Do BMI's seem unrealistic to anyone else?

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  • livelaughlovecrazy
    livelaughlovecrazy Posts: 101 Member
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    When I weighed in the range of my BMI in my college years, I got an intervention from my friends b/c they were concerned about my weight--I was too thin. I am tall with a large frame. For me, it's not realistic.

    I'd have to say it's similar for me.

    I'm tall and have a large frame, right now I'm 215 and I know it's not where I should be, but when I was 140 back in high school, which is considered a 'normal' healthy range on the BMI calc, I had no curves, no boobs and looked a little sickly...

    You can look at my photos and see that even though I'm not at the weight I should be right now, it would not work for me to 140lbs...
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    When I weighed in the range of my BMI in my college years, I got an intervention from my friends b/c they were concerned about my weight--I was too thin. I am tall with a large frame. For me, it's not realistic.

    I'd have to say it's similar for me.

    I'm tall and have a large frame, right now I'm 215 and I know it's not where I should be, but when I was 140 back in high school, which is considered a 'normal' healthy range on the BMI calc, I had no curves, no boobs and looked a little sickly...

    You can look at my photos and see that even though I'm not at the weight I should be right now, it would not work for me to 140lbs...

    BMI is based in fact and predicts future health risks

    "What works for you" is based on your own perception of what you consider attractive or attainable.

    We're comparing apples and oranges when we make these associations.
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
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    The poster who is having a hard time being obese based on dress size, perceived physical ability etc is not a special snowflake. At your weight and measurements you are obese. We aren't much different in age or height and if I wore a size 12 I would be obese. It is what it is. Your perception of not wanting that label doesn't make it so.
    I do get beat up on these forumns and told that Im in denial every time I post about bmi. Again I say to look at me obese no. I am currently doing insanity and trying to get to where I feel comfortable in my clothes. I've come a long way in this month and am proud of my accomplishments. But I can gurantee you that if you saw me walking down the street you would not consider me obese based on the way I look. I may be wrong but don't obese people look obese?
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    The poster who is having a hard time being obese based on dress size, perceived physical ability etc is not a special snowflake. At your weight and measurements you are obese. We aren't much different in age or height and if I wore a size 12 I would be obese. It is what it is. Your perception of not wanting that label doesn't make it so.
    I do get beat up on these forumns and told that Im in denial every time I post about bmi. Again I say to look at me obese no. I am currently doing insanity and trying to get to where I feel comfortable in my clothes. I've come a long way in this month and am proud of my accomplishments. But I can gurantee you that if you saw me walking down the street you would not consider me obese based on the way I look. I may be wrong but don't obese people look obese?

    Thats subjective based on where you live and what you're used to seeing...
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    The poster who is having a hard time being obese based on dress size, perceived physical ability etc is not a special snowflake. At your weight and measurements you are obese. We aren't much different in age or height and if I wore a size 12 I would be obese. It is what it is. Your perception of not wanting that label doesn't make it so.
    I do get beat up on these forumns and told that Im in denial every time I post about bmi. Again I say to look at me obese no. I am currently doing insanity and trying to get to where I feel comfortable in my clothes. I've come a long way in this month and am proud of my accomplishments. But I can gurantee you that if you saw me walking down the street you would not consider me obese based on the way I look. I may be wrong but don't obese people look obese?

    Thats subjective based on where you live and what you're used to seeing...

    ^^^^This. My hubby is obese. Where we live people will refer to him as being "a big boy", when we go to NASCAR races he fits right in and may even be on the small side, when we go to Europe he looks like the side show at the circus because he's twice the size of most of the men. Being obese doesn't mean you need 2 airplane seats or have huge rolls of fat hanging off you. It means your weight compared to your height is high. That's why it doesn't work if you are extremely muscular. Get past what you look like to you or your preconceived notions of what obese should look like.
  • junkie_99
    junkie_99 Posts: 26
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    I find it unrealistic that the BMI does not take into consideration the differences between men and women. Using 3 different BF methods I've estimated my BF at 20% (71" and 185) with a BMI of 26 (Overweight). According to my BF%, my lean muscle is 150 pounds. 150 is middle of the healthy scale for my height.

