People are obsessed with numbers. My banker calls me to lock in my mortgage rate after the prime jumps up a massive quarter point. The constant running of our lives by the clock on the wall and of course, to stay with the theme of my article, those nasty little numbers on the weigh scale. One particular number system I’d like to address is the Body Mass Index or BMI. You’ve all calculated your “ideal” weight using this method at one time. Heck, my kids did it in grade 9 science class what a way to encourage a positive body image in an adolescent…not!

“The body mass index, or Quetelet index, is a statistical measure which compares a person’s weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it is used to estimate a healthy body weight based on a person’s height.”

Wow! Did you know this is a formula that was invented over 270 years ago? Hey, I’ll give credit where credit is due… thank you Einstein, Bell, Edison and Newton. However, the BMI is one ancient concept that is obsolete in today’s world. It needs to go.

Let’s have a look-see shall we? If I use the BMI chart to determine my theoretically correct body weight based on my height, I’m considered obese. I’m 5’11” and I weigh about 235 lbs. My “normal” weight should be around 175 lbs. Anyone else might see this and begin a severe weight loss program. Let's take an active grade 11 female student who is 5’11” and weighs 180 lbs she’s also the star volleyball player. According to the BMI she is overweight. I don’t think so. You would be shocked at the number of people that still use the BMI chart as their baseline to ideal body weight. Come on people. Wake up! I think we have learned a few things since the 19th century.

If you have decided that today is THE day to start dropping a few pounds, stop focusing on the numbers it’s not about dropping pounds, but trimming the fat and increasing (yes I said increasing) your lean muscle mass. Losing weight doesn’t mean you are losing fat (if we need to go over that again, then you must be living under a rock!). Essentially you could be tearing down your muscle mass to reach your goal. You may be prepared to torture yourself with a crash diet and sacrifice healthy tissue that is going to take you into your senior years just to see the numbers change on a scale, but I promise you that your weight will be back. Oh and you can add another five or ten pounds on top of it. You see, this article is all about numbers. What is it going to take for people of this world to follow a healthy lifestyle? It frustrates me to no end. Here’s my simple PROVEN formula: Decrease Fat + Increase Muscle = Permanent Weight Loss

How many of you have watched the TV reality show The Biggest Loser? How many of you, at some point have discussed those contestant's loss of weight with one of your friends? Excitedly cheering on their trials and tribulations and hoping they’ll lose it all. I have people walk up to me and discuss the show, “Hey Russ, did you watch The Biggest Loser last night? (No, never.) I can’t believe so-and-so lost over 100 lbs. The trainers just punish the contestants and they must workout for like 6 hours a day…blah blah blah.” I don’t get it. We watch a show where people are sometimes 200-300 lbs overweight and when they drop 100 pounds in three months we are overjoyed for them. I guarantee you each contestant gains the weight back after the show. The success rate of a person that obese, to drop FAT and keep it off, is extremely low and the expectations placed on them in this show are not part of a lifestyle that anyone can keep up for long. By watching these shows, we encourage these insane crash diets that are impossible to realize. They glorify a pandemic of obesity that we aren’t doing enough about. I don’t know about you but I’m NOT motivated to exercise by watching a bunch of obese men and women who cared very little for their health in the first place, struggle mentally and physically to lose weight, and then get it broadcast on a major TV network. Honestly, it’s way too much TV drama and certainly not a good representation of what goes on in the real world. Thanks again Hollywood!

Here’s my suggestion. Enough reading books and watching programs on weight loss. It’s the same rhetoric as the last thousand books ever written about weight loss only a different author. This weight problem our nation faces is not about learning more about the problem, it’s about permanently changing your eating habits and getting off your butt to engage in some daily form of physical activity. Covert Bailey, author of the Fit or Fat series, pretty much hit the nail on the head, “The best cardio for fat loss is the one you’ll do”. Start with yourself and include your children. Get your kids into physical activities as soon as you can at a very early age. Statistically, once a child becomes overweight or obese and that carries over into their teens, they have about a 50% chance of staying that way as an adult.

Stop watching other people’s success stories and create your own.