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Friday, May 17, 2013

Body Type VS BMI

I am a firm believer that BMI is a load of crap. At my smallest (size 4 or 6 depending on brand.. someday I will get there again!) I was still considered "overweight" by the BMI chart.



At that time, I was not overweight and yet according to this stupid chart I was. I based my worth and confidence off of that number, and I shouldn't have. I have an athletic build with broad shoulders and am naturally muscular. I build muscle easily, which also means my body packs on fat easily. 



 (I fall under Mesomorph, an overweight mesomorph, but one none the less). You can find a calculator to determine where you fall HERE Side note: No matter my weight (I've been everywhere between 145-220), I never have hips. I can't keep pants up for the life of me. What the heck? 

No matter how much I lose or how small I am, I will never look like an ectomorph. Think Kate Moss, Audrey Hepburn. Ectomorphs are naturally skinny with little muscle definition, narrow shoulders, small chested. That is not me, at least without some major surgery. I would make myself sick trying to look like them. 

I also cannot be an endomorph. I don't gain weight the same, and I don't have a hard time losing pounds. (Which means I have even less of an excuse to be the weight I am). Think Oprah here.

There are healthy variations of all these body types. We have no control over where we fall, it's all genetically pre-determined and yet BMI does not take this into account. It's pounds vs height only. I know all this, I believe all this, and yet I can't get that pesky number out of my mind. I still want to fall within the "healthy" BMI range. 

When I started all this just over 2 months ago, my BMI was 33.5. As of my weigh-in this past Sunday, I am at 31.8. By their definition, this makes me obese. It's hard to type those words and see it in black and white. But it's the truth. Anything over 30 is obese. To be at a "normal" weight, I need a BMI under 25 which is roughly 144 lbs for my height. 

I have decided to track my BMI throughout this process again. Not to necessarily define my health or my worth by this number, but rather as a guideline for myself. Mainly out of plain curiosity. 

What are everyone's thoughts on BMI? Like it or no?












5 comments:

  1. It's frustrating that I am in the best shape of my life and I'm still considered "overweight". I am healthy and look better, but a doctor sees the number on the chart and assumes I am too heavy. Insurance companies look at the number. It is so frustrating!

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    1. Right? It's ridiculous. BMI is so outdated, everyone needs to catch up!

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  2. When exactly were those BMI charts created? Back when like, only 10% of America was overweight? Things like this really need to be updated more often!

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  3. Ah-- SO refreshing to read this! BMI should NOT be used as benchmark for healthiness!! I'm 5'6" and will not even be IN "healthy" range until I weigh 154 lbs. Meaning that even at 155 and 5'6" i will STILL BE OVERWEIGHT. I will obviously still look at my BMI, just for tracking, but it's not going to define MY body measurement. Thank you for this!!

    Carolyn @ http://fitnastyforlife.com

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    1. I'm going to use it as another way to track my progress as well, other than that, who needs it!? Thanks for stopping by. :)

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