Oh No!! That's too much weight to lose

GregJourney

I have heard this statement a couple of times in the last couple of weeks. I have been asked by a couple of my coworkers how much weight I have lost, then I tell them I am only halfway to my goal. I mention according to the BMI charts I am still obese and my goal weight of 199 will get me to normal weight. This is followed by whoa, that is too much weight to lose! Do you really believe in the BMI charts? I find it amusing each time my coworkers were obese themselves. My wife has experienced similar reactions.

lwagnitz

They could be right. Especially if you are going to be building muscle. BMI charts aren't always reliable especially if you are muscular. It's good to have goals, but sometimes they are unrealistic. However, I think they are off base. You know your body more than anyone else. The closer your get to your goals the more clear it will become where a realistic weight is, especially if you haven't seen it in awhile, or ever. BMI charts are a good place to start, but they don't suit everyone's needs. The best form of measurement is body fat percentage or even hip to waist ratio.

With that said, phenomenal job on your weigh loss so far

concordancia

Most people don't have a very good perception of what a healthy weight actually is. People are also comparing you to where you have come from and can't always imagine where you could lose that much all over again!

robot_potato

It's never too much to lose if you have the will and determination to do so. I get told that I've lost enough, I'm great how I am, but I am not done and I plan on being far more awesome than I am now. The BMi chart is a bit silly, I am 4 pound away from being in the 'normal' BMi category, but I am on the lower end of average for body fat %. A lot of people are finding body fat% to be much more accurate.

EricCowperthwaite

Greg, I don't use BMI, mostly because it is a tool that is being used completely incorrectly. It was created for statistical study of populations, not individuals. I do use Body Fat because it is a completely appropriate tool for measuring the individual.

Setting that little quibble aside, 199 lbs at your height, on your frame is not "losing too much weight" ... I think you have a completely appropriate goal ... and that goal may change somewhat as you approach it and start focusing more on fitness and body composition and less on fat loss.

I also completely agree with the poster who said most folks no longer have a good perspective on what is healthy weight and size. I go back and look at pictures from when I was a kid and teenager and you don't see people with excess body fat in them, unlike today.

lilawolf

Body fat percentage is a much better indicator. If you can estimate what you have now (try fat2fit radio body fat calculator) then you can look at charts and determine where you want to be and subtract.

I'm using easy numbers here, not just ignoring what you have on your post...
Say you are 300 and 40% BF, your lean body mass would be 300-(300*.4) or 300*.6= 180lbs lean body mass. Now say your goal body fat is 18% (healthy for a man but not extremely skinny/athletic).
180+(180*.18) or 1.18*180= 212.4lbs

You will lose some muscle as you lose weight, particularly if you lose too fast, don't get enough protein, and/or don't weightlift, so the goal will be a bit of a moving target. This, however, will help you determine a realistic and healthy goal, without disregarding muscle mass like BMI does.

Edited to add: Overweight friends and family have all told me that I wasn't fat before and should not be trying to get more muscular/slender. I have the stretchmarks to prove that I had a problem! It's just jealousy

TIDDYBEAR

I agree that BMI is ridiculous! It absolutely DOES NOT take into account your frame size. I am 5'6 with a large frame, When I weighed 260 people guessed my weight at around 200. When I go to the Doctor when they weigh me I usually have to reach
up and move the larger weight up one place cos they guess low. So, for ME the BMI is useless.

angelcop74

I dont spend any time worrying about BMI charts etc. I am focusing at my age, on how i feel, and look for my lifestyle. That being said, i agree with you that people who are not on a journey, not healthy, etc will try to talk you out of losing weight, tell you you're getting "too skinny" when you are still obese, and try to give you "tips" even though they are not healthy at all. I get this EVERY DAY at work. I have a coworker who is larger than me, and lives on Monster and M&M's and is always telling me i need to lift weights more, or rder take out from the burger joint next door ! Lol
Just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing amazing.
Also, you are very lucky your wife supports you. Its so hard when your spouse doesnt care at all about fitness.

bokodasu

People really have no idea. Part I think is just geometry - the difference betwen 350 lbs and 400 lbs doesn't look like nearly as much as the difference between 200 and 250, because volume. Part is being used to seeing bigger people. Part is that when people lose weight their bodies go all crazy and do nutty things like empty all the fat from their earlobes so people see weird skinny bits and think you look "too skinny" when really once it all settles it'll look perfectly normal.

Mostly I think the answer is just, "ok, sure," and then go about your business.

ilmb87

Doesn't happen to me when I say my goal weight (150lbs at 5'9"), but if I even MENTION going lower than that . . . Yeah, people think that's too much.

GregJourney

I will reevaluate my goal weight as I near it and talk with my doctor about a healthy weight. My major point was that is was funny the comments were coming from people clearly over weight that had little intention of losing weight themselves. I was getting kind of the misery love company feeling.

GregJourney

I will reevaluate my goal weight as I near it and talk with my doctor about a healthy weight. My major point was that is was funny the comments were coming from people clearly over weight that had little intention of losing weight themselves. I was getting kind of the misery love company feeling.

