BMI for Weight Loss Goal?

neiltillbrook
neiltillbrook Posts: 26 Member
edited December 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
For as long as I can remember I've always been a big guy. The last time I can remember being the same weight as I am now I was 16 years old. In fact, I probably weight a little less now than I did when I was 16.

Now, it doesn't end there. At 14st I feel as though I have more energy, my clothes fit better and, really, I just feel better about myself in general. However, the question is now "How much more am I planning on losing?" The fact is I don't know.

According to my BMI I should be 11st 6lb to be slap-bang in the middle of a healthy weight for a guy who's 30 years old and 6ft tall. But that seems a bit low to me. It means I still have 36lb to lose this year.

I'm not complaining at the amount of weight still to lose, but I'm curious as to how everyone else judges their goal?
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Replies

  • SteamPug
    SteamPug Posts: 262 Member
    I’ll just go until I like what I see. If you’re happy and healthy then I wouldn’t let arbitrary numbers affect your decision.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,285 Member
    My goal is 10 lbs below the top of the BMI range for my height. However, I do intend to sit down with an RD and make sure that this is a good spot for me. (I want to know that normal day-to-day fluctuations will still leave me in the 'normal' range and if I get frustrated with the last couple of pounds and say, "Kitten it; this is good enough," it actually will be.)
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,971 Member
    edited December 2017
    BMI is a tool used by medical professionals to assess your risk for certain health problems associated with obesity.

    It is also used by some medical insurers and employers to determine your eligibilty for medical coverage and/or the rate you should be charged for such coverage.

    BMI is NOT designed to determine what weight is a "good" weight for you.

    There are some well known deficiencies in BMI (which is simply a standardized measure of the relationship between height and weight) when applied to seniors, body builders and weight lifters and people of certain ethnic groups.

    So, BMI may or may not be a useful index to use in determining an individual's weight loss goals.

    FWIW, I'm 5'8" and, when I weighed 196, my BMI was 29.8 (just 2/10ths from being categorized as obese). However, even w/o the BMI #, I already knew that I was FAT!

    My initial weight loss goal was 165, which at 25.1 was still 2/10ths from being considered "normal" weight.

    When I hit 162 at 16% BF, as measured by hydro, my BMI was 24.6 (only 3/10ths w/in the normal range) I was considered normal and healthy by all measures but I still wanted to lose more BF.

    Now, I'm at 158 and 10% BF, as measured by hydro, my BMI is still 24 (only 1 pt from overweight) but I'm classified as athletic and among the top 99% of men my age based on BF and LBM.

    I'd have to drop my weight to below 125 w/a BMI of 19 to be considered underweight by that measure but at 158 my GF already thinks I look too skinny.

    I'd look emaciated at just 145 w/a BMI of 22 which is in the middle of the normal range for someone my height.

    So, no, BMI is NOT necessarily a good measure to use to set your weightloss goal.

    It is just an indicator of relative weight (and risk for associated health problems) as compared w/others used to standardize the index but, unless forced by your medical insurer or employer to reduce your BMI to w/in the normal range to get affordable medical coverage, you'll have to decide for yourself what the right weight and BMI is for you.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,515 Member
    I struggled with this last year. I'd lost the same ~10lbs several times, still not getting below a BMI of 25. So, last year I lostcan extra 10, finally getting just to a BMI of 25. Woo hoo. I've gained a couple of lbs in December, but I should get back there in Jan.

    So here's my wisdom: it's not how much you lose, it's how much you keep off. You can get to a particular weight and go on maintenance for a while (keep logging). See how you feel. If you want to lose more, go for it.

