Don’t know if you’ve noticed (!) but I’ve been getting a tad grumpy about my weight for the past couple of months and the fact that I’ve not lost any more of it! However, spoke to my Slimming World Consultant ‘C’ this morning who told me not to get hung up about my target weight which I’ve set according to a BMI (body mass index) rating of 25 (the edge of healthy/overweight) and which equates to a weight of 13st 11lbs.
The reason why she says BMI is not always the “be-all and end-all” for defining a target weight is that in men particularly, it doesn’t take into account for the fact that improved musculature can skew BMI, examples of this are athletes and bodybuilders who often come out as having an obese body mass index reading. So while I think I do need to lose a few more pounds maybe the right weight for me lies somewhere between 14st 7lbs and 13st 11lbs. Am going to think on it some more and maybe change my target so I can get to it before Xmas!
Found an interesting article on the subject here:-http://weighttraining.about.com/od/fatlossweighttraining/a/fat_measure.htm
The other thing that maybe I ought to take into account is the Internatinal Diabetic Foundation defines a healthy waist measurement as being 37 inches and under. I’m wearing 34” trousers at the minute and sometimes wear a pair of 32” for golfing in so am well in this range. The other thing that I’ve noticed is that I’m a 42/44” chest (which is down 6/8” on what it was last year) and normally the trousers that come in suits with jackets in the 44” size especially tend to be 36”/38” so am slimmer than maybe I should be in that area too. Perhaps I need to cut myself a bit of slack!!
The other thing interesting on the article is the Waist to Hip ratio which if I have time I’m going to check out tonight. Apparently the ratio should be no more than 0.9 when you divide the hip measurement into the waist measurement.
Finally the sign-off paragraph on the article is kind of reassuring too - “You don’t necessarily need a measure of body fat to know you’re making progress on a diet and exercise program. For bodybuilders and sportspeople with critical standards for body fat, measurement may be more crucial. Sometimes though, it helps to know that you are losing fat and holding on to, or even gaining, muscle. Ordinary bathroom scales do not necessarily reflect this.”
Am not wanting to make excuses for myself though and not giving myself permission to start boozing again or eating junk, have a commitment to a new healthy lifestyle and that's for good not just for Christmas!!
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