Diets and dangerous advice

The "irritated Sleepy" buzzer just went off again ...

I've just looked at BBC's BMI calculator as part of my daily peek at various websites. It flags up what's very dangerous about following religiously what the medical people say. My diet's going quite well, although I know I'm probably getting to the plateau for what I'll lose just by being more disciplined.

What's the numbers ?

Height - 5"9 (ish - a poorly back may have brought that down to 5"8)
Weight when I started the diet - 14st2lbs

According to the BMI calc, that's 29.4 which is on the verge over going into Obese from Overweight. I'd actually agree with that assessment with reservations. At that 14st + a bit, I was getting slowed down by having to carry too much weight around and I was having trouble unlocking the potential energy hidden in the chubbiness. Hence the decision to try and cut down and be more disciplined in what I consume.

That's a mindset thing that goes throughout how I'm trying to be. Focus on "Need" instead of "Want" :
I may want the teacake in the morning but if I'm not hungry ...
I may want to hunt down obscure information but if I need to produce a business case ...
I may want to demolish the cookies but if I need to be in better shape ...

Urg - getting sidetracked again. What's the BMI say for me if I lose weight ?

Current weight - 13st 4lbs (it varies but that's the current average)
BMI - 27.2 solidly in the middle of Overweight
Fair enough for my build and fitness at the moment but that BMI is what I had when I was playing cricket regularly. For people who regularly exercise and have some strength about them (mine's in my legs), BMI is a terrible measure.

Target weight for current build - 12st
BMI - 24.7 - just into "Normal"
This is where things get a little dangerous. At 12st, I'd in theory have got rid of the spare tyre around my middle. However, I'd probably be losing the leg muscle mass that gives me my speed.

But ... BMI calls an index of 18.7 as "Normal", which is just above "underweight". That's at a weight of 9st. HUH ! ? ? ! A male of 5 foot 9 and my build at just 9 stone would be in severe need of feeding up. I wouldn't describe that as healthy. I don't think I've been 9 stone since I was a teenager and it took me a while to fill out.

Take that to an extreme and put BMI numbers in for professional sportsmen. Chris Ashton is a star on the wing for England's rugby team (he of the dive). He's 6ft and 14st 7 for a BMI of 27.4 (Overweight). He's on the top of his game, doesn't have an ounce of fat, could probably run marathons but BMI sees him as overweight. That turns to the ridiculous for muscly forwards.

It's a silly measure. It ignores how wide you are and just concentrates on height. A better measure would see how wide you are from either shoulder to shoulder or across the pelvis. I went from 11st7 to 13st7 over a few seasons of cricket over ages 15 to 20 that saw me get wider across the shoulders from just filling out a bit.

But the real rule is : Know yourself. Don't trust arbitrary (and illogical) measures made up by idiots. Ask yourself whether you think you're overweight (I know I still need to lose a decent amount). Don't make yourself unhealthy by losing too much.

Losing the weight I've got rid of so far has unlocked agility and energy I'd forgotten about but I would run myself into severe problems if I tried to get to that 9 stone for "underweight". With the muscle mass on my legs, I'd hit problems if I went under 11 stone.

As for others, aim for what you feel comfortable with. Examples for how I see certain celebs :

Adele - cor. She's comfortable with who she is and it shows. It's attractive. Great voice too, shame I'm not a fan of the songs.
A N Other skinny poptart - reaction : "Eat something". Bony is not sexy.
(they might have a better foundation for thin & reedy & screechy voices too if they weren't unhealthy)

Only you know what weight you should be. Arbitrary measures like BMI only cause Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Big can be sexy too, it just depends on a person being comfortable with who they are. Nikasaur from the League of Legends videos is definitely not overweight (she's a hottie that kept my interest in that game for a while) but I saw an offensive video on youtube that suggested she was. I hope the person responsible looks back in a few years when they will no doubt be much bigger and I bet they will be ashamed of putting that hurtful video on youtube.

And I really must take care that when the sexy people catch my eye, that I don't stare. (Grinning = ok, slackjawed stare = creepy)