JoanB5

Most people don't have a very good perception of what a healthy weight actually is. People are also comparing you to where you have come from and can't always imagine where you could lose that much all over again!

I agree. You make those goals and adjust them as you see fit. I have had this derail more attempts to be healthy than I can count. I think also, it's because a lot of people are overweight and have lost a capacity for what healthy weight really is. One of the biggest tips that helped me this time that I saw a doctor give a patient was "don't tell anyone what you are doing." I've eaten with other people less, talked about it less, and really made it MY journey and it's helped my mentality (except for the great support I get here toward reaching goals).

khall86790

I'm now in the healthy BMI range and still have a little weight left to lose. So it's different for everyone.
However, don't listen to the opinions of others. Go until YOU are satisfied.

wbandel

I read an article (don't recall where or what it was called , sorry ) and it said that as people have been becoming more overweight since the 80's that their idea of an ideal goal for themselves has also gone up almost proportionately. I think you very well could be right that those who are overweight or obese themselves, would have a different idea of what would be an ideal weight should look like. I know I used to think like that when my sister or best friend would lose weight. It makes more sense once you get started yourself. Now I can understand that they weren't underweight by any means, I just hadn't seen them in the ballpark of healthy before. Now my other sister and family members are saying the same thing to me that I used to say about the people I knew who were losing weight, to stop or that BMI isn't everything, etc. Even when I explain where I'm coming from I just get shot down, but without advice on what would be "better".

I think it's okay to use BMI as a starting goal, because it gets you at least started. My husband was fortunate enough to know from his army days just what weight works for him (which still would make him borderline "obese"). Others like me, have no idea of where to start, so BMI is at least a starting point.

Congrats on all your hard work and keep at it!

MinnieInMaine

I agree that people have a very skewed opinion of what healthy looks like and what a healthy weight is.

For me it's actually been comments from more fit people saying I don't need to lose any more weight that have made me chuckle a little. If anyone would have a better understanding of how a healthy body should look, you would think they would! These two also happened to be guys so maybe it's just a preference for a woman having more curves?

The best was from my husband with an opposing opinion. When I first started losing weight and we got talking about my goal, he said "you should try to get down to 125 pounds" and I just burst out laughing. Maybe if I was a few inches shorter that would be a good weight but 125 is my LBM weight and I KNOW he wouldn't appreciate me being skin and bones. That started the first of many conversations about healthy vs skinny though so it was a good thing in the end.

Hi_Im_Jess

I work in a medical office and I am forced to constantly see a BMI chart on a daily basis and calculate it for all patients. According to this, I am "obese" however my blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and all levels are within the perfect range. I have been told by physicians I work that the BMI chart is more commonly used as a guideline now, not to say by any means that I do not need to lose weight because I do but I'm not driving myself crazy to be within the range specified by my height. The BMI chart does not take into account any variable other than height so it is not a perfect system. I have been told that the best measurement is percent body fat. I would say to keep going until you feel strong and healthy and the only numbers you should worry about are the results from bloodwork. Health is all about how you feel, not where you fit in on a chart

quirkytizzy

I'm real lucky in that I was at my goal weight about a year and a half ago. I tell people what I weighed then (120) and I'm just looking to get back to it. If they ask, I will say that a possible new goal would be five pounds less at 115. But I agree with the other poster (concordia I think it was) who said that people often don't have a healthy concept of what weight looks like. That plays a role.

doubleduofa

People tell me that about my goal, and I just ignore them. It is well within normal bmi range, I've been that weight before as a healthy adult, and it is where I feel my best. I just ignore the people who tell me it's too low...not their body, not their decision.

However, people close to me have expressed that my goal might be too low. I said that I will reevaluate as I get closer to it - and I mean it. I think I have more muscle mass now, so maybe I will get back into my skinny clothes at a higher weight. I won't compromise muscle for a number on the scale.

doubleduofa

I'm real lucky in that I was at my goal weight about a year and a half ago. I tell people what I weighed then (120) and I'm just looking to get back to it. If they ask, I will say that a possible new goal would be five pounds less at 115. But I agree with the other poster (concordia I think it was) who said that people often don't have a healthy concept of what weight looks like. That plays a role.

This is very true. IMO, people have a distorted view about what is a healthy weight.

cwolfman13

I will reevaluate my goal weight as I near it and talk with my doctor about a healthy weight. My major point was that is was funny the comments were coming from people clearly over weight that had little intention of losing weight themselves. I was getting kind of the misery love company feeling.

Pretty much most people have no concept of what a healthy weight is or what a healthy BF% is. I started this whole thing because of some health issues I had related to the way I was eating as well as my weight...I started out at slightly obese (just over the line from very over weight) and people couldn't believe I was trying to lose weight and made comments like, "you're going to blow away in the breeze if you lose any weight." I was 5'10" and 215 and most of these comments were coming from people far larger than I was who had zero perception of what a healthy weight should be.