my goal weight is overweight according to BMI

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Cheeky_0102
Cheeky_0102 Posts: 408 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know it's different for everyone, but really?! I'm tall (5'7) and I have big hands and feet, and not a petite frame... when I get to 160, I'm a size 8, I can do up a size 6 even... do I need to be smaller than that? I got down to 155, and my hands looked old and shriveled, I also had to lose muscles to get that weight off... is it possible that 160 is a really healthy weight for me and that the BMI is just wrong for me? people suggested the first time I was losing that I should aim for 140... and I see people on here that are my height aiming for 130... Am I so used to being fat that I have the wrong idea of what skinny for me is?
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  • Cheeky_0102
    Cheeky_0102 Posts: 408 Member
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    can you see this pic?
    this is me at my fittest; I was around 158 lbs... do I look fat still?

    225795_19426820128_9551_n.jpg
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    No you definitely don't look overweight to me.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    BMI is a very debated thing around here. If you have been that weight before and think you looked good, then go for that and don't pay attention to that stupid chart. But if you get there and decide you could lose some more, go for that too. I think too many people get obsessed with how they are "supposed" to look/weigh rather than how they feel and look when they get there. Granted, there is such a thing as underweight, too, but most people realize what that looks like.

    Also, if you want to avoid losing muscle, just work some weight training and resistance into your workouts :) I really gotta work on my arms...my legs are f*cking KILLER, though! (I do a lot of walking and biking with a high resistance :laugh:)
  • Jobeth1961
    Jobeth1961 Posts: 40 Member
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    No you don't look fat but more to the point, you look happy. If you feel good, enjoy a healthy lifestyle ~ drop the numbers game. Don't judge yourself by others goals, set your own. :D
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    First, I think you look great - muscly and with a thin face and hands.

    Second, 'overweight' in BMI talk means you are in a zone above the 'ideal weight'. You actually aren't at risk for health issues.

    Third, BMI is a measure of populations, not individuals. People who have a lot of muscles will be heavier per height. My husband is classified as 'obese'. He is overweight. He's not even close to obese. He is a tai chi instructors with muscles like iron. When he loses all his fat he will still be classified as overweight.

    Finally, I looked just like you at 170 (I'm 5'10" and 54). I think I looked fine. I think YOU look fine. I'm now back to my post-college weight of 155. I'm shooting for 150. And yeah, I look and feel better. You have a bit of fat on your gut that it wouldn't hurt you to lose. Abdominal fat isn't healthy for you in many ways.

    Whether or not you decide to lose it though, is completely up to you. It won't make you unhealthy. All of us look different. That's a good thing.
  • Cheeky_0102
    Cheeky_0102 Posts: 408 Member
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    this picture is 5 years old. I'm working back to this... it just gets me that the BMI charts still say you are overweight. Bite me. I was so much fitter than most of the skinny people I knew. I glowed, my skin was radiant... I'm 24 lbs from this still.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    No you don't look fat but more to the point, you look happy. If you feel good, enjoy a healthy lifestyle ~ drop the numbers game. Don't judge yourself by others goals, set your own. :D

    Like she said.
  • Amazon_Who
    Amazon_Who Posts: 1,092 Member
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    BMI can be used as a guideline not something written in stone. I think your goal weight should be based on how you feel and your health.
  • JeanMBK
    JeanMBK Posts: 728 Member
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    No you don't look fat but more to the point, you look happy. If you feel good, enjoy a healthy lifestyle ~ drop the numbers game. Don't judge yourself by others goals, set your own. :D

    Well said
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
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    BMI is just a basic guideline and isn't one size fits all. Too many other factors. Many say go by body fat % to be more accurate...but I think when you look healthy and feel comfortable with the weight you reach, then that's more important. I would have to lose another 8 lbs. myself to reach a "normal" BMI, and at that weight I no longer look healthy but more emaciated. So don't use it as the final determinant of health.
  • tanashai
    tanashai Posts: 207 Member
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    Pffft, I'm 5'7" too and 160 is my goal weight. i chucked BMI out the window, lol! I just don't think I'd look very good at 150 lbs anymore; I'd be a stick and lose my curves. body fat percentage always seemed more important to me.
  • rachiepoo91
    rachiepoo91 Posts: 18 Member
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    If you feel an attachment to numbers as a mark of your progress, which most of us do, combined with size (also a number) and how we feel, maybe you should measure your body fat percentage instead. That really is a better measure of fitness than BMI.
  • MissPerfect2012
    MissPerfect2012 Posts: 21 Member
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    My goal weight is 140lbs and 10st which is apparently overweight for my height
  • RedneckMomma77
    RedneckMomma77 Posts: 85 Member
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    If you feel that you look and feel good at a weight that is classified as overweight by the BMI chart (which is BS and out-dated), set your goal at that weight and don't look back until you get there. When you get there you can decide if you want to maintain there, or lose more. That is totally up to you!

