The Slimmest Spouse - Competition Begins

It's times like these that I know why God gave me Donovan to torture.

I didn't quite explain to him that I was going to chronicle this competition day-by-day on my blog. I knew I could get away with it, though. After 10 years together, nothing I do suprises him at all. I know down to the depths of my soul that if I woke up one morning and informed him that I had adopted a baby from Malawi he'd say, "Alright, but I have to work late tonight so I'm not getting up for any diaper changes." I don't even get a raised eyebrow anymore.

It also helped that only about 12 of you read this, so thank you to all the people who have found something better to do.

Today started out pretty good for me. I had indulged in far too many holiday snacks, so I was motivated to trim off the excess before it was too late. I weighed in at 127.6 pounds. For those of you that I haven't seen in awhile, last May I lost 40 pounds at Weight Watchers. I had set my goal weight at the very top of the healthy range for my height so that I could pay for the fewest amount of weeks on the plan. I've always felt I could take off a few more.

Keeping off the weight is always a challenge, so I'm really excited to shed a few more pounds. Like so many yo-yo dieters, I'm sort of an 'all or nothing' personality. If I decide to have a cookie, just give me the whole box. Cake batter is my favorite dinner. If it's sugary and I get started on it I think, "Well, I've already blown it so let's get these in my stomach and out of the pantry so I won't be tempted tomorrow."

Donovan rolled out of bed with a migraine. At the point where he had to decide whether to decapitate me or sew my lips shut, he got on the scale. 179 pounds. He's pretty proud of himself and decided that he didn't need to diet. I knew I was going to lose his interest if I didn't up the ante. I taunted him a little bit and then checked his BMI (Body Mass Index.) He is indeed over weight. I checked my own and found I was at the very tippity top of the healthy range... so close that a slice of cheesecake would push me over the edge.

Now that he was on board, we debated how we'd measure our success. At first, Donovan wanted to do it Biggest Loser style and go by percentage of body fat lost, with the goal of being the first to lose 10% of their body weight. For him, that is nearly 18 pounds. I can't imagine him that skinny and I don't think at that weight there'd be sufficient pudge to manipulate his belly button into a smiley face. That idea was out.

Next we decided to go by percentage of BMI improvement, but that is just too much freakin' math.

So, we will determine the winner by whomever loses 10 pounds first. In order to keep the momentum, our goal is to end the competition within the next 4 to 6 weeks.

The prize still hasn't been determined. But when I win, it will involve him dealing with chicken poop for a very long time.

Onto the details...

I woke up late and had plenty of coffee - I never have been nor will be a breakfast person. Donovan's migraine prevented him from eating... that and he fell back asleep for an hour or so. At lunch time he announced he was making ravioli and grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (puke). I think I'm winning already. I had 2 servings of fat-free chili (8 WW points). I teased Donovan about his poor food choices so he pulled everything out and did a calorie count. According to his calculations, that was a 600 calorie lunch. Because he's not a seasoned dieter, he forgot to count the butter that he used to grill that monstrosity. Ha ha. Don't say anything.

In an interview for this blog, I asked him what his strategy was going to be. "All moderation and switching to light beer." I can feel myself winning already.

I have a proven method of success. After years of self-destructive eating habits in order to lose weight I found Weight Watchers. This isn't an endorsement of their program, but when I eat the reccomended 20 points a day, I lose weight... period. Whether it is fun or tasty is totally beside the point.

Don't count him out, though. Donovan could be the dark horse here. He's male, he's got more weight (potentially) to lose, and he hasn't slapped around his metabolism his whole life as I have.

Game on.

So, here's the breakdown:

12/31/09

Kelsey
127.6 pounds
BMI: 24.1

Donovan
179 pounds
BMI: 25.7

To check your own BMI, go to: www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/