That is a great number, and it is not because I am going to be 37 this year.

That is the number of pounds I have lost since January 2007, which is when I weighed my highest ever (except pregnancy).

To meet my goal weight, I still have to lose another 53 pounds.

However, I must say that the 37 pounds I have lost so far are the ones that seem to make me feel less like a fat person and more like me.

I have my face back with my own cheekbones. My thighs and waist are inches smaller. I had to buy a new belt because my old belt was too big even at the smallest notch. Prior to the weight loss, I used the belt at the largest notch. That is a difference of about four inches or more. With my new belt, I am still using the smallest notch. I thought when I bought it, I would have a few notches to go, but I was wrong.

I now have to wear a belt because my pants are too big and show off too much of my lower back/butt if I fail to wear one. My children thank me for this.

I am also happy because I have noticed weight loss in my hands, face, thighs and butt, but I have not yet noticed anything missing where women normally lose weight first — their breasts. I’d like to keep what I have there thank-you-very-much.

I think I gained about 40 pounds when I was attending grad school in 2006. I know I now weigh less than I did in March 2006.

Although the weight guidelines indicate I should lose another 53 pounds, I am focused now on losing 14 pounds. And then maybe another 10. At that point, I will be thrilled, and I think I won’t claim to be fat anymore.

This is a huge thing. To emphasize how big of a thing this is, I have to let you know where I was in September 2007.

I signed up in September to attend an informational seminar about weight-loss surgery. It would cost $25 just to listen, and I was considering getting a lapband surgery. I felt like that was my only option. To even be considered for weight-loss surgery, you have to weigh about 100 pounds over your normal weight and have a BMI of 40 or more.

In September, my BMI was 38.7, and I was thinking it would be easier to gain 20 pounds to qualify than lose the weight on my own. I know this is NOT the way to think about weight loss, but I was frustrated. I had been trying to lose weight for most of 2007. I had initial success and then nothing, and I was very discouraged.

Right now, my BMI is still in the obese range, but I am so much better. It is currently 33.4 based on a height of 5′7. (You can do the math and figure out I currently weigh 213.)
For a woman who is 5′7 (I am slightly taller but not quite 5′8), the high of a normal BMI is 24.9 means weighing no more than 159 pounds. At 5′8, a BMI of 24.9 means a weight of 164 maximum.

My goal right now? I want to be under 200 pounds by May/June.

I think I learned how important motivation (or the lack of it) can be in weight loss. It can be horrible to work hard and not see any results. It made me want to give up. The lapband really appealed to me because it could be adjusted in the future.

I read weight loss blogs like Half of Me, and I read about the person not only losing weight but changing their lifestyle so they are competing in marathons. I am not a marathon kind of gal. I do not see the appeal in running. I like walking, but running does not have an appeal and not just because of my lovely right ankle and all of its scarring and issues.

I can do walking. I can even incorporate regular exercise, but I have no interest in marathons and/or classes like aerobics. I can’t imagine that changing. But who knows what I’ll think tomorrow. Just last September I considered (briefly) gaining 20 pounds to take the “easy” way out…. (Obviously, I know weight loss surgery is not an easy decision. I was commenting more on my thought process than the reality of surgery.)