BMI? Been there, done that.

The issue of whether or not scale weight, or it’s hifalutin cousin BMI, are very good measures of overall health is a big topic, and not my focus today.

Today I want to stick strictly to the question many of us struggle with (whether or not we should): what do my weight or BMI say about me as a person?

Because like many of us, I internalized a lot of judgment about it. Unlike some of us, my weight has been all over the map.

At 16 my BMI was 17.33. “Underweight.” My first driver’s license listed me as 6’2”, 135 pounds. In metric units: 188cm/62kg. I grew tall at a young age, and my parents couldn’t feed me fast enough. I was very slender, and generally didn’t find myself attractive.

At 50 my BMI was 31.87. “Obese (Category 1).” I had grown my last inch in height by my late teens, to 6’3” (190.5 cm) and maxed out around 256 pounds (116 kg). I worked hard, but mostly at a desk, and ate more than my body needed. Much of it food that was great for the taste buds and nothing else.

I felt much better in my skin at that weight. Much of that was due to meeting and interacting with people of every size who set less store by weight than by other things.

I still had self-esteem issues. And the weight was beginning to impact me in negative ways, no matter how good I felt about myself.

I was a worthwhile person at every weight and age in between. Read that again.

I had bulked up partly by design, partly because of a stressful life. Not so much by “laziness.” Nobody working a 40+ hour week really needs to be accused of laziness. Especially not one who was prone, even at my heaviest, to walk the mile and a half from my house to work, twice a day.

I simply had no clue how to “motivate” myself, for longer than a month or two at a time, on anything to do with eating habits or exercise.

As a kid, everything either came easily to me or was impossible … I got little training in the power of sustained effort, nor in the steady discipline (and self-belief through setbacks) that it would require.

As an adult, I threw myself into paid work and into creating a life with other people, and if my personal well-being had to take a back seat, I could always tell myself that I was doing what society expected of me.

Even at my heaviest, I didn’t “look” like I had a weight issue, at least to the average person. I was spared a lot of the harsh judgment heavy people get, and even the teasing that befalls some people on the skinny side.

But towards the end of my heavy years, some of that walking for health caught up with me in the form of several months of agonizing tendinitis in both ankles. About a year after I got through that, walking became painful again, in one knee.

That was when something snapped and I committed to change. Or rather: that was when the commitment to change didn’t evaporate within a few months. (It’s ten years this spring: not a bad winning streak.)

But I also got a lot of exercise—and improved my health by major leaps and bounds—BEFORE I did anything to change my eating habits or weight.

I was substantially healthier and fitter before the scale or my BMI had any clue.

That experience tracks with what exercise science is slowly confirming: exercise pays bigger benefits, at any “size,” than prioritizing weight change does.

Oddly enough, I think that in the end of all of this, I have empathy for both thin people who want to grow their strength and maybe their size, and heavy people who want to increase their stamina or quality of life, whether through exercise or changes in how we approach food. 

I’ve been both.

The self-belief I acquired was a big thing, and alas, it’s the toughest to teach. But I can share a lot of practical knowledge and experience. And I can cheerlead the fuck out of your progress.  If you believe me long enough to feel how it feels, eventually you can do that for yourself.

You might be surprised what you’re capable of. I have been surprised at myself. It feels good!

© 2022 Grampa Fitness

Disclaimer: Ideas expressed in this blog post should not be construed as official advice on how to safely perform fitness activities. Always consult with your doctor and other medical professionals as necessary, before engaging in exercise.