At work today, I’ve looked at dozens and dozens of traffic tickets.  And oddly enough, the one thing I always seem to glance at is that one number.  No, it’s not their age or height.  I always look at the driver’s weight.

I always find it curious when people list their weight as like 156, 123, 217, or 189, for example.  I had just thought that most people rounded up to the nearest number that ended with a 5 or 0.  Why would you state your weight as 156, when you could really say 155?  Especially when your weight fluctuates….?  Or maybe that person that weighs 156 ACTUALLY weighs in more commonly at 160.  Do we really live in a culture where lying about those 4 pounds matter?

Maybe it’s because I’ve always had a weird relationship with my driver’s license and my weight.  For awhile there, I was at least 10 pounds heavier than my driver’s license said I was (and I kinda felt bad about it).  Now, I am about 1-2 pounds lighter than it shows (which makes me feel awesome!  all that hard work paid off!).  So here’s the question, when I eventually get my driver’s license renewed, would I really care to point out that I actually weigh less this time around?  Probably not.

Anyway, random thoughts.  I’d be curious to know what you all think about drivers license weights…

• Do we put too much emphasis on them? 

• Is it important to you to put your EXACT weight? 

• Did you lie when asked for your weight for your driver’s license?

If you look at the history of my tumblr, I rarely talk about the ‘numbers.’  I haven’t posted how much I weighed before I started my running journey in January, nor what I weight now.  This was a conscious decision on my part, because weight wasn’t the main purpose of this tumblr blog.  Sure, I wanted to lose a few pounds at the start, but I knew that once I changed my diet and my exercise habits, my body would decide what my happy, healthy weight is.

However, it’s now over 4 months later, and I still don’t know what my happy weight is.  A happy weight could be many things; it could be:

• the weight that “science” says I should be (the lowest weight in the “healthy” range of the BMI scale, the lowest weight in the “healthy” range of the body fat scale, the weight that a “happy weight” calculator says I should be, etc.)
• the weight that my body wants to settle at
• the weight that will allow me to wear anything I want without feeling self-conscious
• the weight where I don’t feel as if I am starving myself
• the weight my mom thinks I should be at
• the weight my mom was when she got married

The list could go on and on.

In researching this area, I stumbled upon this calculator: Self.com’s Happy Weight Calculator.  It asks you a series of questions (height, age, frame size, how many days a week you work out, whether you are pregnant, whether you recently quit smoking, whether you have an obese sibling or parent, and whether you allow yourself treats) to determine a “happy weight.”  However, even this seemingly comprehensive tool confused me.  Why should my happy weight be more if I allow myself treats or have an obese sibling/parent?  Why should my happy weight be less if I work out more?  While the calculator told me that I am about a pound away from my happy weight, I found this number to be without any significant meaning.

I then looked for more information about happy weights, healthy weights, or racing weights (since I am attempting to turn myself into a racer).  I saw all sorts of advice, based on BMIs, body fat, or specific diets.  But all of it seemed to conflict with each other, so I got frustrated and gave up.

If you ask my mom, she would say that I need to stop losing weight.  Granted, I only weight a pound or two less than my college weight.  Yet, when I asked close friends and the boyfriend for reassurance that I didn’t look like a skeleton, they told me I looked healthy and toned.  Talk about confusing.

So what will I do?  NOT WORRY ABOUT IT!  Someday I’d like to get my body fat measured, since I think this is the most accurate way of determining a healthy weight.  But right now, that’s not in the cards.  Instead of focusing on my scale, this is what I focus on:

• fitness goals (I dream of Sydney Bristow abs from Alias…

and toned Michelle Rodriguez arms…

and 8 minute miles)

• eating healthfully most of the time, AND
• determining what foods and activities make me feel my best.

I trust that my body will figure out what weight is good for it.  Because weight is just another number.