BMI and recommended Weight
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dancoon7469
Posts: 20 Member
I've been losing weight pretty steady for the last 2 months, actually too fast if I'm honest (3 to 4 pounds a week).
I've targeted losing 2 stone at a time so went from 16 to 14 stone in 10 months without really trying if I'm honest (really was still eating Maccy D's twice a week), just doing an active job and going exploring at weekends did the trick but it was sooo slow.
The next 2 stone I dropped in 2 months by joining a gym and eating better and at a -1000 calorie deficit (not eating back any exercise calories).
Now I'm targeting dropping the final 2 stone by the new year so I'm planning to upping my calories a bit to -800 to try and slow things down a bit (because at this rate I'll be done by Halloween!!!).
I'm checking my BMI and I'm still classed as overweight at the moment (which imo I am) but people keep telling me I shouldn't aim for a "normal" BMI and it's rubbish. BMI shows I should be 10 stone 7 pounds to be a healthy weight and 9 stone 9 pounds for an ideal weight according to multiple calculators I've used and tbh I think everyone's just not used to seeing me this thin (I've never been under 12 stone in my adult life until now) and it's making them think I'm ok now (people keep saying I look gout whatever that means) but I just want to totally get rid of the gut and then work on building muscle so for once in my life I look half decent.
I'm 5'5" and as of today I'm 11 stone 8 pounds, my current (and final) weight loss target is 10 stone, does that sound like an ok number, of course I have a brain and if I decide I'm thin enough before that I'll maintain at that weight.
I've targeted losing 2 stone at a time so went from 16 to 14 stone in 10 months without really trying if I'm honest (really was still eating Maccy D's twice a week), just doing an active job and going exploring at weekends did the trick but it was sooo slow.
The next 2 stone I dropped in 2 months by joining a gym and eating better and at a -1000 calorie deficit (not eating back any exercise calories).
Now I'm targeting dropping the final 2 stone by the new year so I'm planning to upping my calories a bit to -800 to try and slow things down a bit (because at this rate I'll be done by Halloween!!!).
I'm checking my BMI and I'm still classed as overweight at the moment (which imo I am) but people keep telling me I shouldn't aim for a "normal" BMI and it's rubbish. BMI shows I should be 10 stone 7 pounds to be a healthy weight and 9 stone 9 pounds for an ideal weight according to multiple calculators I've used and tbh I think everyone's just not used to seeing me this thin (I've never been under 12 stone in my adult life until now) and it's making them think I'm ok now (people keep saying I look gout whatever that means) but I just want to totally get rid of the gut and then work on building muscle so for once in my life I look half decent.
I'm 5'5" and as of today I'm 11 stone 8 pounds, my current (and final) weight loss target is 10 stone, does that sound like an ok number, of course I have a brain and if I decide I'm thin enough before that I'll maintain at that weight.
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Replies
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Male or female? For me as a 5'8" woman the BMI seems pretty accurate - when I am overweight I definitely look it, and when I'm obese my health suffers. In my experience many men, especially muscular men, can carry a few more pounds than the recommendation while still being lean.1
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Sorry Male (just really short for a bloke).1
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BMI is a good guidepost for most people, but individual results can always vary. I'd look into measuring your body fat percentage as well as your height to waist circumference, as both can be good indicators of health.6
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BMI, isn't "rubbish", it's a general guideline that isn't always right for people. The right goal weight for you is for you and your doctor to determine. Most people either aim for the top of the healthy BMI range, the mid-point of the healthy BMI range, or for a weight they used to be and felt good at. Nothing is set in stone, so just pick a number, and once you get there reevaluate, get some blood work done and see where your numbers are at.
