When I'm a midwife, please remind me...

1.  Not to be judgmental of other's choices (Explanation:  When I had my well-woman visit yesterday with an NP who I didn't know, I was talking about birth control preferences, etc.  She said "And you don't have any children, correct?"  I said "Oh, no...I have three." She came back with "So the WHY do you want more children?"  Really, lady?  Rude.)

2.  Be understanding of other's preferences (Explanation:  At afore-mentioned visit, when I stated that I preferred non-hormonal birth control for various reasons, all I got was plug after plug for hormonal birth control in the form of pills and IUDs because that's what they carried and that was the NPs preference.  I already said I'd like to avoid them, thank you, and gave you the reasons why.  I'm a nurse.  I'm educated.  I know my meds and my side effects and risk vs. benefit.  I didn't come to be preached at about what YOU think is best for me, I came to discuss options within my comfort zone.  Thank you.)

3.  Not preach my preferences at other people.  Present the information as appropriate, then let my client decide based on the information and her preferences.  (Explanation:  See #2)

4.  Have office personnel with personality.  (Explanation:  The medical assistant at yesterday's visit barely made eye contact, barely spoke to me, didn't tell me my weight or blood pressure but simply wrote them down and walked away.  Weird.)

Those little tidbits are just from one office visit.  I should keep a running log of these comments and situations...I run into them on a regular basis and always tell my husband "When I'm a midwife, please remind me..."

Theories and cultures and midwifery, oh my!

It's my homework!  I have assignments due in my Theories class and my Health Promotion class this weekend, plus work on a Power Point and a lot of reading for my Role of Midwifery class.  The assignment for Health Promotion was to read a book from the list they provided about a culture different than my own and then write a "cultural desire" essay about it (this is basically a reflection on their culture and mine and an examination of my feelings toward other cultures, etc.).  I went back and forth between a few books, to be honest.  "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" was really appealing because I deal with that type of situation often...I live miles away from the town where the book was based out of, I know the Hmong people because we have a large population of them here, and I'm a neuro nurse so seizures are right up my alley.  But then I realized that kind of defeats the purpose of this assignment...I needed to pick something TOTALLY different.  So I read this book, "A Midwife's Story", about midwifery and the Amish.

Can I just say right now that I would be totally happy to be a midwife in an Amish community?  They're a fascinating group, really!  My husband and I drove through Intercourse, PA on our way to our honeymoon spot years ago.  I bought some beautiful little things from the shops, ate some great homecooked food, and passed on through.  I was surprised at how withdrawn the Amish seemed.  The girl behind the register at one of the shops had downcast eyes and did not speak to even to me, a girl close to her age (I was 20 at the time).  I brushed it off but it always stayed with me, that although I know that their behavior is linked to their beliefs, the women seemed on the oppressed side.

This book was not only very enjoyable, but a real eye-opener.  The midwife in the story (a true story, by the way) was not Amish, wore pants, and wasn't religious...and yet she was accepted into their fold with open arms because of the work she did and the respect she had for their ways.  It's a very good, light read (I read it in less than a day) if you have the time or the want-to.  It'll bring tears, so keep your handkerchief close.

For Theories my group is exploring the middle-range theory of Comfort as it relates to a broad scope of health situations.  I'm stoked about the journal articles we chose, and my work on that is almost done for this module.

Speaking of my Health Promotion class, I have to journal this week on my self-management plan, which was starting jogging three days per week.  Like my Whole30, I'm really proud that I've stuck with this.  I find that C25K has been very helpful in keeping me on track with my goals.  I bump up the intensity today, going from running in 60 second increments to 90 second increments.  My knees are still a little sore, nothing bad, but from the people I've talked to and the stuff I've found on the web, it sounds like I need to be fitted for some new shoes.  I hear it can make all the difference in knee pain.  The pair of shoes I have now are nearly new, but I can save those for walking to the park with the kids or whatever.  Seems like I need some real running shoes to haul my big self around with less pain.

