So here is an excerpt from The Obesity Myth by Paul Campos that I was reading today from the chapter The Last 10 Pounds.

"In America today, dieters who are looking to lose anything like 10 pounds are most invariably attempting to conform to a cultural ideal that is inimical to having a healthy body. A woman who weighs 10 pounds more than the current cultural ideal in all likelihood already weighs 10-30 pounds less than she would if she ate normally and exercised moderately. For such a woman, an ideally healthy weight would be precisely that: the weight she would maintain more or less naturally, by avoiding a neurotic attitude towards food, while engaging in moderate levels of physical activity."

This got me thinking...when selecting a goal weight I don't want to look for a specific number. I put down a number just to keep a goal in mind, but my end weight won't be one I predetermined. I want it to be a weight that I can maintain. Maybe not all of the time easily, but I don't want it to be a weight I have to work like a maniac to maintain.

I want to be able to go out with friends, have a couple of drinks, and not have to immediately run to the gym the next day in hopes that I can shimmy it all off of me.

I don't want to get to a place where I can't enjoy food and I feel like I must exercise for at least 2 hours a day, every day. I'm not that person and I don't want to be that person.

I want to be able to breathe, run, jump, and be happy! Yes, I want to lose weight, but I more so want to be healthy AND happy. Is that too much to ask?