Asked my doctor if he thinks I should keep losing. He said, "you're at an ideal weight now"
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Seeing as your a waist 32" and going by your 2nd profile pic....i agree with your doctor.
You don't need to lose any more weight!
I wouldn't pay too much attention to the BMI chart tbh.....you look nowhere near overweight.0 -
I don't understand the discussion of whether your doctor said "you don't need to lose anymore" or "you shouldn't lose any more." The title of this post states that your doctor said you're at an ideal weight. That seems like a clear statement to me.0
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What would you do?
I would stop.
In fact, given there is a debate that BMI bandings should be reclassified due to findings that being in the lower end of overweight category as defined by the current numbers correlates with being protective against mortality it may be counter productive for you to drop even more weight.
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wrist size is often used to gauge frame size. For men:
•Small = wrist size 5.5" to 6.5"
•Medium = wrist size 6.5" to 7.5"
•Large = wrist size over 7.5"
I've seen this before, but I wonder, if you're an obese person like myself, does this measurement still hold up? I don't have visibly fat wrists, I can still totally see my joint there, but I am curious if my 8 inch wrists actually are accurately large, or if they're just fat haha.0 -
If the doctor says, "Stop losing," then stop losing. Friends, family and coworkers will lie their butts off and say you're skinny when you're still fat. Doctors are looking at your health and don't lie to make you happy or to be polite,
Someone else pointed out that there is a difference between "You don't have to lose more" and "You should stop losing" but if they said the latter, then do that.
BMI is a great tool for people who are in denial about their weight. The 5'6" woman who thinks she's fine at 200 pounds or 110 pounds can check the chart. Can't argue with the chart. Once inside the "Normal BMI," it's best to listen to the doctor.
If you want to work on your body-fat percentage, lift weights.
Remember, OP is still slightly above normal BMI. Not enough to matter, but given that I personally would not be satisfied just doing the "the doctor said it, so it must be right" thing, especially since I am not as convinced as you that a doctor magically can tell the right weight for someone by looking.
I would want to understand WHY the doctor was saying that, and would ask questions and -- in the best case situation -- get answers that made sense to me or have a useful discussion.
It's entirely possible to misheard "you don't need to lose more" as "you should not lose more," or even something that's more of a compliment or worry that if you lose more it will be hard to maintain (like the many people who get recommendations from their doctors to get to a weight in the overweight zone still -- doctors often assume that's all that's realistic).
OR, in that OP is a tall man and is therefore in a category for which BMI is more often wrong on the high end (that is, you can be a healthy weight with a good BF% above the normal BMI range much more often than a short woman would be), it may be that there are reasons why he really would be better off not losing more, and if so the doctor should be able to explain and he would likely benefit from understanding. (And it's also quite possible that the doctor DID explain here -- maybe he pointed to waist measurements or some such. I'm broadening the conversation a bit.)
I don't like the "doctor says it, I believe it, no questions asked" approach.0 -
danieltsmoke wrote: »wrist size is often used to gauge frame size. For men:
•Small = wrist size 5.5" to 6.5"
•Medium = wrist size 6.5" to 7.5"
•Large = wrist size over 7.5"
I've seen this before, but I wonder, if you're an obese person like myself, does this measurement still hold up? I don't have visibly fat wrists, I can still totally see my joint there, but I am curious if my 8 inch wrists actually are accurately large, or if they're just fat haha.
I don't think it does -- I've seen research that says it doesn't, in fact, although I can't find it now.
My wrists were thin (relatively) even when I was fat, but they were thicker than now, and my right one is thicker than my left one, too, which suggests that muscle can make at least a little bit of difference.0 -
tincanonastring wrote: »Do you know your BF%?
+1
If you're at a healthy body fat %, then ignore BMI. Actually you can ignore BMI anyway if you are tracking body fat.0 -
You know your body better than any doctor does (and better than any work colleague!) and I really feel you should make your own call on this one. Unless your doctor has told you to stop losing weight for medical reasons, I would trust your own judgement. If you feel like you could lose a few more pounds then by all means continue in a healthy and safe way (0.5lbs a week sounds ideal). If you feel that your doctor is right and you would like to enter maintenance, then brilliant - the hard part is done!
I'm considered a 'healthy BMI' now but I still have quite a bit of fat to lose and I'm not comfortable in stopping here just yet. Every one is different.