The weather is lovely this morning...partly cloudy, somewhere in the high 60's to low 70's...I'm going to get a bite of breakfast and run while it's cool.

P.S.  I'm going through a certain blog/site called The Clothes Make the Girl...she has a ton of clean recipes and I'm feeling the need for something out of my ordinary.  I found this recipe for her Paleo Pad Thai, and I'm nearly giddy with the excitement of trying it!!  Hello, comfort food!!

Whole30 - Day 31

That's right!  So I jumped on the scale this morning, and the final damage was 19 lbs lost!  :)  I can't believe I went from 214 lb to 195 lb in just 30 days!  In this last week it REALLY tapered down, but I'm sure that's normal.  I've continued on my way though, thrilled at the change the folks over at Whole9 promised I'd have...the life-changing experience of learning to view your food in a whole new way.

For example, my hubby swung us by Wendy's on the way home from work/school.  Once upon a time I'd get a sour cream and chives baked potato (loaded with butter and sour cream, of course), a small chili, and a small frostie.  Instead, when we drove up all I smelled was chemicals.  I picked up the baggy of pistachios that I had stashed away and started noshing.

At work, people are saying "You're done!  Now let's go to Starbucks and celebrate!"  I happily tell them that I'm off sugar and dairy and am staying off because it does weird things to my body.

I am SO grateful for this experience.  It has completely turned the way I view my food, a turn for the better.

I have to say that I celebrated a little bit by frying up a pan of organic uncured bacon...bacon is really less than ideal and this particular one had a little bit of sugar in it.  But it was DELISH.  I am saving all but the couple of pieces that I ate for the soup that I'm making tonight.  And I saved the fat so I can use it to cook eggs again.  I love poached eggs, but dude.  You get a little tired of them day after day.  It would figure that mere days before I was to be done they decided that grass-fed organic butter is fine if it's been clarified.  Wish I had known that 30 days ago!  But it will make the following months a little easier.  Cooking eggs with olive oil is only slightly less gross than cooking them in coconut oil.  Blech.

Time to run.  Week 1 Day 3 of C25K today.  I'm going to try to start improving my time/distance a little bit.  I just need to push myself.  Next run after this starts the next "notch up"...longer runs, shorter walks.  Bring it on.  I'm ready for this!

P.S.  This is post-run Jessica speaking.  My knees are feeling it a little bit today, not so much during my run but after.  I improved both my time (by about 30 sec/mile) and my distance (2.18 mi) today.  I have to admit that I had my first encounter with vanity while running.  I was plugging along on my run segment when two very decent looking men came running toward me.  Just as I was almost to them, my app told me to switch to a walk interval.  They looked at me and cheered me on (must have been looking a little haggard) and told me I could do it...so I kept running...hahaha!  I switched to a walk about 60 feet after we crossed paths, but I must admit I laughed at myself later...and told Trav and he laughed at me too.  It's amazing what a little vanity will do for you!  

Today I learned...

1.  That swallowing and/or inhaling gnats and/or other small flying creatures isn't really that bad.
2.  That swallowing and/or inhaling them is far preferable to getting them in your eye.
3.  There is a camaraderie among runners/joggers when they see each other on the road or sidewalk.  It's like the biker mini-wave, except all they can muster is a glance and a nod.
4.  I really CAN go a month without sugar (and grains and legumes and dairy).
5.  I'm not the most physically fit person, but I surprise myself sometimes.
6.  Being outside in the heat in Fresno is a bummer.  It's even worse if you're exerting energy or breaking a sweat.
7.  Those nifty little iPhone holder arm-strap dealios are pretty cool...and useful.
8.  Bruises inflicted by my chiropractor feel much better than the IT band craziness I had before I saw her.

Well folks, I'm on day 29 of my Whole30.  Tomorrow is the last "official" day.  I haven't weighed myself for several days and I will not until Thursday morning.  And I'll have to take an "after" picture too.  I still have a LONG way to go, but every day I'm encouraged by positive comments and the support of others around me.

