BMI - An excuse for people to be fat?

Recently I had a doctors appointment. She asked me whether I'd lost weight, when I informed her that I had indeed lost 3kgs, she took my height and typed some numbers into her computer. She then declared triumphantly, "you're too thin".
I asked her whether she had heard of a Dexa Scan and pointed out to her that it takes into account muscle mass and bone density and that I was sitting at 25% body fat (about 8 weeks ago). 
She chose to ignore that and proceeded to tell me that I could weigh up to 72kg's and still be in a healthy weight range. 
Hmmm maybe I should just go and eat some cake? 
Incidentally, my current weight is 55.4kg and I strongly believe that if I weighed 72kg, I would either be on roids or fat! 


So what is BMI? I did a brief google search and got hundreds of offers to help calculate it, this is what it looks like:

A typical interpretation of the results look like this: 

below 18.5 = Underweight

18.5 to 24.9 = Ideal

25.0 to 29.9 = Overweight

30.0 and above = Obese

Mr FT would be classed as obese according to the BMI, yet he sits at 11% body fat and has a firm 6 pack (swooooon). *sorry

Does that even make sense? 

Thanks to the www.npr.org website, I found 10 reasons on why BMI is a load of B***** 

1. The person who dreamed up the BMI said explicitly that it could not and should not be used to indicate the level of fatness in an individual.

The BMI was introduced in the early 19th century by a Belgian named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He was a mathematician, not a physician. He produced the formula to give a quick and easy way to measure the degree of obesity of the general population to assist the government in allocating resources. In other words, it is a 200-year-old hack.

2. It is scientifically nonsensical.

There is no physiological reason to square a person's height (Quetelet had to square the height to get a formula that matched the overall data. If you can't fix the data, rig the formula!). Moreover, it ignores waist size, which is a clear indicator of obesity level.

3. It is physiologically wrong.

It makes no allowance for the relative proportions of bone, muscle and fat in the body. But bone is denser than muscle and twice as dense as fat, so a person with strong bones, good muscle tone and low fat will have a high BMI. Thus, athletes and fit, health-conscious movie stars who work out a lot tend to find themselves classified as overweight or even obese.

4. It gets the logic wrong.

The CDC says on its Web site that "the BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for people." This is a fundamental error of logic. For example, if I tell you my birthday present is a bicycle, you can conclude that my present has wheels. That's correct logic. But it does not work the other way round. If I tell you my birthday present has wheels, you cannot conclude I got a bicycle. I could have received a car. Because of how Quetelet came up with it, if a person is fat or obese, he or she will have a high BMI. But as with my birthday present, it doesn't work the other way round. A high BMI does not mean an individual is even overweight, let alone obese. It could mean the person is fit and healthy, with very little fat.

5. It's bad statistics.

Because the majority of people today (and in Quetelet's time) lead fairly sedentary lives and are not particularly active, the formula tacitly assumes low muscle mass and high relative fat content. It applies moderately well when applied to such people because it was formulated by focusing on them. But it gives exactly the wrong answer for a large and significant section of the population, namely the lean, fit and healthy. Quetelet is also the person who came up with the idea of "the average man." That's a useful concept, but if you try to apply it to any one person, you come up with the absurdity of a person with 2.4 children. Averages measure entire populations and often don't apply to individuals.

6. It is lying by scientific authority.

Because the BMI is a single number between 1 and 100 (like a percentage) that comes from a mathematical formula, it carries an air of scientific authority. But it is mathematical snake oil.

7. It suggests there are distinct categories of underweight, ideal, overweight and obese, with sharp boundaries that hinge on a decimal place.

That's total nonsense.

8. It makes the more cynical members of society suspect that the medical insurance industry lobbies for the continued use of the BMI to keep their profits high.

Insurance companies sometimes charge higher premiums for people with a high BMI. Among such people are all those fit individuals with good bone and muscle and little fat, who will live long, healthy lives during which they will have to pay those greater premiums.

9. Continued reliance on the BMI means doctors don't feel the need to use one of the more scientifically sound methods that are available to measure obesity levels.

Those alternatives cost a little bit more, but they give far more reliable results.

