Disagree with BMI
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I'm 5'4" and currently 147. I have 30% body fat right now which is way to high. I do not go by BMI but by body fat %. Everyone carries weight different, I carry all mine on my lower half. I look best at 130 which put me in a size 6.0
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You'd be very healthy to be a bit above your BMI by a few pounds. I read a book "the obesity myth" that showed studies that your mortality and health rate doesn't really increase if your a bit overweight. There was a higher mortality rate for people who were under weight. Now, you don't have to believe everything the book says, but i personally liked it because it wasn't about losing weight, it was more about choosing a healthy weight, even if it means being a bit higher than your BMI tells you to be. That number doesn't calculate your healthy heart, healthy eating habits, whether you smoke or not, if you have high blood pressure. I just don't like the BMI either and it's awful to tell people the standard weight they have to be at or else they aren't "healthy". It's a flat out lie. If your a few pounds more than a stupid scale tells you that you should be, who cares. They aren't you.0
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The weight range BMI is kind of generic. We all have heard about how muscle weighs more than fat and all that. The most accurate way to judge BMI is by doing a tape test (taking measurements). Here's a site I found through google (there were more search results for "BMI Tape Test", but I picked the first one that seemed to actually be answering your question) http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html, Much like this site, you put in your demographics (and it asks for your measurements too). When your measurements are taken into account, it should be a bit more 'fair'.
I kind of have the same issue. My top end 'healthy' bmi is 150. When I was in highschool I weighed about 190, and probably could have stood to loose 10 - 20 pounds, but no way would I have been healthy if I lost 40. I think as long as you feel good, feel good about the way you look, and aren't displaying any medical issues (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cardiac issues, etc), you're good. That's just my two cents on it.
Oh god, so I just did that website and let me say this:
I am 5'10, and as of now, 177 lbs. I haven't had a scale or pinch fat body test done in a while, but when I started at 223 lbs I was at 44% body fat. Based on how I look, I'm guessing I'm right around 30% body fat.
I just did that test on that website, it says I have 23.2% body fat. LOL.... I think that's wrong. It's because I have freakishly small wrists and calves (chicken legs and ostrich arms as my sister calls them) and hold ALL my weight in my stomach (it measures your hips as well, but I have small hips too).
But if it works for people, lucky you!0 -
BMI is a joke. go with you feel is comfortable for your body. if i were to ever weigh as little as 115 my family would think i was on deaths door.0
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I have ALWAYS been considered overweight, but when I was younger (High School/College) I was very athletic and muscular, but yet I was still considered overweight. Even though according to all of the charts and BMI I was considered overweight my doctor always said that I was at a healthy weight for my body type. I really don't worry to much about the numbers.0
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The BMI ranges are wrong for me. If I was within the high end of the normal weight range for my height, my body fat % would have to be below 20% which is too low. At 5'6" my doctor gave me a healthy weight range of 160 to 180 for my larger frame.0
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I know what you mean my BMI says 104-141lbs. I have done all the calculations for lean body mass and it says the least I should be is 120lbs. I was 140lbs 3 years ago and thought my forearms looked too skinny but the rest of me looked good. When I get back down there then I will evaluate my BMI AND body fat %.
It really depends on how you are built. My fat is mostly in my belly. My butt is average size and my boobs are average too(36B).0 -
I completely agree with most of these posts. BMI is a complete joke. It does not take into consideration muscle mass. Our Wii tested my BMI, then followed-up by inflating my character (with sound effect) and telling me that I am obese. I have been training in martial arts for the past 5 years and have always been athletic. For me to lose the 30 pounds suggested by BMI, I would have to put in a meth lab in my backyard.0
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The lowest I ever weighed was 118, was a size zero and, on occassion, got accused of being anorexic (I wasn't. I had just gotten out of the hospital for gall bladder problems). My BMI says I should be between 111.5 (WTF?!?) and 150. The best I looked was at 135 when I was pretty much all muscle. I think I'll shoot for being in the middle again.0
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The weight range BMI is kind of generic. We all have heard about how muscle weighs more than fat and all that. The most accurate way to judge BMI is by doing a tape test (taking measurements). Here's a site I found through google (there were more search results for "BMI Tape Test", but I picked the first one that seemed to actually be answering your question) http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html, Much like this site, you put in your demographics (and it asks for your measurements too). When your measurements are taken into account, it should be a bit more 'fair'.