Week 1 day 2 of C25K today.  Nearly killed me in the heat.  I was slower than last time, but dang it was hot!  As soon as I stepped outside my house I decided to go on a different route, a big circle around our development instead of to the park and around the track several times.  I did this mostly because I knew if I did, then I couldn't just go home early.  I had to keep going to get home.  It wasn't the funnest thing ever, but I really didn't feel that bad after.  It was just the "during" that was the killer.

I have gotten a lot of inspiration in the last few days from a blog that my mom sent me called One Twenty Five.  It's written by a chica who was obese, albeit 10 lbs lighter than I was when I started.  Her goal is to get to 125 lbs.  She has had a tremendous journey, and she started running as well.  She's done MARATHONS, dude.  Whole marathons, not halves.  Crazy.  She's not to her goal yet, but looks fab.  I love her blog.

Headache and homework so off I go.

The big picture (and the short view)

This week should be a good one.  I hope.  The Neuroscience Symposium that I've been planning and working on for about 6 months is done now.  HUGE deep sigh of relief here.  Until about February, that is, when I'll begin planning all over again!

I need to catch up on school.  That crazy Symposium was a huge time-suck, and I'm a little behind now.  Time to get Dropbox up and rolling and take At Your Cervix' advice and print out notecard-sized notes.  Brilliant.

I also come to day 30 of my Whole30 on Wednesday.  I can't believe I've actually stuck with it.  It's a huge thing, you know.  I'm the ultimate procrastinator and never-finisher.  But like I keep saying, this is my year.  It's time to get my stuff together.

I officially started my C25K program today.  Holy crap that was brutal.  I'm WAY out of shape!  I ended up going a little over 2 miles with 1 minute of running followed by 1.5 minutes of walking.  I'm going to do this three times, then up the ante, as described in the C25K program.  I got a handy-dandy app on my iPhone that lets you play your own music (iPod, Pandora, whatever) but there's a voiceover every however-many seconds/minutes that tells you to run, walk, or cooldown.  It even tells you when you're halfway done!  So, 9 weeks to 5k.  Then I'll bump it to 10k, then a half-marathon.  Yep, it's officially my goal.  I want to run in the Two Cities marathon/half marathon next year.  I also want to be able to run for various groups (for instance, the American Heart Association and Susan G. Komen for the Cure have 5k's in my area every year).  I've joined gyms and not gone, I've tried working out at home and not sticking with it.  Dang it, I'm going to run.

Being that Trav wants to stop at 4 babies, I may only have one more pregnancy and birth ahead of me.  I want to go into that (whenever it is) healthy and fit.  I want to experience labor not as a huffing, puffing, out-of-shape momma.  I want to labor strong.

Breath of life

I think it's safe to say that any birthy folk who read my blog probably also follow Rixa Freeze's blog, Stand and Deliver.  She is a brilliant lady, and I started following her blog before I had one of my own.  I have to say that hers is much more interesting than mine.  Ha.

Well, I really got caught up in life for the past year...you know...school, work, new baby, family...and I kinda dropped out of the blogosphere.  I came on occasionally to post, and even less frequently to read.  So before I took my blogging vacation, I saw that Rixa was pregnant with her third baby.  I JUST NOW finally went back to read the birth story of her third baby (who is somewhere around 6 months old now...bad me).  It was truly touching.

They had a midwife, but birthed unassisted.  After three births, I have to say that this is my dream for my next (and likely last) pregnancy and birth.  But the most moving part is in the third video clip in her "Inga's Birth Story Part 1" post.  We get the honor of viewing her laboring, first out of and then in the tub.    When her baby is born and doesn't begin breathing after a while, she gives her baby a few of her own breaths...calmly, in the tub, placenta still in, cord still attached...

