BMI serious question

Options
jonathanrubens
jonathanrubens Posts: 14
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there!

First of, I want to explain my situation: basically, in the last 2 months, I have gained 5-6 lbs. I have been eating super healthy (chicken, mostly, veggies, eggs), counting calories etc, but drinking much more water and exercising a LOT, running 1 hour every day, sit ups, push ups, squats and so much more exercise with very heavy dumbells every single day. Now all my pants are way looser BUT my scale says I've gained 5-6 lbs and therefore exceeding the BMI normal weight and drifting slowly into overweight (by 1 lb or 2). I want to get ripped and big and here's the dilemma: should I still care for the BMI or should I keep working out like a beast every day (but Sundays) and keep gaining weight and therefore being 'overweight'? Of course I know it's mostly water and in order to stay within the normal BMI weight I am trying not to eat much and just drink a lot. But that won't make me bigger and stronger. Also, I can only eat dinner, I can't during the day for many reasons that I can't explain here. What should I do? Again, should I still care for BMI? Or should I start eating more carbs for more energy and muscle gain?

Thanks in advance!
«13

Replies

  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Options
    BMI doesnt mean anything for guys who lift, dont worry about it
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Options
    You are getting smaller - I do not see where the concern is.


    The weight gain is probably due to water retention from the increased use (and recovery) of you muscles. Give it a little more time and see what the scale does.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Options
    BMI is only a rough guide, you can safely ignore it if you are meeting your goals.
  • ssun387
    ssun387 Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    it cld be u reducing fat and gaining muscle, give a break for a day or so... let ur body rest u will find diffrence:smile:
  • trinatrina1984
    trinatrina1984 Posts: 1,018 Member
    Options
    No I wouldn't worry. It just looks at overall weight and doesn't take other factors into account ie how ,much body fat you have. Many professional athletes would be classed as obese on the BMI scale,

    bmi-comparison.gif
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
    Options
    BMI does not take in consideration flunctuations and muscle gain. Remember, muscle weights more than fat and water retention adds a lot of weight.

    Give it some time but mostly pay attention to how you look not the scale.
  • jonathanrubens
    jonathanrubens Posts: 14
    Options
    Thank you all for your useful replies :) I really appreciate it! Yes I do lift a lot, I exercise in the morning a little bit, 1.5 hs at noon and on Saturdays and some Sundays too mostly weight lifting etc. I do have to drink and eat or I won't have any strength and I work full time so it's hard not to eat or eat very little (mind I do eat less calories than I ought to). I know it's mostly water and now not only my arms and pecs are bigger but my waist is smaller, and I can finally see my abs and I've lost most of my muffin top. I was happy after losing 90 lbs and gaining some makes me so mad and sad... but I guess that's what happens when you lift and get muscle. When I was just running it was easier to lose weight and I was eating less. Now if I don't eat enough I actually do not have the energy to lift and squat etc (also pull ups). I'd also love to eat during the day but can't, can only eat at around 6 pm. Next month I am going to eat more during the day and my plan is to exercise much more (with weights and dumbells and at the gym mostly, some cardio too) but I'm pretty sure that, because I'll be eating more carbs and exercise more muscle, I'll gain even more weight and, alas, become overweight, much to my dismay. That's crazy though, I had almost no muscle left after the 90 lbs loss and had a muffin top, no abs, and belly. Now I gained weight and I can show abs and every muscle is bigger and my tummy is flat, obliques are slim etc. Should I starve myself just to stay within the normal BMI range or not? What do you think?

    Thanks again in advance!
  • jonathanrubens
    jonathanrubens Posts: 14
    Options
    Oh I just wanted to add one more thing: after my daily training I of course lose weight. The daily flactuation is about 4-5 lbs. And I'm pretty sure that, because I have been eating way less than the regular calory intake, I've been in starvation mode for a long time (my diet took about 7 months). But they've told me it's a myth so I don't know...
  • jonathanrubens
    jonathanrubens Posts: 14
    Options
    No I wouldn't worry. It just looks at overall weight and doesn't take other factors into account ie how ,much body fat you have. Many professional athletes would be classed as obese on the BMI scale,

    bmi-comparison.gif

    Wow That's impressive!
  • jonathanrubens
    jonathanrubens Posts: 14
    Options
    BMI does not take in consideration flunctuations and muscle gain. Remember, muscle weights more than fat and water retention adds a lot of weight.

    Give it some time but mostly pay attention to how you look not the scale.

    Thanks, I'll try :) I can never understand how muscle weighs more than fat though, can you explain it to me?
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
    Options
    Who cares about BMI if its not fat. I plan to never be out of "overweight" if I can help it. BMI is only a crude general guide for average people, not weightlifters.

    "The Rock" is "obese" btw...
  • ClaireShepster
    ClaireShepster Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    Muscle does not weigh more that fat.

