[Closed] Apparently, I'm still 'overweight'

Take a big dump, that will put back into the normal category...

how can the whole BMI thing be a serious representation of my health/body?

It's not, don't worry about it. Go with what you look like, not a BMI chart.

I started making a concerted effort to lose weight about 2 years ago and went from around 90kg to just under 70 kg in around a year. It's crept back up a bit since then (bloody relationships!) so I'm kicking things off again. One of the things my trainer told me that to start with people will congratulate you on losing weight but if you keep at it they will then caution you to not "lose too much" weight. This is more about them and their perception of themselves rather than about you so you should take comments like that as a compliment.

As for BMI, it's a guide and a reasonable one despite what people say, although it's not perfect. At my lightest I was only just in the "normal" category so I treat it as a guide but I'll not be a slave to it.

BMI is a very blunt tool.

I'd either use body fat or just see if anything wobbles that shouldn't when you jump up and down naked.

stop moaning fatty!

according to the BMI chart Bob Geldof is going to release a charity single to buy me some food. it’s a rough guide and not relevant to everybody.
if you have love handles and a wobbly stomach hanging over your belt then keep losing the weight 🙂

blunt,

most people are fat(66%ish), so many people are fat that fat is regarded as normal.

If you are a healthy weight you won't be fat, infact you will look thin because you will be thinner than the (fat) average.

Ignore everyone else who are trying to ignore the fact they are fat by claiming you are too thin, ie making them remember they are fat.

BMI is bullshit for the most part, I have been "overweight" most of my adult life..5'8" on hot day and 11½st (74kg)approx - I have a 30 inch waist, never been mistaken for a lardass.

You have very accurate measuring devices...you're at 25.1 right? Only just in the 'overweight' category, mostly depends how muscular you are. Best shape I've ever been in equated to a BMI of over 28.

Ignore everyone else who are trying to ignore the fact they are fat by claiming you are too thin, ie making them remember they are fat

I agree. It's a guide. For the most part it's fairly good. There are exceptions. Not as many as people want to think. I'm the same height as you, and I'd definitely be overweight at 80kg unless I took up body building. Whereby I'd fit into those few exceptions before people start quoting shit about rugby players.

Yer, you need to breath in a bit too..

BMI is rubbish and crude, why bother with it?

If you are muscular then BMI can be bollocks, but for us normal people it is fairly good. (All of the All Black squad for the World Cup are clinically obese)
I am sure at 80kg and 177cm you still have some wobbly bits (I know I do)

Stop when YOU are happy and have no more wobbles

In my early 20's I had a 32" waist an 48" chest, I trained 6 days a week at my chosen sport, also ran every day and snuck in some weights sessions too, I was 15 stone and 6'4" apparently this is 1.5 stone over wight according to bmi..........yeah right.........its a guide nothing more

The best way to tell if you are overweight is to ask yourself do I think BMI is total rubbish. If the answer is yes then you need to lose weight 🙂

It certainly is true that people have generally forgotten how people should look and that people who tell you you have lost too much are generally telling you a lot about themselves.

was 15 stone and 6'4" apparently this is 1.5 stone over wight according to bmi..........yeah right.........its a guide nothing more

That's 5lbs overweight. Less than half a stone.

I read a study a while ago that said that when presented with a series of images of body types, ranging from very thin to obese, and asked to pick the healthiest, the majority of people in the UK picked a body shape one or two sizes places above the actual healthy shape. In other words, if most people think you're slightly too skinny, you're probably about right.

BMI does nothing to take into account of people's activity and muscle levels. I'm also 178cm tall, and currently weigh about 85kg. I feel healthy at around 80kg, and I'd say I wouldn't want to go lower than 75kg otherwise I'd have to lose a lot of muscle (and I'm not a big guy!). I'm definitely carrying 5kg of excess around with me at the moment, but even at 80kg I look pretty slim, and at 75kg (only just in the "healthy" weight for our height according to BMI) I start to look malnourished!

My problem is my diet. Basically, I like food! Lots of it, and not necessarily the good stuff. Even if I excercise loads these days the weight doesn't fall off, but perversely if I change my diet the weight does! I like chips, curry, cake and chocolate far too much though sadly!

I can still hop on a bike and churn out a century tomorrow though if I had to, and though I'm never first up the climbs, I'm not usually last either. So whilst I'm not pretending to try and be a racer, does it really matter?

Besides, food is gooooooooood! 😛

Well known to sometimes be bobbins for those who exercise.

Re people's perceptions - if they know you as you've lost weight, they think you look different which makes them think you're too skinny. If someone passed you in the street they wouldn't think you were anything other than normal.

BMI is a population measurement, so "almost" useless when applied to individuals. BUT...if you're not a body builder it's accurate enough to be a rule of thumb.

I wouldn't have thought there would be many health problems with being a couple of kilos over the 'norm' OP, don't worry about it.

The best way to tell if you are overweight is to ask yourself do I think BMI is total rubbish. If the answer is yes then you need to lose weight

You sir are iDave and I claim my £5!

We're all different, BMI is just a guide. Use it as such.

As we're on a bike forum I'm guessing you lost that 15kgs through a combination of diet and exercise with a focus on the later, so the top end of the BMI healthy scale makes sense.

Have a poo, cut your hair, measure your height in the morning or buy a kinder set of scales.

[quote=nickc ]BMI is a population measurement, so "almost" useless when applied to individuals. BUT...if you're not a body builder it's accurate enough to be a rule of thumb.

You don't need to be anywhere near a bodybuilder to make it inaccurate - it assumes very low muscle mass, far less than most sporty people have. I was into the overweight category when 32" waist trousers were still loose on me, and I'm definitely not bodybuilder material.

