Being the Best Me I Can Be

Continuing one thought from the previous post, I should tell you I joined Weight Watcher's a week ago. In one week I've lost three pounds. My morning weigh-in, in the nude on my home bathroom scale, this morning said 159. It's been about four months since I was at that weight and I'm thrilled.

Several people have questioned why I felt I needed to lose weight. One rather sternly admonished me that I did not need to lose weight.

Here's my manifold explanation:

1. I don't like what I see when I look in the mirror each morning to get dressed. I don't recognize my body. I don't feel young and sexy; I feel old and fat. It's not something I'm comfortable with. I'm an intelligent woman. I should be able to make this change and get back a body I'm comfortable with.
2. My pre-Weight Watcher's Body Mass Index was 25. Look it up, people, that's definitionally "overweight". The health risks that accompany a BMI of 25 or over are risks I don't care to take. I already had a stroke scare in 2006, and I don't care to go there again. It scared the bejeebies out of me.
3. You already know that I'm suffering from hot flashes. Research shows that lower weight can yield fewer hot flashes. Sign me up!
4. I put on 12 pounds in three years. At that rate, . . . well, you can see where I'm going with that statement. I don't want to weigh 175 or 200 pounds. I'm not comfortable with that.
5. I'm used to seeing my grandbabies no fewer than one day a week. That's at least 52 times a year. With their departure, I'll be lucky to see them one time a month. I want to live to see them graduate from high school, if not college. I would be willing to take dance lessons to dance with Boston at his wedding! I can't count on getting there at a BMI of 25 or more.

So that's what I've done. Already, yesterday, with a total weight loss of three pounds, my favorite slacks fit differently in the waist, fit better, fit more comfortably. Yea!

I courageously told Mr. Match last night of my actions. He was so encouraging. He asked lots of questions, and talked about his daughter's successful experience with Weight Watcher's and how proud he is of her.

The Weight Watcher's plan has changed a lot since the last time I tried it, 22 years ago. The geek in me loves their Web site, the POINTS® Tracker I can use to keep track of what I've eaten. They make it so simple. I already eat fairly healthfully, but I turn to food when I'm stressed or depressed. Now that I'm focusing on mindful eating, it's just simple. And I know if I'm absolutely dying for something sweet, I can satisfy the craving by trading one point for one small shortbread cookie. On New Year's Eve, I treated myself to a small Red Baron pizza, a small glass of wine, and a spoonful of Ben & Jerry's. To me, I had just eaten a fabulous celebratory meal.

I was looking on Matchmaker.com to see if there were any men there I hadn't already seen on other sites. (There weren't.) One thing that Matchmaker asks that other sites don't is weight. What is your weight; what is the weight range you would prefer in your mate? One man in Phoenix whom I found attractive said 137# was the top weight he'd consider. Wait! His top desired height is 5'10" and top desired weight is 137#? That's a BMI of 19.x! So I started looking at that field on other men's profiles. They all said something equally ridiculous. Do they even know what 137# looks like on a 5'8" or 5'9" or 5'10" woman? Do they understand the hormone problems of a woman over 50? Do they understand what childbirth does to a woman's midsection?

If I had a membership on that site, I'd write several of them notes gently explaining to them the impossibility they're requesting. But since I don't (and don't plan to), I'll just let them sit there and wonder why they're getting no e-mails from women.