5'7", 110 lbs, 38D? BULLSHIT!

So I'm trying to lose a few pounds. What women isn't? Whatever you do, ladies, don't open a Playboy.

The lowest weight I ever reached in my life was 124. That was when I was working my hardest job ever...department manager of flooring at Home Depot in Plano, TX. I was constantly moving...pacing the cement floors with customers, heaving 20 lb. boxes of vinyl tile, 50 lb. boxes of ceramic tile, 30 lb. bags of grout, endless rolls of heavy carpet...you name it. It got to the point that I was stronger than some of my male customers. I had one waifish fellow ask me to find him someone to help him lift the new box of heavy porcelain tile I just sold him, aso I picked it up for him, easily. He didn't say much after that.

As a worked this job I didn't even notice the weight dropping off. All I knew was that after about 5 months I could take my smallest jeans off without unbuttoning them. I started lifting weights at a gym in order to keep general muscle strength up. After about 2 grueling weeks of working overnights to prepare for inventory, I was actually getting sick. I might have dropped to 120 for all I knew. But I was wasted, tired, drained. After the overnights were done with I started looking for another job. In retrospect, I could have been eating way more calories than I did, but in general my diet was pretty good.

I mention this episode because 120 doesn't sound too thin, does it? Not for a girl who stands 5'5" with a classic mesomorph body type, which is basically good musculature, hourglass figure and ability to put on both muscle or fat pretty easily. 120 sounds thin alright, just not too damned thin. But it was. You see, I could only reach that weight after working a job that forced me to move all day long. I was really an athlete in training, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Not too many people can live like that constantly, and who the hell can go to the gym that long?

When you read Playboy (we have a subscription, and it's a great mag!) you find they like to mention the stats of the models. Sheila is 5'7", weighs 110, and is a 38D. PUH-LEASE!!!! Are they subtracting her tits in that equation or what? Honestly, mine must weigh 5 lbs each! Now, I know Playboy is all about airbrushing and the illusion of perfection, and those stats are probably bullshit. But they're out there, feeding the illusion women struggle each day to attain, thinking men want that too. Maybe they do. Playboy isn't the only place you'll see a girl with great curves and big boobs telling her audience she only weighs 110.

I used to subscribe to muscle and fitness mags for women. It's there that you find the more realistic stats. Women in those mags, although their bodies are perfect (at least for the photo shoot), you don't see ridiculous bodyweights of 110. They average around 130, more or less depending on height. When you watch the Olympics, the women athletes are healthy, strong, and usually weigh in the 130's, again depending on body mass and type of sport.

So, I'm 140. I wear size 6 dress, 8 in jeans. I will never see 124 again unless I get my old job back at Home Depot, and I don't want it. I can't live my life like that anymore, although I do know the key to keeping weight down is simply just moving more and eating less. My injury, while it prevents me from biking 20 miles or running like I used to, gets even worse if I sit all day. I have to move just to keep it from getting worse. I can't ever have a sit-down job again. Go figure.

These days I speed walk with weights, and have even started jogging (not running...keeping the heels close to ground to reduce impact) with weights. I'll be investing in a weight vest because that is far more safer for the body than the injuries you could possibly get from swinging weights around with your arms. I've been so busy I haven't been to the gym, but I do a series of pilates for my core, I do pushups and tricep dips, and I do these about 3-4 times a week. I've lost about 5 lbs in the past month alone, down from around 145-ish.

(Looking for a great way to flatten and strengthen your belly? Screw crunches. Go pilates! I can't do crunches anyway since it pulls right on my sciatic. You won't lose body fat, but how powerful and flat you'll feel!)

My goal weight is 135. It's realistic and healthy. The lowest I'll go will be 130, but I'm not going to go nuts trying to get there. I'm not even sure I could if I wanted to. Even 140 is fine, since a lot of it, I like to tell myself, is muscle....and boob!