You've already come so far, congratulations on your amazing achievement - that's a lot of inch loss and you should be proud.0 -
Presumably, your doctor knows your whole health picture and is now getting paid by your insurance company based on quality measures of your health. (if you live in the U.S.) He or she says you are at a healthy weight and should maintain there. Why are you asking the internet based on .46 outside a "healthy" weight range developed by life insurance actuaries to predict life expectancy for sedentary people?0
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... and he said I should stop. That was yesterday. My BMI as of yesterday was 25.46. I'm still "overweight." On the other hand, I now clearly have vasculature visible in my midsection (I'm veiny!), I've dropped from a size 38 waist to a 32, and I'm getting regular (super annoying now) comments from people at work that I'm getting "too skinny."
I currently have MFP set at a 0.5 pound per week loss goal, after dialing it back from 1.5 pound loss goal a couple weeks ago.
What would you do?
Visible vasculature in your midsection??? Your body fat percentage is likely well below 10. A size 32 waist is fit for just about any height or weight for a man. You're probably too skinny.0 -
MelissaPhippsFeagins wrote: »Presumably, your doctor knows your whole health picture and is now getting paid by your insurance company based on quality measures of your health. (if you live in the U.S.) He or she says you are at a healthy weight and should maintain there. Why are you asking the internet based on .46 outside a "healthy" weight range developed by life insurance actuaries to predict life expectancy for sedentary people?
This exactly!0 -
Saying you are at an ideal weight or a healthy weight and should stop really leaves a lot of questions. For one thing, there's no one ideal weight or healthy weight and we can't tell if the doctor really thinks there are risks to losing more or why vs. expressing some kind of aesthetic opinion or a concern about someone losing weight quickly or going to a place that the doctor thinks (for his or her own reasons or experiences with other patients) might be difficult to maintain.
I'm not saying the doctor's advice should be ignored, but that it should be explored. Given how unusual it would be to be considered so thin that it's unhealthy to lose ANY more (absent significant muscle mass) at a BMI over 25, I'd personally need more information before simply saying okay and following the advice. That's, of course, if I had believed that I had more fat to lose and wanted to lose more. If you don't want to lose more, no issue at all.
So to answer the question of what I'd do, I'd ask more questions.0 -
I'm 5'5". When I was at 152 and BMI of 25.3, my doctor never suggested I lose weight even though I was technically overweight. Now that I'm down to 128, I have a healthy BMI of 21.3 but STILL need to lose another couple inches of belly fat. It doesn't matter what a doctor says or doesn't say. You can see for yourself what your body looks like and decide for yourself if you need to lose body fat and if you're ok with how you look and feel. Just think for yourself.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Saying you are at an ideal weight or a healthy weight and should stop really leaves a lot of questions. For one thing, there's no one ideal weight or healthy weight and we can't tell if the doctor really thinks there are risks to losing more or why vs. expressing some kind of aesthetic opinion or a concern about someone losing weight quickly or going to a place that the doctor thinks (for his or her own reasons or experiences with other patients) might be difficult to maintain.
I'm not saying the doctor's advice should be ignored, but that it should be explored. Given how unusual it would be to be considered so thin that it's unhealthy to lose ANY more (absent significant muscle mass) at a BMI over 25, I'd personally need more information before simply saying okay and following the advice. That's, of course, if I had believed that I had more fat to lose and wanted to lose more. If you don't want to lose more, no issue at all.
So to answer the question of what I'd do, I'd ask more questions.
I'm not sure a doctor remarking that you shouldn't lose more weight is the same as a doctor saying it would be unhealthy if you lost more weight.
All we know is that the OP is less than 1/2 a point over one population based measure of weight. The doctor should have his full medical file. Don't get me wrong, I think dialogue between patient and treating physician is always a good thing, but since the OP asked for advice and got advice it would seem they were discussing the matter.0 -
wrist size is often used to gauge frame size. For men:
•Small = wrist size 5.5" to 6.5"
•Medium = wrist size 6.5" to 7.5"
•Large = wrist size over 7.5"
and that's a very bad indicator. You could have a large frame but small wrists, plus that's how all the overweight people with fat on their wrists assume that they have a large frame, lol.
OP you do look pretty good in some of your profile pictures, so if it's what you look like now, yeah, I wouldn't worry about losing more.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Saying you are at an ideal weight or a healthy weight and should stop really leaves a lot of questions. For one thing, there's no one ideal weight or healthy weight and we can't tell if the doctor really thinks there are risks to losing more or why vs. expressing some kind of aesthetic opinion or a concern about someone losing weight quickly or going to a place that the doctor thinks (for his or her own reasons or experiences with other patients) might be difficult to maintain.
I'm not saying the doctor's advice should be ignored, but that it should be explored. Given how unusual it would be to be considered so thin that it's unhealthy to lose ANY more (absent significant muscle mass) at a BMI over 25, I'd personally need more information before simply saying okay and following the advice. That's, of course, if I had believed that I had more fat to lose and wanted to lose more. If you don't want to lose more, no issue at all.
