The Weight of the Nation

[CrackerMessiah]

For their whole lives or just that last 20 years of it?

I was going to say "Given his current location, maybe the Great Leap Forward." But then I saw "mashed potatoes," and well, that would have been too luxurious for the time.

 

[SNKorSWM]

Would the difference between Chinese and American mashed potatoes happens to be "no gravy"?

 

[bokmeow]

Does it? I don't think it does.

Clearly I'm a bit of a fat bastard but give me a break. I refuse to believe that I'm obese. My health, which is otherwise excellent, would seem to reflect this.

It seems that for general trends it might be helpful, that much I don't doubt.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I think your rejection of BMI is a psychological fear of being lumped into a category that you detest, or is socially detested. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is total bullshit — words hurt, and labels hurt.

If your losing weight in order to achieve specific goals matter dearly, then just ignore the labels and get to work. Each person is wired to respond to different incentives — you have to figure out what's yours, if you so desire.

Personally, I needed to get fit for Capoeira, and drop some weight so that I may turn Au (cartwheels). Looking better at the pool & the beach didn't hurt either.

 

[pandyra]

As you can see I've got a bit of a gut, but do I honestly look like someone who's a couple of steps away from being morbidly obese (40 on the BMI scale)? Come on. I don't think so.

The only thing I can think of is the fact that I probably won't live as long as a typical person because of my sheer mass. My heart has to work harder, plain and simple, so I'll probably be dead sooner.

I dunno. I've felt the need to shape up recently but this BMI thing really annoys me. Maybe it's my ego talking, but still. To be fair the doc says that losing 5-10% of your mass leads to significant health benefits, so you don't need to lose massive amounts of weight to get healthier. I figure that's something to keep in mind.

The BMI's accuracy depends on how it's measured. The online calculators and such use a mathematical formula that can't account for muscles. The most accurate way is by using calipers to measure how much fat you've got on you on different points in your body. Regardless, I wouldn't count on it too much. The numbers can't always tell you if something is working for you, which is what's most important.

Vegan/non-vegan butthurt in this thread is irrelevant. You've already said that you don't want to give up meat--you might want to look into Paleo diets. Other than that, it sounds pretty much like you've already made up your mind as to what you want to do. Best of luck to you.

 

[Lagduf]

Blah, nevermind.

 

[abasuto]

I had baked chicken in my curry meal last night.

bad vegetarian am I.