OK, all of you out there in Blogland, do I **really** look "emaciated?"
Aren't "emaciated" and "sick" the same thing? Do I really look sick?
Ron, a friend here at REI, told me this afternoon he thinks I look like I've been sick. That officially makes 3 people in the last 3 days who've told me I look either emaciated or sick. I don't think I look that way (that bad). In fact, I think I could stand to (read: would like to) lose a few more pounds. Not a lot more. But I've kinda been thinking I'd like to get down to 190. According to the National Institutes of Health, a 6' 3" person who weighs 197 has a BMI of 24.6. That's me. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is "Normal," according to the NIH. A weight of 200 pounds at 6' 3" gives a BMI of 25, which is officially overweight. According to the chart.
When I started running last April I was 232. "The Chart" said that was a BMI of 29, which is not far from 30, at which point one is "Obese."
Now I'm not saying I think "the chart" is the gospel or that the same parameters apply to everyone. I really am "big-boned" if anyone on the planet is. And I'm fairly athletic -- probably more than the average person. So my "real" (I'm having a "great time" using "quote marks" in this "post"...) ideal weight may well be something different from the average population. Or maybe not.
I do know one thing, though. The less I weigh the easier it is to ride the bike and to run. Those are good things, aren't they? I really don't think I'm making myself sick. I'm certainly not depriving myself. I'm eating plenty, and plenty of variety. Healthier, I think, than I've eaten in a long time, and perhaps the healthiest ever.
I have to admit, though, that being told I look sick 3 times in 3 days has gotten my attention. I'm just not quite sure what to do -- if anything -- with the information. In part, I'm hopeful that it's simply people who are accustomed to seeing me a lot heavier saying I look different, and illness is one of the common ways people lose a lot of weight. So even if I really look healthy, they associate illness with weight loss, so therefore I look sick.
It's late again. Seems like it is every night.
G'night Chet. G'night David.
Now I'm not saying I think "the chart" is the gospel or that the same parameters apply to everyone. I really am "big-boned" if anyone on the planet is. And I'm fairly athletic -- probably more than the average person. So my "real" (I'm having a "great time" using "quote marks" in this "post"...) ideal weight may well be something different from the average population. Or maybe not.
I do know one thing, though. The less I weigh the easier it is to ride the bike and to run. Those are good things, aren't they? I really don't think I'm making myself sick. I'm certainly not depriving myself. I'm eating plenty, and plenty of variety. Healthier, I think, than I've eaten in a long time, and perhaps the healthiest ever.
I have to admit, though, that being told I look sick 3 times in 3 days has gotten my attention. I'm just not quite sure what to do -- if anything -- with the information. In part, I'm hopeful that it's simply people who are accustomed to seeing me a lot heavier saying I look different, and illness is one of the common ways people lose a lot of weight. So even if I really look healthy, they associate illness with weight loss, so therefore I look sick.
It's late again. Seems like it is every night.
G'night Chet. G'night David.
2 comments:
Hey--Since I'm one of the three--I'll respond.
Personally, I was indulging in hyperbole, as is my wont.
I think partly I reacted to the fact that you've lost more weight than I've ever seen, even back in our skinny college days, so it's sort of shocking. Partly it's that when we get older (sorry), we look tend to look emaciated rather than thin around our faces and necks (further proof of the joys of gravity) than we did when younger (think Bette Davis in her latest years). (Not that you look like Bette Davis.) (Aside from the eyes.) (Ok, I'll stop.)
Partly it's that you've been the broad shouldered, muscular, mountain man type, and we're not used to your new "running man" look.
So, ok, Mick Jagger is your new body hero. :-)
Don't worry about what anyone else says. If you're healthy, like how you look, and feel good, why care what anyone says?
Yeah, when it comes down to it, I'll do what I want for myself, regardless of what anyone says. And I'm certainly not going to go out and try to gain weight just to make someone else happy.
Still, all those comments, and there's been even one more since then, (I admit I'm a little shocked at alll this comment....) have made me think. Am I being healthy? What's my real motivation? How serious about all this do I really want to be? Do I really want to bother with a triathlon? For now, I'm just going to proceed and see how it goes. I am going to give swimming a try. I may hate it and I may love it. I honestly have no idea. I do know, however, that it's great low impact exercise, whether I ever do a race or not.
And you're right about those "skinny college days." You've never seen me as light as I am now. I haven't been under 200 since high school.
And given a choice between looking like Bette Davis or Mick Jagger, I'm not sure which I'd prefer. ;-)
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