On Wednesday I had to be weighed and my height measured.

Before I had an appointment about my STOMACH.

Not confusing at all.

I must admit, my hackles did raise.

I make a solid point of NEVER WEIGHING myself.

My mum hid the scales in my family home MANNNNYYY YEARS ago.

And I don’t have scales in my present London home.

When they said they had to weigh me, I was curious.

I am a curious person. I always want to know everything and EXPERIENCE everything.

So I looked.

I saw my weight.

She told me my B.M.I.

A healthy B.M.I.

A healthy B.M.I.

A HEALTHY B.M.I.

Have you ever watched the final movie of the Harry Potter series?

What has that got to do with anything, Joy?

Bear with me, I promise.

When Harry momentarily dies and meets Dumbledore #spoileralert

And sees a tiny, shrivelled, skeletal, childlike looking Voldemort under a bench.

That is what my anorexia looks like now.

That is the disordered part of my head.

Almost nearly dead.

So when I got told my B.M.I. My healthy B.M.I.

My tiny Voldemort went ‘FAT BITCH’

I had to have a GENUINE conversation with myself in the waiting room,

Seriously? You’re taking issue with a HEALTHY BMI? You’re taking issue with a healthy weight?

But needless to say, that thought was there. And it does still arise.

When I feel my thighs touching or my tummy squishing,

I don’t always automatically go,

YASSSSSS GIRLFRIEND

That part still goes,

You’ve let yourself go. You should eat less.

Sorry, Voldemort, I win this time. Food is too good not to eat. Life is to be LIVED.

But it got me thinking about B.M.I.

Recently in my home county of Norfolk, the Eating Disorder Services came under scrutiny.

They were turning down anyone for treatment who wasn’t a B.M.I below 15.

Due to low staffing.

But at the same time, PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE AT RISK. Is there another solution than turning UNWELL people away?

I mean, let’s not EVEN get into the fact that they told me at my lowest weight that I was faking anorexia and I didn’t have anything wrong with me.

In what messed up world, do you cut down your food so much and STOP EATING…

so that you fall to a HIGH RISK low weight…

so much so you collapse and get sent to I.C.U…

all as a FAKE!

Like some acting part I was playing.

This is NOT the first time I have heard about this with Eating Disorder Services.

I have friends who have been SERIOUSLY ill, mentally and physically and been turned away for help because their B.M.I. wasn’t low enough.

And to be honest, for the large part, I have major issue with the way that eating disorders are treated. It’s seen as a physical problem rather than the PSYCHOLOGICAL problem that it is.

So they deal with weight gain to a healthy B.M.I. and VOILA you are better in their eyes and get sent home.

Needless to say people relapse again and again because the problem is in their MINDS. In their brains. It’s deep rooted.

Weight gain is only PART of the problem.

If I had been PROPERLY treated on a PSYCHOLOGICAL LEVEL then I wouldn’t have relapsed twice. And it wouldn’t have morphed into orthorexia. I wouldn’t have had to have suffered for a decade.

I have been at a ‘healthy’ B.M.I. and still undereaten. Over exercised. Skipped meals. And had disordered eating.

B.M.I. does not accurately portray the health of someone’s brain. It is not the definition of ANOREXIA or any form of disordered eating.

B.M.I is outdated.

It was created in the 1800s and implemented by the government in the late 1900s.

A 2016 study at U.C.L found that TENS OF MILLIONS of people who had a B.M.I that showed they were overweight or obese were PERFECTLY HEALTHY.

They also found that 30 percent of people with a healthy B.M.I were in poor physical health.

It is NOT AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF HOW HEALTHY YOU ARE.

There is currently a petition being run by Hope Virgo called #dumpthescales (follow the link)

That eating disorders should not be measured by weight. That we should be treating people BEFORE it gets critical.

I know how anorexia works.

When you tell an anorexic that they are not ‘anorexic’ enough, they will think that means they are FAT and it is like GAME ON!

They will lose more and more weight getting more and more critical.

I thoroughly encourage you to sign this petition.

But it’s not only about the thin side of the B.M.I scale.

I know people who are much more PHYSICALLY STRONG and FIT than I am who are classified as OVERWEIGHT.

