Goal BMI

i personally think if i was my actual healthy range bmi, i would look sickly. im at 177, and yeah im only 5'1", but seeing how i look now, and then thinking what i would look like if 1 was between 97 and 132 lb, thats gross. i would have to be in those 130s. couldnt do that low in the 100s. so it depends alot on your bone structure and your build too

The BMI is just another tool I use to let me know where I am... either still in overweight catagory or healthy. It doesn't effect my weight loss because that is a specific number for me. There are different body types and I know my body will be at it's optimum health between 135 lbs and 140 lbs.

BMI is a great starting point. But as a mango pointed out, because its a population average it gives you a huge range...so that it *can* contain what's healthy for the vast majority of people...not necessarily a range for an individual person. My range goes from 94 to 125. I wouldn't be healthy at 94, but, once I got to the top of my healthy range, I realized I was still quite large and wasn't healthy at 125 either. And I don't mean "I want to be a itsy bitsy bikini model" large. I mean, fat spilling out everywhere, large. My body fat percentage was about 31 and I had been strength training for quite some time--I was not skinny fat. 125 was just too big for me as I don't have a large frame. So, I buckled down and lost some more. My goal will put me at a BMI of about 21..but I'm not sure I'll get there...it depends on how I look. I might stop at 22.

So, BMI is sort of like a mirror. Its a good tool to rub reality up against (...are my goals realistic? Do I want to be too skinny? Am I kidding myself that 200 lbs is healthy for me?). But it isn't a substitute for individualized goals.

So I know a lot of people on here don't trust the BMI calculators to give them an accurate healthy weight range, but if you do use the BMI as a guide, what is your goal BMI? I'm torn between thinking I should maintain my current weight and wanting to lose more, so I'm interested to know what sort of BMI other people are aiming for

Just FYI. Strength train while keeping your current weight and you will look smaller from all that I've read. You will be lowing your BF%. So its the best of both worlds.

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