Body Mass Index (BMI) and Obesity - How does it make you feel?

[KiloPatches]

Hey, everyone,

I wanted to start a tread about the Body Mass Index (BMI). Some people say its BS, because it doesn't account for muscle mass (which is denser than fat) and others say it is a true testament to how healthy you are.

Obviously we know its important to eat right and excersize. I do both.

I own a Wii U, and I have Wii fit U and I do it with myself and by boyfriend all the time. Do any of you do Wii Fit U? We have the Pedometers that calculate our calories burned from walking, running, climbing stairs all day and such - its pretty cool, and then we can do excersizes on the Wii U itself too.

If you are curious about your BMI you can calculate it here:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

BMI Categories:
Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5?24.9
Overweight = 25?29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

I am 5'2" and my current weight is 191lbs. (Yikes!)
So my BMI is 34.9. I am considered "Obese".

I can explain. I was recently prescribed medication to control my thyroid (I have hypothyroidism) as well as a few other conditions and a major side effect is severe weight gain. I went from weight 156lbs to 191lbs in a matter of a month or two. I have been prescribed another med to promote weight loss so its a steady and gradual process mixed with the excersize I have been doing.

I got blood work done recently and had my cholesterol and blood sugar checked. I do not have diabetes and I do not have high cholesterol. So I am healthy in that regard. My diet is fine. I don't over eat and I eat relatively healthy, and my portion sizes are fine too.

When I was at my healthiest I weighed 123lbs. I don't think I will ever weigh that again since I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Weight issues are a problem. They fluctuate all the time. I also have a lot of muscle mass from swimming and boxing.

I FEEL AWFUL ABOUT MY WEIGHT. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED. MY SELF-ESTEEM IS HORRIBLE. I AM DISGUSTED WITH HOW I LOOK. (Even though I know it is likely temporary)

My boyfriend of 6 years still finds me beautiful and is still sexually aroused by me. So who am I to judge myself so negatively? He was attracted to me when I was at a Normal Weight 6 years ago, and he is attracted to me now. So its not like he is into "Fat Girls". He has noticed the change in my weight, but he knows its not my fault and doesn't blame me for it.

The Wii U tracks my weight loss progress and there HAS been progress. I will shed this awful weight over time.

So I ask you guys a few questions:

How do you feel about the BMI?
How do you feel about your own BMI?
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)?
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight?

Thanks!

Kilo

 

[Radda]

I'm a 5'6 I think,and I weigh like 121 Pounds,I think Im fat but people say its because Im tall



- - - Post Merge - - -

Oops deleted my answers:
How do you feel about the BMI? Its eh,if your hot your hot
How do you feel about your own BMI? Not too comfortable,I'm skinny but 121 pounds is alot
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)? Psh if you have a big booty and nice chest area your sey
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight?Nope your beautiful

Wow Im leaning close to underweight.

 

[Shirohibiki]

ive been told by quite a few doctors that BMI is bull****/outdated/etc.
so i dont think its worth much going into, honestly. screw bmi imo

to answer the questions directly:
How do you feel about the BMI? it's bs
How do you feel about your own BMI? i dont even know it lol
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)? media is way too obsessed with being skinny n ****, its bad for kids growing up
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight? no, its not fair for society to judge you. usually, exercising and eating right IS enough, but unfortunately, in your case, your meds are screwing you over. you cant do anything about that. it sucks, but dont get too hung up on the word "obese". im sure youre beautiful regardless.

 

[NikkiNikki]

How do you feel about the BMI? idk, it help me realized that I needed to change I guess
How do you feel about your own BMI? I like it better now than what it used to be
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)? Bad, like i used to hate the way my body is. My shape is a triangle i guess? and girls who are skinny have all these cute clothes and what not and the clothes look so nice in them and I wanted to try that, but I was too fat to do so.
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight? Its not fair, I used to be bullied in middle school because of my weight and heritage, which cause my self esteem to be low and have no confident for myself. and i started blaming myself for getting this fat. Its really a mental type of thing I guess. I wish I can tell 11 year old me to not give a dam lol

I feel you man.A year or so ago my BMI was 31.0 and I am 5'7 and weighted 198 IB! I was labeled obese as well and my self esteem is horribly low that I have decided that it was time for a change and I have started to change my diet completely and start to exercise. Now my BMI is 25.1 and now weight 160 I still have a lot more to go, but I am happy to have lost a lot of weight and I am starting to like my body more and myself

 

[Aradai]

How do you feel about the BMI? I prefer my actual weight more.

How do you feel about your own BMI? Like it's not perfect. I mean, I am at a healthy weight now, but I strees about it and my BMI a lot.

How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)? It's stupid how they never show it truthfully.

Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Well, I think it depends on the person. For me, eating and exersizing helped me a lot. Maybe you might want to see a nutritionist about it.

Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight? Both of those are wrong. It does not help, and it is not okay. Society shouldn't shame you because of how big you are, and you shouldn't either. I used to hate myself because of my past size and I felt like I could never lose weight. But I tried and I kept pushing on, and now I'm at my weight goal. I know you can do it!

 

[TheBluRaichu]

How do you feel about the BMI? Screw it
How do you feel about your own BMI? 23.2 . It's fine.
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)? I'm average, hate muffin top though.
Is eating right and exersizing enough? I do neither
(medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? No
Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight? You can, you shouldn't

 

[Stacie]

How do you feel about the BMI?
It can be fairly inaccurate as it doesn't distinguish between fat and muscle among other things.
How do you feel about your own BMI?
Don't really care cause of above. Mine is 18.0 for the record though.
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)?
There are a lot of people suffering from insecurities and disorders because of it (myself included).
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight?
No, it's not fair. You're doing what's best for your body and that's great.

 

[(ciel)]

How do you feel about the BMI? From what I know, it's not the best way to measure it.
How do you feel about your own BMI? According to that calculator, my BMI is 17.1, but I definitely don't consider myself undeweight. Even at my heaviest, I've only been just within normal weight range. I know I could be healthier, though...I eat a lot of junk (college) and I don't get much exercise other than walking up four flights of stairs to my room, but as far as my weight goes, I'm perfectly fine with it.
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)? I think society does a horrible job with being body positive in general. The media especially only caters to certain kinds of unrealistic body types.
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight? I don't think it's fair. If it's out of your control, but you're still doing everything you can to be healthy, than I think that's great. It's awful that people feel bad about their weight when there really isn't anything they can do about it, especially when they try, or if they're happy with themself. And it's awful that society judges based on weight basically first thing. Society doesn't know a person's story. Society needs to get itself together.

 

[Mariah]

I've heard the BMI isn't accurate. My BMI would be 15.3. I also have hypothyroidism. Hashimoto, in fact.

 

[Manah]

How do you feel about the BMI?
Useless. If it's worth anything, it's only one of many factors, not the one thing that tells you how healthy you are.

How do you feel about your own BMI?
I have no idea what my BMI is, and I don't need to know. I'm fine with my body right now and if I ever feel I'm getting too fat, I'll do something about it. No need to freak out over numbers as long as I'm comfortable. (A nutritionist told me I'm slim, and I believe she knows more about those things than than society and media^^)

How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)?
As someone who ignores society's standards altogether - it's utter bull****. It's just really disturbing how many (especially young) people's self-esteem is completely messed up due to this.

Is eating right and exersizing enough?
Under "normal" circumstances, probably.

Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight?
Harsh answer: No, it's not fair, but that's life. People (in general) will always judge others because they're a) stupid, b) unable to feel good about themselves without other's approval and/or c) unable to feel good about themselves without putting others down (your choice which/how many of those appy). That's not going to change anytime soon. It's really up to you how much you let their opinion affect you. (And as long as they don't know about your circumstances, it'S just conjecture anyway.)
Judging yourself is necessary to an extent, but in your case, I'd say you're overdoing it. You're not overweight because you're lazy, you're overweight because of your medication, and apparently you're putting effort into losing weight. Try to see the positive things you can do. You're doing something about it and I think you can be proud of that.

