Still struggling with my "ideal weight"

ElJefeChief

I was mildly flabbergasted to find that according to this website: http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/ideal-body-weight-3146-143.html.... I'm "underweight" (I'm slightly above six-foot-two, about 192 pounds give or take). It says I have a large frame (which I think is fair).

According to the BMI, I'm at the top range of normal weight to bordering on overweight, depending on where my water weight is that day.

According to my FitBit Aria, I have a body fat percentage that ranges from 16-18%. On a good day these days, I usually have some vasculature evident in my midsection, arms, and legs.

People at work say I'm "too skinny" (but, a bunch of them are kind of tubby themselves, frankly).

I work out several times per week, typically lots of running. Yes, I know I need to probably lift more, but my work gym sucks and at least until the end of the year, my schedule won't permit attendance to an outside gym on any regular basis.

Anyways, I have no idea what to do. I kind of want to keep losing for a bit, but then, I don't because I don't want to look freakish.

My latest profile pic (the shirtless one) is generally accurate, although I'm probably down about 3-5 pounds from that one.

Opinions?

lml852014

lol well it also tells me I am overweight by 9 lbs... I don't look or feel overweight at all either. So I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum?

juggernaut1974

I wouldn't put much weight (no pun intended) on that site's results. The 'wrist size to measure frame' is pretty ridiculous as a measure, since two people with the same actual frame size but different finger lengths will get different results.

Ultimately only you can decide on what a good goal weight for you is...but I'd caution not to get too wrapped up in a number on the scale as the ultimate determining factor. It's one of many metrics I'd use...others perhaps being various body measurements, progress in the gym (or perhaps in your case with your running), and the mirror.

Francl27

The wrist test is a horrible way of figuring out someone's body frame... someone overweight will have more fat there, people can have small wrists but a large frame... It just makes no sense whatsoever. I'm amazed that so many sites give that tool to figure out your frame size... no wonder obese people think they have a large frame.

For what it's worth, I my fingers overlap, but my waist is 29 inches with not much fat left to lose, which would put me as a medium/large frame... Most women my size (5'5", 133 pounds) have 25-26 inch waists. So either I'm a special snowflake or I have no idea what 'frame size' is, but it just makes no sense to me.

ElJefeChief

Apparently there's also elbow breadth as a measure (http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Frame-Size). I also indicate large frame size using that metric. I also have an extremely large head (no hats fit me) - easily 99th percentile and have been for years.

I don't personally consider the idea that I have a large frame / skeleton to be controversial. I just wonder how much difference it should make in figuring out IBW.

VintageFeline

Without going and having your body fat measured properly you look pretty lean to me. I don't see where there's excess fat to come off? I feel like this is more of an aesthetic thing that needs to be addressed, which you acknowledge lifting would help (you could do bodyweight in the meantime).

But honestly, I think you need to be less hung up on what the BMI chart says and pay more attention to what is in the mirror. I'm small for my weight so I imagine I'll be happy with how I look either slightly "overweight" on the BMI scale or at the top end of maximum. My health and happiness overall is far more important than hitting 25 or under on the chart!

Francl27

DrEnalg wrote: »

Apparently there's also elbow breadth as a measure (http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Frame-Size). I also indicate large frame size using that metric. I also have an extremely large head (no hats fit me) - easily 99th percentile and have been for years.

I don't personally consider the idea that I have a large frame / skeleton to be controversial. I just wonder how much difference it should make in figuring out IBW.

Yeah wrist says I'm small, elbow that I'm large, lol. Makes no sense.

jemhh

Francl27 wrote: »

DrEnalg wrote: »

Apparently there's also elbow breadth as a measure (http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Frame-Size). I also indicate large frame size using that metric. I also have an extremely large head (no hats fit me) - easily 99th percentile and have been for years.

I don't personally consider the idea that I have a large frame / skeleton to be controversial. I just wonder how much difference it should make in figuring out IBW.

Yeah wrist says I'm small, elbow that I'm large, lol. Makes no sense.

