Still considered OBESE!

MizzTweezy
MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
edited December 26 in Motivation and Support
What do you guys think about the bmi thing? Because holy crap I don't think I look obese anymore... But it says I am... :( I think I could say yes I am overweight still but Obese!!!!!! ugggh, I hate that thing...

Replies

  • RCSimmonds
    RCSimmonds Posts: 22
    No way!! You are not obese! Check your calculations.... You look great.
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
    Take it with a grain of salt. Remember that it's looking at averages, and a pound of fat is larger than a pound of muscle, volume-wise, but both are still a pound. BMI is only looking at height and weight - it doesn't look at muscle versus fat, chest size, or any other indicators. If you feel good and are working toward being healthy, focus on that instead of the numbers.
  • delaney056
    delaney056 Posts: 475
    Take the BMI with a grain of salt! It doesn't account for muscle mass or weight distribution.

    Example: Terry Crews is 6'2 and weighs 245 pounds. He has a BMI of 31.5, making him "obese", yet he only has 8% body fat.

    That may be an extreme example, but it is only to illustrate what I'm talking about.
  • eig6
    eig6 Posts: 249 Member
    I think you look great and definitely not obese, BMI is better used to determine the average of a population and can be thrown off by above average muscle mass. If you goo by either body fat % or measurements to determine your progress, it will be a better gauge of how YOU are doing, which btw looks like pretty awesome :flowerforyou:
  • RebeccaLeinen
    RebeccaLeinen Posts: 110 Member
    I know how you feel... I'm in the best shape of my ADULT life and yet i'm considered obese...keep your head up! you look fantastic
  • LadyRhodes01
    LadyRhodes01 Posts: 88 Member
    Not everyone's body type is the same. We don't all fit into that same box. It said I was obese as well. I didn't listen. As long as you feel comfortable and see progress don't listen. You look awesome and are far from obese. Don't let things like that get u down. As females we are hard enough on ourselves. You are your biggest critic. Love what you see when you look in the mirror. You look great.:smile:
  • AussieNisi
    AussieNisi Posts: 1
    My sports physician says to basically ignore BMI ... as others have said, muscle weighs more than fat. Focus on fitness and health. You look fabulous!
  • carajo
    carajo Posts: 532 Member
    You look great!! Let it go and focus on how you feel!!
  • Masterdo
    Masterdo Posts: 331 Member
    I see this as the opposite in fact... Means I can still lose quite a lot in a healthy way :p
  • Katahna
    Katahna Posts: 326 Member
    Obese is a made up word.

    You are you, and you are doing something about how much you weigh, the end =]
  • canelly
    canelly Posts: 731 Member
    <~~~~~~ BMI says I'm overweight!!! I don't give a *kitten* about it I sure don't feel or look overweight!
  • ZeroWoIf
    ZeroWoIf Posts: 588 Member
    What do you guys think about the bmi thing? Because holy crap I don't think I look obese anymore... But it says I am... :( I think I could say yes I am overweight still but Obese!!!!!! ugggh, I hate that thing...

    The BMI is just there so you can tell it to go *kitten* itself. Keep fighting, and keep punching.
  • ZeroWoIf
    ZeroWoIf Posts: 588 Member
    <~~~~~~ BMI says I'm overweight!!! I don't give a *kitten* about it I sure don't feel or look overweight!

    The BMI is wrong because it has not way possible to know that you have really nice butt!
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    Thank you, I mean I feel great about my accomplishment so far, but I can't imagine what kind of bag of bones I would look like if I got to the weight that calculator tells me I should be at... I don't think my body frame would ever reach them numbers, and afraid I would set myself up for failure if I really get down on this whole BMI thing, and really affect my self esteem, so I am so glad I asked about it..
  • wbgolden
    wbgolden Posts: 2,066 Member
    I'm also "obese" by BMI charts.

    The B clearly means "Bullsh!t"
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
    I'm also "obese" by BMI charts.

    The B clearly means "Bullsh!t"

    ~ Classic ~
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    take it with a grain of sugar. i'm 5'5 and have a a quite of bit of lean body mass (130-140 pounds depending on the way i measure) . if i put those numbers in according to BMI, my completely 0% fat body would be at 21% on their chart, so yeah i'm pretty sure my goal weight 18% body fat would be teetering very close to obese on that scale
  • emhornshh
    emhornshh Posts: 2
    judging from that photo you don't look obese at all
  • Vonwarr
    Vonwarr Posts: 390 Member
    I just recently went from being "grossly obese" to only "obese" according to BMI. :laugh: (I laugh because although I'm overweight, I am by no means obese by any measure other than BMI)

    A better measure of your health is waist to height ratio (which is basically a way to measure abdominal fat).

    There is also a much better way to calculate your "ideal" weight than BMI - basically you take your lean body mass... then add a healthy percentage of fat.

