BMI Bullshit

Today I’ve got a bone to pick with this bullshit surrounding BMI.

This crap has so much to answer for, my current BMI is over 30 meaning I am classed as obese. Pre pregnancy I’m a size 14. I keep relatively fit, I ride horses and I’ve got 5kids to run around after. I’m not inactive. So being told I’m classed as obese is frankly horrifying. But let me tell you what this means, particularly in my pregnancy.

For a BMI over 30 it instantly means I have to have a glucose tolerance test (recommended but let’s face it, pressured). It also means I have to inject myself for 10days post baby with blood thinners. I’m higher risk because of my BMI. My homebirth isn’t as straight forward either. Nothing about your lifestyle is taken into account when calculating your BMI, just height, weight & ethnicity.

A lot of athletes have high BMI. Are classed as obese and overweight. Surely this isn’t a reliable basis to need all these extra interventions.

We now live in a society obsessed by weight, by how you look not how you feel. Not your health. Going into this pregnancy I hated my weight and throughout this pregnancy it’s got steadily worse, it got dramatically worse when I was told I was obese. I couldnt look at myself in a mirror, I wont let my partner see me out of clothes. I have despised my bump, not being able to see it for the amazing job it’s doing growing our baby. All because I was obsessed with a number on a scale that informed people I was obese.

Women, men and children are starving themselves based on what BMI tells them because of its ridiculous inaccuracies. Take me for example, I’m not a slim girl, I never have been but according to the BMI index I should be around 9-11 stone which for me would make me resemble a lollipop and I would look Ill. For my other half who couldnt look more like a rugby player if he tried, his ideal BMI weight would be 10st 9-14 stone. He’s 6ft3. That’s not a healthy weight for either of us. In this post I’ve added a picture I’ve been pretty reluctant to post because I have hated my pregnant body. I’ve hated the comments of how big I am (I was 26weeks in this picture) I’ve hated that I look so big, that my clothes don’t fit and that I’m uncomfortable in almost everything I wear. But I’m posting it because I want you to see what is now classed as obese. What we are telling people they shouldnt look like. How we are being shamed Into thinking isn’t normal or healthy.

This is normal, for me. I’m not fat, I’m not obese. I am a normal woman. My body has birthed 6 children soon to be 7. I’ve got stretch marks, I’ve got cellulite. None of this reflects my health. So next time you are told your BMI, ignore it. Eat healthy, get some exercise in (it’s good for your mental health apart from anything else) stay active, enjoy your curves. Own the body you are in. Don’t change for a number, BMI is bullshit.