Her baby perked up (and toned up and pinked up) and let out a raucous cry.  As I viewed this, that swell of a mother's love and intuition swept over me like a wave.  Thank you, Rixa, for letting us into your life for such an intimate moment.  And thank you for showing us that even when things don't go exactly as planned, they can often be addressed and helped in a calm, trusting manner.

Of birth and insulin

I read a post this morning by Navelgazing Midwife about diabetes (DM), insulin/insulin resistance, and gestational diabetes (GDM) that was thought-provoking and made me reflect back on my own past.  Especially considering how my body reacted in the smoothie incident.

I was about 180 at Deklan's conception, and about 200 at both Gavin's and Connor's conceptions.  I gained modestly with all of my kids, with about 35 lbs being my highest gain.  I've never had GDM or sugar in my urine during pregnancy.  My kids were 8 lbs 6 oz, 10 lbs 1 oz, and 9 lbs 10 oz at birth.

Between her blog post and my knowledge as a nurse, I can guarantee that, while I may not have had GDM, insulin resistance played a big part in my kid's birthweight.  I was never even aware of the affect that sugar and insulin resistance was having on my body.  I knew it was probably happening, and when I started my Whole30 I knew I'd go through sugar withdraw and that I wouldn't miss it after a while.  But the smoothie incident really sealed the deal for me.  It wasn't that I went and binged on candy bars, or had a 4-pump latte at Starbucks.  I had a smoothie, made of fruits and vegetable juice.  "Health food" caused such a tremendous spike that I'm still flabbergasted.  Now that my body has had a chance to regain some sensitivity to glucose, I can see how much of an impact it was having on me...and my babies.

I have some Type II DM on my mom's side, and she had GDM with her last baby.  These are risk factors for me developing GDM with my babies or DM in the future.  This is one fact that scared me straight as far as my health, activity, and weight go.  I don't want diabetes.  I've seen diabetes in action for years as a nurse.  I've seen the patients on dialysis, blind, needing amputations, having heart attacks and strokes...their common diagnosis in probably 90% of cases?  Diabetes.  I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want that to happen to my family.

Back to the birth side of things...it's pretty amazing to see how the weights of my babies corresponded to my weight at the time.  With Connor I really made a conscious effort to eat well, much better than I did with Gavin.  As a result I didn't gain as much weight during my pregnancy and he weighed (slightly) less than Gavin did.  My goal was just for a baby under 10 lbs.  Oh, and did I mention that I had a hard time conceiving Connor?  I had to chart, temp, and take herbs just to get my luteal phase long enough to enable me to get pregnant (infertility is another complication of DM/insulin resistance...PCOS is also much more prevalent in overweight women and women with DM).

As I work toward better health...toward diet changes, weight loss, and physical fitness, I'm interested to see how my next pregnancy will play out.  Will I conceive easily?  Will my baby be more toward the 8-9 lb range than the 9-10 lb range?

By the by, I'm almost to Day 30 of my Whole 30.  I shopped yesterday, buying the same healthy food, another half-dozen cans of coconut milk, etc.  I don't plan on stopping.  This works for me.  I know it seems restrictive from the outside, but I feel more liberated than I ever have as far as eating habits.  When insulin-spiking and inflammation-causing foods are just plain GONE from my diet, there's no worry about moderation or "just one bite".  It's so much easier to just say "No, thank you" and eat a green pepper instead.  Sweet potatoes are like dessert, and apples have never tasted so sweet.  I love the food that I eat now, because I know that it's not just filling my body, but truly nourishing it in an amazing way.  It's not full of junk or preservatives or chemicals.  It's just good, tasty, real food.

C25K?

Anyone out there done it?  It sounds appealing...the CoolRunning guys say than almost anyone can go from "Couch to 5K" in 9 weeks by following their plan of gradual activity increase.  I figure it sounds pretty good.  The weather is nice which certainly helps.  I had my jogging goal as part of my Health Promotion class, and I think the C25K just gives it a little more structure.

