So, I looked up my BMI because I've now lost 17 pounds and was feeling good about myself. MISTAKE! By looking up my BMI and plugging in some numbers, I discovered that my goal weight is a measly 3 pounds below obese according to my BMI. How is that even possible! I remember 165 for me as being a fine weight. I remember looking in the mirror at that weight and thinking how hot I looked. In college I weighed 155 and was skinny (still technically 15 pounds overweight in BMI) I may be short, but I'm Cuban and have wide hips, big boobs, smaller waist, big butt and very muscular legs. My husband is very fit and he is still classified as overweight in BMI. He tells me not to worry about it, but it still just made my self worth plummet a bit. Thanks for reading and letting me rant about how annoying BMI is! Anyone else built in a way that doesn't really work for BMI measurements?
Personally, I use BMI to help me make short term goals. For me, 6 lbs down is 1 BMI point down. That's a nice mini goal. But I don't get too caught up in it. I have other goals on how I feel and my health that are my main ones for losing weight.
BMI is fairly useful for many average people, but it's not right for everyone. Also, it's not the be-all-end-all of health measurements. If you want to know better what your fat percentage is (which is what we're all trying to reduce), get measured with calipers or a water scale or something like that. Those measure your fat, BMI doesn't.
I use it as one tool for weight loss (the scale, my clothes fit, measuring tape, how I feel, etc. are others). It's not useless, but it's not so important either. It's not worth letting it get you down.
BMI were created for populations, not individuals. Remember that first of all.
I will always be above the top BMI for me weight as will my younger son. Since my youngest was wee little they have told me he will probably never fit on the charts as he's just built so big. Well, guess where he got that build from? DEFINITELY not his dad!
I remember reading articles that had professional athletics and Olympians showing that they were obese according to the BMI and weight charts and they didn't have an ounce of fat on them. Remember it is just a number and it is all about how you feel. So own those 17 pounds and be proud!
I think its bogus for short people, too. There is NO WAY that 101 lbs is a "normal" weight for someone 5'2"! I might see 125 someday - that's my goal weight - but if I get there, I'll be about a size 2. That's small. I can' imagine losing another 25lbs after that???? Craziness. There would be nothing left of me - no healthy muscle at all. The upper range is 135 lbs. Fine. But I'm small framed and moderately muscled. Who would fit in the other end of the range??
Also, it tells me that I am just now considered overweight and not obese. Fair enough - I'm probably a little overweight but not 20lbs from a health perspective. I'm a size 10/12. A size 12/14 (even with my small frame) is NOT obese (overweight, yes)!
My 13yo DD weighs about 105lbs and can still fit into kids sized clothing. She appears pretty thin visually. There is NO WAY that her size is within the "normal weight" for a grown woman!
Well, I guess it depends. My daughter is 5'3" (about to turn 18) and weighs 105. This is after she spent a couple of months working on gaining weight (she takes medication that reduces her appetite). Truthfully at 105, she looks good. She doesn't have much body fat (she does martial arts) and is fit. At 105 she is at the bottom of her BMI weight range. I do think that her ideal weight would be around 115 or so, but she doesn't look bad at 105.
To the OP: When you get to your goal weight you can assess how you feel then. At that point, you might want to get your body fat measured and then see what your body fat is. That is, if you were at that weight and were 20% body fat, then you could just call it done. On the other hand, if you were at that weight and were 45% body fat, then you might want to work on your body composition, trying to reduce your body fat and increase your muscle. I think that as you get into the below obese range it is important to really look at body composition.
For example right now my BMI is 28.5, but my scale tells me body fat is about 43%. So in my case, I do want to lose more weight and want to decrease my body fat. I suspect that even when I get to a BMI below 25, my body fat will still be too high and I will want to work on that. On the other hand, I saw someone the other day at similar height to me and weight, but whose body fat percentage was in the normal range. That person doesn't need to work on weight nearly as much as I do.
i hear you. my goal is 165 but according to my BMI my upper limits to the normal range is supposed to be 145... maybe when i get to 165 I will reevaluate where i am, but for now I don't care about BMI!
i hear you. my goal is 165 but according to my BMI my upper limits to the normal range is supposed to be 145... maybe when i get to 165 I will reevaluate where i am, but for now I don't care about BMI!
I think it just depends on body composition. I'm also 5'4" and at 166.3 (on the scale at home yesterday), I know that I still need to lose weight. But, I'm at about 43% body fat. If I was at 20% body fat I might very well feel differently.
BMI made me feel bad again
