128-174 lbs IS THAT A JOKE?

The bmi is just an approximate calculation. The large range is used to account for the different weights of small to large bone structures and for scrawny to overly muscular people.

I would aim to be halfway in my bmi range.

Really though, as long as you are in a healthy bmi range, I would concentrate on how your body looks and feels to determine what is right for you.

Good luck!

My BMI is 132.7-179.3 And I do believe it is correct Im 5'11

I'm 5'3" and my bmi range suggests: Target weight range: 104.4 - 141.1 lbs , which is also a huge range for 'normal'.

I am at 150lbs now and barely feel overweight. As I get closer to my first goal (135) i am seeing my body become more of a body instead of a flubby mass, and I am noticing that as I lose more fat I just get healthier and healthier looking. this range seems very reasonable for me personally, as someone my height could be very thin yet healthy at 105, and someone like me could be strong and healthy, yet a bit thicker at the 140 area.

I am aiming at 135 now, but hoping that 125 feels good on me

The BMI is really not a good way to look at it. I think when I was at my healthiest I was in the 140's which according to the BMI I was overweight. I was a black belt in Karate Tae Kwon Do.

BMI is very inaccurate and impersonal. I would talk to my doctor about a specific weight loss goal. Your doctor should be able to guide you in a better direction.

This is so true. According to my doctor my body fat level is actually lower than what's considered average (19.5% so not unhealthy low, just like a 1/2 of a percentage lower than what's considered perfectly healthy for my age, gender and ethnicity) but I'm still overweight on the BMI scale. Go figure. It's a good base point, but like all things not perfect.

My doctor said I should weigh 140. I just laughed at her. We both compromised and agreed that 165 would be acceptable.

I am nowhere near a healthy BMI now but have been at low-midrange before (admittedly, in college and not toned at all, so I'd guess that toned and at that size I'd be at the mid-high to high end of my BMI). My range is something like 98 pounds (ha!) to around 130 and that is a HUGE range on someone just over 5'! For now, I'm aiming for 130 and then I'll see from there what seems realistic.

I agree that BMI is a bit of a gross generalization. Everyone's body structure / build is different (part of the reason for such a huge wight range for healthy BMI). If you are concerned about that range being realistic for you, I would suggest talking to your doctor as they have access to more information about you.

The healthy BMI range does work for me. Like you, I am also 5'10". I would consider myself a "medium build". I topped out my pregnancies at 215lbs. 5 years after having my daughter (2nd child) I had crept up to 194lbs (dangerously close to pregnancy weight!) I have been on MFP since Jan '11 and stated it at 180. I am now 158lbs (definitely within healthy BMI), but I know I am not done yet - my goal has become a moving target (I set one, re-evaluate, and set another). Right now I am thinking I would like to be between 150-155lbs, but it is not really about the number on the scale anymore - it is about how I look and how I feel.

I'm 5'9 with a BMI range between 128 and 169 lbs. The Air Force used BMI to determine how many points on our fitness test we could get for the body composition part. I was at 172 and made an effort to get back to 169 so I would get max points for that portion (it was worth 30% of the overall score!). I have since gotten to 140 and fluctuate between 138-142 and am perfectly comfortable with this weight. I was 125-130 through high school and it was just too skinny, but thin I didn't work out either so that might have had an impact on me looking too thin; had I been toned it might have looked good. But I honestly have no desire to be that thin again because with my job and activity level now it would be too difficult to maintain anything less.

Ha! mine is 105-136! I think it has to do with age, and bone stucture. When I was 20 104 looked hot on me. Now I would be one sammich away from from the hospital.

I would love to be 125!! sigh

I'm also 5'10", and the best shape I've ever been in was right after Basic Military Training, when I weighed somewhere between 160-170. And I was pretty darn skinny then- if I weighed any less I'd probably look unhealthy... I can't even imagine 128!

I am also 5'10" and when I was at my thinnest, I was 180, and I felt too thin. I would go off body fat %, and not BMI. It is way outdated and not even accurate.

I am also 5'10" and when I was at my thinnest, I was 180, and I felt too thin. I would go off body fat %, and not BMI. It is way outdated and not even accurate.

I agree. I am just over 5'9" and I used to weigh 140. My body fat % was 2% below average. If I went down to 128, I would probably have been a walking skeleton.

That's so funny...I actually thought the same thing when I viewed my BMI Range....I guess they have to have an outrageous "target range" to include everyone

BMI? Every time I see or hear those letters, I also hear in the back of my mind, Donny Brasco saying, "forgetaboutit". I've never liked those height/weight tables.

Seriously, when were the BMI tables created and last updated? Was it back in the day before we had a better understanding of muscles mass versus percent of fat?

Many years ago (heck several decades ago), I proudly served. According to some chart I was overweight, by 15 lbs. Every other time there was a PT test, I had to be taped (to calculated percent of body fat). I always got high scores on my PT test and was the either the fastest or second fastest runner in my unit.
(Incidentally, when you leave the service and stop being as active, but your appetite still craves thousands upon thousands of calories per day, watch out. That's how I gain my first 20 lbs.)

Therefore, BMI, forget about it.


Personally, for me, on my journey, I've ignored BMI and been focusing on notches on my belt. Incidentally, I'm going to need a smaller belt in a a week or two, (Can ya say woo hoo!). Periodically, I check the percent of body fat on the bathroom scale, its dropping as well. It works for me.