I kind of have the same issue. My top end 'healthy' bmi is 150. When I was in highschool I weighed about 190, and probably could have stood to loose 10 - 20 pounds, but no way would I have been healthy if I lost 40. I think as long as you feel good, feel good about the way you look, and aren't displaying any medical issues (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cardiac issues, etc), you're good. That's just my two cents on it.
I think you're confusing BMI with body fat percentage. The link you posted is to measure your body fat percentage, which, yes, is a much accurate way of seeing whether you're healthy than BMI, which doesn't take into account the difference between fat and muscle.0 -
So my "healthy" BMI tells me that I should be between 107-145 lbs. I can honestly say that 145(technically being what I should weigh MAX) would look horrible on me! I'm a curvy person(lots in the T and A dept), and I'm not at all looking to be super skinny. Is it okay to shoot for higher than my healthy BMI? I think 155 would be the lowest I'd ever go, but my goal is 160. I KNOW that would look good on me, but the BMI scale says i'd be smack dab in the middle of Overweight. Is that fair? I feel like it's a little unforgiving..
BMI is the worst measurement ever! I'm 5'8 (5'9 on a good day
) and wrestled 174lbs in college, best shape of my life. I was running 5-7 miles a day and had a 6- pack but according to the BMI I was overweight. I would not listen to that measurement, just look at the number on the scale and what you look like in the mirror. 0 -
Fat does not weigh more than muscle. Think about it ... a POUND of fat = a POUND of muscle. However, a POUND of fat takes up more SPACE than a POUND of muscle ... at least that is my understanding and observation... (Use of CAPS is not intended as yelling, just for emphasis
)
Or put a different way, five pounds of fat LOOKS a lot different on the body than five pounds of muscle.
I think the BEST number is very individual. All of these charts are just guidelines.0 -
Can't people look at themselves today and see whether or not they need to lose weight, here and there without being scientific about it? Not talking about people with severe issues here!
BMI's don't work for the simple reason everybody's frame is different, also how you carry your weight matters too. BMI was to simplify things but actually its confused alot of people.
It states that i'm normal weight range for my height which is 138lbs and 5ft 6, but i know i can lose another 8lbs and be fine as I have a slim frame and be in proportion upper and lower. (yeah i'm lucky). Its my belly LOL it always sticks out like homer.0 -
bump0
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Your BMI is just a tool. If you weight range seems off, have a body fat measurement done. Much better assessment of where you want to be.0
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Yep, me too! I'm 5'5" and curvy. I look great at 165. When I did drop down to 145, people thought I was anorexic!! I looked horribly thin and gaunt. So 165 is my goal. Size 10. People never can guess my weight anyway, I have a large frame on a short body! I wanna keep my curves!:laugh:0
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BMI is a waste of a tool! You should really focus on percent body fat!0
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:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:I completely agree with most of these posts. BMI is a complete joke. It does not take into consideration muscle mass. Our Wii tested my BMI, then followed-up by inflating my character (with sound effect) and telling me that I am obese. I have been training in martial arts for the past 5 years and have always been athletic. For me to lose the 30 pounds suggested by BMI, I would have to put in a meth lab in my backyard.0 -
You must be 5'4" like me. My goal is 155 even though it's above 145. I think that looks fine on me and is sustainable. Not that I wouldn't look fine at 145 too - just not sure if I could sustain it though. I think it looks healthy on me - it's a size 4/6 on me.
I'm 5'4" as well. I'm 160 and in a size 10. My goal is 135 and hopefully between a size 6-80 -
FYI ......muscle dosent weigh more than fat0
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