Reasons why the BMI is bogus

This was on NPR's Weekend Edition. I thought it was fabulous! Everything is according to the BMI these days, and it drives me insane. Even when doctors, nutritionists, and other professionals know how bogus the BMI is, it still holds such authority. I get that professionals want a general statistic, but really ,couldn't they come up with something better than a formula dated to the 19th century! Yes, it is 200 years old!

To my delight, the Top 10 reasons why the BMI is Bogus

Personally, I really like 2, 3, and 4 best.

Vet appointment--judgments, weight, and realizing I have an obsession problem

I took Tovah to the vet this morning to get spayed. She was excited to be there which I'd much rather have than anxious and fearful, like poor Mr. Baxter who has just never overcome his "vet anxiety." He's better than some dogs I've seen, but he pants and sheds quite a bit which is kind of hard for a Boxer to do.

The first thing done is always weighing your dog. I was actually quite curious about this since she hadn't been weighed since late February. The scale read 44.9 pounds which surprised me, because I could have sworn from lifting her many times, she was at least 50 pounds! I'm really skeptical about their scale anyway, but I'll get to that in a minute.

One of the newer vets took her back while the receptionist was going over the paperwork. It sort of drives me nuts, because they know I work with dogs, but yet, still treat me like I know nothing. :sigh: Tovah bolted back with the vet. He came out later and said this to me:

From the looks of her, you would have thought oh dear, we are in for a handful. Once back there, we asked her for a sit, she did it, and then was calm. Then, we gave her the sedation medicine.

My first thought was "well, duh.," but I refrained from saying that. Instead I said, "she has had extensive training, so it was not surprising to me she did what you asked." I don't know, I just thought that was a stupid judgment call on this vet's part. Number one, she doesn't look scary, number two, she is a boisterous puppy and was excited to be there.

I know it is pretty useless to take the comment personally, but still I dislike judgments. If you're going to make one, at least take things into consideration. I'd almost say make sure to have your facts correctly, but I often relate facts with observations versus judgments with ignorance.

So then, the scale issue. I have qualms about their scale, because for one of my dogs, it read eight pounds lighter than two years ago. And I just can't fathom that she lost eight pounds in that time. She's nowhere near underweight or anything, but it is important for me to have her (and all my dogs) correct weights to know how much to feed them. (Their diet is raw food based, so I give a certain percentage of meat, while the rest is vegetables, fruits, and organ meats)

When I told my dad about this weight issue with Daphne awhile back, he said, "well, why don't you just weigh yourself on their scale?" Umm, not likely. I have a hard enough time being in a Dr.'s office getting weighed so being at a vet's office would likely heighten my anxiety with the observation of more people.

So can anyone guess what kind of thoughts ran through my head? Yes, I was thinking of buying a scale. :sigh: Bad me Bad me. I know that probably isn't the best solution. I don't know why I'm even a bit obsessed on this honestly. The dogs are healthy and in good shape. I think it's the pure thought of wanting to be right, accurate, and proving to myself that my body distortion is not that off--that I can estimate a weight of a person/dog on looks alone. Yes, I know that last statement is probably a bit hypocritical.

Anyway, I'm still waiting for the call that everything went smoothly, and I can go pick her up.

Horrible headline

A headline from Reuters reads: Stay slim to save the planet.

The brief article goes on to say how overweight people eat and travel by car more frequently, therefore are further contributing to the worsening environment.

According to British researchers, Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts who published a study on this in the International Journal of Epidemiology, "We need to be doing a lot more to reverse the global trend toward fatness, and recognize it as a key factor in the battle to reduce (carbon) emissions and slow climate change."

While I agree we all need to be doing things, like driving less (and yes even thin people do drive a lot) to save the planet, playing the blame game is not necessary nor cool in my opinion. I hate when articles pull this kind of crap.

Anyway, if you are interested in saving the environment (think early Earth Day post), here is a list of 50 simple things to do to stop global warming and a global warming survival guide from Time.

Note: *some of these are repetitious but still good reads

Witnessing cruelty in people

I went out for a short run this evening. Apparently, my legs were not too happy about it since I decided for whatever reason to do lunges around the perimeter of my yard last night. At the time, this seemed like a good idea, and I felt energized. However, today was another story. I thought perhaps a short run would help with the lactic acid buildup. Think I was wrong again.

Anyway, I ran into a group of five dogs. I've seen them before--one is an older border collie mix, and the other four are chihuahuas and mini dachshunds. Before this, they had Boston Terriers. I have no clue what happened them. This wasn't the first day they decided to follow me I didn't realize two of them were tagging along until I physically looked back and saw them right at my heels. These are friendly dogs, so I was not worried, however, I do know their owner or at least the person who I saw last time doesn't want them to leave the property. Last time, I asked them why they were out in 30 degree weather, and all she said was "so they could enjoy the sunshine." Hmm.

