Looking like you can't get any skinnier but BMI says otherwise?

Fatvaporizer
Fatvaporizer Posts: 139 Member
edited February 2018 in Health and Weight Loss
What do you do when you are at the point when you look really skinny already, and people have been asking if you've been eating, etc. But you calculate your BMI and it's still borderline at healthy and overweight, and you still have some fat in those stubborn areas. But nonetheless, people keep asking you to 'stop losing' because you're already 'too skinny'.

What do you do? Keep going for that healthy BMI still? Or listen to what people are saying?

Some facts: 5'8 , 160 lbs male, in his 20s. BMI is showing I should be like 145 lbs.
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Replies

  • Decapins
    Decapins Posts: 49 Member
    you still have fat in stubborn areas so of course you can still get skinnier. if you're happy though maybe you should try out maintaining for awhile!
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    BMI is a range. There is no one universal number for everyone at the same height.
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
    People's perception of their own and others weight is not something to rely on. If people have seen you at a higher weight and then at a lower weight they'll often think you've just gotten so thin, whereas someone who just met you probably wouldn't. Also, so many people are overweight and obese these days that our perception of what healthy weight looks like is skewed.
    If you're not a super serious body builder, somewhere in the healthy bmi range is a good aim.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
    Post a pic here and get some unbiased feedback! :) Friends and family tend to sugarcoat or honestly fail to understand what a healthy BMI looks like. My mom is worried about me losing any more weight when my BMI is still 23. Puh-lease.

  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    Scales and BMIs are tools, other people’s opinions shouldn’t count - how do you feel? How do you feel you look? They are the only things that are important.
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    Fatvaporizer wrote: »
    What do you do when you are at the point when you look really skinny already, and people have been asking if you've been eating, etc. But you calculate your BMI and it's still borderline at healthy and overweight, and you still have some fat in those stubborn areas. But nonetheless, people keep asking you to 'stop losing' because you're already 'too skinny'.

    What do you do? Keep going for that healthy BMI still? Or listen to what people are saying?

    Some facts: 5'8 , 160 lbs male, in his 20s. BMI is showing I should be like 145 lbs.

    I am 5'8 and shooting for 160 as well...about 24 lbs to go, but I have been there. There is a good thread about recomping on here...not sure how to post a link to it though. Basically, you eat at maintenance, but continue to lift weights and work out. Since you are eating at maintenance, you won't lose pounds, but, if you are properly working out, you should continue to shed body fat.

    BMI and ideal body weight charts can be misleading. I can tell you that at one time, I was 145 lbs. I had one person tell me I looked anorexic, and another person tell me I looked like I was smoking crack...I am not kidding.

    155-160 is the lowest I would go if I were you. If you aren't working out already, get on a good weight lifting program with some cardio, eat at maintenance and reduce body fat percentage. That's my plan, once I get to 160, anyway. YMMV.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited February 2018
    Fatvaporizer wrote: »
    Some facts: 5'8 , 160 lbs male, in his 20s. BMI is showing I should be like 145 lbs.

    145lbs will be pretty lean/thin/light for you. Is it too light? Hard to say... depends on a lot of factors. But I do think it's good enough to ignore BMI in your case.


    FWIW, I'm also 5'8". I was 145lbs in college, but not since. A couple of years ago I got down to 162 for my triathlon season. Because of how I carry my fat and how much muscle I had, even at 162 I had visible fat to lose. Even so, I can't imagine it was 15-20lbs worth of fat. 145lbs is going to be REALLY light for you.
  • ann_kristen
    ann_kristen Posts: 34 Member
    People will say all kinds of things, it's kind of annoying!!! Maybe try to put on muscle rather than lose pounds at this point.
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    Here it is. The first post has all of the info.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,710 Member
    Don't let uneducated, casual comments from others change your plan or your path. YOU decide what's best for you. it depends on how you feel, your opinion of how you look, your fitness goals, etc.

    If I have a specific fitness goal I'm working on there's NO way one or a multitude of comments from others will change that goal. Now, if it was unhealthy, that's a different story, but sounds like you're healthy and have a reasonable goal. Just keep moving forward and see how YOU feel about it.
  • Fatvaporizer
    Fatvaporizer Posts: 139 Member
    Thanks for the feedback!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    Fatvaporizer wrote: »
    What do you do when you are at the point when you look really skinny already, and people have been asking if you've been eating, etc. But you calculate your BMI and it's still borderline at healthy and overweight, and you still have some fat in those stubborn areas. But nonetheless, people keep asking you to 'stop losing' because you're already 'too skinny'.

    What do you do? Keep going for that healthy BMI still? Or listen to what people are saying?

    Some facts: 5'8 , 160 lbs male, in his 20s. BMI is showing I should be like 145 lbs.

    Don't use BMI on it's own...use it in conjunction with estimated BF.

    <<< I'm 6 Lbs overweight as per BMI...I'm at a perfectly healthy 15% BF
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Fatvaporizer wrote: »
    What do you do when you are at the point when you look really skinny already, and people have been asking if you've been eating, etc. But you calculate your BMI and it's still borderline at healthy and overweight, and you still have some fat in those stubborn areas. But nonetheless, people keep asking you to 'stop losing' because you're already 'too skinny'.

    What do you do? Keep going for that healthy BMI still? Or listen to what people are saying?

    Some facts: 5'8 , 160 lbs male, in his 20s. BMI is showing I should be like 145 lbs.

    Don't use BMI on it's own...use it in conjunction with estimated BF.

    <<< I'm 6 Lbs overweight as per BMI...I'm at a perfectly healthy 15% BF

    ^^^This.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    Also a perfectly healthy male BF can exist in a wide range from the very difficult to achieve 4% to the perfectly healthy 15%. I don't want any of us to kid ourselves. Once that male BF gets up into the range of a perfectly healthy female BF, he's got some work to do.
  • Fatvaporizer
    Fatvaporizer Posts: 139 Member
    edited February 2018
    When I checked last, my BF% was at around 16.4%. I wonder how much I should aim for, 12%?
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    No one can tell you. It's a personal thing. As long as you're not afflicted with something like anorexia or some other mental disorder, you should be able to see if you have unwanted flab or prominent ribs. In your own life, the people who remember you overweight are not to be trusted when they tell you you're too thin.

    I have a new friend who never saw me fat. My wife said I was too thin. He said I was not.
  • ITUSGirl51
    ITUSGirl51 Posts: 192 Member
    160 is in the healthy range of BMI for 5’8”.
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    Fatvaporizer wrote: »
    When I checked last, my BF% was at around 16.4%. I wonder how much I should aim for, 12%?

    I have read that around 10% is when to coveted six pack begins to show up. Here is a good article...see the pictures of varying body fat percentages about half way down the page:

    https://www.muscleforlife.com/how-to-measure-body-fat-percentage/

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