Tall guy

mjfer123

Hey everybody,

I'm 6'6" and around 265, age 22. Doctor's all my life have said Im in the obese category, but Ive never been huge or anything. I've been working out "religiously" for 2 or 3 years now and only managed to lose about 15-20 pounds over all (started at 280ish).
My BMI is supposed to be 30.6 with the given numbers above.
At this rate, I feel like if I go down into the normal BMI category (18-24.5) I'll shrivel up and die.
Advice?


I know banks posted a similar message to others, but it resulted in 3 pages of posts. What a guy! But I can't sort my situation out.

mjfer123

Hey everybody,

I'm 6'6" and around 265, age 22. Doctor's all my life have said Im in the obese category, but Ive never been huge or anything. I've been working out "religiously" for 2 or 3 years now and only managed to lose about 15-20 pounds over all (started at 280ish).
My BMI is supposed to be 30.6 with the given numbers above.
At this rate, I feel like if I go down into the normal BMI category (18-24.5) I'll shrivel up and die.
Advice?


I know banks posted a similar message to others, but it resulted in 3 pages of posts. What a guy! But I can't sort my situation out.

banks1850

Thanks man. If you are very athletically built and muscular, it can completely
screw up your bmi. Better to go get a body fat % test and see what it comes too.
if your over say 22 or 23% then you can afford to lose some weight without compromising
your health (men can have as little as 8% and still be healthy, but that's a little
extreme, a more realistic range to be is between 12 and 20%)

CrystalBella

Personally I think a 6'6 man that is 265 is nice... haha wow! but again that's just me.. It's all about being heathly though... if you are comfortable with where you are and you are heathly bump the bmi.. also if you are working out religiously then you probably gained a nice amount of musle so that is going to weight into play...

But again, don't get skinny! haha

mjfer123

Thanks Banks,

I'll have to check into a body fat % test, that seems to be my way to go.
All my life doctors scales and numbers have been kinda whacky.
You'd think they would update them or something, Im not the only tall guy out there!
I'll have to ask my trainer about a body fat test.
Thanks for the help :drinker:

And I'll try to not too skinny on you Crystal.

sgtinvincible

Hey man,

I am 6'0" and weigh 215, I also wear a size 32 pant and have a 48 inch chest. According to BMI I am a 30 which is obese. According to my doctor he believes I am right where I need to be. I would like to drop about 10 pounds just for toning's sake, but trust me that muscle totally screws up an arbitrary calculation like BMI. Banks is right, check out a body fat test, it is much more accurate.

Also for something to try at home, my doc recommended the waist to hip ratio. For men it's supposed to be .98 or lower. Mine was .85. The way to test it, is to measure your waist at the widest point (across your belly button) and then measure your hips across the broadest point (across your butt). Divide your waist by your hips and it should give you a ratio. Like I said, .98 or lower is goal for much lower health risks, 1.00 or more is supposed to be increased risk. .99...well is limbo I guess, I dunno.

Anyway, hope it helps.

mjfer123

I realize I have a few pounds I could get rid of, but Im not looking to get super skinny.
The BMI is pretty arbitrary, you're right. I'll look into the hip-waist ratio as well tonight.
This site is the best for great answers quick.

jsmalla

I feel your pain, Tall Guy. I'm 6'5" & formerly 277. The BMI scale caused me a fair amount of consternation. Keep those work outs going. Good job! I guess I have bumped the BMI down on my "importance scale," focusing more on my diet & health. To get my BMI in the healthy range, I would have to weigh 210 or less. Too thin for my taste.

mjfer123

I hear you JS, Id have to be about 215, I think I would look like a flagpole with shoes.

cp005e

Well, I think it depends a lot on your proportions - how large are your hands, feet, head, shoulders, etc? Some people's skeletons are just narrower or wider than other's. And then there are all the factors which others have already mentioned that BMI doesn't account for - muscle mass, body fat, hip to waist ratio, etc.

I don't want you to feel discouraged, but I can give you another example - my husband. He's 6'5", currently about 215 and looking to lose a few more pounds. He's reasonably well proportioned given his height - size 13.5 feet, really big hands, broad shoulders. His highest weight was 265, and though he carried it pretty well (the broad shoulders help!), he had some signs of being overweight - higher blood pressure, more snoring, etc. Back in high school, he was a swimmer, and he still thinks of 200 as being his 'ideal' weight. I think he might be going a little overboard with that - I don't think he had really finished growing yet when he was 18, and I don't see him losing another 15 pounds of fat. He's not overly muscular, but he's not scrawny either (skinnier in the legs than in the upper body, like a lot of men - swimmers in particular).

That being said, my husband's take on BMI is that it is definitely skewed for the very tall and very short. It assumes that weight increases only in relation to height (squared), without taking into account that people are actually three-dimensional. So I wouldn't stress too much about your number - it's going to call you 'obese' where it would call a similarly proportioned shorter person 'overweight' or 'healthy'.

Here's a website with another tall guy's take on the BMI formula and his own tweaking thereof. Note that he doesn't claim to be a doctor or anything, but it's another approach:

http://www.mines.edu/~gmurray/BMIApplet/BMIApplet.html

Good luck, and congratulations on your success so far! :drinker:

mjfer123

Size 16 shoes.
Large hands, Im currently undergoing genetic/physical testing for other hereditary issues.
I dont have sleep apnea, I don't snore much since the initial 20 pounds lost.
thanks for the info, again.
Im still looking to get down to 250. I have a large skeleton base. Very broad shoulders, etc. Im def not the scarecrow type.
Thanks everyone!