Doing the Math
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TheChaoticBuffalo
Posts: 86 Member
So, at a height of 6' 0" most of the sites I've checked tell me my "ideal" or "healthy" weight range is 147 to 183 pounds. If I take my current weight of 330 and my BF% of 34.7% and multiply them, I come up with 114.5 pounds of fat on my body. Subtracting that from my current weight, I get 215.5 pounds. So, if I suddenly had 0% body fat...something that would be neither possible nor healthy...I would still tip the scales at more than 30 lbs over the top end of my "healthy" weight range. Is there something wrong with my reasoning or math, or does this put the lie to the one-size-fits-all approach to ideal weight ranges?
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Replies
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BMI is meant for a general population. There will always be outliers, especially those who have a greater deal of muscle mass.2
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How did you determine your current body fat percentage? Using a less accurate method to estimate this could be what is throwing off your numbers.5
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Probably a bit of both. There's probably some margin of error in your math and/or estimating, but there's also issues with applying BMI standards to a specific individual.2
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TheChaoticBuffalo wrote: »
How did you come up with that BF%?1 -
That's also assuming you don't lose any lean body mass while you drop the weight; likely you'll lose a bit of both5
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janejellyroll wrote: »How did you determine your current body fat percentage? Using a less accurate method to estimate this could be what is throwing off your numbers.
I use the reading from my UA scale. To get to 183 pounds using my method above would require a BF% of 44.5%, which is a 24% variance from the current BF% reading. It's possible the variance could be that high, but I doubt it, and that still doesn't account for the fact that I'd be at 0% BF to get to my ideal weight from where I am now.0 -
Short of liposuction, and I don't think they can remove *all* body fat, you're likely to lose a bit of muscle along with fat. If you work hard at preserving muscle (doing what you've done to build it in the first place, not too steep a deficit, and adequate protein), you might find that you are still heavier than the charts say you should want to be when you reach your desired body fat percentage. Congratulations! That's awesome. If you're going to be a statistical outlier, that's the way to do it.2
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Your UA scale only shows the % of FAT in your legs (the current takes the path of least resistance, which is up one leg and down the other). Not very useful when trying to do real math unless your fat is equally distributed throughout your entire body (It isn't).2
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Have you ever thought about getting a Dexa scan? It's going to be a lot more accurate.2
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TheChaoticBuffalo wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »How did you determine your current body fat percentage? Using a less accurate method to estimate this could be what is throwing off your numbers.
I use the reading from my UA scale. To get to 183 pounds using my method above would require a BF% of 44.5%, which is a 24% variance from the current BF% reading. It's possible the variance could be that high, but I doubt it, and that still doesn't account for the fact that I'd be at 0% BF to get to my ideal weight from where I am now.
Those scales are notoriously wrong.
Just start losing the weight and don't sweat the actual BF numbers. Unless you're going to be competing in a professional bodybuilding contest, they're pretty meaningless. You have a ways to go before you get anywhere near 200.
One day at a time. Don't borrow trouble from the future.
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TheChaoticBuffalo wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »How did you determine your current body fat percentage? Using a less accurate method to estimate this could be what is throwing off your numbers.
I use the reading from my UA scale. To get to 183 pounds using my method above would require a BF% of 44.5%, which is a 24% variance from the current BF% reading. It's possible the variance could be that high, but I doubt it, and that still doesn't account for the fact that I'd be at 0% BF to get to my ideal weight from where I am now.
Scales are notoriously unreliable for determining body fat percentage so I'm guessing that is responsible for at least some of the confusion here.1 -
You WILL lose lean mass as you lose weight. Nothing you can do to stop that, you just want to limit it as much as possible. So, maybe 33% of your weight loss will be lean mass and 67% will be fat (that's a real good ratio).
Using your numbers.
Start of 330 and 35% fat.
Lose 130 lbs
End at 200 and ~14% BF.
I'm a similar size to you, started at 330+ but didn't have a BF% at that point. I bought my scale in Feb 2017 and I was ~260 lbs and 35% BF. Now 210 and ~26%, so in the last year I've lost about the 1/3, 2/3 split.
And, as noted, the BF% is really shaky given the technology.
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I wouldn't really worry about it. People get all wrapped up in a number...just start cutting, you'll know when you're at a healthy BF% by what you see in the mirror...it may or may not be a weight that is over your BMI range.
<<< I'm 5'10" and 180 in my profile picture and about 15% BF...perfectly healthy BF%, but 6 Lbs over the top end of the BMI range for my height.2 -
TheChaoticBuffalo wrote: »
That "ideal weight range" is based on BMI. 183 pounds at your height equates to about a BMI of 25, which is the border between normal and overweight.5 -
TheChaoticBuffalo wrote: »So, at a height of 6' 0" most of the sites I've checked tell me my "ideal" or "healthy" weight range is 147 to 183 pounds. If I take my current weight of 330 and my BF% of 34.7% and multiply them, I come up with 114.5 pounds of fat on my body. Subtracting that from my current weight, I get 215.5 pounds. So, if I suddenly had 0% body fat...something that would be neither possible nor healthy...I would still tip the scales at more than 30 lbs over the top end of my "healthy" weight range. Is there something wrong with my reasoning or math, or does this put the lie to the one-size-fits-all approach to ideal weight ranges?
As above, you will probably lose lean mass.
So, pick a number ..... 50, 75, 100, whatever.... and start "cutting" include strength training and cardiovascular conditioning in your lifestyle as well as reduced calories.
When you hit your goal. go to maintenance for 15-30 days... Then Re-evaluate your body composition, to include the mirror.
Set a new goal.
If you get to "healthy weight, great!
At your current size, you'll get the biggest benefit from losing(and keeping off) the first 30-60 lbs depending on which studies you believe.1 -
When people lose that much weight they also lose muscle mass. Not only because they are under caloric restriction but just keep in mind when you have lost 80 pounds of fat this is 80 pounds you won't be carrying around with you anymore which will basically mean you are no longer spending 16 hours a day lugging 80 pounds around and you will likely lose muscle you are no longer using to support that. Because of that it is unrealistic to believe your lean mass would remain unchanged.
"Ideal" weight is also going to vary person to person and if you are a particularly muscular large boned dude then yeah you will be higher than average.
Really not something you need to be too concerned with though at this stage of the game right? When you get closer to your BF% goals then you will have a much clearer picture of what to expect.
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Someone threw out the ratio of 2:1 fat to muscle loss and called it good. Let's extrapolate that. Say you lost 150 lbs. and got yourself down to 180 - you'd have lost 100 lbs. of fat, and 50 lbs. of muscle. There would still be about 15 lbs. of fat on you, and you'd be at 8% bodyfat. Neat.1
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You have the muscles to move you now. That's an impressive pile of muscle.
As you lose weight, you'll need fewer muscles to move you.
That's why so many people advocate that you engage in weightlifting as you lose weight. It elevates your need for muscles, and retards the rate at which you lose muscle. That's also why, as you lose weight, you should pay particular attention to reaching your target protein macro. Making and repairing muscle takes protein. It takes complete protein and it does not help to consume fractional proteins like creatine or bcaa.
It's also important, as you lose weight, to frequently adjust your mfp profile to update your 'starting weight' each time you lose 10-20 lb. This prompts mfp to re-calculate and adjust your food macros for continued weight loss.2 -
TheChaoticBuffalo wrote: »
How did you determine the "ideal" or "healthy" weight range for your height? Using "sites." Those "sites" almost certainly came up with the recommended weight range using ... the BMI formula.0
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