10. It embarrasses the U.S.

It is embarrassing for one of the most scientifically, technologically and medicinally advanced nations in the world to base advice on how to prevent one of the leading causes of poor health and premature death (obesity) on a 200-year-old numerical hack developed by a mathematician who was not even an expert in what little was known about the human body back then.

Now who is prepared to go and get some real results? For those of you Sydney based you may want to try your own dexa scan. http://www.measureup.com.au/

Did I mention I have a small problem with Sugar?

Now is probably a good time to mention why I have decided to embark on this adventure to the stage. Originally, I thought (as did Mr FT), that it would be good to have a goal to work towards. Having been motivated by my vanity for a while, I was getting increasingly frustrated with my lack of results. The issue didn't lie with my training, that's the easy part for me. No, it was my diet. 

As I've said in earlier posts, I certainly wasn't eating fast food or getting take-away every night. It was more to do with the fact I always gave in to my wants and needs and what I wanted was sugar, I neeeeeded sugar.   A cake here, some chocolate there….no concerns whatsoever about whether it would hold me back. 

Then I hit 30 and gradually a little layer of podge began to grow…Luckily, I only went up to a size 10, but my clothes were tighter and my frank brother in-law pointed out that I looked a bit pregnant in some holiday pictures. 

So came the decision to get on the stage in a bikini with a slightly scary tan. I knew it wouldn't be easy but I never knew how hard it would be. In feb, I also enrolled to study Nutrition with the view to becoming a health coach. I will now be able to fully understand what it is like to change an unhealthy eating habit. 

 I have an emotional attachment to food, I think we all do. Occasions revolve around food, going out for breakfast at the weekend, lunch with the girls, a romantic dinner or a little gathering over a BBQ. Not to mention boredom eating, emotional eating, rewarding with food….it is literally endless. I have retired my social life for the foreseeable future (or the next 9.5 weeks). 

I met a friend the other weekend for coffee, or I thought it was coffee but she ordered food. Not just any food but poached eggs on a bed of wild mushrooms, served with sourdough and avocado….as I watched her eat, and yes I watched her (creepy).  I felt the resentment bubbling up inside me….the ridiculous thing is that she didn't make me do this comp, I choose to. 

I have also noticed that my senses are stronger than ever, the smell of toast (which I could always leave rather than take), tickles my tastebuds. A whiff of chocolate and I am drooling, don't even mention Peanut butter. It's actually getting to the stage where I have to ask FT to hide any contra and warn me before he commences consumption of a banned substance, usually I'll just notice the evidence in the bin, kind of sweet really. 

I knew it was bad but the true magnitude of this addiction was revealed on an innocent weekend away. Looking after FT's parents house. His very generous Mother had left an array of Easter eggs to greet us at the door. I quickly scooped them up and put them in the cupboard, hoping to forget their existence. It didn't work. We took the dogs for a beautiful walk to the beach, the sun was shining and I was busy having an internal battle trying to rationalise how I could justify having just one. 

On our return to the house, FT disappeared off and left me to my own devices….those devices led me to the cupboard, It was the mini creme eggs that got me in the end. 'Just one'!  I thought……He was gone just long enough for me to wolf the whole bag down…barely stopping to enjoy them, so fearful was I of getting caught. He returned as I was about to sit on the sofa (I'd already disposed the evidence in a stealth manner).  FT reads me pretty well though and he knew I'd been up to something. Perhaps it was the giggling that gave me away. He made me promise him that I hadn't eaten any…I lied whilst avoiding his eyes. 

Cardinal rule broken. Never lie to each other, always be honest. THAT IS THE SIGN OF AN ADDICT. Hiding it, lying about it (do you ever do the same?).

I did fess up later that day when he remarked how well I'd done this last week, he was pretty hurt as I always pride myself on my often brutal honesty, but I think he could see how I recognised that this was the sign of a true problem.  

So there you have it. The battle is underway, it isn't getting easier. This weekend will be 9 weeks out and I am planning on stopping the dessert that might accompany my weekly treat meal. I have also purchased Sarah Wilson's 'I Quit sugar'. I am ready to kick this habit. 

