BMI and goal weight confusion

ALJB
ALJB Posts: 4 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok well I am slightly confused! I understand that BMI is not the most accurate way of deciding if your healthy or not but I am confused about what weight I should be aiming since the only thing I can find to tell me what I " should" weigh is a BMI calculator.
Someone please help!

Replies

  • h3h8m3
    h3h8m3 Posts: 455 Member
    Yeah, unfortunately it's not that easy. You can use BMI to give you a rough guess for what you should weigh, but then you will need to evaluate what weight seems right for you. Getting your body fat tested is a good option, as that's not going to vary as wildly as BMI based on your body type. In general though, we need to lose those pounds we KNOW are too many, then see what looks and feels right. Anytime someone pulls out a BMI chart to tell me what I should weigh I glaze over and stop listening.
  • ALJB
    ALJB Posts: 4 Member
    How can I my body fat tested?
  • jimmy_jenkins
    jimmy_jenkins Posts: 65 Member
    For a "standard" person trying to lose weight i think BMI is pretty good as a goal. For example my goal is to move from the Obese to overweight category.

    But when people get near the target from overweight to healthy i think things become skewed a little bit, some people who are deemed overweight seems perfectly healthy.

    I dont know where you are at the scale but if you are over 30.0 it seems perfectly resonable to set your goal based on BMI.
  • campi_mama
    campi_mama Posts: 350 Member
    What's your height? Figuring out your goal weight is a very personal thing. If you have a larger frame you might feel comfortable at a slightly higher weight than someone with a smaller frame. Pick a weight that is not extremely low and evaluate as you get closer if you need to lose more or not. More than a number, I would encourage you to pick a fitness goal and concentrate on achieving that, but that's just a personal opinion.
  • SetecAstronomy
    SetecAstronomy Posts: 470 Member
    After having LAP-BAND surgery, I'm nearly convinced that BMI is just a way for insurance to approve (or disapprove) you from having something done. It simplifies the complexity that is a human body into a simple number.

    I've been told that the goal I want to get to would be unhealthy for me, yet it would be in the outermost edge of a healthy BMI.
  • ALJB
    ALJB Posts: 4 Member
    I'm 5'8 in height
  • jvkh127
    jvkh127 Posts: 261 Member
    I was once told a good way to measure around what weight you should be is start at 100 lbs and add 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet tall that you may be. It is somewhat accurate for me but can differ a little bit on your build. But that should give you an idea where you should be around. Oh BTW this is if you are female. I dont know about males.
  • ALJB
    ALJB Posts: 4 Member
    I was once told a good way to measure around what weight you should be is start at 100 lbs and add 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet tall that you may be. It is somewhat accurate for me but can differ a little bit on your build. But that should give you an idea where you should be around. Oh BTW this is if you are female. I dont know about males.

    Thanks! I'll try that
  • aoifebr
    aoifebr Posts: 92 Member
    Hey there,

    Its a tough one right... I currently weight 89kg according to my BMI I should be 51 to 60 something which had me pretty freaked out. My trainer got me to go for a DEXA scan which tells you the breakdown of body fat, muscle, bone etc. It turns out I have 20kg more muscle than the average woman & a slightly higher than normally bone density so that range is not realistic for me - THANK GOD!!!

    I feel so much better because my goal is realistic & achievable. It might be worth looking into it if you can or set a goal just above your BMI range. Good luck.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories