Incredible Shrinking Woman, Part II

Yesterday my husband told me something interesting. He said I looked even thinner than I did when we took our trip to Maine. Now, I have only been home a week -- so I was a little surprised by the comment, but of course pleased. How could I not be?

This reminded me of that time months back when I woke up one day and suddenly my pants didn't fit anymore. I felt like I shrunk overnight. This is one of the things that amazes me about Optifast. The scale may show a slow loss rate (in my case) but when it comes to inches shed, the results are amazing. If I were only doing the program to look good in clothes, I'd wager a guess that I'd stop taking the products much sooner. BUT I am not losing sight of the very important issue of getting to the point where I have a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) as well. I have a goal weight of 160 lbs. that will mark that point. And subsequently, I will stay compliant until I reach it.

This does, however, raise some questions: Is it possible I will look too thin? And if that is the case, will people tell me to stop the program before I reach goal? Is the BMI really as important as they say it is? I guess on the first two questions, we'll just have to wait and see. On the last question, there are some physicians who argue that weight-loss patients should ignore the BMI figure. Others, like the ones at my clinic, place great importance on it. By choice, I have placed myself under the care of the Optifast doctors, so I will follow their advice.

I am lucky to have a husband who loves me no matter how I look. He loved me at 239 lbs. and loves me where I am now, at 192 lbs. So I am not losing weight and improving my appearance to impress him. Honestly, I am doing this for my health -- and I think knowing that and keeping it in the forefront of your mind is one of the key requirements for keeping your weight off. My sneaking suspicion has always been that many who plow the weight -- and then some -- back, lost sight of how important a healthy weight and BMI is to your life. Or never had that mindset in the beginning. I'm not going to fall into that camp.

Subsequently, while I delight in being an Incredible Shrinking Woman, I know I still have a ways to go to hit my proper BMI. And that's okay. This is a journey. And for me, it's for life.