I am new here, and have a question.

BlazeCarolina

Hello guys, seems like a great community here. Would love to be a part of it. I am new to this whole fitness thing. What got me started was a BMI check and a bit of bullying.

My question is, is BMI a reliable measurement? When I look at myself, I certainly feel I could lose some weight, but certainly not " obese ". When I took my profile picture, my BMI was 30.0 which is considered obese. I posted the pic on an app on my phone because people on the internet are brutally honest and was promptly told I was fat and to put a shirt on, haha.

Seems people have differing opinions on both me and BMI, so I figure this would be a good place to ask. You guys are probably a more knowledgeable crowd and it would be a good excuse to make my first post here.

Either way, it got me started. So hooray for BMI and bullies! Thanks for reading and any responses I get. Glad to be here. Nice site with great tools to assist in my goals.

mojpal

Hey, welcome! You certainly don't look obese to me! The truth is that BMI doesn't tell the whole story. Mine is over 30 and I honestly don't feel it. But if the ugly number gets us going, so be it The important thing is we are both going to do something about it. Add me if you want for mutual encouragement.

BlazeCarolina

Well, that makes me feel better. I weighed in this morning at 177.8 so I have lost about 8 pounds so far. I haven't been at it long, so I am optimistic. I do think my trainer tried to kill me today. She is tired of seeing me I think, haha. We shall see how worthless I am tomorrow. I will add you once I figure out how. I am new here, should be easy to figure out though. Thank you for the response and kind words.

BlazeCarolina

My little ticker won't show up on my posts. Must be doing something wrong. I went to settings and checked the little box.

Edit: Figured it out. I had to customize it first. Odd.

212019156

BMI is not that great a number to look at. Get your body composition tested instead.

boophil

You don't look obese to me, either. I try to think of BMI as a motivational tool. If you are just using the calculator on the site, it only considers height and weight, not muscle mass, fat percentage, etc. So your actual BMI could be completely different if you had more testing done (not suggesting it, I don't get the testing done either!) But welcome to MFP - Feel free to add me if you'd like!

BlazeCarolina

BMI is not that great a number to look at. Get your body composition tested instead.

I am not too worried about it. I am just going to keep going to the gym and trying to make progress. I don't understand the haters, but they also don't bother me. I laugh it off. If anything it helps. I just don't want to be in denial about the situation. If I am obese, I want to know.

Short_n_Plump

No, honestly you are not obese.
Maybe you have a lot of muscle mass?

BlazeCarolina

You don't look obese to me, either. I try to think of BMI as a motivational tool. If you are just using the calculator on the site, it only considers height and weight, not muscle mass, fat percentage, etc. So your actual BMI could be completely different if you had more testing done (not suggesting it, I don't get the testing done either!) But welcome to MFP - Feel free to add me if you'd like!

Admittedly I am in terrible shape, but I am working on it. Thank you though. People seem very nice here. I will certainly add you.

BlazeCarolina

No, honestly you are not obese.
Maybe you have a lot of muscle mass?

Ha, I wish that were the case. I am indeed overweight, but I don't feel obese.

Actually with my recent progress I am no longer obese. I dropped 8 pounds in about two weeks.

rachelg145

Get your body fat % checked. The BMI is only based on numbers, not how muscular you are so you and guy with no muscle that just happens to weigh the same and have the same height would have the same BMI.

I think calipers are the most accurate but nobody seems to have them anymore now that the little hand held devices that pulse an electric current through you came into play.

You are not fat.

GreenIceFloes

I'd suggest a body composition test. You don't look obese in the slightest and and don't seem to have the whole 'skinny fat' thing going on, but the best way to tell how much fat you need to lose, or how much muscle you want to gain, is by getting your body fat percentage checked out.

Timmmy40

BMI is BS. No way you are obese. The outdated chart says I am obese also. BMI does not take into consideration of body type. I am 5'9" and I weigh 215lbs, but I have larger body shape. Taking the ratio between height and weight does not equate to someones overall health.

1princesswarrior

By looking at your picture I don't see you as obese, not by a long shot. But if I were you I'd focus on lowering body fat and gaining muscle so your BMI may not change a lot but your body certainly will.

There are groups on here too. I suggest joining the Eat Train Progress group. It's an awesome group and you can learn a lot there about eating and training. Click on community, then groups, there is a search button, search for eat train progress.

BlazeCarolina

Get your body fat % checked. The BMI is only based on numbers, not how muscular you are so you and guy with no muscle that just happens to weigh the same and have the same height would have the same BMI.

I think calipers are the most accurate but nobody seems to have them anymore now that the little hand held devices that pulse an electric current through you came into play.

You are not fat.

I think I can get some calipers online. If I keep at it for a few months and the belly fat stays, I will pick some calipers up.

misscristie

There is no way in H-E double hockey sticks you are obese. Like others said, get a body comp test if you really want to know. Probably just need to cut back a little and hit the weights.

AAX2

I definitely wouldn't say obese at all. As others have said BMI doesn't take into account very much. A good motivator & jumping off point, but I wouldn't worry about it. It sounds like you are already working on it!

jlapey

Here is some great info for newbies to the site:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin

Here is a great group to join for questions regarding body recomps and weight training:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

and from that group here is a thread with an abundance of info that you should familiarize yourself with:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

Good luck to you and welcome to MFP!

BlazeCarolina

I'd suggest a body composition test. You don't look obese in the slightest and and don't seem to have the whole 'skinny fat' thing going on, but the best way to tell how much fat you need to lose, or how much muscle you want to gain, is by getting your body fat percentage checked out.

BMI is BS. No way you are obese. The outdated chart says I am obese also. BMI does not take into consideration of body type. I am 5'9" and I weigh 215lbs, but I have larger body shape. Taking the ratio between height and weight does not equate to someones overall health.

Glad to see the responses here about BMI. I felt it couldn't be accurate. I bet if I put my buddies stats in it would say something crazy about him as well. He has set multiple state records for lifting, so I don't think he has to worry. Dude squats 670 lbs and benches 400+.

BlazeCarolina

Getting hard to keep up with the responses. I think my main issue was not working at all and eating terribly. I have started to cut down my portion sizes which has helped immensely. Not much education about eating healthy in the States, so I think that is where my biggest problem lies.

BlazeCarolina

Here is some great info for newbies to the site:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin

Here is a great group to join for questions regarding body recomps and weight training:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

and from that group here is a thread with an abundance of info that you should familiarize yourself with:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

Good luck to you and welcome to MFP!

Thank you for this. I will look into it. Trying to do my best to keep up with the thread. Don't want to seem rude to anyone.

LarryDUk

How tall are you? BMI is crap, but unless you are under 5' 5'' you did the calculations wrong.

BlazeCarolina

How tall are you? BMI is crap, but unless you are under 5' 5'' you did the calculations wrong.

I am close. I am 5'6" and I was 185.6 at the time I did it.

pander101

BMI is crap. Body composition is what you should go by.

BlazeCarolina

This may be a stupid question...but I get to do that, I am a newb. What is so special about the calipers? I mean, why can't I just go to the hardware store and get a set?

Edit: They are cheaper on Ebay than the store. Wow. Yay Hong Kong?

BillRicks1

Look for these or some like them.

BlazeCarolina

Look for these or some like them.

They are less than $10 on Ebay for anyone else wanting a pair who can't find them. If you get them from Hong Kong it is going to take a while to get to you. Probably about a month. I am going to hold off for now and just see how I progress. I should be able to shed this.