So to answer the question of what I'd do, I'd ask more questions.
I'm not sure a doctor remarking that you shouldn't lose more weight is the same as a doctor saying it would be unhealthy if you lost more weight.
All we know is that the OP is less than 1/2 a point over one population based measure of weight. The doctor should have his full medical file. Don't get me wrong, I think dialogue between patient and treating physician is always a good thing, but since the OP asked for advice and got advice it would seem they were discussing the matter.
Well, he asked what we would do, and I'd ask more questions and understand the reasoning before deciding what to do. Maybe he did that and did not share it with us, and that's great, but I'd need to know more, personally. (And if I could get a DEXA covered by my insurance out of it somehow, bonus!)0 -
Isn't the OP a doctor?
If he can't decipher his own notes or know how to go about clarifying a medical opinion the rest of us are screwed!0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Saying you are at an ideal weight or a healthy weight and should stop really leaves a lot of questions. For one thing, there's no one ideal weight or healthy weight and we can't tell if the doctor really thinks there are risks to losing more or why vs. expressing some kind of aesthetic opinion or a concern about someone losing weight quickly or going to a place that the doctor thinks (for his or her own reasons or experiences with other patients) might be difficult to maintain.
I'm not saying the doctor's advice should be ignored, but that it should be explored. Given how unusual it would be to be considered so thin that it's unhealthy to lose ANY more (absent significant muscle mass) at a BMI over 25, I'd personally need more information before simply saying okay and following the advice. That's, of course, if I had believed that I had more fat to lose and wanted to lose more. If you don't want to lose more, no issue at all.
So to answer the question of what I'd do, I'd ask more questions.
I'm not sure a doctor remarking that you shouldn't lose more weight is the same as a doctor saying it would be unhealthy if you lost more weight.
All we know is that the OP is less than 1/2 a point over one population based measure of weight. The doctor should have his full medical file. Don't get me wrong, I think dialogue between patient and treating physician is always a good thing, but since the OP asked for advice and got advice it would seem they were discussing the matter.
Well, he asked what we would do, and I'd ask more questions and understand the reasoning before deciding what to do. Maybe he did that and did not share it with us, and that's great, but I'd need to know more, personally. (And if I could get a DEXA covered by my insurance out of it somehow, bonus!)
Yes, I understand. It's not bad advice, you just seemed kind of persistent about it, given the limited info at hand.0 -
Ha! That's probably very true.
Professionals are great at giving advice but terrible at taking it
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Saying you are at an ideal weight or a healthy weight and should stop really leaves a lot of questions. For one thing, there's no one ideal weight or healthy weight and we can't tell if the doctor really thinks there are risks to losing more or why vs. expressing some kind of aesthetic opinion or a concern about someone losing weight quickly or going to a place that the doctor thinks (for his or her own reasons or experiences with other patients) might be difficult to maintain.
I'm not saying the doctor's advice should be ignored, but that it should be explored. Given how unusual it would be to be considered so thin that it's unhealthy to lose ANY more (absent significant muscle mass) at a BMI over 25, I'd personally need more information before simply saying okay and following the advice. That's, of course, if I had believed that I had more fat to lose and wanted to lose more. If you don't want to lose more, no issue at all.
So to answer the question of what I'd do, I'd ask more questions.
I'm not sure a doctor remarking that you shouldn't lose more weight is the same as a doctor saying it would be unhealthy if you lost more weight.
All we know is that the OP is less than 1/2 a point over one population based measure of weight. The doctor should have his full medical file. Don't get me wrong, I think dialogue between patient and treating physician is always a good thing, but since the OP asked for advice and got advice it would seem they were discussing the matter.
Well, he asked what we would do, and I'd ask more questions and understand the reasoning before deciding what to do. Maybe he did that and did not share it with us, and that's great, but I'd need to know more, personally. (And if I could get a DEXA covered by my insurance out of it somehow, bonus!)
Yes, I understand. It's not bad advice, you just seemed kind of persistent about it, given the limited info at hand.
I guess the posts that seemed to be saying "if the doctor says it, I do it, period!" were rubbing me the wrong way. I think people always should feel free to ask questions of their doctor, understand the reasoning, and if something doesn't make sense get a second opinion. For example, lots of people have said that their doctors said "oh, eat 1200" for weight loss with no good reason and they didn't and did well, as they knew themselves (and doctors often throw out low numbers because they assume people will eat more than recommended anyway). If we had to assume everything from a doctor was infallible and that one should not question, then those people would have been wrong not to stick to 1200.0
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