TanyaP71 has challenged folks to blog 30 days on a set list of questions. www.sparkpeople.com/mypa
ge_public_journal_individu
al.asp?blog_id=5038746

Being me, I thought about it and decided, "why not?" Here is the first blog topic:

"Your stats. Starting stats, current stats, goal stats. Are you currently trying to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight or something else? Do you have a goal for the month of September? "

First off, whenever I talk about starting stats, it all depends on WHICH start we're talking about, since I have been through this process many times over the decades. But to play it as straight as I can - this particular healthy initiative began on May 29th, 2009, when I weighed in at 198.6 on my home scale. At 5' 3", that's too much, by anybody's assessment.

I did not take tape measurements until a month later, on June 26th, and at that point, my waist was 37 inches... bust 43, hips 45. Sigh... with a month of progress, even.

At that time, I timidly set my goal down as 150, because I had to pick a number. (I was at a commercial weight loss center, they wanted a number.) But as I told them there, the real goal was not about a number on the scale. The real goal was to get back into the shape I was in when I did an informal triathlon with my siblings. That was August 2007, and I felt better than I had my whole life.

My current stats? Are you ready?

Weight, 7 day rolling average, as of today: 119.3 pounds.
Bust: 35
Waist: 27
Hips: 34.5

Current phase in the process? Maintenance. Don't need to lose more. My goals are not so much about the scale (they never were, really)... but to maintain the level of fitness to participate in the events that give me so much joy. Eye on the prize right now of a half marathon in November, busy building mileage.

Goals for September:
1. Don't injure myself.
2. Follow the fitness plan, but modify as the body's level of energy demands. I.e. LISTEN to the body.
3. One 5 mile race, Sept 9th.