Two nights ago I watched the season premier of The Biggest Loser, simultaneously polishing off an entire sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mints. During the commercials I flipped to America's Next Top Model. Looking down at the crumbly spoils of leftover cookie scattered on my belly, I realized that I tipped the scales more toward the Biggest Loser category than the Top Model Category (not that I ever want to be able to clap my shoulder blades together, or play xylophone on my ribcage...unless I'm in a zombie band, in which case that might be kind of fun). So in celebration of pudge, I am starting a segment called "Fatty Fridays".
I'm just going to check in each Friday with a short exercise or eating story, and update you on my progress. There will be no photographs, or actual weight figures, just a few stats each week to keep me honest. I like food, and that's not going to change, but it will be interesting to see if I can't tame the beast a little bit.
So, here we go, week #1:
sweating: I started running a couple of months ago, so I will log my mileage here. For example, 3mi means I ran three miles that day. Experts tell us to try to get in at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. This past week I was kind of a slug, but I was totally recovering from my long weekend runs. Fr-10.8mi, Sa- 4.6mi, Su-nada, M-nada, T-nada, W-circuits, R-2mi. I have a 5K (with long sleeved t-shirt...long sleeved!) coming up in a couple of weeks and my goal will be to finish in 34 minutes. The first leg of my relay was a 5K and I finished in 35:02, which is good considering my first 5K in six years back in May was 38:14 (yes, there was walking involved). Stay tuned for more running progress reports.
weight: I'm going to start at 0, and hopefully report the number of negative pounds from the original weight. I don't have a scale at home, so I have to weigh myself at the gym, in the public locker room, where there are people. It's one of those doctor scales where you have to slide the weights and I always remember to put the big one back on 100 when I'm done. So for this week: 0.
science: Body Mass Index (BMI). It's basically your weight divided by your height squared, with some other numbers thrown in to make it scientific. Anyhow, I'm using Prevention.com's BMI calulator, and I'm 33.4 (holy shit!) right now, or obese, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). I thought you had to look like the girls in the Krispy Kreme calendar to be obese, but apparently not. Looks like we're shooting for 25 here.
Underweight = Less than 18.5
Normal weight = 18.5 - 24.9
Overweight = 25 - 29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
If you find fitness and health tired or boring, don't read on Fridays because that's what I'll be talking about. Feel free to join me on my quest to achieve a NIH "normal" weight. I will post your stats on Fatty Fridays (under a pseudonym of course). Goals seem much more real when you tell them to the internet.
