BMI: normal range vs overweight range

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SkyKC253
SkyKC253 Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am still not in the healthy weight range according to those BMI calculators. At 5'4'' I'm about 10 pounds away from 145 which is the top of my normal range.

Anyone have experience entering back into the normal range? How did it make you feel? Could you tell you were looking like your old self again?
I've lost about 20 pounds so far. But I still feel "big". I just wanna feel "normal" again and put clothes on without hating myself. Lol.

Any experiences out there with reaching your healthy BMI range again?
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Replies

  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    When I "entered" my healthy weight range I still felt large. I stopped losing at 21 BMI and that's where I felt good. I started at 27.
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I'm 3 years into maintenance and my current bmi is around 20.7 (so lower end of the healthy range). I feel great, am in excellent health and I'm happy with how I look :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I still felt large in the normal range. I'm happiest in the low end of the normal range. But I know people who feel best at the middle or higher end too.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I felt good at the top of my BMI range, not big at all (my avi shows me there.) However, certain parts of me still looked big--smaller than they were before but not small enough to make me happy.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,973 Member
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    I have a large frame and the only time I've had a BMI as low as 24 was after six weeks of undereating and overexercising while in boot camp.

    I'm looking forward to returning to Low Overweight, however.

    http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,495 Member
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    I am just shy of 5'4" and I didn't start to feel comfortable until I got around 130, but I have a very small frame. I'm at 125 right now and I am still carrying more fat than I'd like, despite two years of heavy lifting. I suspect I will need to get down to about 115 (BMI 19.7) before I really feel like my old self again.
  • SkyKC253
    SkyKC253 Posts: 42 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    I felt good at the top of my BMI range, not big at all (my avi shows me there.) However, certain parts of me still looked big--smaller than they were before but not small enough to make me happy.

    Yeah. I just want to find myself feeling smaller in terms of how clothes look on me. I know that until I'm really much lighter I'm still going to have some problem areas, but I just want to lose this obvious fat that sticks out like a sore thumb.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I still feel big and I'm 15 pounds under the 'overweight' category.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    The healthy BMI is just a range. What looks great for one person might look very chubby or too skinny on someone else. It depends on how you are built (e.g. frame structure), how much muscle you have etc. Stop when you feel good, be it at the top of healthy range, at the bottom or anywhere in between.
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
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    I am less than a lb away! I am 5'7" and started at 185, which is closer to the obese range than healthy. I am now 160!

    I really started feeling like I was looking more "normal" just recently, at around the 165 mark. However, my goal is around 140. I definitely still have fat/weight to lose before I look how I want to.

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    My BMI has been 21-22 for 18 months now, I am happy about my weight and size and shape, but I have been somewhat confused. It wasn't until a few weeks ago I understood how I could "feel" slim and then chubby and then slim again from one moment to the next: My perception of "normal weight" is really underweight. Every time I have seen a garment advertised, it has been attached to an underweight model. My body type doesn't sell clothes. Even I don't want clothes shown on my body type. That explains why some of the participants in Supersize vs Superskinny look healthy and attractive. They don't all look sickly, but they are way too thin.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    I am the same height as you OP and remember still feeling pretty overweight at the same weight as you. Unfortunately that's the lowest I got, so I did not experience getting into the healthy range. But 125 is my long term goal for that reason, sort of in the middle of the range. Once I get closer I may decide to focus on other non-scale goals (like body fat) but for now that's my ballpark. Anyways, don't be like me and lose motivation and give up! I so wish I hadn't let that slip away from me. I wasn't happy with my size, but I'm certainly less happy since I regained all of that weight.
  • SkyKC253
    SkyKC253 Posts: 42 Member
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    blues4miles wrote: »
    I am the same height as you OP and remember still feeling pretty overweight at the same weight as you. Unfortunately that's the lowest I got, so I did not experience getting into the healthy range. But 125 is my long term goal for that reason, sort of in the middle of the range. Once I get closer I may decide to focus on other non-scale goals (like body fat) but for now that's my ballpark. Anyways, don't be like me and lose motivation and give up! I so wish I hadn't let that slip away from me. I wasn't happy with my size, but I'm certainly less happy since I regained all of that weight.

    I've lost and regained too many times! This time is my real chance I think to keep going. It's never too late for you either! I'm around 155 right now and if I had to guess I'm probably like a tight size 10, like maybe a 10. I'm hoping in the low 140s I can start to find my way into a size 8. I really really hope so.
  • Malenurse51
    Malenurse51 Posts: 181 Member
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    I'm 2 pounds away from the upper limit of "normal". I was "Obese", it was my goal to get into the normal range. I'm thinking about getting about a third of the way into it to allow myself to build muscle. I do have a "large" frame (or so I've been told). My profile pic reflects how I look with 4 pounds to go.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    I'm slightly into the overweight region. When I was in the "Normal" range I looked gaunt, and friends were asking my wife if I was sick.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I have a large frame and the only time I've had a BMI as low as 24 was after six weeks of undereating and overexercising while in boot camp.

    I'm looking forward to returning to Low Overweight, however.

    http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

    Frame calculators always have me as small framed when I don't think that I am.
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    I'm your height as well and my highest weight was right there at the top of "healthy" around 145 lbs, and it was clearly not ideal on me. My frame is pretty narrow (shoulders, ribcage especially) and I don't carry a ton of muscle nor do I aspire to, so I didn't really start to feel pleased with my shape until I was around 125 lb. I try to maintain around 118 now. Everyone is different and that's why there's a range. You might find you look and feel good anywhere from 110 - 145 lbs depending on your bone structure and how much muscle vs fat you have.

    I've seen plenty of women here who look the same size or smaller than me and weigh considerably more, too. There's no one right weight for every height (I mean...most people ARE going to fall somewhere in the "healthy" range unless they're elite athletes or very tall/short, but generally) but the great thing about losing weight is that you can stop or start whenever you want. So if 145 isn't enough, try 140, 135, etc, and if you hit a point where you think "hmmm, I think I might be too slim" you can always gain back a couple pounds. There's no way to know where you'll be happiest until you try it.
  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
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    I'm 5'4" and weigh about 142. The healthy range is so large because it really does look different on everyone.
  • maidengirl_
    maidengirl_ Posts: 284 Member
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    I'm 17 pounds from my "healthy weight" range according to my BMI. I started in the "obese category. I'm now in the "overweight" category. I think it's meant as more of a guide. Many people carry their weight differently and if you look and feel healthy, that's the best feeling.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    I'm at the upper end of "normal". I feel good.

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