Bmi chart do you use it or no to choose a goal weight.

jojorocksforeva
jojorocksforeva Posts: 303 Member
edited September 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Why do so many go off of that or that they should get their goal weight off of that when its a scam i hate bmi charts so much because they set you for unrealistic goals what do you think.
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Replies

  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    I don't know what chart you are looking at. I am 5'2" and the top of the BMI normal range for our height is 136.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,222 Member
    Wha?
  • jojorocksforeva
    jojorocksforeva Posts: 303 Member
    Some do say 130's but some say 120's the ones i just found on google maidenti.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,979 Member
    For that height, 101-136 is average. That's pretty much the standard. BMI however doesn't calculate well for people who are very athletically built though.
    I'm considered borderline obese.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
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  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    But they're not different. BMI is a specific equation (weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres). You personally might not want to weigh 115-120 but I've been there and it was a good weight for my height. It's not ridiculous at all.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    OP, 115-120 is not really ridiculous sounding for 5'2" at all.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,222 Member
    I thought BMI was a load of crap too, when I was 50kg overweight. Me? at 67kg at the heaviest! ludicrous! I'd be a stick! Now that I'm less than 20kg overweight, I see how much I'm still carrying and I totally get it.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited September 2015
    It's not nonsense. Being obese by BMI has been connected to certain health risks, that's the issue. And other than ninerbuff and other people who make an effort to gain a LOT of muscle mass, most people can fit somewhere in the normal BMI category.

    Why do you think the goals for your height are unrealistic?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I thought BMI was a load of crap too, when I was 50kg overweight. Me? at 67kg at the heaviest! ludicrous! I'd be a stick! Now that I'm less than 20kg overweight, I see how much I'm still carrying and I totally get it.

    Agreed. I never thought I'd be trying to push into the 120s. I thought I'd stop at 150 haha.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    With that said, any weight you lose is going to reduce your risk for various things. Any weight loss is better than none, if you're obese.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited September 2015
    jojorocksforeva wrote: »
    ...I should weigh 100lbs to about 120lbs for my height of 5,2 are they joking i don't want to be that thin...

    Then don't be.

    :drinker:
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I thought BMI was a load of crap too, when I was 50kg overweight. Me? at 67kg at the heaviest! ludicrous! I'd be a stick! Now that I'm less than 20kg overweight, I see how much I'm still carrying and I totally get it.

    I used to think that me lower than 60kg was ludicrous. (Which will give me a bmi of 21, the same as the 'unrealistic' 120/5'2), but now I'm AT 60 and I could easily lose another kg or 2, and I'm not skinny OR a size 2 (well, except around my hips for some reason...).

    As I'm an average height, and not amazingly muscly, I know bmi is fairly accurate for me, and am happy to use it as a guide. I'd prefer bf% but that's harder to measure.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    I am an inch shorter and 100-105 lb.

    I would/ did look ridiculously over weight at 120 with a low fitness level.

    BMI is a population average. If you don't like it try working to your healthy body fat percentage.

    One can weigh a lot more than the bmi chart if their muscle mass is high.

    Cheers, h.
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
    I had a girlfriend around 5'2". She was about 95 lbs, and was ordered to put on weight by her doctor (no ed, just had underlying health issues). Once she hit around 115 lbs, that's when she looked healthy.

    My ex-wife is about 5'7", and she looked best around 140 lbs.

    Unsurprisingly, those weights are both in the healthy bmi range for their height.


    Either way, get to the weight you want. I'm shooting for 215 lbs (6'3"), and I'll judge from there how much more I want to lose.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I track my BMI each month - just to see I'm going in the right direction 'medically'. I don't place much importance in BMI however, I think I do it just to have that satisfaction when it goes from saying "Overweight" to "Healthy weight"! :wink:
  • bloody88
    bloody88 Posts: 120 Member
    I did use it to pick a goal weight. Which was 18.5 on BMI scale. So i wouldn't drop lower below that. When i reach that I will then bulk up for 6months in order to build muscle and then maybe cut again for a couple of months and reevaluate.
  • xX_PhoenixRising_Xx
    xX_PhoenixRising_Xx Posts: 623 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I thought BMI was a load of crap too, when I was 50kg overweight. Me? at 67kg at the heaviest! ludicrous! I'd be a stick! Now that I'm less than 20kg overweight, I see how much I'm still carrying and I totally get it.

    This. When I was 149kg and my BMI was 51 I thought being under 72kg would just be unachievable and therefore thought BMI was a load of crock. But with a current BMI of 27 it doesn't seem unrealistic at all. My upper body is pretty skinny but I could easily lose another 10kg. The lower end of the BMI scale might leave me looking like a skeleton, but that's why there's a range.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    You don't have to stick to it rigidly but I find it to be a reliable guide - there is also a lot of space in each range. At 68.5kgs at the moment I am in the normal weight range, even though my goal is 60kgs, which is still in the normal weight range. I am certainly still carrying extra weight around my middle and on my back and thighs, I actually think that 68.5kgs is certainly overweight - for me, so I wouldn't just say "yay! I am in the healthy weight range and quit at this point, just based on the BMI chart.

    It is a personal choice based on a range of things. The normal weight range is not skinny though (as in bony and unhealthy), I really would like to see anyone who could back that up, once they have reached that weight, if anything, BMI is generous in the other direction. You are more likely to still be a little 'chubby' in the normal range, than you are likely to be 'skinny' and ill looking.

    Then to throw that out, there are muscular people who weigh much more and look great.

    Meh. Don't get hung up on it, but don't knock it until you have been there either.
  • yogacat13
    yogacat13 Posts: 124 Member
    I'm keeping an eye on the number to reach when the BMI chart says I'll no longer be overweight and back in the normal range, but that's not really my goal number. I like this one, as it takes into account frame size:

    http://www.superskinnyme.com/ideal_weight_calculator.html

    What I've always found frustrating is that no matter what weight you are, whether you are comfortable with it or not, someone will criticise it. I once lost 25 pounds, moved to a new job in a new place and went to a new doctor, who told me I "could lose a few pounds". I was well within the normal weight range at the time. I did lose some weight then, about 180 pounds of useless doctor.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    @yogacat13 - just tried that - looks pretty spot on. I have a small frame and that makes all the difference.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    xX_PhoenixRising_Xx wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I thought BMI was a load of crap too, when I was 50kg overweight. Me? at 67kg at the heaviest! ludicrous! I'd be a stick! Now that I'm less than 20kg overweight, I see how much I'm still carrying and I totally get it.

    This. When I was 149kg and my BMI was 51 I thought being under 72kg would just be unachievable and therefore thought BMI was a load of crock. But with a current BMI of 27 it doesn't seem unrealistic at all. My upper body is pretty skinny but I could easily lose another 10kg. The lower end of the BMI scale might leave me looking like a skeleton, but that's why there's a range.

    Awesome job! And well done for changing your mind. I admire that ability in a person.

    OP, yes, I go by BMI to roughly aim for a healthy weight. I've got about 5 kg to get to the top of the healthy weight range for my height, and I'm aiming for a smaller range for my maintenance around the middle of the healthy range.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited September 2015
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    For that height, 101-136 is average. That's pretty much the standard. BMI however doesn't calculate well for people who are very athletically built though.
    I'm considered borderline obese.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Yeah, I've read the charts are good guideline for about 85% of the population. This makes sense since around 80% of Americans don't get the recommended amount of exercise.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-80-percent-of-american-adults-dont-get-recommended-exercise/
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    For the majority of the population (except ones with great muscle mass) BMI is pretty accurate. I thought when I was a 27 that it was Hooey too. Now that I'm a 21, I see that it's true. I'm not SKINNY, I'm not starving. I look normal. These days people's views of what healthy is seems to be skewed. Now, I'm not saying I'm looking to go as low at 18.5 any time soon. For me, getting to 24 was a celebration, but I wasn't happy there.

    My advise to you is to set your goal weight where you THINK it should be now, then re-evaluate.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    There are outliers that don't really fit, but there's a lot of research that is based on BMI, so it makes sense to use BMI as a starting point.
  • sheldonklein
    sheldonklein Posts: 854 Member
    BMI isn't a scam. It is a useful tool when used for its intended purpose. But it's more of an ax than a scalpel.
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  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I thought BMI was a load of crap too, when I was 50kg overweight. Me? at 67kg at the heaviest! ludicrous! I'd be a stick! Now that I'm less than 20kg overweight, I see how much I'm still carrying and I totally get it.

    I 100% agree. I thought I would be close to nothing at the top range of BMI (I thought I was heavy, because I'm "big boned"). I got to the upper range of the BMI, continued to titrate my weight loss, and am now sitting somewhere around the middle of the healthy range (and am still looking to lose maybe another 10 pounds -I actually have a super small frame).

    BMI is just an OVERALL assessment of health based off the general population. An individual can be in the "healthy" range and have obesity-related complications, while someone could be morbidly obese and be completely healthy. It's not a one-size-fits-all, but 99% of the time, an optimal weight will be within the "healthy" BMI range.
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  • jdleanna
    jdleanna Posts: 141 Member
    I'm 5'2 (and a half!) and I've weighed anywhere from 115 to 145 in my adult life (well, when not pregnant!). The BMI range for our height is a 30 pound range, up to about 135. I don't see how that's unrealistic.
  • Domicinator
    Domicinator Posts: 261 Member
    I just use it as one metric to look at in a sea of other metrics. I will be well into "normal weight" territory according to BMI if I get to my goal weight, but I will also consider it a victory when I get below the "overweight" level even if it's by just a point. It's certainly not a bad thing to get to the normal range on BMI.

    I just don't go by that as my final destination. My final destination is to get down to at least 175 lbs. and not have this pesky belly fat anymore.

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