Starting With Myself: Am I healthy? What does Race Have to Do With It?

I figure that if I'm going to be a nutritionist, I better be healthy myself. I mean if I'm going to have patients that come to me for advice, I'm going to need to be the best role model there is.  Which of course is my main motivation for eating healthy and working out to be a healthy weight. According to a BMI report, a 23 year old woman like myself should half a BMI of anywhere between 18.5 to 24.9, this does not take into account body composition.  I would have to figure out the fat caliper for that.  My personal BMI is 25.5, which just barely makes it into the unhealthy range- however it doesn't necessarily deem me unhealthy, because once again.. it does not take into account body composition. Of course, I'm not quite sure what that means exactly, but I can take a guess that it it does not take into account my body type, fat percentage and genetics. I read in a magazine that this data is often formed using angle-saxons. That because it is not very inclusive of ethnic women, read black and hispanic, that I should automatically assume that I am unhealthy. 

I would like to explore this as a possible thesis statement.  Should we really take into account different races as a measurement of our health. I mean yes to some degree.. but I believe they may be looking at it for the wrong reason. There is a theory that is often thrown around: Latinas and African American women are "curvaceous" and should not be expected to fit the same health standards as white woman. I'm not advocating that anyone should attempt to live up to anyone's standards but I do not believe that we should excuse Latinas and African American women being overweight with the believe that we are curvaceous. 

Now let's take a step back.  Some of us are curvaceous but body type is something that must be considered across the board, whether a woman is Latina, African American, White or even ASIAN.   

I am struck when I read a small comment saying  NOTE: BMI may be lower.. if you are Asian.. in other words: if you are Asian it's OKAY to be underweight. Nevermind the small little detail that body image and eating disorders are prominent in Asian communities due to the widely spread rumor that Asians are just smaller and Asians being extremely thin means nothing and is not a health concern.  

Truth is, it may not be a health concern. Some Asians are naturally, healthfully smaller. Some African American and Latina women are naturally, healthfully larger. But I for one, am not going to allow stereotypes to determine what can be bypassed as healthy... when in reality it's not. 

Back to me.  So my BMI is slightly over what it is suppose to be.  There are moments when I get into the mentality that maybe 144 is my natural weight. and having a BMI of 25.5 is what is natural. But then I think back to about two years ago when I couldn't lower my weight below 150 lbs. Eight pounds later - here I am.  No it didn't take me two years to lose 8 lbs.  It just too real determination to eat properly, as well as discipline. For me, discipline has been the main factor. I first started taking major steps to lose weight on April 11. I  weight 152 back then. In two week I shed weight like non-other. Was it healthy? I can't say, I'm not a registered dietician.  But as far I can tell, it wasn't unhealthy. I worked ALOT. Almost 2 hours a day for about a week after a breakup.  I ate minimally. AKA lots of salads, cereal and water.  Is this safe? I'm not sure, but I wasn't starving.   I even got down to 142. That was exciting. But then came the plateau. I'm 144. Bouncing back and forth between 142-145 and in all honesty, I am having quite the hard time keep my love for chocolate and peanut butter and delicious goodness in check. 

So begins my quest to discover what is my healthy weight and really.. what does race/ethnicity have to do with it.