"You are mine and I shall call you Squishy"

I hate the word "fat".  Hatehatehate.  It sounds so gross and nasty.  I don't even like it in reference to bacon, and if you know me, you know that's saying a lot. So, if you hear me talk about "squish", I'm referring to fat.  I find that I can be more accepting of my curvy parts if they're "squishy" instead of "fatty".  Doesn't "squishy" sound better?  It sounds cute...like "I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy." (thank you, Finding Nemo).

In any case, I got a lot of positive feedback on my last post, so I'd be remiss to not mention it in this one.  One comment was pretty poignant...it's not about weight, it's about being toned and being happy with your body.  That should be true...it really should.  But if you're me, and you're this goal-oriented being that lives to see numbers change, then it is about weight.  I can't do this by saying "Oh, I think my jeans fit better today".  It's so subjective.  Maybe I think my jeans fit better because I really want them to, not that they really do.

Anyway, it occurred to me that I have this scale in my bathroom that's been collecting dust needs new batteries.  And guess what, it measures body squish.  I'm not quite sure how it does it, but it seems to work.  I mean, who am I to argue with it?  If it said I weighed 200lbs, I could dispute that, but if it says my body squish % is x number, how would I know it was wrong?  Anyway, I guess as long as it's consistent, that's a number I can work with, instead of using weight (because honestly, in the morning, I'm 1.6lbs away from my goal, and I know if I lose 1.6lbs I'm still not going to be happy).


So, I dusted off put new batteries in my body squish scale, and it says I'm 27.7% squish (Gah!).  A friend of mine who seems to know what he's talking about, thinks that 25% is an attainable goal for me by 10/1 (although, I'm horrified that more than 1/4 of me is squish, but looking in the mirror, I totally believe it).  So that's the new goal.  I guess this means no more bacon (or cheese, or yummy things from my guilty pleasures list) for me. :(

I actually found a really informative site in my "body squish education" endeavor: http://www.bmi-calculator.net

Okay, so based on this, I'm 136.6lbs and 27.7% squish (as of this AM). That means I'm 37.84lbs of squish, and  98.76lbs of rest of me (gah, that's horrifying, but what kind of weight loss blogger would I be if I didn't just put it all out there?).  So I want to get down to 25%...that's 132.91lbs.  That's a larger goal than my 135lbs, but it's going to be a healthier goal.  And after that, I can aim for the "Fitness Level" of 21-24%.  So, for all of you that balked at me screaming I need to lose weight, is this more acceptable? :)

My side goal is to run under 30:00 in my next 5K (9/25).  My first 5K in July was 31:37, so I need to pick up the pace quite a bit.  Hoping maybe the two goals together will reach themselves :)

On an up note, I did some yoga this morning and ran 1.33 miles.  I also did some ab work yesterday and the day before (I'm feeling it today).  I just need to buckle down and start doing this stuff every morning.  Or at least SOMETHING.  This squish isn't going to lose itself!

P. Sherman
42 Wallaby Way
Sydney