Definition of Obesity, Food Addiction and BMI

I watched a show on the TLC channel over the weekend called “I eat 33,000 calories a day.” It was a heart wrenching story of four people’s lives who are devasted due to being very overweight and food addiction. I realized that I could easily have been in a very similar situation - house bound and incapacited by food. I started this diet last year on May 1, I was 293.5 lbs. (defined as morbidly obese) - with lots of back pain, foot pain and knee pain, aching all over, high blood pressure and exhausted 90% of the time.

I am now 230.5 lbs. (defined as obese) - less knee and foot pain, very little back pain, ache free for most of the day, and more energy for most of the day, and my blood pressure has been lower the last few doctor visits.

There were a lot of things that I could relate to in the show. And it really made clear to me that food can be just as addictive and destructive as drugs or alcohol - I already treated some foods as drugs and avoided them completely. There is a big difference between someone who has gradually gained a few pounds as they approach middle age and someone who has over 50 or 100 or more lbs. too lose. It is a lot more complicated then simply eating less and getting a little more exercise when dealing with obesity rather then just being a little overweight. The way the body reacts to foods, the emotional and psychological aspects of how a person relates to food, individual hormones, genes, and body chemistry all play a role in how a person responds to food, hunger, and dieting.

One tool used to determine whether or not a person is just overweight or obese is the BMI calculator. BMI Calculator

A BMI under 18.5 is considered underweight. 18.5 to 24.9 is
Normal. 25 to 29.9 is Overweight. 30 to 39.9 is Obese. 40 and up is defined as Morbidly Obese. My goal weight (as determined by my nutritionist) is 140 lbs. , it will equal 24 BMI.

At 150 to 174 lbs. I’ll be overweight, at 175 to 230 I’ll be obese, at 235 lbs is when I was morbidly obese. (At current weight of 230 I am just inside the obese range.)

BMI does not measure body composition (muscle to fat ratio), so it is not a perfect tool to use, for example a body builder would register a high BMI but not be obese. It is, however, a good basis for most of us to get an idea of the state of our weight.

The first step to recovering any addiction is being honest and admitting the addiction. I know there are certain foods I will never eat again - no matter how much someone who only needs to lose 10 lbs tries to tell me no food should be taboo. Would you tell a recovering alcoholic it’s ok to have just 1 beer a day? No, of course not. So if an obese person is dieting, and has chosen to avoid certain foods they have found to be addictive or that trigger a binge be supportive and respect their choice to no longer have those foods.

The more I can learn about how I interact with food, the more I am willing to accept responsibility for my choices and actions, the more I will be able to apply this knowledge to help me achieve my goal and in the long term maintain a healthy weight.

Watching this show on TLC was also a great motivation for me to STICK with my healthy eating plan.

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