Always gonna be fat according to BMI

justagrrl898
justagrrl898 Posts: 27
in Health and Weight Loss
I have set my goal to me being 160 lbs at the end of this journey. Well I'm 5'2", so at 160 I will still be considered obese. When I calculate my body fat and other factors with my scales help, I figure 160 will be a healthy weight for me. But I cant fathom I will still be obese after this. Im struggling with this issue and not sure how mentally to get over I'm going to be obese no matter what I do.

Replies

  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    BMI was created to analyse averages for demographics, countries and race etc

    It should not be applied to individual people. There are many overweight/obese people on here who have a bf% below 20% so don't worry about it.

    You want to change your life for the better that's what matters.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
    Why don't you just get to 160 and worry about this later. You can see how you feel at 160, and see if you want to re-adjust. Weight loss is hard enough sometimes. Don't get upset about something like this prematurely.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    Try to focus on health, not so much on the # on the scale or BMI. What's important is that you're healthy and have a body that makes you feel comfortable doing what you love and living your best life.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Ignore BMI.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Why don't you just get to 160 and worry about this later. You can see how you feel at 160, and see if you want to re-adjust. Weight loss is hard enough sometimes. Don't get upset about something like this prematurely.

    Agreed
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Why don't you just get to 160 and worry about this later. You can see how you feel at 160, and see if you want to re-adjust. Weight loss is hard enough sometimes. Don't get upset about something like this prematurely.

    Bingo....

    My initial goal was 185, which according to BMI is still overweight. According to BF%, still overweight. I haven't worried about it. I hit my goal last week and I look and feel better than I have in over a decade. I also have achieved what I initially set out to do...reverse some bad blood work...mission accomplished.

    Now I'm going for more (though I'll be going slower now...on purpose) because I know I can now and I've created additional health and fitness goals that would necessitate dropping a bit more BF.

    Just worry about today...set your goal...when you get to your goal you can re-evaluate where you're at. No sense in getting hung up on this stuff right now.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    BMI is not very good at the individual level it is better for populations. Having said that, except for extremely athletic people, it is a pretty good general guideline. There was a time in my life that I spent a whole bunch of time in the gym and had a high lean body mass and was "overweight" according to BMI though my body fat was low. Right now, my BMI says that I am overweight and I am not at a body fat percentage that I am happy with so it is pretty accurate.

    It is entirely possible that your scale is not accurate at giving your body fat percentage/lbm. Body fat scales, like BMI are good on average but on an individual level can be wildly off. If you have your body fat measured professionally, bod pod, hydrostatic weighing, or DXA scan, you might have a better idea.

    The more overweight people are, the more muscle they tend to have (with no exercise at either level) because it takes more muscle to move around. When people lose weight, unless they are very careful, they tend to lose lean body mass. Regardless of deficit, without a weight lifting program in place, the body will need less muscle on a day to day basis. Which means that the amount of lean body mass you have now will not be the same as the amount of lean body mass you will have in 120 lbs.

    Lifting weights as you lose weight will help you keep the muscle mass you have now. When you get down to 160 you may realize that you want to lose more weight and can readjust your goals but you may also realize that you are at 20% body fat and are happy there. BMI doesn't really matter if it isn't accurate.

    I think that if you start a good lifting program now and keep up with it, you will be more likely to get to that weight and be happy with your body fat percentage.

    Other than that, there isn't really anything you can do about it now and being at 160 will surely be better for you and make you happier than you are right now, so don't sweat it. :)

    Good Luck.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Why is your ultimate long-term goal 160? Seems arbitrary and pointless. Your long-term goal should be to be the best you can be.
  • jessmart83
    jessmart83 Posts: 283 Member
    I never really worried about BMI. I try to tell my best friend not to worry about it either. She is 4'11" and 158lbs, she is in the obese category, but I swear nothing on her jiggles ever! I am the same weight and almost have a foot on her and I jiggle way more than she does.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Lifting weights as you lose weight will help you keep the muscle mass you have now. When you get down to 160 you may realize that you want to lose more weight and can readjust your goals but you may also realize that you are at 20% body fat and are happy there. BMI doesn't really matter if it isn't accurate.

