Well that was 'sobering'

kincharles
kincharles Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
First topic creation here; been using MFP for almost 2 months now and dropped 14lbs in that time (dropped maybe 10 before starting here). Another day I might post a topic about who I am but right now just want to share a 'sobering' experience.

I have my current goal set to 180 - a weight which I have, until today, believed that was a good weight (and it happens to be the military weight I should 'be at' when I was in the service - if that makes sense).

Today, for 'giggles', I decided to use a BMI calculator (I used the CDC one and a webmd one) - it says that, with my height (5'6") and weight (195) my BMI is 31.4.. or obese. It also says my 'ideal' body weight is between 115-154... I don't remember being that light; but I must have been once because I couldn't have been overweight to join the service (at least not to the level I am now).

That number seems.. low to me. Not the BMI, but the weight. It does, however, explain why I have so much fat carried around even after losing a good amount of weight.

I guess now I need to at least hit my goal of 180 and then see what to do from there; but it was sort of a wake up call I guess - kind of a downer too; to know that I might be over 40 pounds from a 'good' weight rather than 15.

Replies

  • pawamonster
    pawamonster Posts: 23 Member
    edited June 2017
    Keep in mind that BMI is a fine metric for average people, but if you are fit and muscular, it'll be skewed. Your ideal military weight was probably 180 because it was assumed that you'd be lugging around thirty pounds of muscle from your active work. BMI is an okay guideline, but check it with reality. Muscle is denser than fat. If you want a more accurate reading of your body fat composition, you could try using calipers or go to a clinic and do water displacement.

    Don't be discouraged. Just keep going. You got this. Your health and fitness will always be a work in progress, and you can always find new ways to treat your bodu well.
  • cis5
    cis5 Posts: 5 Member
    Its how you feel and think you Look. In my experience BMI is very misleading. A long time ago I used to run sub 3hr Marathons and my weight was 190lb. OK its hasn't done my joints any good!
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    edited June 2017
    Keep in mind that Tom Brady and Stephan Curry are obese according to the BMI. Get to 180 and re-evaluate, for sure. I have decided that my body is good at 165 at 5'7". I do lift weights and I am definitely a farm girl from way back. The last person who guessed said I weighed 135. I laughed. You will find your healthy spot. Don't worry.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    BMI is an OK rough guide for average people.

    How do you think you look? Always go by the mirror in my experience,
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    MelissaPhippsFeagins wrote: »
    Keep in mine that Tom Brady and Stephanie Curry are obese according to the BMI. Get to 180 and re-evaluate, for sure. I have decided that my body is good at 165 at 5'7". I do lift weights and I am definitely a farm girl from way back. The last person who guessed said I weighed 135. I laughed. You will find your healthy spot. Don't worry.

    Ha! Yes, weights/farm girl for the win. When I was 180 ppl tended to guess about 140. That's why I'm making sure to lift heavy weights through my entire weight loss journey. Gotta keep that lean muscle mass!
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
    If you're overweight in the military they do a tape test. You can find calculators online to estimate body fat that way. I would imagine you aren't as muscular as you were in the service.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    MsHarryWinston wrote: »
    MelissaPhippsFeagins wrote: »
    Keep in mine that Tom Brady and Stephanie Curry are obese according to the BMI. Get to 180 and re-evaluate, for sure. I have decided that my body is good at 165 at 5'7". I do lift weights and I am definitely a farm girl from way back. The last person who guessed said I weighed 135. I laughed. You will find your healthy spot. Don't worry.

    Ha! Yes, weights/farm girl for the win. When I was 180 ppl tended to guess about 140. That's why I'm making sure to lift heavy weights through my entire weight loss journey. Gotta keep that lean muscle mass!

    When I was 210, The usual guess was 175... I'm carrying a good bit more muscle now, so I'm really not looking to get much past 225
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    Also keep in mind that ideal weight range is for males and females. If you look around, you'll find a 150 lb male is much smaller than a 150 lb female, usually. I think a 5'6" 115 lb female would be quite underweight in most cases. A 115 lb male would be dangerously emaciated. Really, the BMI formula makes very little sense anyway...give it a little research to see where it came from and how illogical it is.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    edited June 2017
    I'm definitely a larger framed person. I mean don't get me wrong, right now I'm just overweight. But I'm also larger framed and broad shouldered. I'm also really curvy, so even at a firm 160 i still have J-K cup, lol that adds a couple of pounds. But yeah a lot of times ppl do mistake overweight for "big boned", especially if they've been overweight their entire life. My BMI range is attainable, I've been there. But I know I belong around 150-160 not 120-130, especially with the muscle I want to be building when I start recomp at my goal weight.
  • kincharles
    kincharles Posts: 20 Member
    Thanks all for your comments. I know I am not in a healthy BMI range by the 'mirror test' - too much baggage in the midriff and thighs. I have nowhere near the same amount of muscle I maintained in the service - lots behind it, but lets just say I haven't adjusted properly to 'normal' life and turned first to alchohol then to food to find solace. It has taken quite a few years to realize that it wasn't working for me so I am trying to get back to who I am on the inside and forget about trying to fit back into society properly. The BMI cacluator was just a shock really - mainly for the ideal weight range but I can get past that one step at a time I guess. Not having a support 'network' to fall back on doesn't help, but I have to find some strength within to keep going. I cannot keep being this person I have let myself become.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    kincharles wrote: »
    Thanks all for your comments. I know I am not in a healthy BMI range by the 'mirror test' - too much baggage in the midriff and thighs. I have nowhere near the same amount of muscle I maintained in the service - lots behind it, but lets just say I haven't adjusted properly to 'normal' life and turned first to alchohol then to food to find solace. It has taken quite a few years to realize that it wasn't working for me so I am trying to get back to who I am on the inside and forget about trying to fit back into society properly. The BMI cacluator was just a shock really - mainly for the ideal weight range but I can get past that one step at a time I guess. Not having a support 'network' to fall back on doesn't help, but I have to find some strength within to keep going. I cannot keep being this person I have let myself become.

    Yep, it can definitely be a shock. Especially as others have noted as our society becomes more accustomed to being overweight. When I decided I needed to lose 15-20 lbs, everyone I knew always referred to me as "the skinny one" and some were genuinely concerned that I was dieting. But I was at the upper limit of the healthy weight range. And after losing 15 lbs, I've decided I still want to lose another 5-10.

    Just keep trucking and focus on making small incremental changes. Logging can really help you pinpoint where you can make small tweaks in your eating. Hang in there, and thank you so much for your service :drinker:
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited June 2017
    As an afterthought to my above post re: Tom Brady - I don't think it's wrong to say that Brady is at a "healthy" weight for his height (despite a BMI of 27.4), but he's an outlier more due to his height than his muscle mass.

    BMI tends to skew weird the further away from "average" height you are, and at 6'4" Brady is significantly above average. When you start talking about NBA players such as LeBron James we're moving into extremes as far as height go, and BMI figures are going to be less and less relevant even if they're not carrying a ton of muscle mass.

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