My body dysmorphia continues to grow…

So it’s been 5 weeks since I’ve kicked off the 1300 calories per day diet (or eating plan as I like to call it). 

With the competition date changes here and there, can I honestly say that I have been 100% consistent - that would be a no.

Not only have I faced my battle with the sugar monster but also a battle in the transition from eating five small meals a day and NEVER being hungry, to three measured meals, a couple of snacks and constant hunger, which means I turn hangry (hunger + angry = hangry). There is also a part of me that feels that if I’m not eating enough calories, how will I then grow muscles?

Let me give you some scope here. It was probably last November when I decided that I would like to add and tick off, 'compete in a Bikini Competition' from my bucket list..from that point on, the girl who has never needed to be on a 'diet' had to start taking a good hard look at my food consumption (on most days I was eating more than my massive man). I started to become far more aware of my eating. It wasn't that I ate unhealthy before, I have always been a fan of cooking delicious, nutritious food BUT I did have a large tendency to bake cakes and cookies (from scratch - none of the pre -prepared crap that seems to be so popular here) and eat it raw because there was nothing else naughty in the house, I just generally ate what I felt like, should the (usually sugar driven) urge take me, I also had the mentality that as long as I trained hard, I wouldn’t need to worry.

I got that wrong.

So on my then trainers advise; I began adopting the Poliquin style of eating. Which involves red meat and nuts for breaky, meat and nuts for morning tea and meat and veg or fish and veg for my last 3 meals of the day.  

Not only was it expensive, but it was boring too, I missed my fruit and craved a little more variety!

Cue the New Year and new program. I have been thrilled with my new eating plan which has such a varied and balanced approach but I have constant emotions which range from - 'I'm still too fat' (remember 25% body fat), to 'I have no muscle'!! 

 Now, annoyingly I didn't take my measurements at the start of this diet/eating plan, nor did I weigh myself as I don't really think that would be the most accurate way to gauge, **remember people muscle weighs more than fat! 

So, all I have is my own body dysmorphic perspective and maybe old Mr FT - fat traps (his new nickname).

This is a frequent (and yes boring) discussion about my body in our household and it will generally go:

Me: "do you think I've lost weight?" 

*FT sighs, "Yes baby, definitely"

Me: "You're just staying that to be nice aren't you?" 

FT: "No, I see it round your legs"

Me *Sighs* "I don't believe you"

This conversation has taken place multiple times since starting my official comp prep 5 weeks ago….I often feel sorry for FT, he has had to take on the role of cheerleader and motivator.

Whilst every few weeks I have freak outs about it being too hard, these freak outs, I'm a little ashamed to say, often result in tears (and maybe a small tantrum). 

For example, this weekend just gone. I was trying to look at my (still non existent) ass in the mirror and wondering- How.The.Hell am I ever going to feel confident getting on stage when I have no muscle, the end result was my inner voice telling me sternly to quit (and possibly eat some cake), in stepped Mr Motivator- he won't let me quit, so instead we brain stormed solutions…..

That was how I came to the conclusion that I need a coach that is specifically trained for preparing girls for competitions, someone that is present and involved with me while I go through this process, someone that can prescribe me a not always fun, but results driven comp diet that will help build muscle, someone that can give me a good kick up the butt if my willpower falters but also get really excited when I (hopefully) progress, (my inner child gets really pleased when I please other people). So, whilst I still hope to work with my current trainers post comp, I need to think about my end goal right now. 

Watch this space. 

Did someone say.....dessert buffet?

The biggest thing about training for a comp is how anti-social you become. I can't speak for everyone else but when willpower is vertically non-existent when it comes to all things sugary, I find it better to avoid situations where I may have to see/smell/touch it. Of course I'm not just talking cake and chocolate here because hopefully most people realise now, that sugar is laden in most things from drinks to many types of cuisine, its the one addiction that is socially acceptable in today's society.

So being the first big event since embarking on this journey, I knew this wedding was going to have the sugar monster literally itching to burst out. 

In preparation for the ensuing hunger the seems to emerge more frequently on a 1300 cal diet and also after a lovely ceremony and post marriage photos, I will admit to packing a few provisions, chicken in a ziplock bag and a protein brownie (so I wouldn't feel so bad on missing out on dessert). 

