BMI update #1

So yesterday was filled with yummy veggies and fruit, with some proteins and fats thrown in. I made some compromises that were less than healthy (granola bars), but managed to get some great locally-grown melon, salads, and some nice marinated beans, among other things.

This morning I woke up feeling like it was, well, morning, but climbed on the stationary bike for 16 minutes.

Yea!

More like this

So here's what we actually ate yesterday. In addition to the list below, btw, C. and K., the new guys ate a fair number of totally non-local oranges and bananas, as well as some local apples. Because they've experienced real hunger, they have a bowl of fruit in their room that they can eat…
Greenpa asked me to talk about how we cook in the summer, and that's a very good subject to talk about - what does a woman who "dances with wood" and cooks on a wood cookstove all winter long do in the summer?  Well, part of the answer is that when we're lazy, we use the electric stove that came…
Even when life is overwhelming and I find myself hiding from everyone and everything, as I have been for awhile now, I still find pleasure in feeding my birds. I know that many of you understand and share in this pleasure, so I thought I'd tell you what's on my parrots' menu for this week;…
It is only on really stressful days when I refer to them as my unholy army of the night.   The rest of the time, at least at meals, it is just "my army" and we really do go through a stunning amount of food.                   For example, in late August, right around the time this photo was taken…

Welcome to the Sunrise Sweat Society, PAL. I'm interested in hearing how it's working for you. (Props to $HERSELF, who encourages me to keep with it.)

By D. C. Sessions (not verified) on 06 Aug 2009 #permalink

GOOD start! That's how I got started too . . . and after about a year I'm now to the point where I can bicycle to work (26 miles round trip) and not collapse when I arrive . . . .

By Don in Rochester MN (not verified) on 06 Aug 2009 #permalink

Good for you!

My wife and I have lost a great deal of weight doing Weight Watchers in the last year. For me, I find that the key is not to allow myself to feel like I am depriving myself. If I want a beer, I have one, I just count the points.

Filling up on satisfying, flavorful foods that are bulkier and lower in fat and simple carbs keeps me from feeling hungry.

I am maintaining my weight loss easily now, and I believe that is mostly because I didn't feel like I was "on a diet" before, and "off the diet" now. I simply made a change in my eating habits.

Perhaps a definition of BMI ?
Oh well. I'll add one. CDC BMI Page

Basically it's a means of relating weight to height to decide if you are too heavy. Over 30 is considered too heavy.
My problem with this is, it doesn't seem to take into account what I call "Frame size" I.E. the size and weight of your bones. Yeah yeah, I know, it's the old fat person's saw "but I'm big boned!" but in some cases it's true. Particularly in my case. I wish I had pictures from the time when I weighed in at around 230lbs. At 6' 5" in height I should have weighed in at around 210-215. (based on this CDC Chart )
However, I weighed in at 230 and had people tell me I looked gaunt. And taking the lower end of the healthy range would have been even worse. So, while I'm not saying that being overweight is okay, or that there aren't any standards, I am saying that the chart alone shouldn't be the deciding factor. You need to use additional "measurements" such as the things you mention in your original post. The creaky knees, acid reflux, snoring, and I'd add in lower back pain and difficulty "getting comfortable" to sleep. And even the ultimately subjective "measurement" of "do I look good?" but this last one is the most subjective and least amenable to reality basing.
Anyway. I'll be happy to get back to 240-250.

DLC, it's not that you have a particularly heavy bone structure, it's that you're 77" tall. BMI does not scale properly with height. It assumes that weight should properly increase as the square of height, but for constant proportions it actually increases as the cube (and actually a bit more based on the need for keeping area loading on bones from getting excessive.)

Properly scaled, 6'6" and 230 is the same as 5'7" and 150. Not exactly emaciated, but a long way from obese. My favorite example is Shaquille O'Neal. At 7'1" and 325 pounds, his BMI is 31.6 -- which means he should lose about 110 pounds to be healthy.

By D. C. Sessions (not verified) on 07 Aug 2009 #permalink

Good Luck Pal, I wish you success. I have also been doing weight watchers, I have lost 40lbs and I intend to keep it off. I also run which helps (more activity=more food!!)

As you stated, as long as input is less than output you are going to lose weight. But too much denial of the things you really like is unsustainable. The trick for me is real food, lots of veggies, whole grains. They seem to fill me up better. But if I really really want to have something decadent I'll go ahead and indulge, and count the points.

I don't know if you are a cook but I love this website. Her recipes are great.

http://weight-watchers-points-recipes.blogspot.com/

By Northern Blot (not verified) on 07 Aug 2009 #permalink

Whole wheat oatmeal will fill you up quite well. I often eat that for 2nd dinner, the kind you have to cook, not the instant stuff. Add sugar or berries, and it's high in protein due to the wheat germ. And if you don't add milk, it's fat free.

Surely we're talking whole grain oatmeal (steel-cut, perhaps?) rather than whole wheat, right? Or is there some cool new oat-wheat genetically spliced mutant grain that will save us from our girth?

Good luck, hang in there! I agree with the Toast on this one, oatmeal is a good snack (tho I ruin it with pnut butter)...

I love good steel cut irish oatmeal. I wonder if it's too carbalicious, but I'm sure someone will tell me.

I love good steel cut irish oatmeal. I wonder if it's too carbalicious, but I'm sure someone will tell me.

Pretty fair bit of soluble fiber, but otherwise it's carbs and protein: 1200 cal/lb. Thing is, it's good nutrition and filling. Just don't overdo it. A quarter-cup of the stuff is only about 150 calories and will keep you going for hours.

It also makes awesome homemade bread. Absolutely something to have PalKid help you kill, because a single slice is all you get. Ah, but add a bit of cinnamon ...

We buy it at the local organic-food outfit. Stay away from the open bins that kids can get at, though.

By D. C. Sessions (not verified) on 07 Aug 2009 #permalink