Should you really be in the normal range for BMI?

You could always see how you looked at 170 and go from there.

To get a rough estimate, you can use the bodyfat% calculators and the ideal bodyweight calculators at http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

They all tell me that I've got enough lean that 25 BMI is going to involve losing a fair bit of lean. So my plan is get my BMI down to under 29 (which isn't far away), then get my bodyfat% professionally checked so I can make a goal from there. Fortunately the university near me will do it for relatively cheaply.

Well...the BMI says I shouldn't be in healthy range until I hit 145...which, for my frame size, is just barely inside the range that I should be for a healthy body. I don't pay much attention to BMI, because it's really not good unless you have a medium or small frame.

This BMI has got me desperately trying to keep losing by really limiting cals but then I get too tired to exercise or I eat extra etc and start gaining again. My BMI goal will put me at about 7 lb above my high school weight and I had eating disorders in high school. I'm in a weight loss group so I had to get a docs note to give them.

I thought I could never get below 150 once I struggled to get that low, now I'm 145.25 lb and feel like it's impossible to get to 140 lb. I'm going to keep on trying though because when I was over 200 lb I thought ok, I can get within my BMI range, but closer to goal I thought this isn't working... but I've been able to eventually lose the weight.

I'm going to keep trying; if it really is impossible I'll ask a doc to change it, but I feel like I'll get there. What's hard for me is knowing I'm muscular and larged frame and trying to fit in this BMI mold it made me feel kind of mad.

BMI is only relevant for monitoring a large population size. In my opinion you should track your body fat % as a good indication of how healthy you are. People who have a lot of muscle mass are classified as overweight in BMI but are healthy and fit. So don't sweat it.. so to speak XD

I'd be skeptical about setting a goal based on your BMI. My BMI is 26.5, which in theory puts me in the "overweight" category. I am caucasian, slightly muscular, but certainly no bodybuilder, I currently wear a 33" waist and my trainer estimates my body fat at 16%. I don't look overweight any more and most people are surprised that I find it necessary to even control my diet.

In reality I think I could and should lose another 5 pounds of fat but that would make me fairly lean (at least by my standards). After that the plan is to start adding muscle mass. However, to get to a BMI of, say, 22 (in the middle of the 18-25 range considered "normal") I would need to drop close to 15kg (33lbs) from my current weight, which would be absurd for somebody of my build and height.

I would focus on (1) your waistline and (2) how you look in the mirror and confirm this with (3) regular weigh-ins and ignore your BMI unless you really really think the target weight it indicates will work for you.

SS

The last time I was in the healthy range of BMI I didn't look or feel 'right'. I am just about 6ft tall, and looked like a lollipop with such a slim body and 'big' head! :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I am aiming for the lower range of overweight as well. I know that is where I felt best, physically and mentally. The BMI really does seem too low.

Congratulations with your progress, it is awesome!

I had a trainer at my gym do my BF%, and he said to forget BMI, and that if I got down to 180lbs., I'd be in a healthy weight/BF percentage, I guess going on my ratio of BF to lean mass and how much lean mass I already had. 180 is currently about 20lbs above my goal but I'll just see how I feel when I get close to that.

The 'normal' range for BMI is so broad that it 'should' fit everyone. There's a huge difference in my size (including dress sizes) between the high end of the 'normal range' and the 'low end'.

See how you get on as you progress through your weight loss. At points I would have liked a nice excuse (or someone to tell me) it was fine to stop before my goal but I'm so happy I ploughed on.

i'm aiming at nowhere on that scale. i had my body fat measured back in january and the results of my lean body mass (with absolutely no fat) already put me in the overweight category :laugh: . to be in the normal range i would need to lose way too much muscle and possibly even have some bones and organs removed. i'll pass on that

the bmi is apparently not for me

Me too! I am pretty skeptical it is a good measure for me. PLan to go by looks/body fat percentage.
@mesha, where fdid you get tested?

I'm pretty close to your situation. I'm 31, 5'7" and I'm at 162 right now (down from 216). I'm at the bottom of the "overweight category" right now according to the BMI charts. Personally I feel its crap. I'm hoping to pretty much stick where I am now, but cut down on BF%. BMI doesn't really account for larger frame people or people with a lot of extra muscle.

Right now, I'm at 15% BF and have okay muscle definition, but I'm in no weigh over weight/

Go with a combo of BMI and BF%. If you are in the low "overweight" range with a BF% 15% or so, then IMO, thats pretty darned good. And supposedly for men around our age, 8-19% is considered Healthy

Keep up the good work!

I would recommend not going by BMI... You should be going by your waist measurement. BMI is too out dated and not an accurate way of measuring whether your in your healthy weight range or not

This is the way most doctors here in Australia are going by now, and telling people to completely ignore BMI

agreed. i use tape measure as a primary yardstick. weight is much too iffy. a glass of water could send you up 1-2 pounds alone

Hey MFP peeps,

Went to the doctor today to discuss my weight loss so far and he was psyched. I'm 5'7.5", started at 211 (rough) and now down to 185 (awesome so far).

I told him I figured I should lost another 15 or so, that puts me roughly at the low-end of the "overweight" ranking for BMI, nearing the top of the "regular" section. He said to really push it I could aim as low as a BMI of 25, which would be 150lbs?!?!? I haven't been that light since I was in like 8th grade.

[...]
It seems like BMI used to be the go-to thing, but I've heard enough dissent about it that I am not going to take it as 100% gospel. For my frame and general weight history, I think 160lbs or 165 would be awesome and very healthy. Pushing to 150 area seems like I'd be pretty underweight, I'd be like back to middle school weight and I'm much taller and bulkier now of course. That seems almost dangerous to push it that low.

Thoughts?

Hey - you're exactly like me - except that I'm 5'9", female, 49 yo, and started off with a lot more to lose.

BMI seems to be based on data for 25-yo of average height (5'4 to 5'5 for women, 5'8 to 5'9 for men) who are Caucasions of non-Northwestern European (e.g., Scandanavian, German or Celtic) ancestry. It tends to underestimate bodyfat for middle-aged and elderly people, and for most Asians. BMI tends to overestimate body fat for African-Amercians, Northwestern Europeans, bodybuilders, people with unusually high bone or muscle density, and people with a lot of rocks in their pockets (just seeing if you're still awake there :bigsmile: ).

Interestingly, the US gov't had the high end of the "healthy" BMI range set at 27.8 unitl 1998, when it was revised to 25.0 iin order to match World Health Organizantion standards.

I'm taller than average, my ancestry is largely Celtic, and I also seem to have a genetic tendency towards high bone density. I'm setting my goal range at 188 to 183 lb (BMI = 27.8 to 27.0). When I get there, I'll see how things like my bodyfat %, blood sugar & lipids, and general well-being & self-image are; and then I'll decide whether to maintain or continue losing.

For my BMI to be 25.0, I'd have to weigh 169 lb, which, I suppose, might not be completely impossible.

But for me to fall into the middle of the normal range at BMI = 21.75, I'd have to weigh 147.5 lb - which was about what I weighed as an (admittedly about 10 to lbs overweight) 5' 6" 13-yo seventh-grader.

Here's probably the best example of why BMI is stupid and shouldn't be followed slavishly