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Northern Mum

Crossfitting, pancreas acting, single mum to three

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Am I fat?

Today started well.  I woke up, went through the usual routine of brushing my teeth, washing my face, and roused the kids from a death like slumber that only ever seems to impact on a weekday.

I wandered over to my wardrobe to get dressed, and found myself flicking through the items on display with a sense of boredom.

Then I suddenly stopped to wonder if I was ready?

I was nervous but decided to give it a go anyway.

So I headed under the bed, pushed aside the dust bunnies and yanked out my old red suitcase.

Slowly I unzipped the seal and lifted the lid,  I reached in and pulled out my favourite pair of creased, battered jeans.

These jeans came with me to New York when I ran the marathon.  They were on me when I found out I was pregnant with Libby-Sue.

I have not worn them since that day.

The reason as to why is obvious: they are a size 10.

Today I looked at them with a mix of love and hate, I took in a deep breath, slid my feet into the warm demin and started to pull them up my legs.

I worked them over my thighs and eased them over my backside.

Then I hauled in my tummy, pulled at the button…

….And fastened them up.

It felt so good!

Continuing the theme, for reasons I am not sure of now I thought I would check my BMI. I hated that when I went to the GP back in the winter he told be I was seriously obese.

Surely if I could squeeze my arse into a pair of size 10 jeans I must be now perceived as normal weight?

Typing the required numbers into the computer on the NHS site I waited for the interest to give me its verdict.

Obese: with a recommendation that I lose a further 25 pounds to be in the middle of normal range.

My favourite jeans cuddled my backside reassuringly, the button nestling against my core whispering that 25 more pounds could be a bit too much.

I mean, I’d look like an orange on a stick.  I don’t feel like the word obese suggests?

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I don’t want to be super skinny, healthy, fit and strong is the look I am aiming for.  Luckily I am sensible enough to take my BMI with a pinch of salt.

But…

I see references to BMI everywhere, signs in the doctors surgery promoting healthy BMI.  How is this impacting the younger, the more vulnerable, those who strive to be in normal range?

Surely the system is broken, the calculations incorrect, the message wrong.

With a nation that battles weight problems, kids that fight eating disorders surely we should be scrapping BMI and spending more money on education of healthy eating, fostering a strong attitude towards exercise.

Do you agree, or should I just get over being obese and it the eyes of the NHS – unhealthy?

Comments

  1. Alison Perry says

    June 23, 2014 at 5:59 am

    Yes!! Totally agree. The BMI is such a load of rubbish. I haven’t done the test in a long time and granted I’m a bit *cough* soft around the edges at the moment but back when I last worked out my BMI, I was a size 12 and probably weighed 10.5 stone. I looked fab and lean. But it told me I had a BMI of 28 and therefore obese. It sounds like a cop out but I think I have heavy bones! I always weigh more than other people who are my height and my dress size. There must be a better way (with technology as advanced as it is now) to calculate how healthy someone is?!

    Reply
  2. Sandy Calico says

    June 23, 2014 at 6:48 am

    Obese and size 10? Something doesn’t add up. Having lost quite a lot of weight I’m now at the stage where people are kindly telling me not to lose any more. I’m a size 14 and my BMI is 27 (overweight). To get to a BMI in the middle of ‘normal’ I need to lose another 2.5 stone. I’m going to lose a little more and then see how I feel. I suspect you’ll do the same. You look amazing now, do what feels right for you x

    Reply
  3. Rhian @melbs says

    June 23, 2014 at 7:14 am

    I’m with you, according to those Bmi testers I am overweight heading towards obese, but when I have had the skin pincer Bmi test and the full anatomy thing just before I moved to Oz (when I was at my slimmest) which said I was fine but that Bmi chart still put me in the overweight category. Stupid.
    Luckily you have a bit of common sense and know you’re being healthy but it is worrying that impressionable youngsters are using it as a guide. X

    Reply
  4. Karen says

    June 23, 2014 at 10:11 am

    BMI makes me really cross. It doesn’t accurately allow for the heavier weight of toned muscle, which given you working out with weights in a gym you clearly have. You have a beautiful, athletic figure. You look healthy, you look active. It makes me so cross we (read, those who set these arbitrary figures) do this and then wonder why eating disorders, body issues and other mental issues

    Reply
  5. Louisa says

    June 23, 2014 at 12:18 pm

    You do not look obese to me at all – those BMI numbers are a crock of shit if you ask me.

    Reply
  6. Michelle Twin Mum says

    June 23, 2014 at 12:38 pm

    It’s a crock of shit Jane! BMI makes me so mad, having seen you this weekend, you look fabulous and you are regularly exercising, how can you possibly be 25lb overweight. Hubby and I were turned down for fostering recently as our BMIs are too high and that makes us at risk that ‘one day’ we might not to able to look after a child. How crazy is that? Mich x

    Reply
    • Mummy to boyz says

      June 23, 2014 at 1:38 pm

      Really? – That is shocking!! I thought they were crying out for fosterers?

