Introducing Healthy Little Me!

I'm jumping off the cliff and doing the one thing I've wanted to do for the last few months: start a fitness/weight loss blog. I finally broke down and created Healthy Little Me because my horoscope told me to follow my gut. But the truth is I lacked support for this idea from some of the closest people to me. My best friend was totally supportive, but everyone else wasn't so into it...

“Why would you write about something like that?”

“Aren't there a billion of those blogs out there already?”

“You should go back to writing personal essays like you used to.”

“Why don't you write a blog about the adventures of your cat?”

My cat is interesting and so are my personal essays about Halloween and the local ice cream truck. But that's just not who I am right now.

Five months ago, my life changed a lot. I took a job across the country and left everyone and everything I knew and loved. I now live in a remote town in Wyoming and work 12 hour shifts every day. This might seem like a nightmare to the average person, but to me it was a blessing in disguise. Number one: I have a job right out of college that is relevant to my degree. Number two: I have no distractions or excuses for not being healthy.

I've been struggling with my weight since my freshman year of college. I'll write more about this in a later post, but for the last six years I've been secretly battling body images and weight issues and I always wanted to do something about it but could never find the time to commit, until now.

In the last five months, I have created a routine. I work for twelve hours, sleep for eight, and work out for two before doing it all over again. Routines to some people seem mundane. But for me, my new ritual has given me the chance to make the transformations in my life and body that I always wanted to do but never could.

And now the number talking begins. I thought about leaving these pesky little details out but half of the reason I wanted to start this blog was for accountability and the other half was to inspire others, so here goes:

July's Statistics:

Age: 24

Height: 4’11”
Starting Weight: 142 lbs
Starting BMI: 28.7

For reference, here’s the BMI categories from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5 – 24.9
Overweight = 25 – 29.9
Obesity = >30
Yep. That's me. Right there in the overweight category only 1.2 BMI points from the obesity range.

For the last five months, I've done a lot of work. But I still have more work to do. Before getting screwed up by a two week visit home complete with deliciously over-proportioned meals and minimal running (But I DID run!), I was down to 128 lbs. But constantly eating out with my boyfriend and hitting up the night life with my friends wasn't very forgiving so here I stand:

Current Statistics:

Current weight: 135.1 lbs

Current BMI: 27.3

And, drum roll.... my goal is:

Goal Weight: 110 lbs
Goal BMI: 22.2 (Right SMACK DAB in the middle of normal!)

Whew. Why is the sharing of such personal numbers so liberating? I don't know, but it is.

But don't get this twisted: being 110 pounds isn't what this is all about. This is about being healthy and feeling good in my skin and the clothes that I wear. I might never reach that weight but if I can learn how to live a healthy lifestyle and own the best possible version of my body that I can, I will have succeeded.

Too often we women get caught up in numbers. Our weight, our height, our jean size, our age, our income. We define ourselves by such objective ideas because it makes for an easier comparison. These numbers allow us to measure and compare ourselves to other people. These numbers let us know how far off we are from being in the "normal" range.

Look, measuring ourselves isn't a bad thing. Numbers keep us accountable. But that's not what it's all about. Regardless of the number, if you feel better about yourself today than you did yesterday – you’re doing something right. And if you don’t feel better today, regardless of that number, something needs to change.

I would be lying if I said I didn't want to be skinny. Plenty of women do. And it's okay to be honest about our own quest for personal vanity. This is how the whole idea started out; it's tough being overweight during the return of the "mid-drift" top and "super skinny" jean. But over the last five months of reading about fitness, seeking inspiration from others on a similar journey, and questioning my own plan, I've discovered that being healthy is so much more than being skinny. It's about having energy, being in a good mood, enjoying relationships with other people, having a physical and mental well-being, taking care of your heart, and extending your life. And what the hell - if I can rock some "super skinny" jeans in the process, all the better! Am I right?