BM my Eye.

BMI.

Are these 3 letters a bit triggering for anyone else?

Yes, the BMI (Body Mass Index) is admittedly not as widely referenced or used these days, but let's be honest, our society is still fixated on "beauty standards" which is most often linked to weight and clothes size.

I'd say that at this point at my life I'm generally happy and excited to be alive.  I'm happy with who I see in the mirror.  But then I see a picture that someone took of me and

SCREECH!

It's like I mentally put the brakes on.

Is that me??

Do I really look like that?

And then occasionally I self-sabotage myself by googling my current BMI. 

 

According to this chart I am EXTREMELY OBESE.

Does anyone really want these words to flash up on a screen when describing your body?

NO.  Heck no.

And REALLY, does the diagram need to make me out to be an oompa loompa?

Now, let's take a walk down memory lane.  10 years ago, after having my second baby, I got my butt in gear and lost 65 pounds.  I was counting calories, eating lots of fruits & veggies, whole grains and protein, exercising 5-6x/week and in pretty darn good shape.  Here are a few pictures of me then--

When I enter my (then) height and weight in to the BMI calculator, guess what it says?

OVERWEIGHT.

Are you kidding me?  Really?

REALLY?  Even when I was OBSESSED with my body and health.  It was all about planning meals, charting, calculating, exercising, measuring and weighing.

Even then I wasn't hitting the mark?

So here I am at a point in my life, where overall I am content with myself and grateful that my body allows me to wake up and live each day.  

I no longer want my worth to be connected to some arbitrary number. (LOVE this post)

Yes, working towards balanced meals is great and movement is important, but…

My BMI does NOT determine my worth.

My weight does NOT  determine my worth.

My pant size does NOT determine my worth.

AND it doesn’t speak at all to WHO I AM, nor does it represent AT ALL the dynamic, unique, wonderful human being that you are. So BM my eye. 

Ok, got that off my chest. Rant over 😉