A "healthy" weight is a combination of factors - comfort level, practicality of the calorie level needed to maintain, waist measurement, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, LDL cholesterol level, blood glucose level, ability to do the things you want to do every day. You might not actually know what the right number will be until you get there
Also keep in mind that we as a society have become unfortunately accustomed to people being heavier, and sometimes what looks "normal" to us now is actually a bit heavier than where our bodies would optimally be. There are plenty of stories on here of people who were still classified as obese being told by family members that they were getting too skinny! You'll figure it out, just keep going!14 -
I'm not sure how accurate those charts are. I'm 6'4" and 211 lbs, and it says that I am still over-weight and should be between 152 - 205. I would be all skin and bones if I weighed the 160 pounds.5
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BrianAWeber wrote: »I'm not sure how accurate those charts are. I'm 6'4" and 211 lbs, and it says that I am still over-weight and should be between 152 - 205. I would be all skin and bones if I weighed the 160 pounds.
That's why it's a range though Someone with a slight build and not much muscle at that height might be fine at 152, someone else would be better at 200. And some guy doing ironman competitions might be so muscular he's a bit above 205 and still fine! That's why many people aim first for that upper number and decide from there. 7 -
Disagree Mega, the BMI is not a guide post, it's a chasm, where a 5'10 individual is allowed a 40lb "normal" window, and makes no diff between man and woman. A total joke. The Ideal body weight IBW formula, lets pick Devine '74, is spot on. Use it instead of BMI, especially for women! When a woman checks BMI she thinks she is normal, even tho Her height in the BMI extends to include a mans high range. You can reality check this by googling the weigh in stats of mayweather or mcgregor of recent vegas fight, or height and weight of you fave tennis player. This will give a great sense of what a fit male or female should be. Ok, rant over, can you tell I hate BMI?30
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rfrenkel77 wrote: »Disagree Mega, the BMI is not a guide post, it's a chasm, where a 5'10 individual is allowed a 40lb "normal" window, and makes no diff between man and woman. A total joke. The Ideal body weight IBW formula, lets pick Devine '74, is spot on. Use it instead of BMI, especially for women! When a woman checks BMI she thinks she is normal, even tho Her height in the BMI extends to include a mans high range. You can reality check this by googling the weigh in stats of mayweather or mcgregor of recent vegas fight, or height and weight of you fave tennis player. This will give a great sense of what a fit male or female should be. Ok, rant over, can you tell I hate BMI?
Just checked out the IBW and for me it's spot on - the various methods all put me within a pound or two of 140, which is (according to my husband, anyway) my best weight. The clothing and modeling industry thinks I should weigh about twenty-five pounds less, but my experience was that at that weight I was anemic, had reactive hypoglycemia, no stamina, and nicknames such as "skinny Minnie." 140 was great. 165, which is the top end of normal BMI for me, was definitely what I consider "chunky" and starting to be heavy enough to impact my ability to easily run, for example.0 -
As a shorter not overly muscular male BMI will very likely be a very good predictor of whether you're overweight or normal weight.
For a very tall (very) muscular male maybe not as much.
The extension of the normal range to include 18.5 - 20 was introduced in large part in order to accommodate shorter (and Asian/Oriental) females.
ETA: "overly/very muscular" quick definition: do you "juice"? Do you hit the gym hard and have trained for several years if a "natty"? Do your muscles have muscles? Then you have a chance to qualify as overly muscular.3 -
BrianAWeber wrote: »I'm not sure how accurate those charts are. I'm 6'4" and 211 lbs, and it says that I am still over-weight and should be between 152 - 205. I would be all skin and bones if I weighed the 160 pounds.
BMI is supposed to accommodate frame size but there are outliers. I have a friend who is 6'2" and has a BMI of 18 but looks fine because he has a very slender frame. I have a large frame and my goal BMI is in Low Overweight. I'm shooting for the weight I was when I was a full time yoga teacher and felt great.1 -
rheddmobile wrote: »rfrenkel77 wrote: »Disagree Mega, the BMI is not a guide post, it's a chasm, where a 5'10 individual is allowed a 40lb "normal" window, and makes no diff between man and woman. A total joke. The Ideal body weight IBW formula, lets pick Devine '74, is spot on. Use it instead of BMI, especially for women! When a woman checks BMI she thinks she is normal, even tho Her height in the BMI extends to include a mans high range. You can reality check this by googling the weigh in stats of mayweather or mcgregor of recent vegas fight, or height and weight of you fave tennis player. This will give a great sense of what a fit male or female should be. Ok, rant over, can you tell I hate BMI?