    5'2, 160 lbs, 20% bodyfat is about 2 months of cutting from being a competition bodybuilder. That's a huge amount of lean mass for a woman.
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
    Who cares what the BMI tells you? Look in the mirror first, worry about external stuff last.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    Lifting weights as you lose weight will help you keep the muscle mass you have now. When you get down to 160 you may realize that you want to lose more weight and can readjust your goals but you may also realize that you are at 20% body fat and are happy there. BMI doesn't really matter if it isn't accurate.

    5'2, 160 lbs, 20% bodyfat is about 2 months of cutting from being a competition bodybuilder. That's a huge amount of lean mass for a woman.

    It's right about the lean mass that I have (of course, I'm 5" taller). I'm just making the point that there is no way to know what body composition will be once the OP loses 125lbs. Worrying about it now won't really help anything.
  • aa62579
    aa62579 Posts: 57
    According to the calculators I tried, 5'2" and 160 lbs is 29.3 BMI which is considered OVERWEIGHT, not OBESE. OBESE is 30 or greater.

    I set my initial goal weight at what it would take to get me out of OBESE and into OVERWEIGHT, which is exactly what 160 is for you.

    Although I know not to rely on BMI, mentally I need to get out of OBESE. Hopefully I will reach that goal and keep going from there, but I need a number to focus on right now, so that is why I chose one the number I did.
  • Kaylaef
    Kaylaef Posts: 194 Member
    I never really worried about BMI. I try to tell my best friend not to worry about it either. She is 4'11" and 158lbs, she is in the obese category, but I swear nothing on her jiggles ever! I am the same weight and almost have a foot on her and I jiggle way more than she does.

    Yup! At my thinnest I was 172--now a staggering 200--but I looked GREAT. I mean I wouldn't want to be thinner. I have a lot of muscle tone from years of sports, and A REALLY LARGE BUST that--never seems to go down. Even when I lost 60 lbs. So meh--I ignore it. My blood pressure and everything was excellent so I was thrilled. I am aiming for that this time again.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Lifting weights as you lose weight will help you keep the muscle mass you have now. When you get down to 160 you may realize that you want to lose more weight and can readjust your goals but you may also realize that you are at 20% body fat and are happy there. BMI doesn't really matter if it isn't accurate.

    5'2, 160 lbs, 20% bodyfat is about 2 months of cutting from being a competition bodybuilder. That's a huge amount of lean mass for a woman.

    No it's not. I'm 5'2", 99.5 and 20 percent body fat and I haven't done lifting of any kind for months. I know it's hard, but you need more background. A woman bodybuilder would be far below 20 percent, and 160 is not a healthy weight for a woman our height. But I would focus on getting there first.
  • meskibrp
    meskibrp Posts: 23 Member
    Never ever focus on weight and BF% as an end result. Let them be milestones but work until YOU are happy with your self image ad state of health because that's the ultimate goal anyways.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Lifting weights as you lose weight will help you keep the muscle mass you have now. When you get down to 160 you may realize that you want to lose more weight and can readjust your goals but you may also realize that you are at 20% body fat and are happy there. BMI doesn't really matter if it isn't accurate.

    5'2, 160 lbs, 20% bodyfat is about 2 months of cutting from being a competition bodybuilder. That's a huge amount of lean mass for a woman.

    It's right about the lean mass that I have (of course, I'm 5" taller). I'm just making the point that there is no way to know what body composition will be once the OP loses 125lbs. Worrying about it now won't really help anything.

