Should you really be in the normal range for BMI?

mjutan

Hey MFP peeps,

Went to the doctor today to discuss my weight loss so far and he was psyched. I'm 5'7.5", started at 211 (rough) and now down to 185 (awesome so far).

I told him I figured I should lost another 15 or so, that puts me roughly at the low-end of the "overweight" ranking for BMI, nearing the top of the "regular" section. He said to really push it I could aim as low as a BMI of 25, which would be 150lbs?!?!? I haven't been that light since I was in like 8th grade.

I don't want to be lazy and say "oh, I don't need to loose THAT much" if I really ought to, but it seems to be that BMI is a little unreasonable, and it's not taking into account muscle/body frame size etc. Where are you guys aiming on the BMI? What research have you read as to it's validity?

It seems like BMI used to be the go-to thing, but I've heard enough dissent about it that I am not going to take it as 100% gospel. For my frame and general weight history, I think 160lbs or 165 would be awesome and very healthy. Pushing to 150 area seems like I'd be pretty underweight, I'd be like back to middle school weight and I'm much taller and bulkier now of course. That seems almost dangerous to push it that low.

Thoughts?

susannamarie

You could always see how you looked at 170 and go from there.

To get a rough estimate, you can use the bodyfat% calculators and the ideal bodyweight calculators at http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

They all tell me that I've got enough lean that 25 BMI is going to involve losing a fair bit of lean. So my plan is get my BMI down to under 29 (which isn't far away), then get my bodyfat% professionally checked so I can make a goal from there. Fortunately the university near me will do it for relatively cheaply.

tinyspies

165lbs at 5'8 would make your BMI about 25 if i'm not mistaken.

jching29

Well...the BMI says I shouldn't be in healthy range until I hit 145...which, for my frame size, is just barely inside the range that I should be for a healthy body. I don't pay much attention to BMI, because it's really not good unless you have a medium or small frame.

meshashesha2012

i'm aiming at nowhere on that scale. i had my body fat measured back in january and the results of my lean body mass (with absolutely no fat) already put me in the overweight category :laugh: . to be in the normal range i would need to lose way too much muscle and possibly even have some bones and organs removed. i'll pass on that

the bmi is apparently not for me

MiaOrange

This BMI has got me desperately trying to keep losing by really limiting cals but then I get too tired to exercise or I eat extra etc and start gaining again. My BMI goal will put me at about 7 lb above my high school weight and I had eating disorders in high school. I'm in a weight loss group so I had to get a docs note to give them.

I thought I could never get below 150 once I struggled to get that low, now I'm 145.25 lb and feel like it's impossible to get to 140 lb. I'm going to keep on trying though because when I was over 200 lb I thought ok, I can get within my BMI range, but closer to goal I thought this isn't working... but I've been able to eventually lose the weight.

I'm going to keep trying; if it really is impossible I'll ask a doc to change it, but I feel like I'll get there. What's hard for me is knowing I'm muscular and larged frame and trying to fit in this BMI mold it made me feel kind of mad.

stayxtrue

I would recommend not going by BMI... You should be going by your waist measurement. BMI is too out dated and not an accurate way of measuring whether your in your healthy weight range or not

This is the way most doctors here in Australia are going by now, and telling people to completely ignore BMI

ili_s

BMI is only relevant for monitoring a large population size. In my opinion you should track your body fat % as a good indication of how healthy you are. People who have a lot of muscle mass are classified as overweight in BMI but are healthy and fit. So don't sweat it.. so to speak XD

Julz2586

My BMI says im overweight.....

slowlysteadily

I'd be skeptical about setting a goal based on your BMI. My BMI is 26.5, which in theory puts me in the "overweight" category. I am caucasian, slightly muscular, but certainly no bodybuilder, I currently wear a 33" waist and my trainer estimates my body fat at 16%. I don't look overweight any more and most people are surprised that I find it necessary to even control my diet.

In reality I think I could and should lose another 5 pounds of fat but that would make me fairly lean (at least by my standards). After that the plan is to start adding muscle mass. However, to get to a BMI of, say, 22 (in the middle of the 18-25 range considered "normal") I would need to drop close to 15kg (33lbs) from my current weight, which would be absurd for somebody of my build and height.

I would focus on (1) your waistline and (2) how you look in the mirror and confirm this with (3) regular weigh-ins and ignore your BMI unless you really really think the target weight it indicates will work for you.

SS

vidoardes

I saw my GP last night as well funnily enough, and I told him I was trying to lose weight blah blah blah.... long story short, he said that my target weight should be anywhere between 200 and 220 pounds depending on how hard I wanted to push, which puts me in the overweight category according to BMI (200lbs would be 26.4, 220lbs would be 29.0), but he said that will bring my blood pressure down and I will have a decent body fat percentage, both signs of a healthy weight. BMI is a guide for a population as a whole, but even then it's not very accurate.