Just checked out the IBW and for me it's spot on - the various methods all put me within a pound or two of 140, which is (according to my husband, anyway) my best weight. The clothing and modeling industry thinks I should weigh about twenty-five pounds less, but my experience was that at that weight I was anemic, had reactive hypoglycemia, no stamina, and nicknames such as "skinny Minnie." 140 was great. 165, which is the top end of normal BMI for me, was definitely what I consider "chunky" and starting to be heavy enough to impact my ability to easily run, for example.
Whereas when I use the IBW calculator the ABW is a # that I've been before and was too low. And I am confused by the IBW calculator as a whole; the IBW is one # per gender/height combination? Talk about not covering the entire population.0 -
sunfastrose wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »rfrenkel77 wrote: »Disagree Mega, the BMI is not a guide post, it's a chasm, where a 5'10 individual is allowed a 40lb "normal" window, and makes no diff between man and woman. A total joke. The Ideal body weight IBW formula, lets pick Devine '74, is spot on. Use it instead of BMI, especially for women! When a woman checks BMI she thinks she is normal, even tho Her height in the BMI extends to include a mans high range. You can reality check this by googling the weigh in stats of mayweather or mcgregor of recent vegas fight, or height and weight of you fave tennis player. This will give a great sense of what a fit male or female should be. Ok, rant over, can you tell I hate BMI?
Just checked out the IBW and for me it's spot on - the various methods all put me within a pound or two of 140, which is (according to my husband, anyway) my best weight. The clothing and modeling industry thinks I should weigh about twenty-five pounds less, but my experience was that at that weight I was anemic, had reactive hypoglycemia, no stamina, and nicknames such as "skinny Minnie." 140 was great. 165, which is the top end of normal BMI for me, was definitely what I consider "chunky" and starting to be heavy enough to impact my ability to easily run, for example.
Whereas when I use the IBW calculator the ABW is a # that I've been before and was too low. And I am confused by the IBW calculator as a whole; the IBW is one # per gender/height combination? Talk about not covering the entire population.
I don't doubt that at all. I just happen to fall into the category of people that the particular measurement works well for.0 -
I'm bang in the middle of a normal weigh according to BMI. The bottom end would look skeletal on me, and a weight i was as a scrawny 13 year old kid, the higher end would look slightly porky on me.
Just aim for mid range, and reassess from there if need be.5 -
Google the Smart BMI calculator. It's more detailed and very accurate.5
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I also find the IBW calculation to be pretty accurate for me, as a 6' female. It says my ideal weight is 176 - my goal for now is 180 and I plan to adjust from there. Lowest I have been was 193 and losing 15-20 from there seems spot on.rfrenkel77 wrote: »Disagree Mega, the BMI is not a guide post, it's a chasm, where a 5'10 individual is allowed a 40lb "normal" window, and makes no diff between man and woman. A total joke. The Ideal body weight IBW formula, lets pick Devine '74, is spot on. Use it instead of BMI, especially for women! When a woman checks BMI she thinks she is normal, even tho Her height in the BMI extends to include a mans high range. You can reality check this by googling the weigh in stats of mayweather or mcgregor of recent vegas fight, or height and weight of you fave tennis player. This will give a great sense of what a fit male or female should be. Ok, rant over, can you tell I hate BMI?
