BMI charts a joke!!!

i kinda wish people wouldn't throw out "this is the truth and is absolutely true for everyone in every circumstance" statements like that.
If you'd said "people really need to understand what BMI means and understand its limitations before they use it" then i'd be cheering you on but just saying it's a joke 'cause it's not useful for you (and lots of other people) doesn't help those who don't yet have any better tools.

when i started out on this latest attempt, i'd never been "thin", i'd never been a sensible weight for my body, so i had no idea how much i needed to lose before i reached a good place, and i'm the sort of person who needs that goal to work towards even if i know i'm going to change that goal before i reach it. so picking the top end of my BMI range, and knowing its limitations, gave me that goal and it was useful. now, 6months later and 6months of reading these forums and other sites i have different tools and different goals but having that starting point was invaluable and it meant **i started** which is the most important thing.

I want to be in the healthy BMI range and have a healthy body fat percentage. I've chosen a weight that I had maintained for ~5 years (as an adult) that doesn't require sacrifices I am not willing to make.

That said...@$%# girl scout cookie season starts Feb 11. And my daughter will be selling them.

I have based my goal weight on the weight I was at that I felt and and looked good. Its about 6 lbs above what government charts say I should be.

I had a great body about 5 years ago I was 142, I did need some small toning in the midsection. With that in consideration 140lbs is my lifetime goal, I am focusing on eating lean protein, vegs and essential fats (avocado, nuts and low-fat cheese).

I couldn't agree with you more. the BMI is a terrible way for anyone to base their goals on. it's a good starting point if you don't exercise and are just starting, but as soon as you start doing any kind of muscle building at all it falls apart.

I'm 6'1 and 220 and I'm where I want to be. now it's all about shaping my body with more muscle and less fat..............................maybe I should just be skinny lol just kidding.

God Bless you all on your journey's and remember that you need to feel good about who and what you are, don't base it on others comments or worse yet some out dated chart.

Gerald

Based on my BMI, I'm "overweight" (sometimes "obese"). But I have a 29 inche waist, wear smalls or mediums, and have tons of muscle from swimming. :huh: PLUS everyone I've ever talked to said I look around 140 or so. Obese? Hell no. :noway:

on how good I felt when I weighed what I want to weigh now. I was in good shape and felt healthy, I want to be there.

I base it on 'when I will feel comfortable with myself'. If I consider the BMI chart, I'm obese which I'm most certainly am not. Yes I have about 62 pounds to lose, but nobody around me considers me obese and they arent just going soft on me. That scale is beyond me and beyond logic. I'm worried to see it still used nowadays.

I'm looking for healthy body fat amount first but it feels good to be out of the obese for BMI. I was always at an overweight BMI as a younger ,athletic, well built girl but my Body Fat was within normal range. I'm okay with that. Now that I am just overweight I'll focus on my body fat instead of BMI.

My goal weight is about 11 lbs into the overweight category (BMI 26.6) but my body fat percentage is currently around 22.5 which is comfortably in the normal range for a fit woman (I'm not active enough for the athletic range, I do aerobics and some strength training but not enough to be considered athletic).

One odd thing is that very obese people (which I was) tend to have a high lean mass because they've been carrying all that weight around. If you work to preserve as much as possible of that lean mass as you lose, you end up with what's on average a very high lean mass for your height. That's the case with me. So if I can keep preserving that lean mass, I look great at this weight. Most people are astonished at what I weigh as they think I'm 20+ lbs lighter.

My avatar, for example, was taken when I weighed over 200 lbs.

And I'm amused that I just broke into the normal range when I'm still obviously overweight. I also lift weights (heavy).

One odd thing is that very obese people (which I was) tend to have a high lean mass because they've been carrying all that weight around. If you work to preserve as much as possible of that lean mass as you lose, you end up with what's on average a very high lean mass for your height. That's the case with me. So if I can keep preserving that lean mass, I look great at this weight. Most people are astonished at what I weigh as they think I'm 20+ lbs lighter.

My avatar, for example, was taken when I weighed over 200 lbs.

Yes, exactly.

My original goal was to get back down to my high school weight. But when my doctor tested my body fat percentage, he found that I'm carrying enough muscle that my *lean* body mass right now is already almost as much as my *total* weight from high school! We've been doing a very careful high-protein weight loss plan that ensures I lose fat without losing any muscle mass. So now, the ideal goal weight that I'm shooting for is actually still in the "overweight" category. I don't care, "strong" is the new sexy! And I'd rather be healthy than look like those stick-thin supermodels, anyway.

Also, I think someone else said this but it bears repeating, the BMI chart was originally intended to be used as a research / statistical tool, not as a weight loss tool. And it becomes less and less accurate the taller you are.