I have never, ever liked the BMI chart. I'm a woman, I have curves, I have a wee bit of muscle, and for all of my adult life I've been a person who has weighed a little bit more than I look.
I didn't realize what the chart really meant until about 6 years ago. I was dealing with a stubborn medical issue, and my primary care physician at the time suggested that I consider surgery. I was not anxious to be cut open, but I was willing to meet with the surgeon to explore my options. At the end of the consultation, she stated that the hospital has seen other patients turned down for similar elective procedures as my BMI was over 30, putting me smack in to the 'clinically obese' range. She did not refuse to do the procedure, but she indicated that we would both be in for a hassle.
The conversation with the surgeon took me aback a bit. My primary care docs, both then and now, have both basically said "you're overweight, but not THAT overweight." The reason behind some of that may be body comp, or my activity level, my overall health, etc. Now, I'm not one to make excuses. There are lots of reasons why I should lose weight. One of those reasons? I want to do it. Better fitness is good! Fitness FEELS good
Never had the surgery done, the runaround which would have been needed to get my insurance to cover it made the option a lot less appealing -- which is probably why the insurance companies do this to begin with. Make an expensive procedure difficult to get covered, and fewer people will opt for it. I'm not sure if I would have had the surgery done had the insurance covered it. But once a doc puts that sort of label in your head, its kinda tough to get it off your mind.
I have a monitor-scale that weight, body fat, and lean muscle mass. One of the data points it also provides is BMI calculation. And today, for the first time since seeing the surgeon?
BMI = 29.8. That's less than 30!!artyon:
Goodbye, "obese". I hope to never see you again.
Onward and upward! Or.....downward, as the case may be :cheers:
I didn't realize what the chart really meant until about 6 years ago. I was dealing with a stubborn medical issue, and my primary care physician at the time suggested that I consider surgery. I was not anxious to be cut open, but I was willing to meet with the surgeon to explore my options. At the end of the consultation, she stated that the hospital has seen other patients turned down for similar elective procedures as my BMI was over 30, putting me smack in to the 'clinically obese' range. She did not refuse to do the procedure, but she indicated that we would both be in for a hassle.
The conversation with the surgeon took me aback a bit. My primary care docs, both then and now, have both basically said "you're overweight, but not THAT overweight." The reason behind some of that may be body comp, or my activity level, my overall health, etc. Now, I'm not one to make excuses. There are lots of reasons why I should lose weight. One of those reasons? I want to do it. Better fitness is good! Fitness FEELS good
Never had the surgery done, the runaround which would have been needed to get my insurance to cover it made the option a lot less appealing -- which is probably why the insurance companies do this to begin with. Make an expensive procedure difficult to get covered, and fewer people will opt for it. I'm not sure if I would have had the surgery done had the insurance covered it. But once a doc puts that sort of label in your head, its kinda tough to get it off your mind.
I have a monitor-scale that weight, body fat, and lean muscle mass. One of the data points it also provides is BMI calculation. And today, for the first time since seeing the surgeon?
BMI = 29.8. That's less than 30!!
artyon:Goodbye, "obese". I hope to never see you again.
Onward and upward! Or.....downward, as the case may be :cheers:
