BMI a realistic weight goal?

The BMI gives a range, so you can aim for the top of the healthy range rather than the middle, if you'd rather. It also doesn't account for differences in muscle mass, so some people are healthy and have low body fat when they are still above the BMI range. Most people reasonably accept that BMI is limited in its application to individual people (it was designed to look at populations rather than individuals, I understand)


One reason that it may seem so unreasonable might be because of how far it feels. Remember, though, you don't have to "eat the whole elephant at once." Start with smaller goals that you can for sure get your head around. Aim for that size 18 to start with. Once you get there, you can decide if you are satisfied or if you want to go for a smaller size. It's up to you. :flowerforyou:

Losing weight can be scary! Any change to your body, even a good change, is going to be stressful because you're used to how you look now and comfortable with it. Maybe try setting a smaller goal -- once you lose 100 lbs or so you can reevaluate how small you finally want to be. Just take it one step at a time

BMI is a terrible system that no one should pay attention to.

BMI is an okay general guideline for the average person. Unless you weight train a lot and have a low body fat percentage, the BMI healthy range is very realistic. Set smaller goals at first and if you want to healthy, as you get smaller you will see that yes you will look good without being overweight. We have a messed up perception now of healthy because so many people are overweight and it is turning into the new normal. Don't fall into that trap. You can do it!

I have my current goal set at the midpoint in my healthy weight range according to the BMI for my height. I have no idea whether this is a good goal or not but I wanted to give myself something to shoot for. Right now I'm focusing on the journey and not the destination. I may be happy at a number higher or lower than that goal. I don't know at this point. I just want to get to a point where I feel comfortable, healthy and happy. I have no idea what number will ultimately correspond to that.
Don't get too obsessed with numbers. And if you're doing this in a healthy manner then the weight will come off slowly so you get a chance to adjust. Right now a size 10 seems like such a shock but when you're at a size 12 it won't be that big of a jump.

This is a really interesting topic. And one that I'm honestly not 100% sure on.

When I started my diet and exercise program back in mid January I was a size 20, sometimes a 22 and I weighed in at 261 pounds. Everyone told me that I didn't look that heavy but I didn't feel good about myself. Besides, my sister's wedding was coming up and I didn't fit into the bridesmaid dress. It was very depressing.

I am 5'4 1/2" (yes that half inch is important to me as it's all that's keeping me taller than my 12 year old daughter!) and my BMI range is 120-145 if I remember correctly. Personally I never thought I could weigh that little and not look completely anorexic and look like a walking skeleton. Who wants to look like that?!?! Yuck! I love my muscles, I love having curves. In fact I'm a little upset that "the girls" had to shrink along with the rest of me!

Fast forward 10 months. I currently weigh 163 and have lost 98 pounds. I have at least another 10 pounds to go in order to get the flat stomach I really really want so maybe, just maybe, the high end of the BMI chart could happen. It's not my goal by any means. My goal is not a number, it's a vision. Maybe it sounds vain to say I want to look good naked, but that is my honest goal. It's been teens of years since I was happy with my body and I love the feeling I have now. I am a better role model to my kid and maybe she won't have to struggle with the weight issues that I had. I currently wear a size 8 in pants (tops are a 12 or they don't button tho) and am smaller than I've ever been in my adult life. I had to adjust my goal on MFP to a smaller number and may need to do it again.

Take it one step at a time, one day at a time. Make goals that push your limits and be ready to set new ones that challenge you even more when you achieve the first ones. Don't worry about your final goal just yet. Keep going and celebrate all the small victories along your journey. And for goodness sake, even though you probably don't want to, take a "before" pic and progress pics every 10 pounds or so. It is so amazing and motivating to look back on and I really don't have a true before pic at my heaviest weight. I really wish I did!

Good luck! Believe you can do this and you can! :flowerforyou:

What height are you?

I'm 5'2, currently managing to stay under 135 pounds, which puts my bmi under 25. I'd like to get to 130 pounds, but at this point I'm not too worried about bmi.

Lots of good answers in this thread. BMI ranges are wide and provide an easy framework for evaluation. 35, 30, and 25 are generally pretty solid objective steps. Muscular women, and/or people who are comfortable with being "fluffy", can be fine in the slightly above 25 range. Very muscular men can be low fat and above 30, but that isn't applicable to women.

I don't know about the UK, but US clothing sizes are ridiculously variable. Actual tape measurements are better gauges than fitting into a randomly-sized "size X" article of clothing.

You don't say how tall you are, but bmi is generally a good rough guide.

However I would aim for a dress size or bodyfat % over a number on the scales anyway.

I'm 5'5"

Anything up to about 10 and a half stone is a normal bmi if you're 5ft5, not sure where you got 9 stone from?

+1

Look at the range, you don't have to be right in the middle of it.

Start slow. i was 2 pounds when I started. I wanted to hit 150lb (overweight)
When I got there, I aimed for "healthy"

Not everyone looks good at the bottom of the scale. Stop where you feel comfortable. Don't let anyone tell you where you need to be.

You don't say how tall you are, but bmi is generally a good rough guide.

However I would aim for a dress size or bodyfat % over a number on the scales anyway.

I'm 5'5"

Anything up to about 10 and a half stone is a normal bmi if you're 5ft5, not sure where you got 9 stone from?

Blimey yes! I'm 5'3" and I'm heading for 9 stone 7 or 8 at the most!

I wouldn't be surprised if you get to size 12 and make new goals. You may want even more success.

When I first started, I weighed 235lbs (and I'm 5'3"). Thinking that I needed to lose around 100lbs seemed overwhelming. I kept thinking about it would be nearly impossible and how long it would take. Several kind people here suggested the idea of working towards smaller goals, and that really worked for me. Instead of thinking, "My gosh I got to lose all this weight, I started with trying to lose 10lbs, then another 10, and then 15lbs. Each time I hit a goal, I celebrated as I looked forward. This may work for you as well.

As for clothing sizes - you really need to realize that all of us are built differently. I'm big boned. At my smallest, (at which I was actually underweight) I wore size eight. I'm older now, so I'm aiming for a 10 or 12 size jeans. To some people, that would seem big, but I know it's where I'll look and feel best.

BMI is a good guide for the average person, but for now just focusing on lowering it and getting healthier.

I couldn't care less about my BMI. I care about my body fat percentage.