    In science this is impossible.

    Muscle however takes up less volume than fat for the same weight so 1kg of muscle takes up less space that 1kg of fat.

    When people say muscle weighs more than fat that's really what they mean.

    The correct statement would be if you took identical volumes of muscle and fat, muscle weighs more than fat!
  • DaughterOfTheMostHighKing
    DaughterOfTheMostHighKing Posts: 1,436 Member
    Options
    yes, I've had this conversation with friends… I lift and do lots of squats… clothes get loose and fall nicely over smooth and tight muscle and scale moves to a higher number… I've gained 9 pounds and yet my pants keep falling off… go figure! :P
  • Lach_esis
    Lach_esis Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    Hi, muscle is much denser than fat, so for the same weight the volume of fat will be bigger than that of muscle
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
    Options
    BMI was never meant to be used on individuals. It's more designed to give an overall view of a population. You know you're fit and healthy, so don't worry about it.
  • Scubdup
    Scubdup Posts: 104 Member
    Options
    What Velum_cado said...

    The guys who came up with BMI stated from the outset that it was only of use in measuring whole populations NOT individuals.

    I'd be very wary of any health professional who tries to misapply BMI in that way - they're presumably the careless surgeons that amputate the wrong limb, or the feckless doctor who proscribes 100 times the appropriate amount of drugs.

    Measuring your waist at navel level is supposed to be a far better metric to record.
  • jonathanrubens
    jonathanrubens Posts: 14
    Options
    Thank you all for all your helpful replies, much appreciated :) Yes my waist is way smaller, my tummy flat, my shoulders and chest broader and arms bigger. I try not to eat carbs (just a tiny bit a day) and lots of protein and veggies stayin well under the 1200 kcal per day although I exercise a lot. But I keep getting weaker. I do assume some sort of fat in terms of olive oil in the salad. Should I start eating more carbs and get more calories? Again, I exercise a lot and push through thirst, hunger and pain, but sometimes it's very hard because I don't eat anything during the day, drink little and mostly at 6 pm and eat only some chicken breast, salad (with just some olive oil), a little piece of bread, steamed broccoli and basically nothing else. I'm guessing that, between work and exercising I'm in constant calory deficit and I have been for several months now. What do you recommend?
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    Options
    BMI = useless if you have any muscle at all.
  • KatrineJensen
    KatrineJensen Posts: 75 Member
    Options
    Thank you all for all your helpful replies, much appreciated :) Yes my waist is way smaller, my tummy flat, my shoulders and chest broader and arms bigger. I try not to eat carbs (just a tiny bit a day) and lots of protein and veggies stayin well under the 1200 kcal per day although I exercise a lot. But I keep getting weaker. I do assume some sort of fat in terms of olive oil in the salad. Should I start eating more carbs and get more calories? Again, I exercise a lot and push through thirst, hunger and pain, but sometimes it's very hard because I don't eat anything during the day, drink little and mostly at 6 pm and eat only some chicken breast, salad (with just some olive oil), a little piece of bread, steamed broccoli and basically nothing else. I'm guessing that, between work and exercising I'm in constant calory deficit and I have been for several months now. What do you recommend?

    You should DEFINITELY eat more. WAY more than 1200 calories a day, holy ****, no wonder you're getting weaker. Try calculating your TDEE (there are plenty of online calculators for this, or MFP will do it for you) and eating this amount every day. You can tweak it based on your goals, like if you want to lose fat, gain muscle, etc. But you should definitely eat more than 1200 calories, especially because you're a guy and you exercise so much without eating back the calories you burn.

    Also, how come you don't eat all day, even if you're hungry? I don't know where you got the idea that starving yourself was the way to go, you could seriously damage your health. Did someone tell you it was better to only eat at night?
  • jonathanrubens
    jonathanrubens Posts: 14
    Options
    You're right, I should... but it's become an habit I guess. If I'm hungry I just stay hungry and push through it... My original diet was actually pretty balanced, then I started eating less and less and less... At one point I was eating once every few days, or just drinking some water or a can of tuna. Then I started eating a bit more. Now I eat a more I guess but just because I need to or otherwise I have 0 energy throughout the day and during my workout. I eat at 6 pm because I take sleeping/anxiety meds that make me VERY hungry. I know some people say you don't need them but trust me, if I don't take meds I can easily not sleep for 3, 4 days and eventually collapse (I've got a problem I'd rather not discuss here, it's kind of personal). My diet is pretty much always the same: chicken, broccoli, salad, water, MAYBE a treat once in a while. Almost no carbs whatsoever. And I gain weight. And that sucks. Although if it's muscle then that's good. The good thing is that I still had some muscle left and I'm regaining muscle and losing all the pointless muffin top and tummy fat (which I had a few lbs less ago, for some strange reason). Id show you my body back a few months ago and now but I don't know how here.

Categories