[BetterLife]

Originally Posted by Sum38

^^^^
This

I second that!

[sylphide]

I see "fat" as a cultural term. Overweight is a "medical" one - but of course that's a culture in and of itself. Fat depends a lot on the social context you're in and your own standards and desires for the size you want to be. That's how there's such a thing as "Hollywood fat" which in any sane environment is a probably skinny! For me, thin is the low end of my healthy weight range, normal is the mid-point, chubby is over the mid-point and then fat, in my own feelings about my body, starts at the high end of my normal weight range and goes upwards from there.

[sylphide]

I should add that I am only talking about myself here in my designations of "fat" as I don't really view other people this way. I see girls much bigger than me and think they look great. It's got a lot to do with shape. When you have a good shape, you can look good at any size. I do, however, see girls looking scary thin and catch my breath for how heartbreakingly unwell they look. Locked eyes with an anorexic girl today. I can't imagine how she feels. Life is hard at both ends of the spectrum.

[stronggal]

To me being fat is how much fat you carry according to your body size. So that would be your body fat percentage.

Of course everyone has their opinion of what is fat or not.

In my opinion, you are overweight is your body fat is over 25%. But that's just my opinion.

[AshleyFaith]

I've always gone by body mass index.
What is considered not fat to people in the US has changed.
The only time I would not go by BMI is if I started lifting weights and gaining muscle.
Then I would definitely start focusing on body fat % and inches lost/gained.

[faaizans]

Definitely go with bodyfat%. BMI is quite frankly a horrible misrepresentation of overall health and appearance. The point where you are no longer "fat", however, is extremely subjective. It depends on your body image and goals! My recommendation is to enjoy the journey and enjoy the progress. Before you know it, you wont be "fat" anymore!

[giselley]

Originally Posted by cosmic wisdom

I wanted to get your perspectives on when you cross that line from "fat" to "normal" weight. Is it by BMI, body fat %, waist circumference, clothes size or something else?

What do you use to evaluate if you are obese, overweight or normal. Is overweight "fat"?

I use BMI to give me an overall "medical" number to go by. People who are into muscle culture or who have large muscles naturally will weigh more, thus have a bmi that is not related to fat vs lean. I think, what the heck, it is better than nothing.

BMI gives you the weights at the boundaries of Obese/Overweight/ and Normal.
Since this is the measurement most often used at Dr.s offices, then it is good to look at.

I personally cannot afford to get properly weighed, and since I like to check my weight at least 2-3 times per week and not every six months, I think expensive methods like suspension into water and so on are out for me.

[Ramzi]

This might be funny but I am trying to gain weight for past 3 years. 🤣 My weight is 68kg but I need at least 75 as my hight is 5.9. but i don't eat much hardly eat twice a day sometimes once a day.

[ange82much]

For me the BMI ratings completely match how I feel. The border of normal/overweight feels exactly like my mental normal/overweight impression. I find mid-normal BMI hard to stay at for a long time
(have done it for a couple of years previously on a couple of occasions, but then haven't stuck with it), and have only been in the lower half of normal for maybe 6 months before, which I thought looked great, but just couldn't maintain it. So at the moment i'm aiming for mid-normal to diet down to, with the expectation that long-term i'll hopefully be able to maintain at a couple of kg over this (which would take me to about the 70% limit of the 'normal' range i'm guessing...)

[belova88]

I have no idea too.