I didn't actually end up requiring them because it wasn't long before the stunning ceremony was over and I was begging the GF (genetic freak) to let me have some of the bread roll on offer and gratefully sipping on my allotted glass of Red. 

We had a serving of pasta for starter (I literally couldn't tell you when I last had pasta), so before the GF could even blink it was gulped down feverishly. 

The main was swordfish so certainly healthy enough for me with the added bonus of being tasty too!, It only started to hurt when the dessert buffet started to be laid out. 

The picture below sums up how I felt. (Maybe if I don't look at it I'll forget that it's there)

The GF could see my resolve beginning to crumble, I even resorted to begging for a lemon tart, or perhaps one of the divine looking mini cupcakes, he always responds with flat-out refusals to support my bad decision, (it always seems to work if he doesn't let me, plus I am sure he likes that fact that this is perhaps the one time I actually listen to him). 

It also becomes quite scary when you resort to getting some cover and sneaking a taste of the macaroon cake (thanks Alex, sorry GF - you were busy). 

All in all, I am quite happy with how I coped, even though I was perhaps a little too fixated with the whole "not being allowed thing", I guess when you start telling people it becomes more of a reality (and a ton more scary). 

To counteract the overindulgence, I even let the GF run me through his bi - monthly park workout, (yes he only has to do it every now and again to get massive). 

It was kind of like bikram training as it was midday by the time we got there and 30 degree heat. we did 4 sets of 8 chin-ups, pull -ups, inverted rows, push-ups and some ab stuff. I required lots of assistance as my weight training has not helped me with my ability to lift my own bodyweight, which is a long term goal of mine and the reason we have purchased a 30 ft rope to hang on the large tree in the back garden. 

All in all, not a bad weekend and 13 weeks out till the comp. 

The dreaded before shots.....

                          

Taken right after our 3 week holiday in Vietnam, where training was much less regimented and the eating and drinking increased. 
This is exactly 16 weeks out to the ANB comp in May. Depending on how my new program goes, we make look at the April dates for INBA. I feel like I have a mountain to climb and a lot of sugar monster wrestling to do. 

My boyfriend is a genetic freak.

So with the commencement of my new training and diet regime, I was encouraged by Rad from Global Fitness to go and get a Dexa Scan, that way he can properly work out my nutritional plan to achieve weight-loss whilst preparing for my up and coming comp in May. 
I knew that I had stacked on a few extra kg's over the Christmas period. Vietnam hotels just don't offer gym equipment for girls (or boys) that like to lift weights. 
Upon discovering that I had accumulated 25% body fat, I knew this road ahead wasn't going to be easy. 
With my man now agreeing not to keep anything in the house to tempt my wavering willpower and also agreeing to eat whatever I do, Rad offered to write him a specific eating plan based on his Dexa scan results. 
Now to summerise, on average (pre holiday), I do resistance training 4-5x per week, I walk the dogs frequently (I should do more cardio), I am careful about what I eat despite the odd sugar monster battle here and there.
My GF (Genetic freak) of a man, eats whatever the hell he feels like, whenever he feels like it, washed down daily with a beer or two (low carb but beer non the less). Although he plays AFL (Aussie rules football for those non Aussies reading this). He has only just started pre season training which he may do once or twice a week, he runs from time to time and rarely lifts weights (unless I drag him to the gym with me). Based on what he looks like, think adonis (okay okay slightly bias here) but think well built with some pretty decent muscle mass and no wobbly bits (despite my insistence that he is getting moobs)...I guessed he would come in low but he sits at 11% body fat with a muscle mass of 77% - typically for someone of his height 60% is good but no, no he has to smash the results and achieve something truly amazing considering how much/little effort he puts in. 
The key thing is that men and women's bodies differ greatly in terms of muscle verses fat and women have to work A LOT harder, my man has also been super sporty his whole life and did put a lot of work into his body when he was younger, I on the other hand only started my true quest for health and wellness as recently as 2006, I also didn't really like gyms until I was about 28!! I am making up for lost time while age works against me. JOY! 
Here are the results of our scans: