BMI
Friday 15th September, 2006 12:00 Comments: 11
Esther Canadas, a Madrid native, has a BMI of 14.3. Twiggy used to be 14.7, Kate Moss is 15.7 and Naomi Campbell is 16.6. Suddenly I don't feel quite so bad at something like 17.5 (underweight is 18.5 or lower). Madrid fashion week, one of Spain's most prestigious shows, is banning underweight models on the basis of their body mass index (BMI). UN health experts recommend a BMI of between 18.5 and about 25, and some models fall well below the minimum. The Spanish Association of Fashion Designers has decided to ban models who have a BMI of less than 18. I guess I'll have to abandon my plans of becoming a model.
Fab - Friday 15th September, 2006 13:11 There is nothing wrong with a BMI of 17.5. These figures are really subjective anyway. I have given up caring about them because when I do lots of exercise (and because I am not tall) they go completely wonky. I think I got a score of 12.5 once! You know I will never be described as scrawny!
I look scrawny because I'm fairly tall. My weight is low and I'd like to weigh more, but my BMI isn't hideously low. This is why I don't worry too much about it. I'm sure if I did more exercise I'd build up more muscles that'd weigh more and my BMI would be back around the lower end of normal - which is where I used to be when I was younger - but I still might not look any less scrawny. The problem was I went up from around 5'7"/5'8" to 5'10" without putting on any more weight, and now I no longer swim 4-5 times a week, the muscle isn't there anymore (so instead of putting on weight it seems to remain the same). I think the building I used to work in also made things difficult, it took a long time to work out that the low humidity was killing me. I had several days off feeling sick, without knowing exactly why until I spotted it coincided with periods of freakishly low relative humidity, but since then I haven't taken a day off sick. I've been here 4 and a half months without using any sick leave and I've only really used a few half days of leave for dental appointments. Hopefully I'll start to put weight on at some point (without giving me a beer belly too).
I doubt you had a score of 12.5 unless you screwed up the calculation (or used to weight 5 stone?).
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
I doubt you had a score of 12.5 unless you screwed up the calculation (or used to weight 5 stone?).
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
Hrm. I think BMI *can* be flawed, but not in all cases. For example, Johnny Wilkinson (rugby player) is morbidly obese according to BMI measurements, and I don't think anyone would walk up to him and call him fat!
If you want to bulk up your BMI without putting on fat, the best way is to eat a very high protein, moderately carbohydrate-y diet, lots of fruit and veg, and go to the gym and work out. I have a friend who has much the same build as you and is slowly working on bulking out, and he has to eat something like 6-7 times a day just to keep his metabolism from pillaging his muscle tissue! If you're interested, I can ask him what sort of routine he did as a start-out thing, and what sort of food he was eating (he's vegan though, so you'd want to substitute things like skimmed milk for soy milk and meat for nuts/tofu sort of things), as that would probably help you to get started.
Usually though, if a woman's BMI is less than 18 it's because she's skeletal. Kate Moss was once told she had to put ON weight in order to be able to support a pregnancy. She, and all her fellow clothes-horses, are painfully, and unhealthily underweight, and the only way you get like that naturally is by having a metabolism that powers through everything you eat and then turns on the body itself and then NOT EATING ENOUGH TO COMPENSATE. It's not healthy, it's not something to be proud of, and it's certainly not something to aspire to.
My BMI is around 28-29, I'm 5'6", I'm a size 12-14, and I very much doubt any man would take Stick Moss over me. Because I'm a darned sight more attractive than she is. And probably a tiddly bit more intelligent too. ;)
If you want to bulk up your BMI without putting on fat, the best way is to eat a very high protein, moderately carbohydrate-y diet, lots of fruit and veg, and go to the gym and work out. I have a friend who has much the same build as you and is slowly working on bulking out, and he has to eat something like 6-7 times a day just to keep his metabolism from pillaging his muscle tissue! If you're interested, I can ask him what sort of routine he did as a start-out thing, and what sort of food he was eating (he's vegan though, so you'd want to substitute things like skimmed milk for soy milk and meat for nuts/tofu sort of things), as that would probably help you to get started.
Usually though, if a woman's BMI is less than 18 it's because she's skeletal. Kate Moss was once told she had to put ON weight in order to be able to support a pregnancy. She, and all her fellow clothes-horses, are painfully, and unhealthily underweight, and the only way you get like that naturally is by having a metabolism that powers through everything you eat and then turns on the body itself and then NOT EATING ENOUGH TO COMPENSATE. It's not healthy, it's not something to be proud of, and it's certainly not something to aspire to.
My BMI is around 28-29, I'm 5'6", I'm a size 12-14, and I very much doubt any man would take Stick Moss over me. Because I'm a darned sight more attractive than she is. And probably a tiddly bit more intelligent too. ;)
The thing is Johnny Wilkinson weighs a lot but presumably has a very low body fat percentage. The average man has 15 to 17% body fat, while the average woman is between 18 and 22%. Typical scores for elite athletes are 6% to 12% for men and 12% to 20% for women. I've been trying to work mine out, but it seems that mine might be too low for it to calculate properly. One very simple "estimate" (that simply uses height and weight, so it's not very accurate) says my body fat is -11%! The other one, if I lie slightly about the skin fold thickness to make it do the calculation, puts me at 8%. I would imagine I'm slightly below that, maybe around 6%. The problem is I'm not an elite athlete (although I used to be a pretty darn good swimmer) so I really should be double that.
I might take Kate over you because she's very rich, has nice nipples (yours are an unknown to me), and is shorter than me (hmm, it seems she's 5'8", I thought she was about 5'6") so I can give her a cuddle. On the downside, she takes drugs, has a kid, is even thinner than me, and probably can't hold a conversation (I would imagine you're a lot more intelligent). But she is rich ;)
I might take Kate over you because she's very rich, has nice nipples (yours are an unknown to me), and is shorter than me (hmm, it seems she's 5'8", I thought she was about 5'6") so I can give her a cuddle. On the downside, she takes drugs, has a kid, is even thinner than me, and probably can't hold a conversation (I would imagine you're a lot more intelligent). But she is rich ;)
The thing is Johnny Wilkinson weighs a lot but presumably has a very low body fat percentage.
That's exactly the point that I'm trying to make! BMI is fine if you have an averagely built person who does an average amount of exercise and is generally - well - average. As soon as you start adding in a larger build than normal, a lot of muscle training or athletic training, or anything else that takes you beyond the norm, all BMI bets are off. I've heard that waist:hip ratio is a much better means of gathering whether you're overweight, but I guess it may not work on men or on underweight people. :)
If it was just on looks, I doubt you would take Kate over me. And I'm 5'6", so I'm not taller than you unless you slouch a lot. ;)
That's exactly the point that I'm trying to make! BMI is fine if you have an averagely built person who does an average amount of exercise and is generally - well - average. As soon as you start adding in a larger build than normal, a lot of muscle training or athletic training, or anything else that takes you beyond the norm, all BMI bets are off. I've heard that waist:hip ratio is a much better means of gathering whether you're overweight, but I guess it may not work on men or on underweight people. :)
If it was just on looks, I doubt you would take Kate over me. And I'm 5'6", so I'm not taller than you unless you slouch a lot. ;)
I've heard that waist:hip ratio is a much better means of gathering whether you're overweight, but I guess it may not work on men or on underweight people
Now where might you have heard that?
http://www.everythingeverything.co.uk/comments.php?id=957
I think I might add a [q] tag for quoting people, and I can possibly format it with CSS too. I might try and put the url tag in, like I did on my other site.
It's never just on looks, but it is generally how you get yourself noticed in the first place.
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/waist-to-hip-ratio-calculator/
I don't have a tape measure here, so it's a bit of a guess, but it looks like I have a ratio of 0.88, which puts me at a low risk (if I were female I'd be high risk!).
If you've noticed that every year, it becomes harder to eat whatever you want and stay slim, you've also learnt that your BMR decreases as you age. It seems my BMR is meant to be about 1540. Using the Harris Benedict Formula I should eat about 1850 calories a day. That seems like a lot (more than I currently have?). One pound of body weight is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories, so eating an extra 500 calories per day should cause me to gain one pound a week.
Using my rough calculation of my waist, their Body Fat Calculator says I have a Body Fat Percentage of 9.95%. I'm thinking of starting the McDonalds diet, like Morgan Spurlock did in Super Size Me. Except I won't eat it 3 times a day and watch my body almost keel over, I'll simply try and grab some food every other day.
Now where might you have heard that?
http://www.everythingeverything.co.uk/comments.php?id=957
I think I might add a [q] tag for quoting people, and I can possibly format it with CSS too. I might try and put the url tag in, like I did on my other site.
It's never just on looks, but it is generally how you get yourself noticed in the first place.
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/waist-to-hip-ratio-calculator/
I don't have a tape measure here, so it's a bit of a guess, but it looks like I have a ratio of 0.88, which puts me at a low risk (if I were female I'd be high risk!).
If you've noticed that every year, it becomes harder to eat whatever you want and stay slim, you've also learnt that your BMR decreases as you age. It seems my BMR is meant to be about 1540. Using the Harris Benedict Formula I should eat about 1850 calories a day. That seems like a lot (more than I currently have?). One pound of body weight is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories, so eating an extra 500 calories per day should cause me to gain one pound a week.
Using my rough calculation of my waist, their Body Fat Calculator says I have a Body Fat Percentage of 9.95%. I'm thinking of starting the McDonalds diet, like Morgan Spurlock did in Super Size Me. Except I won't eat it 3 times a day and watch my body almost keel over, I'll simply try and grab some food every other day.
With all the exercise and other crazy things I do I am 'never' going to have a normal BMI. Not that it distresses me in any way whatsoever, so I don't see any reason for you to be fussed.
I have never met Tania, I don't know what she looks like or how nice she is (but I like her posts) and I would choose her over Kate Moss no dispute! And it is not just because I don't need the money! Oh yeah and I am 5,6 too so that is perfect. ;-)
I have never met Tania, I don't know what she looks like or how nice she is (but I like her posts) and I would choose her over Kate Moss no dispute! And it is not just because I don't need the money! Oh yeah and I am 5,6 too so that is perfect. ;-)
Awwwww, my ego is going to go sky-high. ;)
I'd take Fab over Kate Moss too. :D
I'd take Fab over Kate Moss too. :D
Rob, don't tell her the bad things about me, pllleeeeaase! I like her!