In my efforts to get fit and get back to my ideal pre-pregnancy self, I have blogged quite a bit about weight, from public perceptions and media treatment of body image, and the dangers of trying to lose weight with stimulants, to how I personally feel and the efforts I’ve personally made to get fit. (I’ll add links below, if you’re interested.)
Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight is probably aware of Body Mass Index (BMI,) a typical tool used to gauge whether a person is overweight, based on height and weight. Here’s a pretty little chart to give you some idea of what I mean. Height and weight are plugged into the formula to give a BMI number, and then your number falls into general categories.
As you may imagine, however, this simplistic equation does not factor in either lean body mass, like muscle, which is heavier than fat, nor does it account for excess belly fat, so your results may not be 100% accurate. If you are healthy and comfortable with your body, don’t let these numbers get you down!
Where you to go to a gym and avail yourself of assistance from a personal trainer, they could give you a more accurate idea of whether or not your weight is healthy and right for your frame. They do this largely by taking measurements of your body (and likely a “pinch test”) and plugging them into another formula, thus taking in to account not only your weight, but it’s general distribution on you body.
Well, I don’t have a gym membership or my own personal trainer, so I workout at home, doing Jillian Michael’s Shred or some other of my favorite videos on YouTube (great if you don’t want to buy a workout DVD and be stuck with the same workout all the time) and I have an elliptical I use to do HIIT. I don’t own a scale (I use my neighbor’s,) but I take my basic measurements– you know, hips, waist, belly…
Yesterday, I got curious and looked for a more detailed BMI calculator online. This is what I found, and what it looked like when I plugged in my numbers. *Bear in mind it does not allow for half-inches or fractions of inches.
If you’d like to plug your numbers in, click here.
Okay, now… according to this, I am slightly overweight (I agree,) and I am “apple shaped” (disagree.) My ideal weight is approximately 125-130, which seems to almost correspond with this chart. But this chart does not account for the loads of muscle I have. I’ve always had a sort of athletic build, like a gymnast (fitting, since I used to engage in gymnastics, horseback riding, and then martial arts.) I have muscular thighs and…eh hem…a well developed gluteus.
So I’m putting it out there for you all (and myself.) This is what “overweight” looks like.
…minus the dirty bathroom mirror and carefully concealed face and bed-head
So, yeah… I could stand to lose a few more pounds, and I’m working on getting a smoother physique… But despite how hard I’ve been working and my mostly strict dedication to logging calories in My Fitness Pal, the going has been slow…Too slow for my tastes anyway. Because I love to eat, my calories restrictions are minimal, so the fat isn’t exactly melting off. Also, I have noticed since starting the 30 Day Shred (waaaay more than 30 days ago,) I have gotten a lot stronger. My arms are more toned. So I think I’m getting the job done, but the fat around the middle is just the last to go (stubborn shit.)
But I’m going to keep at it. If nothing else, I love how strong I feel lately. Even my volleyball serve has improved! And here, gentle readers, is where I’ll be posting the pics when I’m finally bikini ready once again. Besides, I have a horror convention to go to in July, and I plan on Cosplaying, so I need to be fit! Even if you are happy with your weight, you can never be too strong or too healthy, so join me and let’s support one another. Join me if you dare!
And, if you are already struggling with weight or are interested in fitness and body image, here are the links I promised.
Rather Weighty part Deux (What exactly constitutes an ideal body and what is your “ideal” body image?)
‘Eff you, Skinny Jeans!’ (Jeans, I defy you to damage my self-esteem!)
On My Little Pony and “Being Fat”
Below are some other articles about BMI.
Alright, off you go!
Related articles
- BMI – Is The Body Mass Index Formula Flawed? (medicalnewstoday.com)
- Is BMI just a bunch of BS? (saltyrunning.com)
alienredqueen 
Girl, I wish I had your body!
Awww…thx… I don’t think I look like an apple. 😦
YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE AN APPLE!
And if they say you look like an apple, it’s one good looking apple. Haha. 😛
Hahaha! Shucks…. would you eat me? 😉
Well, how do you taste? 😉
Spot on about BMI. It’s a ridiculous tool. And what’s sad is that BMI is usually what is referenced when you hear all the statistics about how “overweight” Americans are.
Well, that much may be so…but what I see when I go to Walmart seems to support the data. LOL
Hahaha true indeed. Although I still think the number are, for lack of a better word, inflated.
Yep… the that’s why I wish I had a personal trainer to take all the appropriate measurements (they did my arms, legs, pinch test, all sorts of crap– and I don’t even know what formula they used to figure it out, but they were able to tell me how much muscle I gained and how much fat I lost by the changing measurements!)