First Quarter Recap

Today marks three full months of my fitness journey. I've come a long way since that first workout in May. I've lost 20 pounds and swum as many miles.

Three months from now I plan to be a middleweight (between 171 and 185 pounds). I will have been a part of a team that successfully finished the Lake Travis Relay (hopefully before the sun goes down).

It's easy to tell you what area of my routine has been the weakest. In the last three months, I have gone to the gym and worked out only once on a weekend. Moving forward I need to do something to keep myself working even when I'm not going in to the office.

Another area in which I plan to improve is weight training. For a while there I was being good about pumping the iron (even if it was in my living room). Lately, I get to the Summit just in time for lap swimming. Swimming is great, but it can't be my entire fitness regiment. I know my body craves more diversity than that.

Maybe I should set some new goals for myself come October. I could double the number of push ups and pull ups I can do (that would mean doing two). I'd also like to be able to bench press my own weight (I'm making the feat less fantastic as I slim down).

Weekly Weighin: 20 DOWN!

This has been a bad week for my fitness regiment. This morning's workout was my first since Saturday. So you see, I did not have high hopes for this week's weighin.
Sure, I've been paying attention to my diet, but it's a lot harder to stay within my calorie allowance without getting credit for calories burned. All this to say, I was pretty sure that I'd be looking at gain.

Thankfully, that was not the case. Stepping atop the scale at the Summit I was extremely surprised to see that my weight was an even 201 pounds. That's done a little more than a pound from last week, bringing my overall weight loss since starting this journey in May to 20 pounds. This is a milestone that I'm very excited to hit. Up next, I want to get below 200 for the first time in a decade!

I don't know to what I should attribute this week's weight loss. It's hard to believe that diet alone could be successful. Perhaps after a few intensive weeks of training my body was happy to have a respite. Regardless, next week it's back to work. I have another milestone to hit.

When life gets in the way...

Let me start on a positive note. This weekend marked the first time that I actually worked out on a Saturday. It's been a struggle with my weakened weekend motivation throughout the process, and it felt good to break the streak and sweat on a day that I didn't have to report to the office. That said; it's all been downhill since Saturday...

It feels like all the forces of nature have conspired to keep me from working out this week. Since I began this blog in May, I have not gone as long between workouts as I have since Saturday. Of course, there was a good reason for each morning workout I missed, but isn't there always?

Returning from a three day weekend trip to Corpus, my wife and I learned that infants don't need to have traveled by plane to be jet lagged. Our beautiful little girl had her sleep schedule all scrambled, and she had taken us down with her. For me that meant treating Tuesday morning as an opportunity to recover some lost z's. Excusable.

Wednesday morning I had some very important work that I needed to get done before I got to the office. This is a rare occurrence, so I knew I needed to work in, not work out. Hey, sometimes the job has to come first.

Last night I promised myself that I'd do better. I set out my packed workout bag, folded the morning's clothes and filled my water bottle. I set an early alarm and settled into bed. My alarm went off before 6, just as I'd planned. What I didn't expect, though, was the look on my wife's face. Apparently little Sydney had woken her up every two hours during the night. (Before you go thinking I'm one of those guys who willingly ignores the baby's crying and lets his wife take care of it, let me just assure you that, instead, I'm one of those guys that could sleep through any noise on earth. I've asked my wife to shake me awake to lend a hand, but she won't, especially not nights before she knows I'm getting up early.) This morning she looked exhausted. Swimsuit on and gym bag in hand, I couldn't leave her alone with the baby, who the monitor showed was waking up again.

So I didn't workout this morning. I stayed home and took care of my daughter while her mom got some very much deserved sleep. It made the fifth day in a row that I haven't worked out.

The thing is: I don't really regret any of the aforementioned decisions. I needed sleep. I had to work. My wife needed a hand. I guess if I step aboard that scale tomorrow and it shows the dreaded gain, I won't lose sleep...much. Moving forward all I can do is get back to work.

Weekly Weighin: Closing in on milestones

It's Friday, which means that this morning I dragged myself out of bed and headed over to the Summit Family Fitness Center to workout and weigh myself in. This is my 13th weigh in since I began this journey back in May, and I'm closing in on a few milestones.

After a quick 2,050 swim, I again made use of the Summit's new family changing rooms and their awesome swimsuit dryers. Dried off and full of dread, I made my way over to the scale. After the pain of the plateau I hit earlier this month, I was happy to see my new weight was 202 pounds. That's just one pound lighter than last week, but I'm grateful for it.

I'm one pound away from having lost 20 pounds total. I'm only three pounds from dropping below the 200 pound threshold for the first time since freshman year of college. That would also mean I'd love 10% of my initial body weight. I'm looking forward to hitting those goals over the next couple weeks.

Spin Dry

Thoreau said that, "He is riches whose pleasures are cheapest." Well, consider me rich because I often get a pick kick out of the little things. This morning the object of my joy was a dry swimsuit.


The only downside to these morning swim workouts is that for the rest of the day I have either store a wet swimsuit (Mildew Welcome!) or hang it up to dry in my office. The first option is just gross. I usually choose the second option, though it gives my office that locker room chic.


Not today, though. This morning I had the great pleasure of checking out one of the Summit's new family changing rooms. They are very nice inside. They have restrooms, changing tables, a shower...and an automated swimsuit dryer. Say what? That's right, this magic little machine requires less than a minute to take my sopping suit and make it dry. No more worrying about my suit or my gym bag all day.

It may seem small, but it sure did make me smile. Plus, while I'm sure the rooms are busy during peak pool hours, they are completely free in the morning.

I don't know squat!

Last week felt good. I finally posted some weight loss after a few weeks atop the plateau, and I noticed I'd gotten too small for a couple of my belts. What a great feeling! This week I have a different feeling...and it is not a pleasant one. I'm one sore dude.

Yesterday rather than go to the Summit, I did another living room workout. Once again I plugged in the Wii and asked it to do its worst. The resulting workout lasted about 20 minutes and left me feeling thoroughly abused. How could that tiny machine pack so much pain into 20 short minutes? One word: squats.

I hate squats. I hate lunges. I hate squat jumps. I hate alternating lunges. I hate any exercise that engages whatever theoretical muscles called on by any of the the aforementioned activities. Two seconds into a set of squats I feel like the Tin Man in those terrifying last moments before he rusted over. "Oil can," my soul cries out, but there's no one there to hear me.

I don't know why I have such trouble with squats and lunges. In theory I know that I have the requisite muscles, but in practice they never seem to be home when I call on them. Honestly, I look at my four-month-old daughter as she pops up and down in our arms, and I know with certainty that she has stronger quads than me. I'm not even talking about stronger in proportion to her size, either. I'm saying that right now today she could squat more weight than me. The little punk probably wouldn't even need a spotter. I love her dearly, but she may be dangerous.

All this to say that my legs were trembling all day yesterday. This morning I woke up to find that the jello had not solidified and I was still walking on spaghetti noodles. I was extremely nervous about how well I'd hold up for the morning swim.

I hit the water, though, and was quickly reminded why I love swimming. My tired legs got a break for 45 minutes while the rest of my body got a good workout from my 2,300 yard swim. I think I'm starting to see why I never developed the muscles require to do squats.

Back out of the pool, though, I'm hurting. I limp around my office like Forrest Gump before Jenny told him to run. My thighs and posterior feel like they've been through a violent caning session. If this is what being fit feels like...what's the point?

Waisting Away

This Sunday something wonderful happened to me. I was getting dressed for Church, and as I put on my belt...it wouldn't close. I looked down and realized with a pathetic level of glee that I'd run out of holes!

This has happened before, but in the opposite direction. I've outgrown belts before, but the idea of shrinking out of one is profoundly new to me. The best part is, unlike pants or shirts getting too big, I never saw this one coming. I've dropped a pant size, but I hadn't even though about my belts, though.

Just as has been the case with every single pound I've lost and every step I've taken, this small success just adds fuel to my fire. I'm actually proud of how far I've come. I'll admit, that there have been days when I've stood in front of the mirror and thought, "This is what I look like after losing 18 pounds?" For each of those days, though, there is a day like Sunday when I see how far I've come, and it makes the road ahead seem less intimidating.

Ambition Should Be Made of Sterner Suff

As part of my workout this morning, I decided to time myself swimming a mile (roughly 1800 yards in the pool or 36 laps). Of course, being a master excuse maker, after 1,000, I thought about checking the clock. After 1,500, I reminded myself that I'd gone a "swimmer's mile," and tried to convince myself to stop. Fortunately, I was able to ignore my inner lazy-butt, and finish the mile I'd set out to swim. It took me a little over 27 minutes, which means that I was averaging more than 45 seconds per lap.

The thing about long distance swims is that they offer you plenty of time to think. It's just you and two white walls in there. During this morning's swim I was doing some math in my head. I've stated before that by the time of the big race, I'd like to be swimming a mile in 20 minutes. This morning I realized that my goal might be a little too ambitious. After all, if I can get each of my 50's down to a clean 45 second average, that would still only take me 1,333, yards in 20 minutes. In order to swim a mile in 20 minutes, I would have to cut my average time per lap down to just 34 seconds. Now, I can do a 34 second lap. In fact, I can probably do several of them. I truly doubt, however, that I could do 36 of them consecutively.

My new goal is to cut my average time per lap down to 40 seconds. That's a pretty significant improvement over my current speed, and it would allow me to finish a "swimmer's mile" (1,500) in 20 minutes.

I really hate the idea of backing down from a goal, but I also do not want to be setting myself up for frustration later. I hope that I’m striking a good balance between setting goals that are ambitious and goals that are attainable. After all, if after training my butt off for the next three months I am punching out my 50 yard laps in 34 seconds, how psyched will I be!

Weekly Weighin: FINALLY!!!

It's Friday, which means that this morning it was once again time for me to step atop the Summit's scale and potentially start blubbering as if I were watching a Beaches marathon on Lifetime. It had been a long three weeks since the last time I'd observed any real weight loss, and I needed to see some movement on the scale this morning.

So, after getting in a really good swim workout, I prepared myself for the scale. This might sound simple, but it is not. Three painful week of null weight loss have made me paranoid about every ounce of weight. Therefore, I toweled off this morning like I was the wicked witch trying to avoid melting away. I’d dry myself off, wring out my shammy, and towel myself off more. I kept this up until I was dryer than a Baptist wedding (one to which members of my extended family were either not invited or frisked upon entry). Then I made my way over to the dreaded device.

Once again, at this juncture I was still looking to jettison any foreign weight. I took off my glasses. I took off my watch. I plucked my eyebrows and trimmed my nose hairs (this last part did lead to some strange looks from my fellow gym-goers.) Then I stepped aboard and prayed.

I don’t really even know what number I was hoping for, but I know I didn’t want to see 206 again. Fortunately, I didn’t. To my unmitigated delight the scale read 203.4. I know I don’t usually include the decimal, but I’m so happy that I can’t help it. Finally after almost a month I’ve lost weight again, 3 pounds no less! This brings my overall weight loss to 18 pounds since the beginning of May. I’m hopeful that, in the next week or two, I can take that number past 20 and break through the 200 pound threshold. I haven’t been there since I was a teenager, and man will it feel good.

Counting Calories...and Cookies

Just a few short months ago, counting calories sounded like the kind of torture that interrogators might use to in order to force a confession out of me. "Counting calories," right there you just alluded to dieting and mathematics, two things that on their own make most people cringe. Sufficed to say, these days I am counting calories, and while it's not at all stressful or difficult, I have noticed a major drawback.

I cannot say thank you enough to Cora, another Fit to Tell blogger, for recommending LiveStrong.com and their Daily Plate service. The site makes the whole process of counting calories extremely quick, easy and un-intimidating. In minutes you can set up a free account, input a few of your person stats and tell it your fitness goal. The site does all the work, calculating the ideal number of calories you should be consuming each day. Then, to make life even easier, the site has a database of about a trillion different meals from restaurants, cookbooks or just combinations of everyday ingredients. After lunch, I just type in whatever I ate and it adds it to my daily log, calories and all. It even keeps track of calories I burn working out.

All of this to say that, at any given moment I can tell you roughly how many calories I've had today and how many more I'm allowed. Having all that information readily available is awesome...and dangerous.

Take yesterday for example. In the morning I swam a little over a mile at the Summit. The workout lasted about 40 minutes. LiveStrong gives me credit for burning just over 800 calories. My calories allowance for the day goes from about 1,600 to 2,400. All this is great. I put in my meals, a powerbar here a piece of fruit there...and I notice I've have some calories to spare. ENTER THE COOKIE!

During the Temple Parks & Leisure Services Advisory Board meeting yesterday, we were all given little box lunches from McAlister’s. I ripped through my sandwich and stared down that the beautiful golden brown visage of this chocolaty desert.

"That's a no-no," my rational, weight loss oriented mind said.

"Sure, but we have so many calories left for the day," my lazy, fat id countered. "It would be a shame to let them go to waste."