    As you said, it's not a precise measurement for individuals, but it usually is a pretty accurate guide for people unless they have exceptionally dense bones or musculature.
  • zonah
    zonah Posts: 216 Member
    I agree that you should get to 160 and see how you feel. But I also think you should dream big (or small) sorry for the pun! There is no loss in aiming low like 125 and getting two 130 and deciding that's where you want to be.
  • lmc8774
    lmc8774 Posts: 129 Member
    I looked up your BMI at 160 and I agree with the other posts that said you would be "overweight" not "obese". But don't get hung up on either. You know you need to lose weight. 160 is a good goal to shoot for right now. Much more reasonable than trying to get to 115 or something. So focus on losing weight and being healthy. I looked at your inspirations on your home page and you said your son Mikey. So make this about him, not some number, whether it be weight or your BMI. Hang in there and good luck!
  • marywanoKC
    marywanoKC Posts: 176
    For me, the acronym BMI stands for "Bull**** Measuring Instrument". I don't need someone to tell me I'm still overweight. I'll lose until I'm happy, and then maintain. I'm not doing this to fit into a classification; I'm doing it to be healthy. That's all that matters.
  • traceytwink
    traceytwink Posts: 538 Member
    I've been maintaining my weight for 6 months now as I reached a weight I felt comfortable with I'm a uk size 10/12 and feel happy with how I look and feel but I'm still in the overweight category with a bmi of 26.5 but I say balls to it I'm fit and healthy with a balanced diet and yes I do eat some crap but life is for living not obsessing about weight, I say if your happy with how you feel screw the bmi calculator.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Lifting weights as you lose weight will help you keep the muscle mass you have now. When you get down to 160 you may realize that you want to lose more weight and can readjust your goals but you may also realize that you are at 20% body fat and are happy there. BMI doesn't really matter if it isn't accurate.

    5'2, 160 lbs, 20% bodyfat is about 2 months of cutting from being a competition bodybuilder. That's a huge amount of lean mass for a woman.

    No it's not. I'm 5'2", 99.5 and 20 percent body fat and I haven't done lifting of any kind for months. I know it's hard, but you need more background. A woman bodybuilder would be far below 20 percent, and 160 is not a healthy weight for a woman our height. But I would focus on getting there first.

    5'2 100 lbs at 20% is very different than 5'2 160 lbs at 20%. That's literally 48 lbs of muscle different.

    5'2 at 160 pounds, with a couple months of cutting, can get to 140 10%.

    5'2, 140 lbs, 10% body fat for a woman is... huge. Imagine your own body with 46 additional pounds of muscle and 6 pounds less fat.
  • newloafofbread
    newloafofbread Posts: 46 Member
    I have many bad things to say about BMI. It's a very general thing and it's not good to set your expectations based on that. People have different body structures and muscle mass and the BMI takes none of that into account. For me I put in my goal weight (5'7, 165 pounds) and it still says I will be overweight. But I know that's right for me because I am interested in lifting weights and swimming laps and muscle builders like that, and for an average woman I also have pretty broad hips and shoulders which I think makes a difference too.

    You will know when you get to your weight how you feel. If you need to keep losing then you can, and if you feel okay you can maintain. My first goal is to reach 200 pounds and then I will work on maintaining for a while. Everyone is different. It's just important to set a goal you think you can live with.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Lifting weights as you lose weight will help you keep the muscle mass you have now. When you get down to 160 you may realize that you want to lose more weight and can readjust your goals but you may also realize that you are at 20% body fat and are happy there. BMI doesn't really matter if it isn't accurate.

    5'2, 160 lbs, 20% bodyfat is about 2 months of cutting from being a competition bodybuilder. That's a huge amount of lean mass for a woman.

    No it's not. I'm 5'2", 99.5 and 20 percent body fat and I haven't done lifting of any kind for months. I know it's hard, but you need more background. A woman bodybuilder would be far below 20 percent, and 160 is not a healthy weight for a woman our height. But I would focus on getting there first.

    5'2 100 lbs at 20% is very different than 5'2 160 lbs at 20%. That's literally 48 lbs of muscle different.

    5'2 at 160 pounds, with a couple months of cutting, can get to 140 10%.

    5'2, 140 lbs, 10% body fat for a woman is... huge. Imagine your own body with 46 additional pounds of muscle and 6 pounds less fat.

    My assumption was that the OP would be losing fat, which would bring down her overall weight. From what I've read, she doesn't know what her body fat percentage is. All we know is that she is probably significantly above 160, which is almost certainly an unhealthy weight for someone her size. Think about the stress on her joints alone.
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
    Ohhh yea. welcome to my world. Im considered obese by my bmi.. By the time I get to the weight I want to be I will move from the obese to the overweight catagory. Neither which is correct. i am currently a size 10/12 depending and hope to eventually get into an 8. At this point i could care less what the scale or Bmi says. Both should be outlawed.

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