I stopped, walked back up the hill towards their house as they continued following me. Then, I heard this guy saying, "[insert dog's name] get back here now, you know better, get up here." This was not in a nice happy tone but rather yelling. And meanwhile, he was holding a small limb! When they were close enough, he would use the limb to whack them up the road. Honestly, I was sort of shocked and felt incredibly sad for these dogs. I don't know the rest of their situation, but I was thinking, "Buddy, this is surely not the way to get your dogs to come to you."

What is wrong with people? Next time, I'll just pick up the dogs and bring them to their house, so he can't whack them. Needless to say, the rest of my run felt pretty pointless.

HappyHR

As I was reading through google reader, trying to catch up on articles, I came across this one about the HappyHR. After I read this, alarm bells went on in my head how this could be very abused, especially for those with eating disorders and chronic dieters. Basically, the HappyHR is a device which counts calories 24/7, including in your sleep! It is touted as "a fitness monitoring and management" device which the creators hope to extend to health applications for glucose and respiratory monitoring.

I think this is kind of scary. It doesn't say its accuracy, but how much concern is that really? It's just the point that there are people out there creating tools to determine how many calories you expend each and every minute of the day. It's not like we need another tool to add to society's obsession with numbers or as a way of measuring up, determining our worth. Seriously, what are people thinking?

I know I'm ranting here, but do other people see the pitfalls of this technology?

Just what we need--another new diet book

A new book is out called The Pen and Paper Diet The website touts that this diet plan will allow adults to maintain their desired weight for the rest of their life, using scientific principles and common sense. Apparently, this diet plan accounts for height, age, weight, activity level, and gender and can be applied to ages 19-84 years old. The catch is that you have to continuously count calories throughout the day. Hmmm, is that really healthy?

The line that really sticks out for me the most seen in this press release is:

"This diet will be ideal for those that struggle with anorexia and bulimia because it can enable these individuals to maintain their weight at the low end of BMI like they would prefer while digesting their food," Dow says.

I should note that Dow and his wife are not medical experts but two people who wanted to lose weight. I think I'm astonished that someone would even say this. Sure, many with anorexia and bulimia don't want to gain weight. Even when weight is gained, many want to hover at the minimal range of ideal which just puts that person at risk to fall back into old patterns. This can also lead to living like a "functional" eating disorder individual, making that seem okay. But really, it is not okay. It's not okay to be married to your calorie counter or your scale. :sigh:

**********

Besides this new book coming out, I've also been seeing the trend in weight loss by a few of my clients. One is a woman who recently got back from Hawaii. She and her husband have a condo there and go every year for several weeks. I knew she had been on Weight Watchers and was attending meetings and such, but I was surprised at her weight loss. She said she thinks that most people had only seen her when she had gained weight and not the weight she was most of her adult life. I don't know whether things could get out of control or not, but it is a little worrisome.

Then I saw my good friend last week out of the blue. I had left a number of messages for her but didn't hear back. When I saw her, I could tell she had lost weight. She said she was on the "CNS diet, ie "caffeine, nicotine, and stress" diet. Most of her life, she has been big and losing weight was always a tough battle for her. However, I do not think this is the way to go. She said it's mostly stemming from personal problems. I do worry since she is a good friend.

The last client is a married couple. When I last saw them, it was noticeable that they too had lost weight. Neither were what I'd call overweight, just more on the average. They talked about their weight loss saying it was mostly due to drinking more water, some exercising, and eating healthier. I do know the woman has been doing more exercise since her job position changed. I guess I hope that it was a healthy approach for them.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm more sensitive to people losing weight. I can understand losing some weight for health, but I always have this fear it will go overboard for them. Maybe I'm just too clouded by my own experiences. I keep wondering if these people are married to their calorie counting books or their points systems or whether they have just embraced healthy living. The latter is my hope.

Can Aol get even stupider?

First off, no offense to anyone who has aol. I used to have it when I first began using the computer, more than ten years ago. I even ventured in the ED chat for a long time and got to know people there In fact, some I still keep in touch with to this day.

Anyway, someone from one of the running forums I visit recently talked the ridiculous weight loss tricks that popped up on her aol news. Many of them are more or less consistent with what professionals have said for those who do need to lose weight for health purposes. However, a few of them could easily be seen on a "pro-ana" site. It's really scary to think these would even be considered and how there will be people who do these anyway. :sigh: