Let's talk BMI

nen1020

BMI...those three little letters every person on a diet for weight loss cringes when they see. Body Mass Index. Doesn't even sound sexy. I just did my BMI a week ago before starting MFP, on a computer calculator of course. (If you think Happy Kimber Cheerleader and Muscles Calhoun (read any bouncy female or crazed muscled trainer) is going to pinch my rolls, you can slow your own roll!) According to said calculator, I am massively obese in a society will scorn me kind of way, and I technically shouldn't even be here typing this because I'm so obese I should be dead. Last I looked in a mirror, sure, I've got some fat on me....hello, why do you think I'm dieting....but I am not seeing this morbid obese person friendly BMI says I am. I'm just....wait for it.....the family favorite description...."big boned". UGH! But I'll take big boned over morbidly obese any day.

Always a glutton for punishment however, I continue on and click on what my ideal weight would be. Oh, the good times just continue. IDEALLY, this sweet little BMI tool would like to see me at around 130 pounds. 130 pounds!!! I'm 6'0 tall for the love of a hot fudge sundae! MAYBE if I was a triathlete since the day I popped out this would be ideal, but hello, normal human being here. If you get me at 130 pounds, you better have me hooked up to an IV and be whispering to me how much I truly meant to you in life and if you can please have my Jeep since I won't need it anymore. I might add the calculator, failing at becoming my new BFF, then begrudingly tells me if I don't have the cajones to get to 130, it will allow me to be anywhere from 130 to 180 but not a single itty bitty ounce more or I will go back into overweight/obese land. Hey, BMI...here's one for you...Bite Me, Imbecile!

So, where do we really stand with this BMI stuff? I am wholeheartedly aware I need to lose weight....the scale tells me and so does the mirror. But at the same time, looking at how tall I am and then the numbers on the scale, I silently pray for the height hiding the fat factor because I don't think I look as big as the scale says I weigh. I would like to think as I lose weight, the less I can pinch, I'm probably ok. Any thoughts to your own BMI experience? Does it make you feel better having a lower BMI versus what the scale says?

Oh, and by the way, cause Google is there just for this purpose, I looked up a little info and plugged it into the calculator from hell. George Clooney and Ben Affleck are also considered overweight. So there.

WhitneyAnnabelle

I don't follow BMI whatsoever. It doesn't take into account muscle weight versus fat weight, i.e. body composition. Fat percentage is where it's at.

athensguy

If you're a 6'0" female, the BMI range is 140-184.

I would say the ideal spot would probably be somewhere between 150 and 160.

Elizabeth_C34

As a population statistic and overall guide (if you are a normal physique (medium frame, average height)), it's not too bad. If you're very muscular, larger frame, or very tall, it's not so great.

I set my goal weight by my lean body mass + 16-19% body fat. That puts me at about 150-155. That would put my BMI around 23.

Body fat is a much better measure of where you stand than BMI.

2hmom

Some weight lifters are bigger and not much fat on them. Can't always go by charts.

holleysings

BMI = Bull**** (and leads to) MisInformation

BF% is what matters because it DOES account for muscle.

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/ Do these body fat calculators to get a better idea of your level of health. Then find your goal body weight from there!

dward2011

i agree to go by your body fat %

susannamarie

Huh .....

There's something wrong with that calculator. At 130, you'd have a BMI of 17.6, and anything under 18.5 is considered underweight. Try this one.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Your range according to tables should be 140-184 lbs. I don't know what you actually DO weigh, but if your lean mass is high, this may be unrealistic. You can't really know without getting your body fat checked. You can get an approximation with some circumference calculators here.

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

giselle9938

Some weight lifters are bigger and not much fat on them. Can't always go by charts.

This!

mfpcopine

BMI...those three little letters every person on a diet for weight loss cringes when they see. Body Mass Index. Doesn't even sound sexy. I just did my BMI a week ago before starting MFP, on a computer calculator of course. (If you think Happy Kimber Cheerleader and Muscles Calhoun (read any bouncy female or crazed muscled trainer) is going to pinch my rolls, you can slow your own roll!) According to said calculator, I am massively obese in a society will scorn me kind of way, and I technically shouldn't even be here typing this because I'm so obese I should be dead. Last I looked in a mirror, sure, I've got some fat on me....hello, why do you think I'm dieting....but I am not seeing this morbid obese person friendly BMI says I am. I'm just....wait for it.....the family favorite description...."big boned". UGH! But I'll take big boned over morbidly obese any day.

Always a glutton for punishment however, I continue on and click on what my ideal weight would be. Oh, the good times just continue. IDEALLY, this sweet little BMI tool would like to see me at around 130 pounds. 130 pounds!!! I'm 6'0 tall for the love of a hot fudge sundae! MAYBE if I was a triathlete since the day I popped out this would be ideal, but hello, normal human being here. If you get me at 130 pounds, you better have me hooked up to an IV and be whispering to me how much I truly meant to you in life and if you can please have my Jeep since I won't need it anymore. I might add the calculator, failing at becoming my new BFF, then begrudingly tells me if I don't have the cajones to get to 130, it will allow me to be anywhere from 130 to 180 but not a single itty bitty ounce more or I will go back into overweight/obese land. Hey, BMI...here's one for you...Bite Me, Imbecile!

So, where do we really stand with this BMI stuff? I am wholeheartedly aware I need to lose weight....the scale tells me and so does the mirror. But at the same time, looking at how tall I am and then the numbers on the scale, I silently pray for the height hiding the fat factor because I don't think I look as big as the scale says I weigh. I would like to think as I lose weight, the less I can pinch, I'm probably ok. Any thoughts to your own BMI experience? Does it make you feel better having a lower BMI versus what the scale says?

Oh, and by the way, cause Google is there just for this purpose, I looked up a little info and plugged it into the calculator from hell. George Clooney and Ben Affleck are also considered overweight. So there.

Do you have a large frame according to a site like this? http://www.am-i-fat.com/body_frame_size.html

Clooney and Affleck are probably heavily muscled. Or put another way, are you overweight the way they are?

BMI is most helpful as a tool for populations, not individuals.

To me, it's just another tool. I think it overestimates low weight for small framed people.

sweetpea129

BMI is depressing, huh? I use to be in the morbidly obese category too. Yet i would look at myself and didnt think i looked THAT big, that i was about to die?! LOL. My brother is tall and skinny, with some muscle and he stepped on the scale at the mall and his BMI told him that he was slightly overweight. If you saw my brother you would shake your head at this. It's not a completely accurate tool. I'm not listening to waht the BMI man wants me to be. I'll be happy to just get out of obese and into overweight for now

UponThisRock

The numbers obviously aren't gospel, but they aren't terrible guidelines either.

All you really need to know if you're too fat is the mirror.

mfpcopine

Some weight lifters are bigger and not much fat on them. Can't always go by charts.

True, but most of the people who raise this are not weight lifters or serious athletes who would be off the chart. Most people who have overweight or obese BMIs are in fact overweight or obese.

Elizabeth_C34

Some weight lifters are bigger and not much fat on them. Can't always go by charts.

True, but most of the people who raise this are not weight lifters or serious athletes who would be off the chart. Most people who have overweight or obese BMIs are in fact overweight or obese.

Exactly. BMI shouldn't be totally ignored unless you are very muscular with low bf%. It's just a guideline though. One of many indicators.

Silence88

I don't think the ideal weight range is that off. I think people's perception of what is actually healthy is morphed because of the abundance of obese and overweight people. You don't have to be 300 lbs+ to be obese and in greater risk of health problems.

130 for someone 6'0 is not ideal, it's underweight according to BMI. It gives you a range and if you're "big-boned" then shoot for approximately the higher number. It's not a done deal index. If you're comfortable 10 lbs above the highest number, then go for it. I just don't think the range is drastically off. It's obviously not precisely accurate for a number of reasons, but I'd say 10-15 lbs is its range of error.

Elizabeth_C34

I don't think the ideal weight range is that off. I think people's perception of what is actually healthy is morphed because of the abundance of obese and overweight people. You don't have to be 300 lbs+ to be obese and in greater risk of health problems.

130 for someone 6'0 is not ideal, it's underweight according to BMI. It gives you a range and if you're "big-boned" then shoot for approximately the higher number. It's not a done deal index. If you're comfortable 10 lbs above the highest number, then go for it. I just don't think the range is drastically off. It's obviously not precisely accurate for a number of reasons, but I'd say 10-15 lbs is its range of error.

Exactly! Good points.

yoovie

my BMI says Im overweight and need to lose 35 pounds

downsizinghoss

Yep, I can't even think about BMI. I had my BF% tested and I have a lean mass of 203 pounds.

At 5'10" it says 209 and up is obese. It says I would have to drop to below 174 to be considered healthy.

I am doing the bodpod test every 3-4 months. The current goal is 250 and then reassess.

FlyeredUp

BMI is a flippen joke! I'm 6" 1 + and at 218-219 lb.'s I was considered to be obese which is 5-6 lbs more than I weighed in my profile pic.

crisanderson27

BMI...those three little letters every person on a diet for weight loss cringes when they see. Body Mass Index. Doesn't even sound sexy. I just did my BMI a week ago before starting MFP, on a computer calculator of course. (If you think Happy Kimber Cheerleader and Muscles Calhoun (read any bouncy female or crazed muscled trainer) is going to pinch my rolls, you can slow your own roll!) According to said calculator, I am massively obese in a society will scorn me kind of way, and I technically shouldn't even be here typing this because I'm so obese I should be dead. Last I looked in a mirror, sure, I've got some fat on me....hello, why do you think I'm dieting....but I am not seeing this morbid obese person friendly BMI says I am. I'm just....wait for it.....the family favorite description...."big boned". UGH! But I'll take big boned over morbidly obese any day.

Always a glutton for punishment however, I continue on and click on what my ideal weight would be. Oh, the good times just continue. IDEALLY, this sweet little BMI tool would like to see me at around 130 pounds. 130 pounds!!! I'm 6'0 tall for the love of a hot fudge sundae! MAYBE if I was a triathlete since the day I popped out this would be ideal, but hello, normal human being here. If you get me at 130 pounds, you better have me hooked up to an IV and be whispering to me how much I truly meant to you in life and if you can please have my Jeep since I won't need it anymore. I might add the calculator, failing at becoming my new BFF, then begrudingly tells me if I don't have the cajones to get to 130, it will allow me to be anywhere from 130 to 180 but not a single itty bitty ounce more or I will go back into overweight/obese land. Hey, BMI...here's one for you...Bite Me, Imbecile!

So, where do we really stand with this BMI stuff? I am wholeheartedly aware I need to lose weight....the scale tells me and so does the mirror. But at the same time, looking at how tall I am and then the numbers on the scale, I silently pray for the height hiding the fat factor because I don't think I look as big as the scale says I weigh. I would like to think as I lose weight, the less I can pinch, I'm probably ok. Any thoughts to your own BMI experience? Does it make you feel better having a lower BMI versus what the scale says?

Oh, and by the way, cause Google is there just for this purpose, I looked up a little info and plugged it into the calculator from hell. George Clooney and Ben Affleck are also considered overweight. So there.

It's a freaking useless measure.



Yeah, I'm obese too....what the eff ever.

crisanderson27

Some weight lifters are bigger and not much fat on them. Can't always go by charts.

True, but most of the people who raise this are not weight lifters or serious athletes who would be off the chart. Most people who have overweight or obese BMIs are in fact overweight or obese.

Exactly. BMI shouldn't be totally ignored unless you are very muscular with low bf%. It's just a guideline though. One of many indicators.

This is one place you and I absolutely disagree hun.

I'm not 'very muscular'. I have a pretty normal amount of 'natural' muscle. Since I've been lifting I've been on a caloric deficit, I haven't gained an ounce of muscle. My bodyfat in the above picture was about 19%. That's not very low, or even kinda low. It's actually relatively normal.

37, 5'7", 185lbs in that picture.

I'm sorry, but the BMI only works for a very 'middle' range number of people. And since it's applied to EVERYONE across the board by health insurance companies and medical professionals...I'm sorry, that makes it useless.