      Reply
  7. Ruth says

    June 23, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    Hey Fatty,

    This is one of my BIGGEST bug bears with NHS nutrition guidelines. I too currently sit at an overweight 26.7. Sucks to be us eh? Or rather it doesn’t to be you who slinks into those size 10 jeans (size 10 US, per chance…? Hopefully you know I jest)… Things have moved on from BMI with body fat percentage and waist-hip ratio calculations (http://www.virginactive.co.uk/active-matters/tools/waist-hip-ratio) but I, like you, get irked by standardised guidelines that don’t paint the full picture. Especially having lived a teenage life with the most destructive relationship with food. I recently read some brilliance from Dr Carl Lavie. I really want his book. Extract here (sorry for linking to the Daily Fail but The Times, where I originally read it, is behind the pay wall): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2651195/Why-FAT-good-A-controversial-book-doctor-claims-overweight-help-fight-disease-live-longer.html

    One thing I will say in defence of this standard measure of BMI is it presents a guide. Your GP rightfully called you out on that particular visit but if you returned now, the measure would absolutely be dismissed as irrelevant. Unfortunately there just isn’t the resource to get the calipers out and test body fat for everyone but at least there’s a guide, a starting point and some, all be it very crude, means to help people make better choices in improving their health.

    Reply
  8. sue Seaman says

    June 23, 2014 at 1:11 pm

    it cant be right if i looked like you id be overr the moon, im also struggling with weight loss ive lost almost 5 stone and dr says get your bmi down to 28 we weill refer you to a specialist for a tummy tuck, ive got no way of losing it, with the amount of spare skin i now carry.

    Reply
  9. mama elsie says

    June 23, 2014 at 1:33 pm

    Jane – you know the old adage – everything in moderation. These figures never take into account all the details of how we disperse weight around our bodies. And if my body is anything to go by, my weight and shape can change from month to month. So I reckon you enjoy your jeans – goodness knows I’d love to get into my pre-baby jeans – and be healthy.

    Reply
  10. Mummy to boyz says

    June 23, 2014 at 1:37 pm

    So true I always hate that BMI scale! I know it’s rubbish but who wants to be obese on any scale especially when they have worked hard to lose weight to still be obese

    Reply
  11. thatstoast says

    June 23, 2014 at 2:37 pm

    I think it’s safe to say from looking at your picture that you have a lot of muscle. This is probably why your BMI is too high. It’s obviously not a good measure for you. However, the majority of obese people are so because of excess fat which is not healthy. So the NHS should absolutely encourage these people to lose weight as it will benefit them.

    Reply
  12. Kerry Lethbridge says

    June 23, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    I hate the BMI rubbish. I was told I was obese when pregnant with my twins… the doctor I was unfortunate enough to encounter started berating me for eating McDonald’s ( I hadn’t set foot in one for years) I felt so upset it was like she was calling me a typical fat English slob. ( she was not English herself) I have always eaten healthily and was feeling fabulous in my pregnancy glow. I did not get gestational diabetes or any other problems and was healthy all the way through. The final obstetrician I saw took one look at me and said gosh there is an awfull lot of belly on you… but this time using his medical knowledge and common sense assessed that far f Rom being obese know was actually carrying nearly 2 stone on baby (s) and fluid but when doing BMI they just calculate the whole weight… so stupid
    common sense needs to prevail, health is what is important after all not BMI ( bloody mad indicator)

    Reply
  13. Conny says

    June 23, 2014 at 6:35 pm

    Hmm, just checked my BMI – it’s 22 and I am wearing size 14 in most clothes. I don’t get how you can have an BMI of over 30 (that would be 4 stones more at my height) and wear a size 12.

    Reply
    • northernmum says

      June 23, 2014 at 8:10 pm

      My BMI is 25 – to be in the middle of the recommended range it is recommended to lose a stone and 11lbs.

      The final words from the NHS are ‘it’s time to take action…’

      Also I exercise 5-6 times a week and wear size 10-12.

      Reply
      • Conny says

        June 25, 2014 at 12:31 pm

        Northernmum, with a BMI of 25 you are just – very just – at the verge of what they call overweight. Obese means to have a BMI of 30.

        I believe that our perception has been skewed after being for longer and longer time around overweight people – we’ll find that normal. But every time I go to France I feel I need to lose weight because everybody is so skinny over there. Back in England I feel fine again – lol!

        Reply
  14. helloitsgemma says

    June 23, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    There are a lot of people in the UK ignoring their BMI, and very sadly ignoring their children’s BMI, we have a crisis in terms of our health and weight. It seems the NHS as with many other Government initiatives reacts with a blanket approach that doesn’t fit individuals, it seems that this is what you found. I’m not sure how helpful it is to have an on-line version, as clearly you aren’t obese and it is clearly giving inaccurate information. So who is it actually helping?

    Reply
  15. Seasiderinthecity says

    June 24, 2014 at 8:36 am

    BMI is rubbish, you look amazing. Fact

    That said, having just crept over the line into normal, it felt sooooo good to wipe the smile off the condecending nurse I saw on Thursday who has been saying every 6 months that I need to take action.

    I do agree with Gemma though and something needs to be done but bmi is very out of date and we should be able to come up with a better system for monitoring.

    Reply
  16. Lauranne says

    June 24, 2014 at 12:48 pm

    Couldn’t agree more – I am also an obese size 8 – 10 it’s ridiculous and very worrying!

    Reply
  17. Michelle @ Bod for tea says

    June 24, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    I agree with all that you and most of the other commenters have said – the BMI may just be a guide but frankly I’m not sure what use a guide is that rates someone like you as ‘obese’! You look amazing and have clearly worked your butt off (literally). Fantastic work x

    Reply

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