My sister is a marathon runner, very slim and naturally athletic...pretty much my polar opposite in that regard.  She weighs less than 100 lbs soaking wet.  Anyhoo, we were talking tonight and I was telling her about my goals, asking how long it might take to train for a half-marathon...did she think I could do it in a year?  She felt that a year was enough time, but that I should start smaller.  Try starting with a 5K, then work my way up to a 10K, then a half-marathon.  I thought that was good advice.  So I think I'm going to do it.

I've been a casual runner in the past.  I mean, the only equipment you need is a good pair of shoes.  The rest is icing on the cake.

I have to say that I'm really excited about this!  I'm losing weight, roping in my eating habits, starting to exercise...this really CAN be my year!  I'm serious...by the time I turn 31 I want to be looking nice and feeling great.  If I can manage to keep this up then I can be successful!

Whole30 - Day 25

Another day down, 5 more to go.

I have to admit that I'm still shocked about the smoothie incident.  Seriously.  A small Mega Mango (pineapple juice substituted with carrot juice) all-fruit smoothie from Jamba Juice sent me running for the cookies.  I'm glad that I had the willpower to fight back and win, but it's becoming more and more obvious why I find myself overweight today.  Sugar (natural or otherwise) perpetuates a vicious circle in my body.  Prior to now I could have easily had a large smoothie, felt fine, and never realized what was really happening inside of me.

I just got a CSA bin in yesterday and I'm about to go shopping and load the fridge with good food.  Baked okra is the bomb and satisfies my desire for crunch (this curbs my desire for nuts...I like crunchy).  It's so nice to see a fridge full of good, clean food!

I think I almost have Trav convinced to give it a go.  He moans and cries about his nightly bowl of cereal.  NOW I think "holy cow!!  Tons of wheat mixed with dairy...what on earth was I doing to myself?!?"  I have been trying to convince him that he won't even miss it after a few days.  I know I don't, and I could put down some cereal.

We have a family photo shoot at the end of November for our Christmas cards.  I wonder how I'll look and feel then?

Whole30 - Day 24

Well, I guess it's day 24.  It's 2-something am so I guess it's day 25.  Anyhoo, just a short post to discuss a crazy revelation.

I have some CRAAAAZY sugar addictions!  My body reacts to sugar like I'd imagine people react on drugs.  I have a little, then every craving you could imagine is triggered.  Then I feel like crap.  Then I wonder why, and realize what's happening.

This is a good thing...well, a good thing to find out about myself anyway.  I'm going to have to really be careful with sugar.

"SUGAR?!?" you say!  "I thought you weren't eating sugar on your Whole30!"  I'm not.  I just had fruit.  Too much fruit.  Crazy.

An addendum...

I was poking around and noticed that someone hit my blog by searching for "whole30 bad experience nursing". So I figured that I'd answer their search question, assuming that they're meaning "nursing" in the sense of "breastfeeding".

My milk supply has been just fine. My routine is that I pump at work, twice per day during chill days and once per day during crazy days (I work an average of 8 hours per day). I drink water to thirst and do not take any herbs to increase my supply. I have used More Milk Plus in the past, but since it's tinctured in alcohol I haven't used it during my Whole30. I've always had an abundant supply though, so it shouldn't shock me that I still make enough to feed my babe and have enough leftover to milkshare with a friend who is having lactation difficulty.

Anyhoo, I nurse as soon as I get home, then for nourishment and comfort throughout the evening and night. We bedshare and I love it. True, my babe isn't sleeping through the night, but it doesn't really bother me, keeps my milk supply up, and helps us stay close even though I'm gone every day. I roll over with him to switch sides and judging from an approximate number of roll-overs (approximate because I never fully wake up...so I'm a little hazy) he nurses an average of 3-4 times per night.

My nursling doesn't seem to mind my diet...no particular issues with gas or upset tummy. He's as chubby and happy as he could be, so I'm assuming he's properly nourished.

That's about it. Hope that helps if you're wondering if doing Whole30 affects milk supply/nursing relationship.

Whole30 - Day 20

Wow. Day 20. Only 10 more days! Well, I say only 10 more days, but I have every intention of eating this way for a while. I may have a break day at 31 days, have my Pumpkin Spice Latte...but then back to business.

Speaking of Pumpkin Spice Latte, I've found a couple of happy little tricks in the java department. To make my own "Pumpkin Spice Latte", I get a double doppio espresso, then take it home and add about 1/2 cup of coconut milk and fill with water to about a Grande size, then add a few shakes of pumpkin spice seasoning from my cupboard. Awesome. Totally scratches the itch for a good ol' PSL. It's also nice to add a little dash of vanilla extract to my coffee...not that I don't like a mild coconut flavor, but it does get a little every-day. The vanilla complements the coconut taste to the point of masking it. Nice.

I've become a regular at Whole Foods in the Meats and Seafoods departments. They have a clean spicy Italian turkey sausage that makes me very happy. My standard quickie meals have become a link of that over romaine and arugula salad with some olives and olive oil and vinegar. Very satisfying. My salads are huge. I use an entire heart of romaine and a solid handful of arugula in each one. One, and they also have a very nice clean apple and chicken sausage that pairs wonderfully with a few sliced strawberries in the same romaine-arugula-olive oil-balsamic vinegar salad. I try not go crazy with the sausage, though, and make fish, chicken, and meat my staples. You know, come to think of it, every protein I've tried rocks my socks off in the afore mentioned salad. I like salad. Always have.

While I'm staying very true to the eating plan for Whole30, I have to admit that I've weighed myself...which is a no-no. But I find it SO encouraging!! It gives me the willpower to spit out coffee prepared with cream and sugar that my husband so lovingly (and forgetfully) brought to me. It helps me to turn down the pastry at work, and reminds me that I'm doing this for ME. It's MY body that's changing. I am getting healthier. I'm nourishing MYSELF well. So do you want to know my dirty little secret? I've lost 18 pounds in 20 days. Seriously. I'm now 196, down from 214. And all of that while eating plenty of food (see giant salads above)...it's just good, healthy, clean food! No junk, no chemicals...meats/seafood/chicken/eggs are always organic/grass-fed (or wild-caught), produce is about 80% organic at this point. Nothing on labels that I can't read. Nothing is highly processed. I've started getting comments from coworkers and hubby. My clothes are fitting looser...my size 20 work pants (which fit a little loosely to begin with) now fall off of me, and my size 18 work pants (which were a little snug) are almost to the point of needing a belt. My tummy is much less out there, and my tush is shrinking.

I have some recent pictures of me from my last trip to Kentucky...admittedly NOT the most flattering pics. However, I'm relishing the thought of dressing in the same clothes and taking some "after" pictures!

Speaking of Kentucky (and school), one of my classes this term, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, has us making a Self-Management Plan (and a journal to go along with it) for 4 weeks. My goal is to jog 3 times per week. As much as I'm stoked about losing weight and eating better, I really need to be exercising. And by exercising I don't mean a leisurely stroll to the park with the kiddos. So this class came at a good time...I can go out for a jog without the kids and tell Travis it's for school!! Hahaha! And hopefully this assignment will set the stage for good long-term habits. Oh, and my "reward" to myself for meeting my goals (which I WILL do, by the way) is buying a pair of Vibram Five Fingers shoes for myself. The only thing better than toe socks? Toe shoes!!

Nursling calling. Oh, my cutie pie is 9 months. He's crawling and is SO cute. And still nursing like a champ, even through the night. It's a fair trade-off, no? No period for disturbed sleep? It's no so bad since we co-sleep...I don't even fully wake up. Yahoo!

Whole30 - Day 12

Day 12? You mean I'm almost halfway there? That just doesn't seem right...time has flown!

So here's my reflection at the almost-halfway point: This is not hard. This is totally possible, even when you're a busy working and schooling mom.

The first few days were a little rough. But from then on? Smooooooth sailing! I don't crave sugar...I don't crave bread...I don't crave anything. The only things that I really miss and will be happy when I can have them again is butter for cooking and my Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. But that's just because I want them and miss them.

So how have I been coping with Whole30 when my family isn't doing it with me? The dinners I make are Whole30, with the addition of a starch (potatoes and rice are the faves around here), and I just don't eat the starch but have double portions of the veggie. When Trav goes to Starbucks I just ask him for an iced black coffee, and when he brings it home I pour in some coconut milk. I keep snacks around for myself...nuts, olives, Larabars, etc. for when I'm feeling like a little nosh. The Halloween candy doesn't interest me. As in I don't even take a second (longing) look. And I don't feel like I'm depriving myself of anything.

It has also been easier with MamaG doing it with me. Even though she's thousands of miles away, it's encouraging to know that someone else is right there with you. Everyone at work also knows that I'm eating clean, and it's been amazing to see them make some healthier choices because of me! For instance, instead of getting pizza on my birthday, they went to a mediterranean restaurant and got a salad sans feta topped with chicken for me, and salads with feta and chicken for themselves. It was awesome, and so thoughtful of them to surround me with support.

I'm looking at this and thinking that I could do it for much longer than 30 days. Really this should be my standard way of eating and then just have a treat from time to time. I've lost inches, I'm sure. Clothes are noticeably looser around the waist. But I'm still a heavy chick. I have a long way to go. Speaking of which...I said I'd declare my goals in this post. I think that if I throw in some regular exercise in addition to eating this way, I could actually attain these goals within a year. But I'm not putting a time frame on myself because I don't want to feel like I failed or something. As long as I'm moving forward and losing weight, I'm succeeding. So here goes nothing.

I have three levels of goals in my weight loss journey. Looking at the big picture and seeing that I need to lose over 80 lbs is just really big…huge and daunting. So I am breaking it down by BMI like this:

214 (prior to starting Whole30) – BMI = 36.7 Obese is BMI of 30 or higher. So to get into the “Overweight” category, I need to be...

174 – BMI = 29.9 Overweight is BMI 25-29.9. So to get into the “Normal” category, I need to be...

145 – BMI = 24.9 Normal is BMI 18.5-24.9. So to get into a comfortable spot in Normal, I WANT to be...

130 – BMI = 22.3

So, in pounds that translates to:

214 to 174 = 40 lbs lost

174 to 145 = 29 lbs lost

145 to 130 = 15 lbs lost

____________________

Grand total of 84 lbs lost

Again, I’m not setting a time frame on these, as time frames just seem to be discouraging. As long as I’m making progress and not regressing, I’m happy, even if that means plateauing for a while. I just have to get this right in my head.

Having said that, I do have a loose goal to be in the “Normal” range somewhere by my 31^st birthday. That gives me just over a year to lose about 70 lbs.

I don’t put a lot of stock in BMI as an indicator of overall health, but it seemed like a good point of reference, with ranges and all.

So, in light of all of this, I confessed in my last post that I was going to weigh myself for my birthday, even though we're not supposed to weigh during Whole30. Guess what? I'm down to 202. That's 12 lbs gone so far!! Of course, I don't expect to shed weight at that rate for the duration of the Whole30...in fact I'm pretty sure I have lost little if any weight since then. But my body is looking and feeling different, which is highly encouraging!

Whew. Long post. I'm done though.

P.S. It's awesome to think that, as I move toward my goals, the fact that I'm losing weight and getting healthy is not only a benefit to me, but it's good for my family, and will allow me to be more effective in my career as a midwife. Let's just face it...those ladies are part contortionists the way they maneuver sometimes to accommodate a birthing momma! Much easier to do this without 84 extra lbs hanging on me...no...72 extra pounds. Squeeeee! :)