I can't even figure out what, exactly, that woman with the ruler on her elbow is measuring.

OP, lose a few more pounds if you want to. Or stop dieting and maintain for awhile and maybe a month from now make that decision. I feel like you've posted this once before and I'm repeating myself but pay no mind to your coworkers.

kbmnurse

poor you

Protranser

I also think a bodyweight program will help you feel more comfortable with your body shape, probably more than losing any more weight will. I picked up "you are your own gym," there's an app for it that also has video demonstrations of all the exercises you'll be doing.

ElJefeChief

jemhh wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

DrEnalg wrote: »

Apparently there's also elbow breadth as a measure (http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Frame-Size). I also indicate large frame size using that metric. I also have an extremely large head (no hats fit me) - easily 99th percentile and have been for years.

I don't personally consider the idea that I have a large frame / skeleton to be controversial. I just wonder how much difference it should make in figuring out IBW.

Yeah wrist says I'm small, elbow that I'm large, lol. Makes no sense.

I can't even figure out what, exactly, that woman with the ruler on her elbow is measuring.

OP, lose a few more pounds if you want to. Or stop dieting and maintain for awhile and maybe a month from now make that decision. I feel like you've posted this once before and I'm repeating myself but pay no mind to your coworkers.

Oh yes. I'm repeating myself too. No worries. Just trying to adjust to all this weight loss stuff.

tulips_and_tea

Protranser wrote: »

I also think a bodyweight program will help you feel more comfortable with your body shape, probably more than losing any more weight will. I picked up "you are your own gym," there's an app for it that also has video demonstrations of all the exercises you'll be doing.

This^. OP, body weight exercises are great and surprisingly difficult. Give them a try.

Sometimes I think a slight drawback to counting calories and tracking activity and trying to be as accurate as possible leads us to rely too heavily on the multitude of calculators and assessments online. Those numbers really don't matter as long as you are healthy and like the way you look. Opinions of others don't matter, either. I'd change your focus to what your body can DO rather than the numbers it produces from your stats from an online calculator.

It does take adjustment and trial and error so just keep at it until you find your happy medium.

jemhh

DrEnalg wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

DrEnalg wrote: »

Apparently there's also elbow breadth as a measure (http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Frame-Size). I also indicate large frame size using that metric. I also have an extremely large head (no hats fit me) - easily 99th percentile and have been for years.

I don't personally consider the idea that I have a large frame / skeleton to be controversial. I just wonder how much difference it should make in figuring out IBW.

Yeah wrist says I'm small, elbow that I'm large, lol. Makes no sense.

I can't even figure out what, exactly, that woman with the ruler on her elbow is measuring.

OP, lose a few more pounds if you want to. Or stop dieting and maintain for awhile and maybe a month from now make that decision. I feel like you've posted this once before and I'm repeating myself but pay no mind to your coworkers.

Oh yes. I'm repeating myself too. No worries. Just trying to adjust to all this weight loss stuff.

It is hard to decide sometimes when to lose more, when to maintain, etc. I've been flipping and flopping this entire year so I am definitely not judging at all. It's easier to tell other people what to do than to tell myself what to do sometimes

paxbfl

You've achieved the goals you stated on your profile. You are no longer a fat person. Great job! So... what next? If you want to run a marathon or get a six-pack, you could lose a couple more pounds but you really don't have much to lose. At 42, do you really need single digit body fat %? I'm 48, and I've decided I don't. In fact, I was your weight and I gained a bit back. At 6'2" I'm happy between 205 and 210, but I'm fairly muscular.

If you're goal is to look good, you've achieved that goal too. At this point you might prefer to build muscle vs losing more fat - so your weight might increase slightly even as your body fat % goes down. But again, that's your call. If you want to be as healthy as possible, I think you're close to the right weight. As others have said, you can best determine that by how your feel. How do your joints feel? How's your energy level?

You might find this site interesting - just to get an idea of what different body fat percentages look like. Based on this I'd say your estimate of 16-18% is probably close.

http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/