Get some calipers and use this site:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how-to-measure-your-body-fat.html

It won't be 100% accurate but is way better than the chart and as long as your readings are relative to you and averaged, it will give a good indication.

aracer, really? I had no idea! I know that the point of which one was deemed overweight was moved though.

isn't height/waist ratio supposed to be a better measure?

BMI is a general guide, there are other (better?) ways to measure, but I like this one...

just see if anything wobbles that shouldn't when you jump up and down naked.

and ask yourself am I active? am I happy? No one else really counts.

I thought that was always at a BMI of 25? Which for my height (5'9") is 12 stones. When I was skinny triathlon weight and you could see all my ribs I was 10.5 stones, then later on when still pretty skinny and racing at a high level at 11 stones.

BMI is complete nonsense unless you are utterly average and do average exercise (ie none).

When I was rowing at a high level my body fat was in the dangerously low category yet BMI had me on the border between overweight and obese. GB sports doctor put me on a high fat diet, GP looked at the chart and told me to lose weight 😕

I thought that was always at a BMI of 25?

nah, I read an article that suggested that the point was moved down so that (conspiratorially) more folk were placed in the overweight category. Happened in the 90's IIRC....just as the diet industry picked up.

[url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/guideposts/fitness/optimal.htm ]Washington post article [/url]

Photo of yourself in your speedos or shut up.

According to BMI index, this chap is morbidly obese.. So there you go.

[img] [/img]

BMI does need to be combined with a waist measurement because muscle weighs more than fat. 33" sounds healthy (anything under 37" is about right)

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/849.aspx?CategoryID=51

BMI probably isn't a bad guide for a cyclist; afterall, it's not like a cycling physique is particularly big like a "rugby build"

Someone once told me that a good cycling weight if often your height in inches = weight in kilos which seems about right, and that's just below the middle of the "green" bit of the BMI chart @ 20.7

EDIT

Depends on your sport though. I watched worlds strongest man a couple of weeks ago; the British lad said something along the lines of "yeh; I'm feeling positive; I'm currently 27 stone; Ive never been fitter"

OP, fer gawds sake, breath out Man.

Yer making us feel ill 😆

so given BMI [i]can [/i]be a bit rubbish, whats the waist/hip/arse measurement thing we're supposed to take into account as well? Something to do with apples and pears.

The best way to tell if you are overweight is to ask yourself do I think BMI is total rubbish. If the answer is yes then you need to lose weight

Love it. I am storing that one up for the future 😀

I'm the same height as the OP and 78kg. A lot of people say I don't need to lose weight but I know I have an inch of belly that is doing me no favours! I'm towards the top of the healthy BMI range.

ording to BMI index, this chap is morbidly obese.. So there you go

Aah yes, the ol' "rugby players are obese so it's rubbish" line. Are you a world class professional rugby player? No? You probably need to lose weight then!

How did you lose 15kg?

How did you lose 15kg?

Did more; ate less.

Helpful, huh? 😉

Seriously, using MFP, I limited myself to 1900 cals per day, and have lowered this on various occasions since I started. On top of that, I no longer drive anywhere unless it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, which means that, other than a single monthly appointment, I pretty much use the commuter bike for everything.

On top of that, I try to make sure I get at least two 30-mile road rides in at the weekend, and I have joined a hockey team.

All in all, on top of the calorie monitoring, I just became more active again.

So can you "pinch an inch" that's fat and even if visible fat is minimal the last fat to go is visceral.
I think BMI is close enough that you should be within the quite broad range even if thats gonna be at the top of that range.
I say that as a 85kg 183cm who most people would say is slim but then most people are very fat!

[img] [/img]

FIFY

Stoner - Member
so given BMI can be a bit rubbish, whats the waist/hip/arse measurement thing we're supposed to take into account as well? Something to do with apples and pears.

As an approximate guide if your waist is less than half your height you are doing ok

I'm also obese according to the BMI thing. But I tend to ignore that. I train 5 times a week - mixing weights, cardio (running and riding)

Look at the lean mass %.

....Or maybe I am fat and just kidding myself.

OP the first thing I'd check is that you are measuring your waist accurately (above hips, below ribs, don't squeeze! 😉 ). If you are then I'd say you are a healthy weight and it is time to start focussing on maintaining rather than losing any more- beware, this is often the hardest part! Learn good eating habits though and you'll be fine.
Also, latest evidence would indicate that your exercise regime sounds perfect for mainatining good health*- frequent, daily exercise of at least half an hour rather all in one massive lump at the weekend.

*'maintaining good health' is an overused and annoying term so I'll be specific: What I mean is increasing your chances of avoiding the lifestyle related diseases that are the most common causes of death in the UK, so heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes etc

a dear friend who laughed and said my head was starting to look disproportionately big in comparison to my body

As an approximate guide if your waist is less than half your height you are doing ok

Excellent. I'm exactly half as fat as I am lanky 🙂

And my bmi is 25

I still thought there was a waist to hip ratio too.

I still thought there was a waist to hip ratio too.

I think there are 2 aspects, difficult to know which are at play to what degree.

1) We're used to people being overweight. The majority of adults are overweight. Some people will think you're unhealthily slim when you're at your best weight.

2) The BMI is a blunt tool.

Unless you're mentally ill (if you find yourself reaching one weight loss target and always making another, it might be worth considering this possibility) then get to a weight/build you're happy with and ignore what other people say.

I think this is particularly pronounced for women, who when they're the biggest among their peers will lose weight and find that as they get slimmer than each of their peers, that peer no longer thinks they should be slimmer/says they're a stick insect etc.

BMI is a great tool for reminding us that today's "normal" is very different from the same concept two generations ago.

I like the fact that it gives me a much needed kick up the arse - having just lost close to two stones recently 😉