    Good luck and God bless.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I'm 5'7'' with a large frame (just over the border of medium/large) I just adjusted my goal weight to 145 because I decided I want to get to a lower body fat than I had originally planned and calculated out what that weight would be for that goal. If that number had turned out to be 165 (at 17% body fat) that's what I would have shot for BMI can go suck it. Turns out that that body fat level is well within BMI range so whatever.

    I would rather feel good and look good and be at the body fat percent that I want to (for the look I want) than worry about what BMI says.
  • watfordjc
    watfordjc Posts: 304 Member
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    My goal weight is 2.7 lb less than my lean mass. A normal BMI for me is below 11% body fat (unless I lose some lean mass). I set my goal weight when I thought I was an inch shorter and in the middle of the normal BMI range, with the assumption 20% of my weight loss would be from lean mass (will find out in a week on my next Bod Pod assessment if I'm still gaining lean mass).

    If my goal is impossible, it just means I might have to knock 2-3 months off my expected goal date. Too early to tell. I might graze normal BMI before I switch to increasing muscle mass before dropping further making a normal BMI impossible, no idea.

    I still use BMI though as I know I'm 66" tall and lb/66/66*703 is easy to type in the calculator to see where I'm at (I'm now Obese Class I, down from Obese Class III). I still need to lose another 5.25" off my waist before I move from the red "high health risks" to the pink "increasing health risks" on my tape measure, so I'm a long way away from making a decision on a realistic goal weight.

    As long as your time-frame and weekly target is realistic, you'll make progress towards your goal weight. As you get closer to it, you may well change it in either direction.
  • meganfoster12
    meganfoster12 Posts: 411 Member
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    I am 5'7 and my doctor told me to get down to 160 and not focus on BMI....
  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
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    At my goal weight I am at a BMI of 24.7 ( 145 pounds ). So almost overweight. Which is ridiculous. I wrote on here before, that at that weight I was a size 6 in almost all clothing. I was told by people here that I should not look at clothing sizes because of vanity sizing, which is a bunch of bull. I believe you should look at how clothes fit you along with how you feel, your energy level and so on. When I was 145 pounds ( at 5'5") I was in extremely good shape. I ran everyday for one hour at a 7 mph pace. I spent probably 8 hr a week at the gym. So yes, I was a size 6 ( maybe less ) and I was in great shape but he BMI told me I was overweight. So my opinion of the BMI is garbage.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    go by body fat percentage not BMI

    BMI was designed for comparing populations (and it's not too great at that either) not for telling individuals if they have too much body fat. BMI only looks at height and weight, not muscle mass, bone density or frame size. Body fat percentage, if measured in a reliable way (I'd advise using 2-3 different ways of measuring it at least) tells you how much fat you are carrying.

    My lean body mass is in the healthy range of BMI for my height. (130lb, 22%bf, 101lb LBM, healthy range for my height: 100-132lb) My ultimate goal is to gain at least 5lb of muscle, while having a healthy range body fat percentage, that's likely to mean that my goal weight is overweight according to BMI (I'm currently only 2lb away from that as it is).... if my body fat percentage is in the healthy range, then I really don't care what BMI says.

    Leigh Peele's blog has a free download on body fat percentage, the pros and cons of different ways of measuring it, and pictures of women and men at different body fat percentages.
  • marciebrian
    marciebrian Posts: 853 Member
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    No you don't look fat but more to the point, you look happy. If you feel good, enjoy a healthy lifestyle ~ drop the numbers game. Don't judge yourself by others goals, set your own. :D
    Completely THIS! I think you look fabulous and one person's goals should not impact your own. I agree you look happy and HEALTHY!! You decide what you should weigh not some chart. Congratulations you look great!:flowerforyou:

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