    Lean Body Mass/(1- Desired Body Fat Percentage)

    For example, I have 150 lbs of lean body mass. According to the charts (linked below), as a male at my age (26), the middle of the "ideal" range is... around 13%. So... 150/(1-0.13) = 172.5. My ideal weight would be basically between 170-175. That would put me into the "overweight" BMI category at 26.1... however, I have a high amount of lean mass for someone my height (5'8").

    tl;dr - BMI is stupid, calculate your ideal


    References:
    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/05/04/ideal-body-weight-formula-how-to-calculate-your-ideal-weight/

    How to find your desired fat percentage:
    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    I just recently went from being "grossly obese" to only "obese" according to BMI. :laugh: (I laugh because although I'm overweight, I am by no means obese by any measure other than BMI)

    A better measure of your health is waist to height ratio (which is basically a way to measure abdominal fat).

    There is also a much better way to calculate your "ideal" weight than BMI - basically you take your lean body mass... then add a healthy percentage of fat.

    Lean Body Mass/(1- Desired Body Fat Percentage)

    For example, I have 150 lbs of lean body mass. According to the charts (linked below), as a male at my age (26), the middle of the "ideal" range is... around 13%. So... 150/(1-0.13) = 172.5. My ideal weight would be basically between 170-175. That would put me into the "overweight" BMI category at 26.1... however, I have a high amount of lean mass for someone my height (5'8").

    tl;dr - BMI is stupid, calculate your ideal


    References:
    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/05/04/ideal-body-weight-formula-how-to-calculate-your-ideal-weight/

    How to find your desired fat percentage:
    http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/
    Wow thank you...
  • Vonwarr
    Vonwarr Posts: 390 Member
    No prob, glad to help. If you have any questions about it, feel free to shoot me a PM. BTW - to answer your original question - there is no way you're obese! :)
  • shaynak112
    shaynak112 Posts: 751 Member
    It drives me crazy. I'm supposedly obese as well! What the heck! I know I'm a bit overweight. But I'm no where near obese. Lol. I am still trying to lose weight but not a LOT of weight either. It's weird.
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
    BMI is stupid! I am still obese and wear a size 10-12.
  • Nataliaho
    Nataliaho Posts: 878 Member
    The BMI does not define obesity, the BMI is a very simple (and inaccurate) way of guessing at obesity. In reality you are only obese when you have so much fat that it makes you unhealthy in some way. I absolutely HATE the way the BMI is misused by the medical community as a diagnostic tool on individuals. It was never designed for that purpose and isn't accurate...

    As a point of interest, several studies show that the BMI more inaccurate in under-classifying people not over i.e. it often classifies people as "normal" who's BF% is actually at an unhealthy level. That is despite the fact that many people on MFP think any criticism of the BMI comes from people who are in denial about being fat.
  • super_monty
    super_monty Posts: 419 Member
    BMI sucks
    I had a review with the trainer in the gym the other week, he still want me to lose a stone in fat but not in weight!(add muscle).

    This may still leave me in the lower end of the obese scale or the upper on normal.

    He said with my frame and muscle if i went to the recommend level on the scale I would look sick!
  • Sahri21
    Sahri21 Posts: 21 Member
    I too am obese technically, though very close to the edge. It's VERY frustrating and I think BMI is a horrible self esteem downer.

    Judge yourself by your fitness level and Body Fat %.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    At the end of the day, we all stress way too much about what the scales say.

    Stop worrying; if the scales say you're obese but you can fit into a size 12 (for example) and you feel fit and healthy, then that is what matters.
  • gjulie
    gjulie Posts: 391
    i feel like you do im 5 2 and 145lbs now I look ok well I think I do anyway still Im considered at least a stone overweight im fairly fit and eat healthily dont drink or smoke and eat very little junk food now I was 168 lbs in April this year so i have made progress I seem to be stuck on this but do you know what its ok I feel good I feel fit Im certainly not going to eat any less than I do already which is about 1500-1600 a day I do an hours cardio 5 days a week with some weight thrown in 3 days cos I hate weights Im happy here and at this point not too worried what BMI or anything else says.
  • kazoooo8
    kazoooo8 Posts: 71
    BMI is used alot in the medical industry in billing. The higher the BMI, the more complicated a procedure. Therefore, the doctors put the BMIs in their reports so they can get more money for "complicated procedures".
  • Poods71
    Poods71 Posts: 502 Member
    My friends brother applied to be in the Police and they refused his application because they considered him to be obese. He ended up going in to see them as anyone looking at him would see he is all muscle with not a bit of fat on him. Ended up with an interview and getting into the Police.

    As everyone else is saying, take it with a pinch of salt. I am in the normal weight for my body range but I bet I have more fat than you so keep doing what you are doing cos it's working and you look great :flowerforyou:
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