Long story long, my id won the debate. I ate the cookie. Point of fact, I devoured the cookie, savoring each and every morsel of it.

At the end of the day, LiveStrong tells me that I did just fine. Still, I feel guilty. Counting calories should be about rationalizing cheating, should it? What do you guys think?

On Like Donkey Kong!!!

It seems like a million years ago that Russell first brought up the idea of doing the Lake Travis Relay. At the time it seemed like science fiction. As of this weekend, it's officially on like Donkey Kong.

After a few communication glitches, I was finally able to talk to my cousin Wesley about the swim. It still surprises me every time I see Wesley that he's not still 9 years old, but he has grown up to become a genuinely awesome guy. He's a student at the University of Texas (my own private Mecca), and this summer he is making money... (Wait for it) TEACHING SWIM LESSONS! What's more, On top of having swum for his high school team (a lot more recently than me); Wesley has participated in multiple open-water triathlon swims. Can you spell "ringer."

Wesley makes number six in our dirty half dozen. Other members include Russell and Crystal (cardio workhorses and survivors of some crazy long bike races), Russell's brother (who Russell describes as being "a real athlete"), my dad (the only member of the team currently swimming multiple 2,500 yard swims each week) and myself (lazy, overweight former high school swimmer turned self deprecating blogger). Now that's what I call a ragtag crew!

Now that it is on like Donkey Kong, the relay (October 10th) feels a lot sooner. Friday it was three whole months away. Now it's just 87 days away!

Over the next 87 days, I've got a lot of work to do. I would like to lose another 20+ pounds, and I'd like to speed up my time so that I can average 3 miles an hour. We'll see how all that goes.

Muscles, Fat & Bologna

This week's weight loss (or rather lack thereof) definitely has me a little frustrated. Of course, the knee-jerk reaction to not liking what one sees on the scale is to go with the old, "Well, you know, muscle weighs more than fat..."

Did you ever notice that no one mentions this when they've actually lost weight? "Gee, Bill, you must have really converted a lot of muscles into fat to post that kind of loss." Doesn't happen. You know why? The whole thing is a bunch of balderdash.

Does a pound of muscle weigh more than a pound of fat? I'm pretty sure I was asked a similar riddle in the second grade involving feathers and lead. I knew the answer then, still do. A pound is a pound. Muscle doesn't "weigh" more than fat. Muscle is more dense than fat. A pound of muscle will take up much less room than a pound of fat, but they will weigh the same.

Beyond the inaccurate phrasing of the statement, "muscle weighs more than fat," there is a deeper meaning, the ultimate fitness excuse. The idea here is that I could build up X amount of muscle and burn Y amount of fat, and the different in their densities would offset one another. Isn't that a comforting thought? Just because the scale doesn't move doesn't mean that I'm not getting slimmer? The thing is, though, I don't buy it.

Along with being denser, muscles require more calories of support from your body than do fat cells. In other words, by adding muscle we burn more calories, even during periods of rest. This is a pretty good argument for doing strength training as a part of your weight loss regiment. It also makes me think that it's not very likely that I could add much muscle without seeing a drop in weight on the scale.

I'm not looking to make excuses for my failure to lose weight. Excuses are what got me heavy in the first place. Excuses don't burn any calories. My answer to this week's weigh in is going to be to stay the course. I know that if I keep working and keep making healthy decisions, it will catch up with me.

Weekly Weighin: Are you kidding me?

It's Friday, and that means stepping onto the Summit scale for the first time in a week. I don't mind telling you that this is the first week that I haven't felt dread over the proposition. Between last week's zero lose and the fact that I really brought it this week, I knew I was in for a big number. Of course, I was wrong.

Last week I was frustrated by not having lost more weight, but I knew I could only blame myself. I hadn't put in the time at the gym (just two real workouts), and my diet was far from a priority. Bouncing back from that experience, I worked my butt off this week (unfortunately, not literally). Monday and Tuesday I got up early and worked out to the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga (it may sound funny but it's not...it's torture). Then, for the first time in about twelve years, I put in three consecutive swim workouts Wednesday, Thursday and this morning. What's more, these weren't wimpy swims. I wasn't just floating for 40 minutes. I was really pushing. I did a number of sprints as part of interval training, and I timed myself on longer distances.