 

[Jade_Amell]

I'm 5'5 and 110 pounds. My BMI according to that site is 18.3 making me under weight. I'm also 30 years old and mixed Filipino/American. *shrugs*

How do you feel about the BMI? It's stupid. But if people want to keep track of their healthy weight, sure fine.
How do you feel about your own BMI? I hate that I am skinny but meh.
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)?
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight? Beauty comes in all sorts of sizes. I don't judge people based on their weight, I judge based on their attitude. You exercise, you eat healthy and yes that is enough.

add: All my life, I have trouble gaining weight. I've always been skinny. I don't have a eating disorder or anything like that. People have told me when I was younger that once I get older it'll be harder to stay skinny. And unfortunately nope. The most I've weighed was 117 pounds was when I was pregnant. I don't like being skinny.

 

[RiceBunny]

How do you feel about the BMI?
I feel like it's helpful as a guide. As long as you take it for what it is, just a guide.
How do you feel about your own BMI?
I feel good about it. I'm 5'3, 24 yrs old and 120 pounds, so I'm in the normal BMI category.
How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)?
I feel like it's stupid. People should always strive to be healthy, but key word here is healthy. Not skinny or curvy, just simply healthy and happy. If you're slightly above weight, but are fairly healthy/happy then **** society, just be you. ^.^
Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight?
No, sometimes it isn't enough. I have PCOS, and it means if I don't watch what I eat I can easily go up a few sizes in just a month. So I try my hardest to eat somewhat healthy, and stay somewhat in shape. I do it for health reasons though, if I don't have my PCOS under control then I start to get all the symptoms that come with it.
If you truly are exercising a few times a week, and eating healthy, then no you shouldn't feel bad. Just keep trying your hardest to be healthy and say "**** you" to the world.

 

[SmokeyB]

I'm 5'4 and weigh 145 but that's because I'm bulking >.<

 

[Isabella]

Mine is 20.4. I'm 5'7 and like 130ish. i don't think this bmi thing is very accurate though.
I used to be considered underweight :x I feel alright with my weight now, just want some toning.
Its really helpful when you're trying to lose weight to NOT focus on numbers, focus on how you feel when you look in the mirror. Numbers often distort your view of yourself and you start obsessing over it way too much and comparing, and it's just bad.

 

[RhinoK]

Hm

 

[Ichigo.]

i'm 5'3 and 115lbs so my bmi is 20.4, which is "healthy" but tbh i am so unhealthy. bmi means nothing to me.

 

[ellemacc]

i'm 5'3 and 135, my bmi is 23.9, which is average. bmi isn't a good measure of how healthy or fit someone is and is total bull tbh, i knew a girl who was 5'4 and ripped as hell, but it said she was overweight. it has no use to me whatsoever. be happy with your body and dont aim to please other people. like if my partner was like 'you're too fat' then they can go find someone else because im not doing all that work to make you happy when i'm happy right now.

 

[Watchingthetreetops]

~

When I was a kid, the body mass charts always said I was overweight. It gave me a fear of scales, or knowing my weight in general. What I found out when I was older is that I am a particularly muscular woman, which means that I will always weigh more then I look. For example, I've had people guess me at 120 right now, and my actual weight is 140. So...I don't like it. It's inaccurate.

 

[Lepidoptera]

I hate it how society is with body image. There is always someone who has to remind me how I am not a human being like themselves.(its a soar subject) I've been called names and oinked at on several occasions. Its just made push people away more. At one point I was just eating 900 calories a day for a while.

How do you feel about the BMI?
Don't have to much of opinion on it

How do you feel about your own BMI?
Badly due to what other humans have done to me. I am obese.

How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)?
It pisses me off. There are little girls out there who don't need their self-esteem destroyed by your poisonous images media.

Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight?
No its not fair at all. There are a number of health issues that make weight loss difficult. Even if someone refuses to lose weight, it isn't their place to judge. Its also not fair to yourself to judge you either. Trust me I'm an expert at it and it makes you feel worse.

 

[Keyblade]

People shouldn't focus on numbers, they should focusing on healthy lifestyle and feeling good.