Why Midlife Measurements Matter

Measurements are essential for us to improve, we need a baseline to establish where we started, the improvements we have made and how much further we need to go to reach our goal. That is what this week’s blog post is all about. It’s an audit of my life at this ‘midway point’.

I am going to consider and reflect on 3 areas of my life; Health, Finances and Life Satisfaction. For each I will provide an honest discussion and measurement or rating of where I am at right now. So let’s get started:

Health Audit:

Weight & Body Composition: 

For  the majority of my life I was considered as someone who was slim or skinny. I had an Ectomorph body type which google states is characterized by a lean, slender build, fast metabolism and difficulty gaining muscle. Coupled with my high activity levels through playing a lot of sport this meant that I remained slim for a large portion of my life. However, as I have got older and my fast metabolism has abandoned me this has meant that I have begun to pile on the pounds. Additionally, I live a more sedentary lifestyle where I spend large portions of my life in front of a computer screen for work and for interests outside of my career.  Coupled with the responsibility of being a husband and father there is not the opportunity to partake in sports as much as I would like to in my spare time. 

So let’s get to the numbers:

Weight: 91.2 kg or 201lbs

Waist: 40 inches

BMI: 27.5 (Obese Category)

I am 5ft 10 and ¾ (that ¾ is particularly important), my BMI is therefore 27.5, This means that I am classified as obese. As much as I think that if you were to see me you would not necessarily agree (hopefully) with the assessment of me being obese. However, it is hard to argue with the statistics. I also recognise that there are some drawbacks to the BMI calculator as it does not take into account Body Composition, however trust me when I say my BMI score is not due to muscle mass, it is solely down to excess fat. 

Waist Measurement & Visceral Fat Risk

When looking at health the size of your waist is often something that can be overlooked. However, the measurement of your waist along with your height can be used to determine whether you are at increased risk of some serious illnesses and diseases. 

The size of your waist informs you of the fat which sits around your abdomen. What we need to be particularly aware of is visceral fat which build up around your organs. According to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) this fat is linked to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. BHF give the example that if there is excess fat in your liver, it can pump out too much fat and sugar into your blood. This in turn will increase your risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. According to my current waist measurement I am at increased risk of these. 

Blood Pressure & Hypertension:

In 2022 one of my family members had a serious heart problem for which they needed to have open heart surgery for. Following this health scare I began to be very anxious in regard to my own heart and went to see my Dr in regard to this. I informed the Dr of my symptoms and what happened to my family member, and they conducted some checks which included taking my blood pressure. At the time my blood pressure was 157/99 which was deemed high given at the time I was only 36 years old. I recognise now that I have ‘White Coat Syndrome’ and my blood pressure is definitely heightened when I am in the Dr’s chair due to anxiety. However, the Dr decided on that day to put me on Amlodipine to reduce my blood pressure. I do think that there was more concern on their part due to what had happened to my family member and they were concerned that it may be hereditary. However, since that day I have not been able to come off Amlodipine. I am recognised as someone who has Stage 2 hypertension, this is something that I want to reduce and to get off this medication. 

Prediabetes & Cholesterol

At the same Dr’s appointment bloods were ordered and it was established that I was on the cusp of being prediabetic. I did make some brief lifestyle changes however these did not last long and I went back to bad habits in regard to my diet. In the last year further blood has revealed that I am now prediabetic. I was put on a programme by my GP to ensure that I did not progress to being Type 2 diabetic but to be honest I did not find it that helpful. My problem is that I love chocolate, biscuits and cakes. I have struggled for years to reduce my intake of this and coupled with my inactivity this is not helping my health. 

The same Dr’s appointment also revealed that my cholesterol was high. I remember the Dr specifically explaining that along with high blood pressure this is a silent killer and that I need to ensure that I remain around for my children. I have made some steps to reduce my cholesterol by becoming a pestcatarian which ensures I only eat lean proteins and get more Omega 3 in my diet which is important for Heart Health. 

