Image: mikeyarger (Flickr)
What is it about big round numbers that we love so much? New Year’s Eve 1999 was a special event only because it signified the ticking over of our calendar to a big round number, not because it was the end of the second millennium CE: that was New Year’s Eve 2000 (treated as just another party by most). Maths aside, we respond to such things.
And I’m no exception. I weighed myself this morning and my heart skipped a beat as it flickered at 99.9 for a second before settling on 100.0kg. And I got off and weighed myself a second time, just to be sure.
I have reached a major milestone in my weight loss journey: a Big Round Number. Exactly 100kg. There are now exactly ten of me to a tonne.
I have not weighed 100kg (220lb) since I was in my late teens. I’ll need to double-check exactly how old: it’s the kind of thing my mother remembers. I’m feeling a little self-satisfied (you understand) and quite a bit relieved, as for many years I have tried to do exactly what I am doing now – following the government- and medical-recommended weight loss methods, but have never come close and in each instance my stomach thought my throat had been cut. Yes, it may be the First Law of Thermodynamics at its most basic, but ease of compliance must not be overlooked.
Still, there’s a long way to go before I reach my target weight of 85kg, which the BMI chart insists is Overweight. I’ll reassess things when I eventually reach 85kg (BMI 26.8). Although it’s a lot closer than it was in February, it still feels a long way off. Bring it on.