I know people who are UNBELIEVABLY STUNNING and CURVY and can TWERK and NEVER GET TIRED who are classified as overweight.

B.M.I. is outdated.

It is BULL SHIT. B.S.(I).

I encourage you TODAY to stop using your scales.

To smash them with a hammer. To throw them in the bin.

Stop measuring your happiness and health on your weight or B.M.I and start WEIGHING it with how you ACTUALLY FEEL.

Are you happy? Tick.

Are you healthy? Tick.

Are you feeding yourself? Tick.

Can you laugh? Tick.

Can you love? Tick.

All those things are so much more important than B.M.I. or a number on the scales.

I used to watch videos of Instagram users and food bloggers putting chocolate in their oatmeal and dreamed of having the strength to actually be able to do that.

My oatmeal used to be really boring. Cooked with egg whites and topped with blueberries.

A very measly portion.

Now I live that dream of putting chocolate in my oats #liveyourbestlife

When I do, it is mostly DARK and low in sugar or refined sugar free.

Don’t want that sugar crash in the morning.

When I attended the Health Bloggers Summit, I was kindly gifted a bag of Real Handful‘s fruit, choc and nut mix. Mint choc chipper.

A blend of jumbo peanuts, mint infused raisins, dark chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds.

They do a bunch of other amazing flavours like Espresso&so, Blood Orange Burst and Go Go Goji Berry (to name a few).

You can find their products in Sainsburys, Asda and Ocado (check their website for other stockists).

Natural ingredients. Protein. Sweetness. Chocolate. Good fats.

It’s an amazing idea for a snack.

But I wanted to put this into my OATMEAL.

If you don’t have access to buying Real Handful’s products DO NOT WORRY.

You can still make this oatmeal.

Get yourself a handful of nuts of any kind for protein, maybe some seeds and use some DARK CHOCOLATE and maybe a mint infused dark chocolate (not after eight mints though. Not a great idea first thing in the morning.)

This is my Raspberry Mojito Oatmeal

(no rum though. Jesus, it’s first thing in the morning, what are you like?)

If you’ve ever had a Raspberry Mojito, you know that raspberry and mint go well together.

The coolness of the mint balances the tart sweetness of the raspberries.

For someone who suffers with IBS and anxiety, I always aim for food that eases my stomach and mind.

Mint has great calming qualities so a perfect peaceful way to start your day.

Plus chocolate in your oatmeal is ALWAYS a WIN!

Raspberry and Mint Oatmeal

What you’ll need:

• 45g oats (double quantities as you go if making for more than one person)
• Plant based milk (enough to cover oats)
• 3 tbsp of water.
• (Optional) 1 tbsp of Raspberry Protein Powder (I used Tribe‘s Raspberry and Goji Protein)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of agave syrup/maple syrup/honey.
• 2 handfuls of raspberries (one handful to mash into the oats and one to top)
• Handful of mint finely chopped
• A bag of Real Handful’s Mint Choc Chipper Mix OR A handful of nuts & seeds and a few squares of Dark Chocolate/Mint Dark Chocolate

How to make it:

• Put oats into a pan or bowl with the handful of raspberries, dash of salt, tbsp of agave/maple syrup/honey and optional protein powder.
• Top with plant based milk and the water. Put enough plant based milk to cover the oats and a little more.
• Mash the raspberries into the mixture so all of the oats are pink and raspberry-ey (definitely a word).
• Finely chop mint. Set to one side.
• If heating on the stove, heat on a low heat, stirring gently. Keep stirring till at consistency that is PERFECT for you.
• If heating in microwave, heat for 2 mins. Stir. Heat for another 2 mins. Heat for 1 min more if you like your porridge THICK.
• Top with the other handful of raspberries, Real Handful’s Mint Choc Chipper Mix (or my alternative) and the finely chopped mint.
• Sit down with your oats, inhale the minty cool peace of the oats, remind yourself that your weight and B.M.I does not define you as you enJOY your chocolatey, raspberry-ey, minty bowl of goodness.

Stop putting your whole worth on your weight.

Stop defining your happiness by your B.M.I.

And please sign Hope Virgo’s petition.

There are people out there who need help, irregardless of B.M.I.

B.M.I. is B.S.

Much love,

Joy xx