I came across this a long time ago and was recently reminded of it – today’s entry inspired me to finally get around to sharing it with you all.
We all know the scale lies – that’s why “They” created the BMI, to have a more accurate way of assessing weight and size. And it is more accurate. But that does not make it accurate at all.
Many years ago, I worked in the shoe department of a fancy store. I remember one day a woman came in and tried on a pair of size six shoes that happened to be too small for her. I offered to get her a six and a half to try, but she told me, “No, I wear size six.” Even knowing that different brands run differently, she was unwilling to choose the next size up in a pair of shoes she loved because she allowed herself to be tied to numbers.
We do that too often. We think about how much we weigh, what size we wear – as mothers we count diapers and ounces of milk consumed (do you think ancient people did this?). We care so much about numbers we forget that they do not equate normalcy. So many of us fall outside of “average” and we berate ourselves for this, even when we are perfect just the way we are.
So, please, check out the BMI project and try to let go of the control that numbers have over you.
Thanks for posting this. I came across it awhile ago, and think it’s great. I’m pregnant again, so it’s important for me not to get obsessed with numbers, and just be healthy and let my body do what it needs to!
Thank you for posting this, Bonnie! I have a BMI related post forthcoming and I had forgotten about the BMI Project.
I have been coming to this webpage for almost two years, and there is somehting that I have been wanting to communicate with the rest of the moms here for a while. I think this is a good opportunity!
I am not from the US, I live in a european country where kilos are used as weigth meassurement. So, when the women on here write that they were 130 ibs before pregnancy, it really doesn´t tell me anything at all! As far as I am concerned, it could just as well say 365 ibs! Of course I could sit down and do the maths and then figure it out, but when I just read it for the first time it doesn´t really mean anything for me. I just think this put things into perspective a little. Weigth meassurements are just numbers. They do not mean anything! Myself I don´t own a scale, haven´t got a clue how much I weigh, and I find it very liberating. For me, the way I feel and wheter I am able to participate in the physical activites that I enjoy is a far better meassurement as to how my body is doing…. I realize that for someone it´s different; and I am not saying that everyone should do the same thing I do. But at least everyone could consider the opportunity of a life not controlled by the scale!
Of course, I meant to write lbs, not ibs. haha. I think it kind of underlines my points that I didn´t even get what it is called rigth.