Achieving My Target Weight, Kinda Sorta
This is not the story that the title makes it sound like it’s going to be, so don’t dismiss it if you think this is going to be an inspirational story about losing weight.
My insurance company discounts rates for things like not smoking, having good cholesterol levels and low blood pressure, getting health screenings, etc. One of the boxes to check is a BMI in the not-overweight range.
Last week at the doctor, I took off my shoes and weighed in. When the nurse plugged the number into the calculator, I came in at 25.1% BMI, when 24.9 is the top limit of what they term “normal.”
“Can I take off my clothes and try again?” I asked the nurse.
“Sure,” she said, then advised me not only to take off my jeans but also my watch, bracelet and eyeglasses. Down to my underwear, we got a new number, plugged it in, and the new BMI was 24.7%. Success! We both cheered and laughed and clapped. The doctor also found it pretty funny when she came in.
Alas, I thought getting the target BMI would get me out of blood tests for cholesterol and glucose. Turns out I have to do those anyway. I’m not a fan of the blood draw; I’ve had some horrific experiences over the years. Also, I’m pretty sure there’s no way to jigger those tests to hit the target retroactively.