BMI & Magical Canadian Eyebrows: Related

AREN'T MY EYEBROWS FANTASTIC?! OOT N' AHBOOT!

I'm almost at my 1st main goal: lose enough weight for my BMI index to go from "obese" (230s) to merely "overweight" (starting at 196 lbs). I'm starting to think of a second goal: reduce to get my BMI index down to the classification of "normal", which for me is a 164 lbs. To get to that weight would mean to lose over 30% of my body mass. (As it is, I've shed a little less than 15%) Which brings up a host of questions: Is this a healthy goal? Is it realistic? What should I weigh? Specifically, is the BMI index what I should be calibrating my goals to?

The eyebrows with the man attached to them in the picture above is a health & nutrition guru named Yuri Elkaim, one of the most aggressively opinionated Canadians I've ever listened to. He's a holistic nutritionist railing against a lot of the traditionally accepted ideas about nutrition through his blog, podcast, and a multi-media kit he sells on-line. I still haven't made up my mind about him, as he seems to teeter between selected scientific data, friendly enthusiasm and thinly disguised hucksterism, but so far there seems to be enough interesting content to follow his podcast on iTunes and occasionally check out his blog. One entry really resonated with me:  "How much should I weight?"

BMI is useful for most people. It’s really…it’s fine for the majority of the population. The only times it becomes a bit of an issue in terms of not being very reliable is when we’re dealing with athletes, because you might—this is actually very common with rugby players and football players—you might get a guy who’s, let’s say, 5’10″, 220 pounds, and if we’re to look at that according to (their BMI scores) —5’10″, 220 pounds—he would be considered just outside of overweight and just on the brink of obese.

So Yuri gives BMI a pass -- unless your really muscly and super fit, chances are the BMI index is fine. The Body Mass Index is simply a calculation of a ratio of height and weight. According to some internet thinkin', BMI is not very good for people of way-above-average height, as the formula acts in a straight line, making much heavier tall people fall into more moderate BMI classifications.

What is generally agreed upon is while BMI is a convenient tool for the majority of an adult sedentary population, the only accurate and important measure of weight in any person regardless of height, age or build is body fat percent, which can not be measured simply with a few numbers in a formula.

How an ugly lady becomes a man.

This image from Yuri's blog gave me pause. The man on the top left was who I was about a year ago, and I'm certainly nowhere near the Ken doll on the lower right. I guess with about 15% loss in weight, I'm somewhere between 25% (Mr. Tubbz) and 20% (Senor Jelly Roll.) (Freakier still, is how Mr. Fatty McFatfat has the same exact thin head as Mr. Male Model.) Regardless, it illustrates that fat percent is where it's at for a clear view of what's up with if you be a porker or you be a, ummm, norker?

How does one measure a fat percent? The best way involves being submerged in a tank full of water, and how much water you displace (i.e. how much you float) tells you your fat percent because fat is less dense than muscle, bone and other tissues. Other ways are callipers that pinch fat rolls, but it's not as accurate because you have to hit the exact same spot every time, and if your body is changing, then the spot is moving a bit -- it's more of an art than a science. The most common way is electrical impedance. Fat conducts electricity differently than other tissues when a current sent through the body is measured. There are devices, like the Tanita scale I use at home, which uses this method to give a reading of fat percent.

The problem with it, and the reason I gave up reporting on the fat percent readings, is electrical impedance measures of fat can vary wildly due to hydration. My fat percent will be very different before and after a bike ride simply because I'm dehydrated, or if I'm holding water because of excess salt consumption. If you measure at the same time of the day, after a few days of relatively similar activity and sweating and diet, the measure will be within a few percentage points. I think I'll give it a go again next weigh in -- my fat percent was dependably in the mid 30s when I was paying attention to the readings.

So in conclusion, if you're not too tall, not a kid and are relatively sedentary, BMI is fine as a general measure of fitness. If you really want to get a more accurate read, measuring fat percentage is the way to go.
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Salt has been in the news this week. Uhh, the other salt....

Up until this point, I've avoided addressing the issue of salt in diet because despite commonly accepted wisdom, my gut says salt is not the hobgoblin it's made out to be....but I haven't really done the research to get a grounded opinion, either way. However,  the NY Times recently reported on a massive new study that concluded that super-low salt diets are completely ineffective in terms of reducing stroke & heart attack risk, and implies that weight loss is much more effective in reducing blood pressure than sodium intake. It does not go so far to suggest a dietary guideline for salt consumption.

I see this as a confirmation of my gut feeling: like many things, salt is not good for you if you consume too much or too little. Up until recently, it was accepted that low and no salt diets were a "no brainer" for any one's health, and it seems that just ain't true - it's more complicated than that. It seems when people demonize salt, or fat, or carbs, or protein or whatever, what's really happening is the result of looking for a simple solution to a complex problem. Everyone, stop buying diet books and start your own blog!

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WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2310

Monday bike ride really did seem to make me hungrier for days after, but was able to keep a lid on it by eating more earlier and less later. Over all, a good week though the weekend found me eating more than usual, maybe an echo of feeling a little bit more deprived than usual during the week.

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BIKE CREDIT: 2180
MONDAY COUNT: 2405

To reward myself for Friday's pull-up, I woke up at 4, geared up, took a train to Van Cordlandt Park then road up the Old Put Rail Trail straight to Putnam County, visited my parent's graves, then took a wandering route back down the Hudson. Got home around 5:30, showered, dressed, drank a pint of chocolate milk then met some other obligations in the world with wobbly legs but a happy head.