    PS BMI is an extremely simple formula (weight/height^2 in kg/meter). You really shouldn't make too much of it.
  • EllieElla2015
    EllieElla2015 Posts: 67 Member
    edited December 2017
    BMI doesn’t correlate well to my frame. It says if I gain 4 more pounds I’ll be overweight- and I’m currently at the weight as my profile pic which isn’t nearing overweight (or I guess not nearing ‘looking’ overweight). I’m healthy and when I’m in the middle of my BMI range my waist doesn’t get smaller or anything- I lose my boobs and my booty (which isn’t there to begin with lol) so it’s definitely not my personal goal weight. Even when I’m a couple pounds heavier, and I’m overweight by BMI standards I still look and feel slim and healthy.

    So, use BMI as you will. It’s a great general guideline for many but there are outliers- more than one would think.

    Edit: I don’t have any scientific backing or anything about the BMI outlier thing- it’s just my personal experience/perception of BMI and how it applies in real life.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I gradually slowed my weight loss rate as I got lighter, setting provisional goals but not treating them as gospel. As I got closer to a provisional goal (say, 5-10 pounds above it), I found I could feel and see whether I needed to adjust the goal up or down.

    As I got really close to what I felt would be my final provisional goal weight, I thought hard about how I'd know I was "there": Feelings or physical appearance characteristics that would be benchmarks telling me I'd reached goal.

    These needed to be realistic things, of course, not supermodel perfections! But it was easier to see what was realistic when I knew it was close. By that point, my weight loss was really slow, around half a pound a week, so plenty of time to assess, too.

    Finally, I literally woke up one morning, felt/looked in line with those benchmarks, said "I'm there" and started gradually stepping up my calorie consumption to dial in maintenance calorie level.

    As long as you don't have a seriously distorted body image, you'll know your goal weight when you get there, and you'll make increasingly good predictions of it as you get close. Trust yourself!
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    I second @PAV8888's point about fitness goals.
    For as long as I can remember I've always been a big guy. The last time I can remember being the same weight as I am now I was 16 years old. In fact, I probably weight a little less now than I did when I was 16.

    Now, it doesn't end there. At 14st I feel as though I have more energy, my clothes fit better and, really, I just feel better about myself in general. However, the question is now "How much more am I planning on losing?" The fact is I don't know.

    According to my BMI I should be 11st 6lb to be slap-bang in the middle of a healthy weight for a guy who's 30 years old and 6ft tall. But that seems a bit low to me. It means I still have 36lb to lose this year.

    I'm not complaining at the amount of weight still to lose, but I'm curious as to how everyone else judges their goal?

    Bravo on your great achievement!! I'm very happy for you that you're feeling better about yourself and more energetic. That's so great.

    How long did it take you to lose the weight?

    What are your plans for maintenance?

    A lot of people lose weight too quickly by starving themselves on a fad diet, then can't handle going off their diet, and gain their weight back.

    It might be time you focused on losing a little or maintaining your weight while eating the normal food pyramid. The sooner most people learn this, the better in the long term for preventing regaining weight.
  • gemdiver00
    gemdiver00 Posts: 77 Member
    The BMI range applies to the majority of the population, if you don’t feel comfortable using it you may also try to use the height to waist ratio approach.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,515 Member
    Again: BMI is just weight (in kg) divided by height squared (in square meters). Thus, a person who is 70kg and 1.77 meters in height has a BMI of 22.3.

    It is a ridiculously simple formula that doesn't depend on sex, age, % body fat, etc. People have used it for a long time because of its simplicity. But: don't read too much into it, it's more often used for statistical purposes than for advice to any individual. Many athletes would be considered obese based on their BMI.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    As you have "been a big guy" it's harder for you so maybe do what I did a set an initial goal and then adjust by a few pounds in a series of steps of weight maintenance and weight loss over an extended period of time?
    I based my decision on feel, energy levels, performance and looks until I got to the point I was happy.

    Since then I've actually gone down and up again deliberately as I've changed (more muscle) and my fitness goals change.

    Ignore the twaddle about some athletes being outliers - that's only applicable to those people it doesn't negate that BMI as a population measure with a very wide range is a good guideline for most. Note guideline - not a rule! You also don't have to aim for the middle of the range, BMI isn't kind to me due to my build and a few decades of training so near top of the range suits me.