Ethnicity & Health Risk Factors

I am a black man of Caribbean heritage and sadly studies have shown that there is a higher prevalence in high blood pressure and high cholesterol in my ethnic group along with Black Africans and South Asian People.
Research conducted by Lackland DT.  in Racial differences in hypertension: implications for high blood pressure management suggested that Black African and Black Caribbean people may have an increased sensitivity to sodium which results in increased blood pressure. Additionally, Caribbean food historically has a high level of salt. The reasons for this go back to the transatlantic slave trade where slaves were given cheap, heavily salted and preserved cheap cuts of meat because they did not spoil easily. These were used by the enslaved people and combined with local crops to make meals. These meals have transformed into some of the national dishes of many Caribbean countries such as Ackee and Saltfish in Jamaica. However one of the preserved legacies of this has been hypertension. Therefore as someone of Black Caribbean heritage I need to be extra careful in regard to managing my health due to being more susceptible to certain conditions.  

Overall Health Rating: 3 out of 10

Financial Audit:

Pension Value:

Luckily for me I have been working since the age of 18 and have never been out of work. During this period I have always contributed towards my pension. I am also fortunate to work for an organisation which makes a fixed monthly contribution to my pension. Is the value of my pension sufficient to live the life that I would like to live in the future? For me that is a resounding No! I am not alone in this as recent research from Handelsbanken Wealth has shown that more than a quarter of UK adults are concerned about their pension value. 

Rating: 5 out of 10

ISA Balances

I currently have two ISA’s, a normal one Cash ISA which I have had for numerous years and have made small payments to over the years. In the last year I also opened up a Stock and Shares ISA with AJ Bell. I make regular monthly payments to my Stocks and Shares ISA and allow my money to be invested into a fund that is run by AJ and Bell. This is because I know that I have limited knowledge about investing and would have no idea where to invest. My plan for this money is that in the future it will be used to provide my children with money when they are getting married or buying their first homes. However at the moment I am far from having the balance to be able to do that and my children are only young so there is plenty of time for me to add to this balance. 

Rating: 4 out of 10

Emergency Fund

I never used to have an emergency fund and did not see the reason for this as I have always felt stable in previous jobs. I now recognise this as immaturity and naivety on my part.I came to have more of an understanding of the need for an Emergency Fund after reading The Meaningful Money Handbook a few years ago and have been building a small one since. 

My emergency fund has taken a few hits in the last few months due to some significant unexpected payments. So I am currently in the process of trying to rebuild it, as I do not want to be in the position of the 20% of UK adults who have no financial safety net. 

Rating: 5 out of 10

Debt Levels

When growing up I was very adverse to credit and did not want to use it through fear of messing up my credit score. In fact I did not get my first credit card or take out a personal until I was 28 years old. However, the last 12 years have been characterised through the use of credit to make large purchases or to invest in things which I believed would help me make more money in the future. This has rarely resulted in a positive outcome and consequently I now have more debt than I ever thought I would be in. This is something that I am consistently working on reducing and I am very aware of the steps that I need to take to reduce my debt and that it is currently a work in progress. My main concern at present is reducing the bad debt which is owed to credit card companies. 

Rating: 3 out of 10

Life Satisfaction Audit:

Relationships

My relationships are probably the strongest element of my life. I have been married for 13 years, although I recognise that there are things which I could do better as a husband. I also have a strong core group of friends that I can rely on and confide in when I need to.

As a father of two young-ish children I would assess my relationship with them as strong. However, as with most parents I do wish that I was able to spend more time with them doing activities and going on outings. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

Career Satisfaction

I have been in my career for the last 15 years and have been involved in supporting vulnerable children and families. This is a rewarding job in terms of achieving positive outcomes for people who are in crisis. However, the financial rewards are not commensurate to the stress that this job can cause. As you progress into more senior positions the financial rewards become a lot more beneficial, however to get to these positions require qualifications which I do not possess. And to get these qualifications would mean that I would have to take a significant pay cut to do so, which is not financially viable at present. 

I also am not excited to go to work, I don’t get filled with joy when I think about my career. Ideally this is something that I would love and for my career to be in line with my purpose. 

Rating 5 out of 10 

Hobbies

Lol…I don’t have the time

Rating 0 out of 10

Purpose/Calling

I am aware of my purpose and what I need to do to fulfill it. At present I am struggling with finding the time to do this. In the last year I do believe that there have been glimpses which have shown me what can happen when I operate within my calling and purpose. I just need to invest more time into it and develop it further. 

Rating: 4 out of 10

Conclusion

In all honesty writing this blog post has been a humbling experience, there was a sense of vulnerability and accountability which came with auditing the current state of my life. It was humbling to see the scores whilst also recognising that these scores are due to wrong decisions that I have made. Additionally, knowing that this blog post will be available for the world to read increases that sense of vulnerability as anyone can see the mistakes that I have made. 

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