I echo everyone else sentiments, as long as body fat % and blood pressure are good, you are healthy, screw BMI

Elizadolots

The last time I was in the healthy range of BMI I didn't look or feel 'right'. I am just about 6ft tall, and looked like a lollipop with such a slim body and 'big' head! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I am aiming for the lower range of overweight as well. I know that is where I felt best, physically and mentally. The BMI really does seem too low.

Congratulations with your progress, it is awesome!

jaynepickle

I think the BMI is just a guide line rather than something that is completely necessary for a healthy lifestyle. I had a professor who was considered obese by the BMI, but he didn't have an ounce of fat on him. He was just a really ripped little guy. If you are over, I wouldn't sweat it. I just go by how I feel and how much muscle tone I have.

Natihilator

I had a trainer at my gym do my BF%, and he said to forget BMI, and that if I got down to 180lbs., I'd be in a healthy weight/BF percentage, I guess going on my ratio of BF to lean mass and how much lean mass I already had. 180 is currently about 20lbs above my goal but I'll just see how I feel when I get close to that.

mjutan

Thank you, epic MFP friends!!!!!!!!!!!! You guys are so awesome and so helpful.

Thanks for all the encouragement and also for confirming what I had suspected. I actually haven't done any of those body fat measurements so I am gonna get a tape measure and give it a shot. My jeans are saggin' like crazy now and another pair of pants I bought only 5 months ago are near falling-off all the time too, so I've defffinitely lost a fair bit in waist size. Wish I had been measuring that from the start but oh well, never goin back up to that size again!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much everyone, this is incredibly useful. You guys are epic.

Good luck to you all and keep working hard!
Mike

mjutan

tinyspies,

Thanks for the great info!!!! You know I must have been looking at the chart incorrectly. I checked and you're totally right.

At 186 lbs and 5'7.5" (67.5"), I am actually at 28.7 BMI already.
My next major goal weight is 170 which would be 26.2 on the BMI, pretty great.
Pushing it even further to 165 would bring me to 25.5 which is right at the bottom of of the "overweight" range, very close to the top of the "normal" range.

165 would still be a bit light but it's not actually as crazy as I thought - since I think 170 is a pretty good goal, 165 is just sortof that last "super tough 5 lbs" that people talk about, I'd suspect. If I actually hit 165 that's not totally unreasonable and would put me near a "normal" BMI. That's really good to know, I thought it was lower than that.

So yep, anyway, I guess this doesn't actually change my plans, but I know I am definitely gonna aim for 170. After that we'll see if I can or want to lose that last extra 5, but I'm definitely not gonna aim for less than 165.

Thanks everyone!!!

larkiedeek

I am 5' 8" and have just crossed in the 25 bmi level.

I am now 11 stone 9 lbs as of today and I think that my body has decided this is the level it wants to be.

Looking back when I started this journey in January 2012 I thought I would be doing very well to get to even 12st 7lbs.


Can I just suggest you keep feeding your body healthily, keep drinking water and keep moving and see where you end up. Your body will surprise you.

And well done on the loss you have already made.

stuffinmuffin

The 'normal' range for BMI is so broad that it 'should' fit everyone. There's a huge difference in my size (including dress sizes) between the high end of the 'normal range' and the 'low end'.

See how you get on as you progress through your weight loss. At points I would have liked a nice excuse (or someone to tell me) it was fine to stop before my goal but I'm so happy I ploughed on.

rml_16

It depends on how much muscle mass you have and your frame.

But I do see a lot of people who have been overweight most of their lives make the argument you've made because they really don't know what a normal weight/size is or what they would actually look like at a normal BMI.

I know a lot of people on this site think BMI is bunk, but I think unless you're a body builder or a pro athlete, it's unlikely that you'll be at a healthy weight/body fat if you're in the overweight or obese category of BMI.

I also think it may be more accurate for women than men, so you at least have that going for you. :-)

Like Muffin said, the range is huge. For my height, I can weigh anywhere from 103 to 141 pounds.

jadedone

i'm aiming at nowhere on that scale. i had my body fat measured back in january and the results of my lean body mass (with absolutely no fat) already put me in the overweight category :laugh: . to be in the normal range i would need to lose way too much muscle and possibly even have some bones and organs removed. i'll pass on that

the bmi is apparently not for me

Me too! I am pretty skeptical it is a good measure for me. PLan to go by looks/body fat percentage.
@mesha, where fdid you get tested?

OCGeoff

I'm so glad that you asked this question! You and I are the same size-height, etc.. and have the same weight goals. I started at about 194ish pounds and yesterday I weighed-in at 165. Over the past couple of weeks, I've fluctuated between 165-170 and wondered the same thing about the BMI index. It just seems so unrealistic to be around 155... I feel good about the way I'm looking now and have had to re-purchase my wardrobe...one piece at a time. Fun and expensive. I bought medium sized shirts last week for the first time since I was in my 20s. :-> and they fit nicely. I still think I could lose a few more pounds to be a perfectionist, but I'm satisfied in reaching this range now. The most important thing is that the lifestyle changes remain in intact and mother nature will keep me at the right ratio of fat/muscle, etc.. So- thanks again for generating this thread, and it's so crazy that we match in our goals and thoughts. Much appreciated.