    BMI is not always the best indicator.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    Unrealistic for me, my BMI says I'm obese, but my BF%, waist/hip ratio and hip/height ratio has me in the normal range, not even overweight. BTW, I'm female.
  • calisunrise
    calisunrise Posts: 307
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    it doesn't really work for me. i mean, when i was in the MIDDLE of a healthy weight range, i actually looked like an overweight person so i prefer to keep my weight in the top of underweight/very low end of healthy range. my structure is just very very tiny (5" wrist at 5'6 1/2")
  • ICOZA7
    ICOZA7 Posts: 33 Member
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    According to my trainer, my LBM is 130 lbs... which is in the middle of the heathy range for my height (5'7"). I dont' think being a few lbs over the top end of your heathy BMI range is really going to damage your health that much.

    When you get down there, start focusing on body fat %. That's my plan, anyway.
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
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    The poster who is having a hard time being obese based on dress size, perceived physical ability etc is not a special snowflake. At your weight and measurements you are obese. We aren't much different in age or height and if I wore a size 12 I would be obese. It is what it is. Your perception of not wanting that label doesn't make it so.
    I do get beat up on these forumns and told that Im in denial every time I post about bmi. Again I say to look at me obese no. I am currently doing insanity and trying to get to where I feel comfortable in my clothes. I've come a long way in this month and am proud of my accomplishments. But I can gurantee you that if you saw me walking down the street you would not consider me obese based on the way I look. I may be wrong but don't obese people look obese?

    Thats subjective based on where you live and what you're used to seeing...
    Oh okay. Guess that makes sense. I have a few friends who i thought were obese based on what I was used to. So all that tells me is they are morbidly obese and I am just obese. Still can't wrap my head around it. I need to come to terms with this. I have areas that definitley need work. That is why im working my butt off with Insanity. But this whole obese thing has me feeling some kind of way. One of the main reasons is because even when I get to my goal I will still be at the high end of overweight. I am taking it week by week and seeing how my body is responding to the work outs. So far so good. My goal is to get to about 160 pounds or a size 8. but even that would have me at almost obese. Whats a girl to do???
  • chadgard
    chadgard Posts: 102 Member
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    BMI is statistically a good indicator of future health risks, but as with many statistical indicators, it doesn't work for everyone. If you're statistically average otherwise, it will work, but if you're outside of the norm, it may not.

    I'm obese, or at least overweight. But not as much as BMI says. My lean body mass alone would have a BMI of 28.5: if I had 0% body fat, I'd be at the top end of overweight according to BMI!

    Body fat percentage is a much more reliable indicator of healthy body composition, though it is harder to measure...
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    The poster who is having a hard time being obese based on dress size, perceived physical ability etc is not a special snowflake. At your weight and measurements you are obese. We aren't much different in age or height and if I wore a size 12 I would be obese. It is what it is. Your perception of not wanting that label doesn't make it so.
    I do get beat up on these forumns and told that Im in denial every time I post about bmi. Again I say to look at me obese no. I am currently doing insanity and trying to get to where I feel comfortable in my clothes. I've come a long way in this month and am proud of my accomplishments. But I can gurantee you that if you saw me walking down the street you would not consider me obese based on the way I look. I may be wrong but don't obese people look obese?

    Thats subjective based on where you live and what you're used to seeing...
    Oh okay. Guess that makes sense. I have a few friends who i thought were obese based on what I was used to. So all that tells me is they are morbidly obese and I am just obese. Still can't wrap my head around it. I need to come to terms with this. I have areas that definitley need work. That is why im working my butt off with Insanity. But this whole obese thing has me feeling some kind of way. One of the main reasons is because even when I get to my goal I will still be at the high end of overweight. I am taking it week by week and seeing how my body is responding to the work outs. So far so good. My goal is to get to about 160 pounds or a size 8. but even that would have me at almost obese. Whats a girl to do???

    Forget about what you're going to do when you're 160 and worry about what you're doing now and the great strides you're taking to become the best possible version of yourself! That's what! Get out of your head and ignore all this crap for now and keep doing what youre doing.

