Numbers

I never really tracked my weight. The earliest that I can remember paying attention to my weight was in my late 20s. It wasn't really something I cared about. For many years I didn't have a scale.

During and after having my kids, I started to pay attention to my weight, but I was always overweight by at least 5-10 lbs for my height. And with each kid, came more weight.

I remember when I was 39 talking to my doctor about my weight gain and her saying that our metabolism drops by half by the time we reach our 30s and that by the time we reach our 40s, we are pretty much at our set weight for the rest of our lives. I found this to be horribly discouraging as I approached middle-age.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is something that I have never achieved the "average" or "normal" level of. I was always overweight and sometimes considered "obese" by this measurement.

With my efforts started this past Fall to lose weight, I decided to invest and got a Weight Watchers scale that measured weight, fat percentage, bone mass, and water percentage. And I track these in a spreadsheet, along with my body measurements, so I can see my progress.

As of this morning, I weigh 125.1 lbs. I have never weighed this little as far as I can remember. That also means I have lost 42 lbs since last August. This blows my mind!

My body fat is 26.1% which also surprises me to have achieved this level. Or 32.5 lbs of me are fat (which is a not so nice way to look at it, but its honest).

My bones account for 5.6% of my body weight, which is interesting to know.

And there is the previously-dreaded BMI and now it's 23.0, which is in the "normal" range for the first time ever in my life! So wild!

Body water is 54.1% which again is interesting to see.

Now there's no accounting for accuracy of this scale and its measurements, but it's still a great tool to track progress.

It has absolutely been integral to not only tracking my progress and celebrating my achievements, but also in keeping me motivated.

It's not often that we hear of or see in the media a middle-aged mom who has lost this amount of weight. Let alone on my own, without a trainer, or chef, or surgery. I've searched online for stats on this and there aren't any.

I'm proving that doctor wrong! I'm still losing weight and I'm super excited and curious to see how my body continues to transform and evolve!