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Even the various IBW calculators have a 4.3 kg variance for me, which at my size, is actually quite a noticeable difference. The bottom one, I can assure you, I look too thin (and this is from someone who has historically had a very warped body perception in terms of thinking I needed to lose weight when I didn't), the top one, actually about right for me, though 900g lower than my current goal weight (which is hiding under my winter insulation). We'll see how I'm feeling (or rather, looking) after a few months of recomp, and I may or may not drop a little lower. Either end of BMI is just LOL.
Results:
Based on the Broca formula, your ideal weight is 57.8 kg.
Based on the Devine formula, your ideal weight is 59.63 kg.
Based on the Robinson formula, your ideal weight is 59.44 kg.
Based on the Miller formula, your ideal weight is 61.45 kg.
Based on the Hamwi formula, your ideal weight is 59.29 kg.
Based on the Lemmens formula, your ideal weight is 62.09 kg.
Based on the BMI range formula, your ideal weight is between 52.21 kg and 70.56 kg.0 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »Even the various IBW calculators have a 4.3 kg variance for me, which at my size, is actually quite a noticeable difference. The bottom one, I can assure you, I look too thin (and this is from someone who has historically had a very warped body perception in terms of thinking I needed to lose weight when I didn't), the top one, actually about right for me, though 900g lower than my current goal weight (which is hiding under my winter insulation). We'll see how I'm feeling (or rather, looking) after a few months of recomp, and I may or may not drop a little lower. Either end of BMI is just LOL.
Results:
Based on the Broca formula, your ideal weight is 57.8 kg.
Based on the Devine formula, your ideal weight is 59.63 kg.
Based on the Robinson formula, your ideal weight is 59.44 kg.
Based on the Miller formula, your ideal weight is 61.45 kg.
Based on the Hamwi formula, your ideal weight is 59.29 kg.
Based on the Lemmens formula, your ideal weight is 62.09 kg.
Based on the BMI range formula, your ideal weight is between 52.21 kg and 70.56 kg.
When I look at a person, I ask, can he she lose 20lb? 95% of women and men...absolutely.! I live in US, folks are obese here. Of course, according to BMI, they are perfect.
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rfrenkel77 wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Even the various IBW calculators have a 4.3 kg variance for me, which at my size, is actually quite a noticeable difference. The bottom one, I can assure you, I look too thin (and this is from someone who has historically had a very warped body perception in terms of thinking I needed to lose weight when I didn't), the top one, actually about right for me, though 900g lower than my current goal weight (which is hiding under my winter insulation). We'll see how I'm feeling (or rather, looking) after a few months of recomp, and I may or may not drop a little lower. Either end of BMI is just LOL.
Results:
Based on the Broca formula, your ideal weight is 57.8 kg.
Based on the Devine formula, your ideal weight is 59.63 kg.
Based on the Robinson formula, your ideal weight is 59.44 kg.
Based on the Miller formula, your ideal weight is 61.45 kg.
Based on the Hamwi formula, your ideal weight is 59.29 kg.
Based on the Lemmens formula, your ideal weight is 62.09 kg.
Based on the BMI range formula, your ideal weight is between 52.21 kg and 70.56 kg.
When I look at a person, I ask, can he she lose 20lb? 95% of women and men...absolutely.! I live in US, folks are obese here. Of course, according to BMI, they are perfect.
The top end of BMI is not obese. Nowhere even close.
Also, I tend not to go around assessing whether everyone I see needs to lose weight. Seems kinda judgemental.16 -
I always thought the bmi was junk. Always. I am not an outlier though and while I can put on muscle well when I work at it, my lean weight does not make bmi inaccurate for me(or 90% of the population). When I started to lose and got into the "normal" weight category I realized just how accurate it is. I can easily lose 15lbs more and look great. Not bony, skinny, or starved.
I still feel like the recommendation for my husband would be way too low. But that is probably my skewed perception of "normal".4 -
Thanks for the information. It sounds like I'm heading in the right direction. I'll stick to my 10 stone target but will slow things down and once inside BMI range I'll keep a close eye on how I look to make sure I don't go to far the other way.4
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