward!

Are you moving forward, be it by an inch or a yard or a mile? Be happy as long as you are making it closer and closer to your goals.

Have a great Sunday. Keep challenging yourself, no matter how little or how much, just keep doing it. Don't give up.

AND..if you're still working it in the Slimmer This Summer Challenge and want to continue with challenges through to the holiday (one or multiple), please comment to that effect and tell me what sorts of things you'd like to see in a Christmas Dress Countdown or other type of challenge. The idea is to keep at it and keep focused and not give up. The idea is also to provide accountability through Thanksgiving and up to the food-temptation bomb that is the end of the year. Anyway, comment away on this matter if it's of interest or email me. 

Be well...