Approaching that scale this morning I felt great. I felt deserving. Then I stepped aboard...and I felt like I'd been kicked in the pants. I lost weight, but it was definitely in decimal form. For the last two weeks I'd weighed in at 206.8 pounds. This morning, the scale read 206.2. For those of you whose calculators don't have room for a decimal (and who didn't excel in middle school math), that means I've only lost one half of a pound in the last week. HALF A POUND!

This puts my weight loss to date at 15 pounds after 10 weeks of working out. I know I should be focusing on that 15, but I can't help but feel the 10 in marrow of my bones.

How does that happen? I worked out. I watch my calories like they were invading enemy forces. I did all the things I was supposed to do. I feel like I got gypped. I know, I know, I should be grateful that I lost something or that I didn't gain weight. I'm not grateful, though, I'm frustrated. How am I supposed to get my lazy butt out of bed at 5:45 to workout, when it hasn't really paid off recently? Wouldn't it just be easier to stay fat and just hang out with my wife and baby?

Don't worry. I haven't given up. I'll be back to work this week. I just hope that next Friday the scale is a little friendlier.

As Fat as Texas

Over the last two months of trying to lose weight and get fit, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my little girl, Sydney. She is so perfect and (thank God) healthy, and I want to make sure that I provide her with a good example of a healthy, active lifestyle. A recent report has me thinking that this is more important than ever.

A group called Trust for America's Health at HealthyAmericans.org recently published this report, tracking the weight statistics of residents of each of the 50 states. They found that Texas ranked 14th for the highest percentage of obese adults (27.9%) and, more tragically, 20th for the highest percentage of overweight or obese children (32.2%).

I don't know what's more horrifying here, that nearly one in three of our kids is overweight to obese, or that that statistic still puts us ahead of thirty other states! The kids tested for this study were aged 10 to 17. In my mind, this is the time in a child's life that they are establishing the habits and behaviors that will follow them most of their lives. Keeping in mind that poor diet and physical inactivity are one of the leading causes of preventable death in America (right behind smoking), we're killing our kids.

To be clear, I don't blame video games, the Internet or "the rap music," for this problem. I blame...us, parents. It's our job to make sure that our kids are being active and eating well. Lord knows, my mom had to use the jaws of life to get me to eat my vegetables, but she did it (most of the time). I wasn't on my knees begging my parents to sign me up for little league, but they did. Way more importantly than that, my parents did a great job of modelling healthy decision making. I can remember my dad jogging at night and promising that I could join him once I was able to run in place for an hour (two episodes of The Cosby Show). Likewise, I have fond memories of my sisters and I Sweatin' to the Oldies alongside my mom (Trust me, it was cool at the time.).

That's the dad I want to be to Sydney, one who doesn't just push her to be healthy, but makes her want to be healthy. I don't know what I can do about the other two out of three Texas kids, but I'm going to make sure she's one of the healthy ones.

I'm proud to say that Temple Parks & Leisure Services has made keeping Temple kids healthy a major priority. The Department offers regular programs to keep kids of all ages active and healthy. Moreover, as part of its expansion, the Summit Family Fitness Center has added a state-of-the-art youth fitness room. I've gotten to go in there a few times, and I have to say, it's pretty awesome. There are stationary bikes that let the kids race with eachother over a connect network, a huge video game dancing program, and an activity wall that challenges kids to hit or throw things at targets as they light up. All of these neat toys combine for a great workout that most kids won't even realize they're getting.

LivingStrong, EatingStrong

So, I've never claimed to be an especially bright guy, but today I made a discovery that really had me slapping myself over the forehead.

At the suggestion of fellow Fit to Tell blogger, Cora, I've been using LiveStrong.com's My Plate for a few weeks now, and only today did I figure out how its suggested calorie feature really works. You see, once you create a free account on the site, you can input your age, height and current weight. Then, given your usual activity level and weight loss goals, the site calculates a suggested daily calorie limit. For instance, I'm 27 years old, I'm about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and I currently weigh 206 pounds. I'd like to be losing 3 pounds a week (I realize this is a little ambitious, but last week was a real kick in the pants for me.), and I'd describe my daily activity level as being moderately active. With this in mind, LiveStrong suggests that I try and get 1,596 calories a day...not to be too specific.

The thing is, the My Plate tool also lets you track your workouts. I've been inputting my daily workouts this whole time. What I never realized until this morning, though, is that by working out, you increase the number of calories you're allowed to consume. For example, today I swam 2000 yards in about 45 minutes. The system gives me credit for burning 927 calories along the way. That means that today I'm allowed to consume 2,523 calories. That's about 900 more calories that I have been consuming in weeks past. That's a lot!