Very happy with how my new approach to bike-eating worked on this 90 mile ride. Basically ate enough every 1.5-2.5 hours to stay ahead of the calories burned calculated on the cyclometer. The final 1/4 of the ride my stomach tightened and I just wasn't hungry at all, but the numbers don't lie, and if it were not for the final 3:30pm 500 cal bike snack, I would probably bonked by the time I got home.

Funny how 2000 calories can so easily fit into a small hydration pack when you're just dealing with relatively calorie-dense, processed foods. If I tried to eat 2000 calories of baby carrots on the bike, I'd have to strap on a feed bag while pedalling and a bucket under my saddle to catch all the poo. Not unlike a horse!

AM SNACK: 4:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 4:45am, fruit smoothie, 400 cal
First time I've made a smoothie in advance the night before. Tasted fine but not a habit I'm going to get into. Replaced pomegranate juice with cranberry, less sugar but definitely tastes tarter.

BIKE SNACK: 7am, granola bar, 345 cal

BIKE SNACK: 9am, granola bar, 345 cal

BIKE LUNCH: 11:45am, almond butter and grape jelly on wholewheat, chocolate digestive biscuits, 1020 cal

BIKE SNACK: 2pm, granola bar, 345 cal

BIKE SNACK: 3:30pm, almond butter and grape jelly on wholewheat, 500 cal

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, chocolate milk, 500 cal

PM SNACK: 7:45pm, momma salad, 100

DINNER: 9pm, whole wheat pasta with shrimp, snow peas, parm and homemade sauce, 730

EVENNG SNACK: 10pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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TUESDAY COUNT: 2405

Fell asleep by 10:30 last night, but the 9 hours sleep wasn't enough, woke up weak and muddy headed....in a good way. Maybe I should of double-downed on chocolate milk? Did my morning work out, though a little weaker than usual, and though I tried in earnest, I could not replicate my one damn pull up from last Friday. Not beating myself up about it, a 90 mile bike ride will take something out of the best of us.

Weird eating day. Ate dim sum at a proper Chinatown dim sum house with friends visiting from England, and wanted that experience. Hard to cal-count it, but guessed from how my stomach felt. Was not hungry again until 8pm, and thought I could get away with juice, salad and Frito's, but hunger got the best of me. Still kept it in relative control.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, steel cut oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & salt, 350 cal
Didn't have a cup of dry oats left, hence the slight reduction in calories.

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 3pm, assorted dim sum, +/- 800 cal
Lots of dumplings, weird sausage rolls, a chicken foot, and something I never did before I ate better, a pile of sauteed Chinese kale. Bulked up on rice, which probably lead to more calories than I preferred.

PM SNACK: 8pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 145 cal

DINNER: 9pm, spinach papa salad with homemade Italian dressing & Frito's, 450 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, cheesy poofs, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, 2 frozen white castle burgers, 260 cal
Left over from the weekend. Was craving sugar, but the soft white bread (which probably had a ton of sugar in it) did the trick.

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WEDNESDAY COUNT: 2130

Edie off from school today and tomorrow because of Shuvuot, went to C & Autumn's house in the morning. Packed yogurt with me to keep to my normal eating, but lunch was a social thing, picking up vegan sandwiches from the neighborhood. I did a rare act of human-garbage can, eating up Edie's unwanted sandwich. Overall, not a bad eating day, and ended hungry enough that I had reasonable confidence in my calorie guesstimation.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, Fage full fat yogurt with almonds, agave & vanilla, 320 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, chickpea salad and pickles on whole grain rye sandwich, moz, tomato and pesto on sour dough sandwich, water, +/- 800 cal
My sandwich was good but very light and not very satisfying, so Edie's sandwich got tossed back pretty easily, weighed down by real cheese and pesto. This meal was mostly....bread, which while not unusual by today's standards, sticks out to me like a sore thumb. I think it didn't mess with me too hard was because the bread was mostly whole grain, and probably came from a small outfit that didn't add much/any sugars.....and I don't indulge in bread n' wheat that often.

PM SNACK: 5pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 8pm, momma salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:45pm, stir fry with shirataki noodles, shrimp, snow peas, broccoli, shitaki mushrooms in black bean sauce, 510 cal


EVENING SNACK: 9:15pm, Frito's, 300 cal

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THURSDAY COUNT: 2305

Getting hungrier earlier. An extra snack of carby fatty junk at 6:15 did the trick and allowed me to stay in budget and feel fine after hours.

AM SNACK: 7:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10am, steel cut oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & salt, 350 cal

LUNCH: 12:30pm, chicken sausage, madras lentils, steamed string beans, momma salad, 540 cal

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 135 cal

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15, cheesy poofs, 300 cal

DINNER:  7:45pm,grilled chicken breast, roasted broccoli & cippolini onions, kimchi, 580 cal

EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

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FRIDAY COUNT: 2305

Fine eating day.

AM SNACK: xam, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 8am, Fage full fat yogurt with almonds, agave & vanilla, 320 cal

NOON SNACK: noon, momma salad, 100 cal

LUNCH: 12:45pm, broiled flounder, roasted asparagus, sofrito black beans, kimchi, 575 cal


PM SNACK: 2pm, apple/carrot/beet/celery/cucumber/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 135 cal

PM SNACK: 6:15pm,  poppa salad with miso tahini, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:15pm, chicken meatballs, roasted brussel sprouts, wholewheat couscous, 775cal


EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Fritos, 300 cal