Saturday, March 13, 2010

Kathy: Week 11: Let's Celebrate BMI!

Current Weight: 140
Last Week's Weight: 141
Starting Weight: 151
Total Weight Loss: 11 pounds!!

 Today's BMI: 24.8 (It's NORMAL!!!)


Week 1
Ugh ugh ugh.

















Week 11
11 pounds lost!

Now you may be thinking that I've cheated and changed my clothes...but I'm celebrating!

Because I love losing 11 pounds, but the best news of all this morning is that my BMI, or Body Mass Index, is down into the healthy range again! So what does that mean, you ask? Well, let's have a quick little refresher on the Body Mass Index--nothing too brain-draining for a Saturday morning!--and how it works. 

But first...what's your BMI? Just scroll down here on The Skinny. There's a little BMI calculator right there on the right -hand column. Isn't that handy? Go ahead and run the calculation!

The BMI is calculated by a formula based on your height and weight. If you want to know how the formula was developed, you can read about the BMI history here. It's not magic, and of course it has some limitations, but if you use it as one tool that can help you reach your health goals, then you're on the right track.

One thing I love about the BMI is that it keeps me from deluding myself into thinking that I'm really not that fat. At 144 pounds, my clothes aren't that tight...so my thinking goes...so it's really not the end of the world if I have a milkshake, right? Wrong! Living within a healthy BMI can add years to my life...so even though the world won't come to an end over one itty-bitty milkshake, still...I'd like to stick around here "in the world" for a good many years! I'm lovin' life, and I sure don't want to forfeit years of it because I couldn't control my eating!

"Healthy" weight for a given height is actually a range. This great website has lots more info, including a table that shows the range for your height, in inches. I'm at the upper end of "healthy," which ranges from 105 pounds to 140 pounds for my height! Ha ha! I did actually weigh 105 at one time in my life...when I was 22 years old, had a 2 1/2 year old child and a nursing baby, and only one car, which my husband drove to work. You guessed it, the kids and I walked everywhere. Man, I was skinny. I was also a little earth mama back in those days, eating only über healthy foods (no sugar, no refined flour...if I wanted ice cream, I pulled out the hand-crank ice cream freezer and made ice cream with cream and honey...give me a break! I didn't eat ice cream very often...). [Corrected on 3/15 - I was 25 years old.]

But the BMI isn't the only handy calculator for assessing your health risks. Quick--go grab a tape measure! If your waist measurement is 25" or less [corrected on 3/15 - should be 35"or less], then you are in the healthy range! Here's a website with more information about waist circumference and other measures of health.

I'm headed off to Curves...which is another reason I'm wearing my workout clothes in today's pictures. What do you think? Should I go back to the old green/yellow outfit next time I post photos, or should I stay with the new look? I hope you're headed for a happy, healthy day!

11 comments:

Dorothy said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!

And I like the black and blue outfit best...stick with it...and your healthy lifestyle! :)

angie said...

Shazame Kathy!! You look AMAZING!!! You are my role model as I am working towards 140 lbs. (maybe even less but would be purdy happy with 140. Currently at 160.2 and down from 172.4, so down 12.2 (I good at da math huh!!) Congrats on the BMI!! That is something I am working toward to is a healthy BMI & body fat. I have one of those electromagnet gizmo's to measure my BF. Currently at 30ish and BMI 27.5. Keep up the GREAT work!!

Annemarie said...

You look great, Kathy. And even more than that, it sounds like you are feeling healthy, which is fantastic. Your anecdote about being 22 actually challenged me a little bit too--not because I'll ever be that skinny, but because I should do more walking and eating whole foods . . . and heck, maybe I'll try to make some homemade ice cream one of these days.

Congratulations on your successes, my friend. Thanks for your transparency in this journey toward health.

Katie Lewis said...

Congratulations Mom! That's great. And I like the new outfit. :)

JuliaKoponick said...

I say stick with the new outfit! The blue looks really good on you!

Sarah said...

Mmmm, I really want a milkshake now...

Kathy Haynie said...

Ha ha! Your mom's milkshake recipe is right there in The Skinny recipe index!

Oh, you say that's not what you had in mind?? :)

alee said...

Doesn't it feel great to say you are normal? Hahaha!

And I too like the new outfit :)

Hillary said...

Very nice Kathy! That's SO SO awesome. I'm so proud of you. Truly! :) love you!

Callie said...

Yay blue! Plus the vee neck. It just makes everything look better. I finally get what my mom was talking about all those years! :D
Congrats on being Normal!

Marae said...

yay for normal bmi! you're looking smaller and smaller every time.

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