i too have been put off by the whole BMI thing. it puts me at obese too. and like others here, i'm short and stocky with a gut (kilts look best on us i think ). i'm 5'7" 210 lbs. i wear 36" jeans, but my gut measures 41", and a 40" Utilikilt fits perfect. at boot camp i was 175 lbs. that still puts me at "overweight"!! oh well, whatever.

here's a BMI chart that i found.

when i was at NCSU i took a weight-lifting class. the instructor agreed that the BMI thing was a joke for many people. he said they should just add a simple to take measurement: the width of your elbow bone (bend your arm to 90 degrees. feel around for two opposing prominent boney points and measure with those). as it turns out i am truly "big boned", so i am supposed to be heavy for my size/height.

i still need to lose this gut though. my wedding kilt (from 8 years ago) is getting rather snug.

my advice would be to exercise and diet for health long term, and not just for clothing sizes. it can also be argued that you, Kilted Mason, are in a tough position of eating healthy given your odd schedule. i don't mind being alone alot personally, but to be disconnected from the rest of the world like would add a subtle stress that would cause me to probably want to eat and be more unhealthy; worse than that, being cut off from my boys for 5 days solid every week would really take a toll on me. my boys are only 1 and 5, i can't imagine being cut-off from them like that if they were older (but that is why i changed careers and got a "real" job).

i hope your situation gets better.