BMI Calculator or Device Question

hhof wrote: »

Thank you. So what do you think a person should pay attention to? Or do you think it even matters?

It depends. For somebody who's morbidly obese, it's worthwhile to simply look at getting to a healthier weight (which correlates with BMI). For somebody who's already somewhere close to a normal/healthy weight and wants to look better/more athletic, BF% is of far more importance. Just as with the examples given above, I'd much rather be a slightly higher BMI with lower BF% (which will mean looking 'cut' with more muscle mass) than a lower BMI with higher BF% (which would be skinnier but loose/droopy/saggy looking due to less muscle mass and more fat).

A 5'10, 150 pound guy with 30% BF would have a BMI of 21.5 - well within the "normal/healthy" range. But with that 35% BF, he'd be "skinny fat" and saggy looking, with no visible musculature.

A 5'10, 185 pound guy with 10% BF would have a BMI of 26.5, which puts him in the "overweight" category. But he'd be lean and muscular, most likely with six-pack abs showing. He'd also have less of the health risks associated with high body fat.

Which sounds better to you?

hhof wrote: »

Thanks for explaining all that to me. I have only really been interested in my health for about a year now and am just started to understand nutrition and fitness. Of course my answer would be the second one. I see a lot of people loosing weight quickly and looking saggy, it doesn't look healthy at all.

Exactly. Which is why it's better to:

1) Lose weight more slowly, at a less severe deficit.

2) Incorporate strength training during your weight loss, to help preserve lean body mass.

Too many people are completely obsessed with that number on the scale and all they're interested in doing is getting that number down to wherever they want it to be as soon as possible, by whatever means. The thing is, you don't walk around with your scale reading blinking above your head for everybody to see - but your bodyfat percentage has a very visible effect upon your appearance.

Many people say "I'm not worried about it, I'll just start lifting and gain the muscle back after I get to my goal weight". What they don't realize is that gaining muscle is a slow, difficult process - and it also involves gaining back some fat along with the muscle. That's an unavoidable fact. You will inevitably lose some muscle mass while losing weight, but strength training, a smaller deficit and adequate protein intake will help minimize it. It's beneficial to hang on to every bit of muscle you can because it's a whole lot easier to retain it than it is to gain it back afterward.