Beaten Up By BMI?

hippoellie

hippoellie

CDC
Morning All,
What a strange set of emotions I have been through this morning. I am weighing myself at the moment so I know what I weigh before and after my holiday diet break- next official weigh in is next Thursday.

So this morning my BMI fell to 29.9:eek::D

And it made me cry:cry::cry: because I am now no longer classed as obese, but only overweight...it was a huge emotional barrier and a physical one I couldn't imagine reaching EVER in my life.

But I also feel a bit :mad::sigh:. Because I am now a size 14- yet still I am classed by my BMI as being on the verge of obese. I don't look 'fat' anymore (not even to me), but my Doctor would weigh me and still issue me with a diet sheet or suggest drugs to get my weight down and down so I can reach a healthy BMI. For me at 5ft3 a healthy BMI means 10 stones- I reckon by then I will be size 10. To get to my 'ideal' weight to height ratio I would need to be 8 stone 3- by then size 8 would be big on me, and I might be able to get into size 6.

I'm sorry, but that is bloody ridiculous!! Why are we so driven by this thing called BMI. Why am I now a whole different category of person in the eyes of the medical profession and the government just because I am one pound lighter than yesterday? I feel fantastic now, and I do want to lose more- but I don't want to be 8 stone! Yet there are charts and policies and edicts out there that say that is what I SHOULD be!

I know, I know- I have learned through this diet that my weight is my choice and that I can choose the weight I want to be and hopefully maintain that. But if MY ideal weight doesn't conform to some set of rules, I'll still be getting beaten up because of my BMI.:mad::confused:

I met a friend this morning who has not seen me since I lost weight- it was great she made such a fuss of me and told me I looked wonderful (and that I looked wonderful when I was bigger too) and I told her I still had 2 stone to lose and she said- that's way too much! You'll be too skinny! But then I told her that I am still overweight according to my BMI, and that 2 stone would only just get me to healthy BMI and her attitude changed- suddenly it was okay to lose that weight that a minute before was too much. She wasn't being nasty at all- she has just been conditioned like the rest of us to rely on BMI.

Beaten up by BMI
Skinny arm
and skinny thigh
Doesn't matter
When its too high!

Sorry- I ain't no poet!;)

Happy Saturday everyone- sun is out here, but I am going to stay in and do some more of my life coaching course and focus on something other than me weight for a few hours!
 
Hi Kathy, congrat's on ur loss so far.. i'm 5.3 and when i weighed 10st i was a size 12 bmi 25 and my doctor told me that was healthy, go with a weight u feel comfortable with and don't worry about figures.
 
Hey Kathy, I come across this very issue with clients all the time. They want to aim for a healthy BMI but slowly come to realise that for many of them it 'feels' unrealistic - they are happy being a size 12/14, even if by the charts they are still overweight.

I thought I read somewhere that they are changing the way they calculate obesity, etc but can't remember where.

Your weight loss is fantastic, and I reckon you should be well proud of yourself - don't let that BMI number beat you, just open a can of :whoopass: on it as you slink along looking sexy! ;)
 
Thanks girlies- as ever you are making me smile- especillay you DQ. I have been meaning to say your avatar photo is stunningly beautiful! That smile cheers me up every time I see it- so keep on posting!
 
Works the other way too. I am 5ft 8 and weight 11 stone 6 - my BMI is 24.6 - so in the healthy range - however I feel enormous and still am a size 14/16.

It is definately what you feel comfortable being and so much depends on your build and muscle mass too.
 
Hi Tashy- never thought of it from the other way round so thanks for posting that- you are so right, it must first and foremost be how comfortable we feel in our own bodies.
 
You've done fantastically well and don't let that BMI get you down, you feel good, you look good and that's important. I think BMI figures are misleading, there's so much that isn't taken into account and although it's a guide, I don't think it should be set in stone that you HAVE to get under BMI 25. It doesn't take into account your build or muscle mass you may have, I had a client who was a horse rider and although overweight was very fit, she lost a couple of stone and got her BMI down to 26 and looked tiny, but she felt she needed to lose more to get her BMI down to a lot lower, but she finally accepted that she was muscular, which wasn't accounted for on the BMI figures and that yes she did look good and didn't need to lose anymore and happily decided to stop where she was.

Feel proud of your achievements, you've done really well :)
xx
 
Thanks MD- common sense as usual! I have to say my hip bones (yes I do have them- much to my surprise they emerged in early July) are enormous!! Talk about child-bearing- I could probably carry an elephant with no trouble...well except for the getting it out bit OUCH! So I think my skeletal frame must be on the large side even though I am a shorty- still no jokes about I'm not fat I'm just big-boned LOL
 
You're doing so well!

There are loads of milestone on the diet that realy get your head wizzing about & I'm glad that some of the more experienced CDers were about to help you put things in perspective.

I have to say though when I read you're post I initially thought you'd had an unfortunate incident with an airline. Yeah I know... I'll get my coat!
 
Well done on your great weight loss :party0011:

Ignore the BMI and stop when you feel happy with how you are :). BMI is a very crude measure. If you've a large frame for your height and / or have a lot of muscle you can be healthy at a supposedly high BMI.

I have the opposite problem - under all the fat I have a small frame so to be the right weight need a low BMI :p
 
Hi Hun, I had a discussion on Mindless diary re BMI, and I am of the firm belief that one size does not fit all.

Im 5 ft 4 and my goal weight is 11st, a weight I was before DD went to hospital and it went a bit belly up, and that means that my bmi is 26 or there abouts when Im at goal.

I love my goal weight, Im a size 12 on the bottom and a 14 top at this weight, my problem is that I have a massive boobilage and that isnt ever gonna change.

My hip bones are large too, they stick out, so there aint a cat in hells chance Im going lower, it hurts if I walk in to my desk now, never mind if I lost any more than what I want to!!!

Take each bit at a time, and if you stop at a bmi of slightly higher then thats fab, you see, my main thing is, that a BMI for me of 26, is a darn sight healthier than the BMI of 35 that I was for many years!!!!
 
I had a similar conversation with a friend the other day. She'd been to the doctor who decided to weigh her and said she was very underweight. But she has a tiny frame, does not look emaciated and can eat whatever she likes without putting on weight.
I must admit I don't know what my ideal weight should be and hope I recognise it when I get there as it's so hard to judge how you look. I used to think that I looked ok as I'm so tall but seeing myself in a photo next to someone I know soon put me straight.
 
Thanks for these thoughtful and thought-provoking posts. I think that recognising my own ideal weight is an important step for me (for everyone?)- because if I think I am in a range of weight that could go down- well might that range also go up, and perhaps creep up knowing me?

Anyway I know what you mean CanI- when I lie on my side at night my boney knees rub together- skinny people must be really uncomfortable with that happening all the time. I remember when they were like air cushions! And BMI of 29.9 or 25 is way better than the 43 I was (and more than that before- I think at my heaviest I was 48).!
 
tashy100 said:
Works the other way too. I am 5ft 8 and weight 11 stone 6 - my BMI is 24.6 - so in the healthy range - however I feel enormous and still am a size 14/16.

It is definately what you feel comfortable being and so much depends on your build and muscle mass too.
Click to expand...

Im just the same as you Tashy, Im 5 foot 7 and 10 stone my BMI is something like 22 but I still have thunder thighs and a very flabby belly and back fat. Its funny how it works :rolleyes:
 
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