Well , I’m two-thirds of the way to my ideal weight.  Actually closer to ¾ but I am giving myself some buffer so I don’t freak out when I gain 10 or 15 pounds when I quit smoking (next goal).

When I started this crazy ride earlier this year I sat heftily at 274, with a 44 inch waist.  As of today, I am still 6′1 (hopefully, haven’t checked that) but I now weigh in at 225 and the waist is now a 37.  

^– One is  a gravel-voiced stud who makes the ladies swoon.  The other is Vin Diesel.  This comparison will make more sense later in the article, I promise. 

As I am getting closer to my still-smoking goal of 200, it’s getting a lot tougher.  I’ve added more exercise into the regimen in addition to the eating healthy route.  I now swim laps 4-5 times a week, do some water ab and oblique exercises,  and try to do 4-5 sets of curls a day.  Looks like buff will go a bit slower than the weight loss, but that was never really my goal anyway - being healthy was.

BMI ‘Tardism 

Now that I am getting close and need to kick it up a notch, I’m starting to research BMI, body fat ratios, and all that crap.  I’m sure the Body Mass Index system was designed with the best of intentions, and generalizations can’t fit all cases, but what they deem “healthy” is just insane.  I’ll show some visual specifics in a minute, but let’s talk data now. 

According to them, my BMI is currently 29.4 which makes me morbidly obese.  I get that I may have been at 275, but using their chart, I still have 45 more pounds to go to hit just OBESE. 

Now I’m 6′1″ with broad shoulders and a pretty big frame. I’ve been under 200 before, but I look pretty silly at anything less than that. 

Guess who else has the same exact height and weight as me at this very moment.  Vin Diesel.  That’s right, chrome- dome buff man is 6′1 225.  So BMI is telling me, that not only am I morbidly obese, but so is Vin Diesel?  Eat me.  You’re a douche and an idiot. 

Now I realize that I in no way have anything like the physique as Mark Sinclair Vincent  (his real name…sorry had to do something to take him down a notch) but we do have the same build underneath my chub.  Big legs, small waist, and doublewide shoulders.  He just has my 20 lbs of gut and boobs in his biceps and a body fat ratio about 20 times lower than mine. 

What bothers me about this is that you can’t find any “expert” article on health and fitness that does not make some reference to BMI.  If we again remember that my goal was to get healthy, and not look like XXX, you can understand how misleading this crap can be.  If you are telling me that I and Vin are exactly that same in terms of health, you are really confusing me and the vast majority of the female population.

The Visual Proof

If my words can’t get through your puny noggin, maybe some pics will help.  If this does not prove how f’d up the BMI system is, I don’t think anything can.  For this portion of the show we will discuss one of my favorite actors, Christian Bale.  I’ve been a huge fan of his for a while now, and if I ever go gay, he’s topping the laminated list. If you know anything about Bale, it’s that he is committed to his characters -  To the point of almost killing himself committed. 

If you are only marginally familiar with him you might know him is as the ridiculously perfect killer from American Psycho, if less so, you may know him as the equally buff Batman from the last 2 films.  What you may not know however is that he played a part in a small film called The Machinist a few years back where he played a mill worker with insomnia and mental issues that dwindled down to a skeleton. 

In Batman, Bale is a typically buff 6′0 220.  In the Machinist he was a freakish rail 130.  

First look at the pictures, then I will tell you what the BMI says about him.

 (Left Pic:  In The Machinist at 130) (Right Pic: in Batman at 220) Same dude less than 1 year apart.

According to BMI, in the pic on the left, Bale is three times more healthy than the pic on the right.    ARE YOU FRIGGIN SERIOUS? 

Here’s how the numbers break down: 

Machinist  Weight 130 -

• BMI Rating: 17.6 low/healthy border
• 17 pounds under ideal weight 

Batman Weight 220 

• BMI Rating:  29.8  obese (.4 higher than me and Vin in fact)
• 53 pounds over ideal weight

So In Conclusion:

Screw BMI. It’s about as useless as my sense of humor at a feminist rally.   I’m gonna doing what I’ve been doing.  Eating healthier, doing some exercise, and hopefully soon, quit smoking.  After all, I’d like to not only have a few kids, but hopefully see them through at least elementary school.  Don’t know if the Vin Diesel bod will ever happen, but don’t really care either. 

After all I can sing :) 

Be cool.

 JJ

PS. Don’t let the indifference fool you, I am REALLY enjoying the newfound attention from the ladies.  Been a while since I got a double take when not on stage :)  Not sure how the missus feels about it yet, but screw her too, she’s been hot all her life….