First Milestone Reached!

Well...week 29 weigh in came and went! One pound lost; honestly, a whew not a woot! Now it seems the stakes are so high, since I have gone so long with just losses every week. I feel a little pressure now!

I had two milestones this week:

The first is the Biggest Loser. I have been watching this show for seven years, and every year I have been inspired by it. However, each year nothing happened except I gained weight. Last year on the season opener, I was the same weight as one of the contestants. It was so horrible to realize that I could be on the BIGGEST LOSER and not stand out! Last night, as I watching the season opener I realized that I was 74 pounds lighter than I was a year ago. (For my friends on FB, I did the math wrong last night!).

The second milestone is that I met my MWL goal weight: 160. For those of you reading this blog since the beginning, you know that was my goal weight in the beginning. It's hard to believe I actually made it!

Question of the week: What separates successful losers from not so successful? I have been thinking about this question for a couple of months. Not being truly either yet, and knowing the odds are against me (only 1% of people keep their weight loss off from a typical diet), I am genuinely curious about how to maintain my goal weight for life. Here are my initial thoughts:

1. In her book Rethinking Thin, Gina Kolata talks about how uniquely personal weight is. No insurance chart or doctor can tell you what weight you should actually be. Our notions of BMI and other things are based on statistical data, not impirical data. What's important is having a weight range--it's actually more helpful for you.

For example, my weight should be between 115-150, according to different charts. That's an enormous range. For me personally, my ideal weight will really be when my waist to hip ratio is lower than .8. I figured this will put me in the 135-145 pound range. So, my goal is 140. In fact, this weight was okay with my doctor, was a weight I felt beautiful at, and a weight I can maintain healthfully. Arbitrary numbers set us up for failure. A weight range allows for things such as aging, vacations, stress, etc... A range also, gives you a psychological limit--this is out of my range and I will do what it takes to stay there.

2. The second thing successful losers do is get support. As you all know, I joined two weight loss groups. The Kaiser group will end, but my Thursday group will be on going and provide the accountability I need to maintain my losses. It will also provide me with support if I go outside my range and help me get back on track. (My Thursday group is called TOPS.)

If you have any thoughts on this subject, please email me so I can post the ideas!

Now for the numbers:

Starting weight: 224
Current weight: 160
Goal weight: 140

Goal time:

Outer Goal: I want to wear a pair of black skinny jeans with a sparky tank top!
Inner goal: strength to continue! (and world peace!)