on the measure of a man.
When I ate vegan I went between 185 and 190. I just checked in on the scale and I go 205 these days. Meats, cheeses, and desk jobs apparently equal fifteen lbs. I'm not a fan of those 15 though. There is something that feels safer about being under 200 lbs. Some notional comfort blanket enveloping me in the warm fuzzydom of knowing a particular line is being held. Drawing the same line at say 217, 261 or 205 does not seem to offer the same psychological benefits. If I can make it to 201--so the logic goes--there is NOTHING stopping me from being 299 - and then 300, and then 350, and then diabetic, and then, eventually, a NASCAR fan and devoted attendee of all public events held at the Jacksonville Landing.
I just did a quick check to gauge where "I should be" (normatively) and think that perhaps the BMI system might be either broken or completely fucking insane. At 6' 1" tall, that calculator places 140lbs in the "normal" range and calls 187lbs "overweight." This--even to my 'Merrikin aesthetic--cannot be taken seriously. A quick check on teh interwebz shows Christian Bale in The Machinist as weighing 125lbs at 6' tall... and only 16.4 lbs underweight by this same BMI standard.
This strains its credibility I think. I felt 185 was a phenomenal weight (US Army 101st Airborne days). I could ruck up on a 75lb backpack and just walk for three days straight; had no problem working out/ strength didn't suffer/ stamina was great too. 170-175 (US Army 2nd Infantry - DMZ days) was good for running. I did my best ever miles in 5:15 back then, but I was sick that entire year with recurring Bronchittis and Pnuemonia so I can't say I got the full experience of what was possible. Carrying weight seemed more difficult, but oh yeah-it's fucking Korea and the-oh what were they called: MOUNTAINS under the snow can get kind of steep, so it would stand to effing reason.
Anywho... 205. This is crazy. Something must be done.
I just did a quick check to gauge where "I should be" (normatively) and think that perhaps the BMI system might be either broken or completely fucking insane. At 6' 1" tall, that calculator places 140lbs in the "normal" range and calls 187lbs "overweight." This--even to my 'Merrikin aesthetic--cannot be taken seriously. A quick check on teh interwebz shows Christian Bale in The Machinist as weighing 125lbs at 6' tall... and only 16.4 lbs underweight by this same BMI standard.
This strains its credibility I think. I felt 185 was a phenomenal weight (US Army 101st Airborne days). I could ruck up on a 75lb backpack and just walk for three days straight; had no problem working out/ strength didn't suffer/ stamina was great too. 170-175 (US Army 2nd Infantry - DMZ days) was good for running. I did my best ever miles in 5:15 back then, but I was sick that entire year with recurring Bronchittis and Pnuemonia so I can't say I got the full experience of what was possible. Carrying weight seemed more difficult, but oh yeah-it's fucking Korea and the-oh what were they called: MOUNTAINS under the snow can get kind of steep, so it would stand to effing reason.
Anywho... 205. This is crazy. Something must be done.