My Numbers (a.k.a. the post where I share my weight)

Earlier this week I blogged that skinny does not equal healthy and that there are many other tests that can be used to measure our health.  But weight is still a valuable tool in weight loss and so today (deep breaths) I'm going to share some of my own numbers (including my weight) with you.  This is a big deal for me because I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't ashamed of my weight.

When I was in the 5th grade a friend saw a form that had our entire classes weights listed on it.  (Seriously...it sounds like a scene straight out of Junie B. Jones, doesn't it?)  I knew that I just had to be the largest girl in our class.  Heck, I was larger than some of the boys.  At 10 years old I weighed 130 pounds.  I was so scared that she was going to tell the class how much I weighed.  Lucky for me, she was a good friend and she never shared it with anyone (that I know of anyway).

Fast forward to my pregnancy with my first child.  I distinctly remember the day that I had to say my weight out loud to the OB-GYN's nurse in front of Aaron.  We had been married for four years at that point and I had never told him my weight.  I gave serious thought to asking the nurse if I could just write it down and slide it over to her. I couldn't even look at him because I was certain he was staring at me with his jaw dropped open (he wasn't, of course).

Even recently I have cringed at the thought of someone finding out how much I weigh.  But I think it's time to come clean.  I have shared this privileged top secret information recently with a few trusted friends and even Aaron.  And every time I share it, it seems less and less embarrassing.  It is after all just a number (and one that is getting smaller each week).

Before I get to the fun stuff, here are few other important numbers that you should know.  Doctors use these numbers to determine your risk for heart disease. Here is a great chart that shows the normal values for a few of these tests.

Here are my numbers:

Blood pressure:  114/64
Total Cholesterol:  168 (bam!)
LDL:  111 (a little high)
HDL:  44 (a little low)
Triglycerides:  70
Fasting Blood Sugar:  88 (and you thought I was sweeter than that!)
Resting Heartrate:  64 (a good goal is 60 or less so I'm close!)
Waist circumference:  39.5 (this is 4.5 inches less than in September!)
I didn't include BMI because I think it is such a flawed number (but that's another post for another day).

And finally, the number you'll all been waiting for.

Drum roll, please.

Drum roll . . . .

Today, my gravitational pull on this earth is:

192.6 pounds

When I started dating my husband I weighed 134 pounds.  When we were married two years later, I weighed around 160 pounds.  When I had my first child four years after that I weighed 190 pounds.  And finally, when I started this weight loss journey in 2011, I weighed in at 227 pounds.

In fifteen years I gained 93 pounds.  93 pounds!  I gained an entire Olsen twin!  I went from wearing a size 7/8 juniors to a size 18/20 womens.  No wonder I was so miserable.  No wonder I no longer felt like myself.  I wasn't myself.

But, I'm getting closer to being the old me everyday.  

So from this point on, I will be posting my weigh-in results on Fridays.  Keep me accountable.  Check in and make sure I am staying on track.  Cheer me on as I head towards my goal!

And while you are at it, check out this post on Christian's blog, Back to 200.  He's a comedian and he and his wife adopted two precious children last year.  He's blogging about his journey back to 200 pounds.  Give him some comment love and help cheer him on too!