What BMI are you heading for?

Aikigoth

BMI is a population tool. When you are using it, you are using other people of the same color, height, and gender as you to guess at how healthy you are. My Zumba coach is the same height as me; we have opposite body types. Just because she looks banging at 150 does not mean I should be 150.

So I am a 5'10" female with a large frame who packs on skeletal muscle like a champ. My lean body mass is 133 while I am slightly overweight or 'cosmetically overweight' as the doc puts it. According to the BMI, right now I am smack dab in the middle of overweight. However, I would have to lose all of my fat and some muscle in order to get into the 'under healthy weight' category.

Meanwhile my BF who is rather fit but has a runner's build is straddling being underweight.

It's a tool- use it for what it is made for.

Branstin

I think BMI sucks just like the scale. It doesn't give an accurate picture of a person's health. The mere fact some people who are more fit, trim, and have a muscles are penalized because of an outdated tool makes BMI suck out loud in my opinion.

maidentl

First, let me make clear I am not saying we DON'T have obesity issues in this country. But I have seen some suggestions that the actual numbers were inflated when we introduced BMI. Vismal is a great example, he is clearly neither obese nor overweight but technically people like him are part of the "obesity epidemic" because they're only looking at the numbers. I am pretty sure doctors used to have the capability to look at someone like him and classify them as normal. Now they just tick off the BMI range. Weight Watchers had some convoluted equation to figure out a "point." I can't understand why no one has come out with a more individualized method than the BMI.

That being said, I do use it as a measuring tool, because I am not one with massive quantities of muscles and my goal right now is simply to reach "normal" BMI - 136 pounds for me. Once I am there, then I will re-assess.

stopdropandstay

I go for a goal weight, check my BMI, and decide if I'm happy with it or not.

I don't think I can say what my goal BMI will be, only because I will be ripped apart for it.
I just wanted to point out that some people naturally have a very low BMI. I have friends who are in the 80's weight range, not because of an eating disorder, but because they are just naturally that thin.

Lots of people think you should go by body fat %, but calculating your TRUE BF% is like.. ****ing impossible. You can get very CLOSE, but it will NEVER be accurate. Idgaf what you think, or what you've heard, that's the truth.

I completely forgot why I'm replying to this post because there was something significant I wanted to say. Ah, yes.
For anyone who's gone onto this fckn calculator right here:
http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

that gets trumped around MFP every god damn post, you should know that the "perfect" BMI is complete bull****. You shouldn't allow it to make you feel too badly about yourself. Personally, when I saw that my "perfect weight" had to be 124 - that I had to have a BMI of 22, I was fcking pissed. I have been at 118lbs before, and I can say that I was very out of shape. I get that I could be more muscular, resulting in a higher weight and all that, but just..... STILL. Being at 118 was NOT healthy for me. I was binging every day. Every god damn day for months straight. I was not being healthy. Being at a BMI of 22 for me is ridiculous. It is way too large for me. My own personal self. Maybe it looks right for someone else who is 5'3", but for me, it isn't.

You shouldn't let what everyone believes you should be dictate what your goal weight will be. Ultimately, you should do what feels right for yourself. This goes in a situation where the reverse happened. Where the "perfect BMI" was too low for you.

Each person is different, and some bodies just don't work that way. I believe we all have a healthy, natural weight. Even if the BMI for your organic weight is below 18, that's fine. Like I said, I know a girl who is in the 80's weight range. Her BMI would be less than 18 but she is HEALTHY. She eats like hell. She isn't THAT short. Her frame is just that petite. Her metabolism really is just that quick.

But I digress...

My goal BMI would definitely be under 18, but that's for lots of personal reasons. There really isn't any nutritional advice anyone could give me that I don't already know.

janine2355

This is funny becaue I literally had my BMI checked at the DR's today and it was in the normal healthy range of 22. I'm good with that. I just care how I look and feel, and I want to loose 3 more pounds because that is what I care about

Graelwyn75

I remain around a BMI of 18.7-19.

It is where I am comfortable.
I also have a low bodyfat %, which in truth, is more important to me than my BMI anyway.

Cher1e1n2

i want BMI 21!!.. i'm at 25.4 right now and 34.11% body fat (estimates only from 8 measured locations) at 5'9 i'll have to weight around 145 lbs.. tho when i get to 150 i may have mine checked professionally because i'm very muscular (underneath) and think my body fat % might be too low at that weight so its just a goal.

nam985

I am going more for a goal weight, which at 90 lbs would give me a BMI of ~18. Before anyone panics about that number being too low, please bear in mind that I am only 4'11 and have a small skeletal frame.

FaylinaMeir

well just purely BMI I would say around 19 For me at 5'7 that about 125lbs which on my frame would be awesome. However I'm more concerned with healthy than my bmi