    Yes people (mostly male) who train hard and build muscle may well be genuine outliers but again that only applies to them. That there are true outliers is far too often used by fat people to justify why they stay fat.
  • MarkusDarwath
    MarkusDarwath Posts: 393 Member
    BMI is a height to weight ratio, nothing more. It's useful for statistical averaging in large population studies, but it's use in individual health assessment is, to be blunt, a wide-spread major misapplication.

    The truly relevant number with regard to body mass related health risk/status is body fat percentage. If your body fat percentage is in the healthy range, then the question of "ideal" total weight comes down to your lifestyle. What look do you prefer? What activities do you engage in and how does body size affect them?

    You can take two guys of the same height, frame size and body fat percentage... let's say 12%. One is a construction worker that frequently needs to lift and carry heavy materials. The other is an avid distance runner who competes in marathons on a regular basis. At the same healthy 12% body fat, the 'ideal' weight for the construction worker will be appreciably higher than for the endurance runner. The construction worker requires a high lean body mass (muscle) to do his job effectively. The distance runner wants to minimize the amount of work (mass x distance) required to get him over the finish line, because a lighter body is easier to move in terms of both speed and stamina.

    If the healthy weight range suggested by BMI seems low to you, then for your goals and purposes it may well be. One good way to achieve a general target is to find your current body fat percentage, multiply your weight by that to determine your fat weight, then subtract your fat weight from your total current weight to arrive at lean body mass. From there, choose a body fat percentage within the healthy range that corresponds to how you want to look (lower if you want your musculature more defined, higher if you want to look more 'average'.) Multiply your lean body mass by 1+ your chosen body fat (for 12% you would multiply LBM x 1.12) and this will give you a solid starting goal.
    That goal may yet change as you get closer to it. Most people lose some lean mass along with the fat when they lose weight, so it's possible that reaching your starting goal in weight may leave you still a bit high on your body fat goal. You would then have to assess whether to lower your weight further or to pursue body building to raise your lean mass. There's nothing wrong with either approach to achieving that final body fat percentage target.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,515 Member
    BMI is a height to weight ratio, nothing more. It's useful for statistical averaging in large population studies, but it's use in individual health assessment is, to be blunt, a wide-spread major misapplication.

    So close! It is your weight to height-squared ratio (in MKS units). See above.

    Anyway, I agree with your conclusion.

    As for
    mlinci wrote: »
    Uh, not really *many* athletes.

    Check this out:

    https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/02/04/465569465/if-bmi-is-the-test-of-health-many-pro-athletes-would-flunk

  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    BMI is a height to weight ratio, nothing more. It's useful for statistical averaging in large population studies, but it's use in individual health assessment is, to be blunt, a wide-spread major misapplication.

    So close! It is your weight to height-squared ratio (in MKS units). See above.

    Anyway, I agree with your conclusion.

    As for
    mlinci wrote: »
    Uh, not really *many* athletes.

    Check this out:

    https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/02/04/465569465/if-bmi-is-the-test-of-health-many-pro-athletes-would-flunk


    You might be unaware of the fact that most athletes aren't professional handegg players. I misspelled football to appease our international friends
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    I will second everything @PAV8888 said.

    With that being said, it's okay to think of goals not so much as endpoints, but as stepping stones. The first goal you set can just be one goal of many you set out to achieve.

    So, sure, why not set that "get to a healthy BMI goal", it's fine enough, and meeting some arbitrary goal is self-affirming and feels like an accomplishment, especially for someone who has struggled with weight problems for many years (BTDT myself).

    Saying that, a "healthy BMI" is not necessarily a stopping place, as PAV8888 pointed out. It can just be a stepping stone on a life long path on which you now find yourself. Keep going after that. What will your body composition look like at that point? Where will your fitness levels be?

    Only a frank self-assessment at every step of the way will keep you focused, and looking forward to progressing to the next stepping stone. None of us ever really arrive at the destination, we just take further steps along the path.