9 Months? No Way!

I have updated my profile (finally). Here it is in a nutshell. If you want the numbers, you will have to go to the profile: Sure doesn't feel like it has been that long. Overall, I am fantastic. I have still had no complications and I feel great. I am struggling a bit with what I am eating. Unfortunately, I can eat pretty mych anything with no adverse reaction. I find myself looking for sweets like a heat-seeking missile. I get lax on my protein requirements. Par example, this morning I had a giant poppyseed muffin and a skim chai latte. Should feel rotten in the pouch right? Wrong. I feel full, but not sick. STOP IT. This is going to be my struggle. As of this Saturday, I will be the mother of two teenagers. PJ turned 15 on 2/13 and Megan will be 13 on 2/25. I'm not old enough! Now for the good news, I am down a total of 104 pounds and they are good pounds. I went underwater weighing this morning and he was very impressed with my progress. My body fat percentage is now 29% down from 47%. Of the weight I have lost 80% has been fat and 20% has been lean. In talking goal weight with Dr. Carey, he said 160 would be a reasonable, but a little tough to reach. He estimates that at that weight, I would be 21.4% body fat. If I keep up the weight training and the jogging, I should be able to get there. My BMR is also in the normal range - 1650. That means that if I do nothing but lay in bed all day and eat 1,650 calories, I will maintain my weight. That's the long and short of it. Thanks to all of you for being there for me. You have been my most valuable resource in all of this. Take care, J

Congratulations Jenny! I love it that you have delved into the details about body fat % and BMR. I think it is so important that we all really understand what calories our bodies actually need. My doctor will be running a BMR test on me when I'm one year out. 1650 seems so low to me...it is so easy to see how we all got obese in the first place. Good for you! Lori 384/250.5/168

Thanks Lori. I do prefer the hydrostatic weighing because it gives a truer picture of my body and my goal. I encourage anyone who has it available to do it. It keeps you from trying to acheive an unrealistically low goal weight. The BMR number is also excellent to have for long term maintenance. You are right, 1650 calories is low, but that is only how many calories I would need to consume if I wanted to maintain but NEVER got out of bed. Right now I burn about 2500/day with light seated activity and no exercise. If I walked 30 minutes/day at 3.5 mph I would burn about 2800 calories/day. 2800 seems like a lot, but it is what I would need to maintin. As it is now, I am eating about 1600/day or less, so I am still losing. Take care, J

Thanks for clarifying this for me Jenny...I'm so worried I can't live with the amount of calories I'll need to maintain my goal weight, if I ever get there that is! Lori 384/250.5/168

Congrats, Jen! What a great way to see really how you are doing at this point. I would love to have all of that done, but I really doubt that they have it where I live. You look fantastic! Michelle

Michelle, Thanks so much. If you live anywhere near a larger university, you can check there. They may have it. Take care, J