    You may come to find when you reach 160 that you're happy with that, you may decide to keep on going. But save all that drama for down the road when you get there. ;)
  • dimsumkitty
    dimsumkitty Posts: 120 Member
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    Oh okay. Guess that makes sense. I have a few friends who i thought were obese based on what I was used to. So all that tells me is they are morbidly obese and I am just obese. Still can't wrap my head around it. I need to come to terms with this. I have areas that definitley need work. That is why im working my butt off with Insanity. But this whole obese thing has me feeling some kind of way. One of the main reasons is because even when I get to my goal I will still be at the high end of overweight. I am taking it week by week and seeing how my body is responding to the work outs. So far so good. My goal is to get to about 160 pounds or a size 8. but even that would have me at almost obese. Whats a girl to do???

    But you already knew that you'd be healthier if you lost weight, that's why you're here right? The ideal range is based on the weight where, statistically, if you lost any more weight it would no longer be good for your health. If we're over that range, that means losing weight is probably going to be good for our health.

    So we work that weight off, because then we end up more healthy. Even if we don't get to the ultimate goal, where we can't get any healthier just by changing our weight, we're still getting more healthy!
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
    Options

    The poster who is having a hard time being obese based on dress size, perceived physical ability etc is not a special snowflake. At your weight and measurements you are obese. We aren't much different in age or height and if I wore a size 12 I would be obese. It is what it is. Your perception of not wanting that label doesn't make it so.
    I do get beat up on these forumns and told that Im in denial every time I post about bmi. Again I say to look at me obese no. I am currently doing insanity and trying to get to where I feel comfortable in my clothes. I've come a long way in this month and am proud of my accomplishments. But I can gurantee you that if you saw me walking down the street you would not consider me obese based on the way I look. I may be wrong but don't obese people look obese?

    Thats subjective based on where you live and what you're used to seeing...
    Oh okay. Guess that makes sense. I have a few friends who i thought were obese based on what I was used to. So all that tells me is they are morbidly obese and I am just obese. Still can't wrap my head around it. I need to come to terms with this. I have areas that definitley need work. That is why im working my butt off with Insanity. But this whole obese thing has me feeling some kind of way. One of the main reasons is because even when I get to my goal I will still be at the high end of overweight. I am taking it week by week and seeing how my body is responding to the work outs. So far so good. My goal is to get to about 160 pounds or a size 8. but even that would have me at almost obese. Whats a girl to do???

    Forget about what you're going to do when you're 160 and worry about what you're doing now and the great strides you're taking to become the best possible version of yourself! That's what! Get out of your head and ignore all this crap for now and keep doing what youre doing.

    You may come to find when you reach 160 that you're happy with that, you may decide to keep on going. But save all that drama for down the road when you get there. ;)

    Yes I will because all of this is making me nuts. Thanx for the advice...
  • shortstuff17
    shortstuff17 Posts: 86 Member
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    I am 5 foot 3 inches and it says I should weigh 111-148. My goal weight is 150. I look good at this weight. I would look nasty at 111! But its the way I am built. I have larger hips, thighs and butt. When I am 150 people always think I weigh less than that. In my opinon its not all about the numbers. Its how you look and feel :)


    me too!! rock those curves! :)
  • davypr86
    davypr86 Posts: 145 Member
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    I don´t know. I´m a male, 27 years old and measure 5´8. According to the BMI, I´m supposed to be between 121 and 164.

    I find that weird. Many people say that I have a large frame, so it must be higher.

    I found some sites that include frame. But that only pushed it to 172.

    I readjusted my goal from 185 to 175 because of that. I will just wait and see how I feel at that weight.
  • Mimoki
    Mimoki Posts: 115 Member
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    my bmi, though I did it online so I shouldn't trust, it says I'm obese. I naturally have a bigger build so maybe that is your case as well? I think if you get your bf measured with a caliper or at a doctor's office or something, that would me more accurate.
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
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    How many obese people actually have a "bigger build" and how many just think they do because they've always been overweight? I ask because im seeing a trend...
  • anjanetteP
    anjanetteP Posts: 2 Member
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    I agree with you. If I were in my BMI I would look sick. My goal is to lose 25lbs. But many folks think that's to much. i just want to be healthier.
  • DancingDreams1234
    DancingDreams1234 Posts: 165
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    When I was twelve I began to get worried about my weight, and I calculated my BMI. It said I was overweight. I wasn't at all but it led me into me not wanting to leave the house to play with my friends, it was a nasty phase. The BMI calculator ONLY takes into account your weight and your hight. Really the best way to know if you are at a healthy weight is going to the doctor.

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