Friday, November 21, 2008

BMI's are BULL

There. I said it. BMI charts are a buncha bull-puckey. For people like me, at least.

I'm a big girl. I always have been. I've got a big, stocky build. When I was thin I was still considered overweight according to the BMI charts though. If I were to be within normal range, i'd have to lose down to 150 lbs. For me to reach 150 lbs would be almost impossible. I haven't weighed that much since I was a sophomore in high school. And even then I think I was lying. But I was pretty thin. I was wearing a size 10. Still pretty big by high school girl size standards.

I've always LIKED being bigger though. I've got broad shoulders and a thick chest cavity. I was an athlete. It was to my advantage. I even had the bench press record in high school. I was a bad-ass that nobody messed with and I could take a hit in any game. I like contact sports and I like mixing it up and getting rough. Being bigger usually put me at an advantage there as well. I doled out two serious injuries in the Powderpuff Football game when I was a sophomore...and i gotta admit...it felt GOOD to hit like that.

I played college softball my freshman year at SUU in Cedar City. I was in the best physical shape of my life back then. I was working out 30 minutes a day on the exercise bike, practicing, lifting weights, catching for the pitchers, practicing in the batting cages and I worked all weekend and most nights. I had little time for classes and homework so I barely had time to eat. I was always eating on the run. I remember my roommate making sandwiches for me in between practice and work. She'd make me a chicken sandwich on 1 slice of whole wheat with a little bit of mustard on it and I'd usually grab a salad or something at work (I worked at a Golden Corral). I'd eat pasta with tomato sauce on it for lunch with a few raw veggies and a handful of cracklin' oat bran for breakfast on the run. I lost quite a bit of weight that year and weighed in at about 170 lbs. I wasn't completely fat free, but I looked good in my clothes and felt comfortable enough to walk down the beach in California in just my swimsuit..no shorts to cover my thighs.

But I was still considered overweight according to the BMI charts. Bull-puckey! Plus, I was pretty healthy.

But I still love my Diet Coke! lol

3 comments:

Karen Kaye said...

This is so great. Brilliant minds think alike. I posted a "fucking BMI" post this week too! Supposedly I'm just shy of obese. Yeah. Tell that to my 3 dragonboat medals, my 12th place triathlon finish and my marathon. Just this year. Stupid thing.

Good luck with the weightloss. We BBWs (Big Beautiful Women) will miss you at the meeting Lol!

Christine on the Edge said...

When I was at my thinnest and leanest just before I had Dylan I weighed 145 at 5'1" and wore a size 10-14. I thought I looked great. According to the charts, I should be 118. I haven't weighed that since 6th grade. If I lose that much weight, I'll look like a boy. Real women need some meat on 'em!

mamateena said...

Yeah,I wouldn't worry to much about the BMI just start eating healthier and the rest will follow. Also, break it down in smaller increments. Just 5 pounds at a time kiddo! Man I admire you putting all this out there to inspire people. You can do it!