Hopefully making this discovery will help me to better fuel my body and keep my metabolism turning on the days when I work out. I hope that all translates into some weight loss this week.

How a Bad Friday Lead to a Bad Weekend

Let me start by saying that Friday wasn't actually bad at all. It was a wonderful day in almost every regard. It was a day off of work, which is always nice. My wife and I celebrated five awesome years of marriage. That was great. Really the only thing about Friday that wasn't perfect was that morning's weigh in. The scale showed no loss from last week. It was a downer, and it didn't lead to a weekend of healthy decisions.

Somewhere between the frustration of failing to lose weight and the giddiness of celebrating my anniversary...my diet fell short of being a priority. I didn't bother looking for low calorie champagne at the super market, and I didn't bother limiting my portions of the stuff. Likewise, I partook of plenty of restaurant food this weekend, and I didn't count any of the calories. On the contrary, I think some part of my mind was shooting for a high score. What's more, not only did I not do any working out, I made every effort to avoid doing anything approaching active.

Some weekends I like to see if I can go a day without leaving the house. This was one of those weekends.

Why is it that I couldn't see that 206 on the scale Friday and be galvanized? How come it didn't turn me into the William Wallace of workouts? Instead, I plummeted into a state of culinary denial. "Three day weekend calories don't count, right?"

I'm shaping up this week. I'm planning on swimming at least three times, and I don't plan to miss out on any morning workouts in the living room, either. This way, if the scale says something I don't like on Friday, at least I won't be able to say I didn't try. In that case, clearly the scale is just broken, right?

Weekly Weighin: A few days late

Friday was both a holiday from work and my fifth anniversary (You hear that, Middle School Bully, I've been married to a totally hot lady for five years!), but I still dragged my over-sized butt to the Summit. After all, I've got an embarrassing web journal to keep.

I hopped in the pool and, after a quick warm up, decided to time myself on a 1000 yards. Once again I used the 300 on - 50 or 100 easy method, focusing on a steady pace. My time was just over 14 minutes. Assuming I could keep that pace, which I think I can, I'm on track for a 25 minute mile. I'd really like to be closer to 20 minutes for the relay, but there's still time.

After my swim, as is the painful custom of this blog, I stepped aboard the Summit's scale...and did not smile. I really wanted to be under 205 pounds. That would have made me an official light heavyweight as opposed to my current heavyweight status. Alas, it was not meant to be this week. The scale read 206 pounds, the same as last week. That's zero pounds lost. Here are some possible explanations:

1.) Clearly the scale is broken (This is not the case. It started at zero and didn't move until I stepped on it.)

2.) Surely I've just swapped muscle for fat, and one of those weighs more. (I don't feel all that much stronger.)

3.) Maybe I was still wet with pounds of water from the pool. (No can do. I towelled off with the scale in mind.)

4.) Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I only got in two good workouts (I did a measly 20 minutes of aerobics Thursday.) all week and I wasn't paying vigilant attention to my calories.

That last explanation has the painful burning sensation of truth. I got complacent last week. I think I was so accustomed to seeing the weight drop that I forgot how I had gotten it moving in the first place. This week I'm on it. I'm going hardcore, and the scale is going to reflect it come Friday morning.

Body Mass Madness

I have to admit, I've been feeling pretty good about my progress these last few weeks. I'm finally seeing a little bit of a difference from the weight loss, and dropping a pant size felt a lot like success. Today, however, I read an article on the range of healthy Body Mass Indexes (BMI), and after some quick calculations I learned that I am still a far cry from what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers healthy.

You BMI can be calculated based your height in inches and your weight in pounds. Being a proud nerd and self-proclaimed Excel black belt, I've created a spreadsheet that will automatically determine your current BMI and show you the healthy range of weights. You can download it here.

After two months and fifteen pounds of weight loss, my current BMI is 28.7. According to the CDC a healthy BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9. For me that means a weight of 133 to 179 pounds. 133 pounds? Who knew the CDC was such a chuckle factory? Heck, even the high end of that range is still 27 pounds away!

To be fair, as an indicator of healthiness, the BMI isn't perfect. Well trained athletes who have lots of heavy muscles and very little body fat could still be labelled overweight by this system. Of course, I don't fall into that category. No, I'm just regular old, vanilla overweight. At least I have a goal now.