What weight are you vs your BMI weight?

[Pigeon05]

Hi all,

So, I'm 5ft and I'm 8 stone 11lbs. I'm just below the 'overweight' category on my BMI. I've lost weight, as was closer to 9stone 2lbs last month, which would make me overweight.

However, it says I should be about 7.5 stone to be in the middle of my healthy range. I was hoping to get to about 8 stone 6lbs to be honest! So only 5lbs more to go.

I wear a size 8 on top and 10 on bottom, and I'm a pear shape so don't carry much on my belly. I already notice the weight loss and I'm still just under the 8 stone 12lbs 'overweight' category. So I think I'll be skinny if I diet until under 8 stone - I actually don't even think my body would go that low. I was 7.5 stone at 17 years old and haven't been since!

I'm 5'5" and 11 st 5 (am calorie counting and have lost 4 pounds so far). BMI 26.4 so overweight. I would say I look quite a bit fatter than that though. BMI 22 would be 9 stone 6, which for me would be a really healthy weight in terms of size and appearance at my age (mid 40s). I've been as low as 8st 7 and as high as 12 stone. I look really stout at anything over 10 st 7 as I have big boobs. Even at 8 st 7 I wasn't 'skinny' in the sense of being bony as I have quite a small frame. I also put weight on very evenly, from face to ankles, which is a blessing and a curse! It means my happy weight can be a big range (probs 8ish stone to 10 stone) without it being really noticeable as it goes on everywhere. But also means I need to lose a lot for it to be noticeable too.

It's really hard when you're short. I'm 5'3 and about 9st 11lb. I should get back down to 9st but I'd have to eat around 1200 to 1400 a day to make that happen and to be honest I can't be arsed. Plus I like having boobs, and mine shrink rapidly if I lose weight.

I’m 5’5” too! 9 stone 8 was where I managed to get last time I lost weight and I felt fantastic (sis in law told me I was too skinny, though 🤨)

Oh weirdly I was just having this conversation. I’m 5’3 and 9st13. I’m really quite skinny. My diet is horrendous, I work on my feet all day (25k steps is average) and grab a plate of chips or a sandwich. I couldn’t really be slimmer without looking emaciated. But 10st sounds tons. And BMI puts me at the very top end of ‘healthy’.

Until a couple of years ago I was 12 stone and a size 18, on my small frame that made me obese. Dh is 12 stone. He’s properly skinny. Weight is so subjective.

I've got a BMI of 24. Not slim, not fat, but decidedly dumpy and flabby. I'd look a lot better, and fit into more of my wardrobe, at BMI 22, which is about 5 kilos away.

23.7 but I lift weights. Sometimes that can skew a bmi

I agree it’s very difficult to lose (or even maintain) when you’re short. I’m 5’1 and currently about 8 stone. Really look and feel my best at 7.5 but it’s near impossible to get into enough of a deficit to lose. It’s not like I have a huge appetite as it is and I don’t drink! But every gram just clings on for dear life these days

Oh forgot to add that I find bmi pretty useful as a guide. I’m apple shaped with not much muscle and at 8stone I think I’m sitting in the middle of the healthy range which feels about right

Why in society are we obsessed with 'doesn't work for everyone' and 'we need to look at it at an individual level?' If bmi works broadly as a tool then we need to stick with it.

Erm, well judging by this thread, "society" has no idea that BMI is not an effective measure of health at an individual level, so your starting point there is a bit off...

"If BIM works broadly as a tool" - does it though? Are you genuinely saying that "My BMI is 22 therefore I am healthy" is a helpful way of thinking about health, rather than that health is a complicated and varied thing made up of many different factors, and trying to measure it with a blunt tool is always going to miss the point?

It's not that "BMI works broadly". In the limited population that Ancel Keys cherry picked his data from to devise BMI, where BMI is higher than average, there are more likely to be higher rates of certain illnesses/conditions. That is very very different to "the higher your BMI, the more likely you are personally to have a certain illness/condition".

Taking BMI as a starting point, I can see how it helps. Using it as the only factor in making an assessment - it's never going to be the full answer.

Liar.

I've just been there and looked. The NHS BMI calculator absolutely does not say you should be in the middle of the healthy range.

Seriously OP do some weight training. You will look better and be able to eat more. I'm 5'1" and never eat less than 1700 calories a day. And I am losing weight eating that because I exercise 6 days a week.

My 9YO is 5 stone, 4' 7 and probably eats about 2500 calories everyday. When you're having to eat less than a child, something is depressingly wrong.

My BMI is 24.7 (have lost a few lb recently but not as many as I'd like), 168cm, 69.5kg. I can wear a size 8 in some tops and a 10-12 on the bottom so i think i'm relatively small for my weight. I don't have any boobs though and I workout so whilst I'm not ripped sort of muscly I probably have more muscle than many women.

Hi Op. I’m 5ft2 and weigh 50kg. Think that’s the ideal BMI for me? Not sure how many stones that is, but I am usually a size 8 tops and bottoms, but find size 8 is become looser nowadays. Don’t think that’s because I’m losing weight, but the clothes sizes are getting bigger. An 8 is a bit like 9-10 nowadays in some places. Might just be me, but the sizing seem off recently.

Interesting about the low carb diet. I'm new to dieting and have just been calorie counting, so I'd maybe have a slice of cake to replace dinner if I'm craving sugar 😳 but I suspect that's not the best way of doing things 😅

Also, I'm interested in using weights. All I do is 10k steps every day and a 30min work out x3 a week. I've been worried about looking 'bulky' because I'm already quite dumpy looking. But maybe this would actually help me look leaner and I'd be willing to try it if I could eat more!

Also re gaining weight... mine all goes to my bum and thighs and my face and neck. Honestly I think the 4lbs I lost came straight off my chin and cheeks lol.

I'm currently around 51kg with a BMI of 20.
This time last year I was 57kg and BMI was 22.5.

@AuntieStella it sounds like you transformed yourself. I turn 50 soon and want to address my creeping weight - need to lose 3 stone. I'm very strong but lack fitness so want to address that too. How did you do it?

I’m 7st 11lbs at 5ft 5 - I think it puts my bmi around 18.5?
but I don’t look slim.
I am not toned. I’m one of those fat thin people. Size 6/8 mostly.

Oh no. Bmi is 18.1.
slightly lower than I thought.

My BMI is 21, whch is low. I am in size 12 and my waist is much too big according to the height/waist calculator. I think I have little muscle bulk and do have long, thin legs.

I'm certain you don't look in any way 'fat' at your height being a size 6/8. Your BMI is pretty low too.

I’m same height at you and weigh around 8 stone 10lb when not pregnant. I have a fairly high muscle content and wouldn’t want to weigh any less despite being at the top of healthy bmi. I usually wear a size 6-8.

I am 5 3" and weight around 7st 7.
This is roughly the same weight I have been all my life as an adult.

I was 7st 4 in my early 30s and put on exactly 1 stone with my two healthy babies, each arriving at around 7lbs.

I do carry fat and I know that now in middle age, I have lost some muscle so although my weight is the same, it's more fat than muscle. (I've lost if off my thighs even though I do a lot of exercise.)

My measurements are roughly 33 bust, 27 waist and 35 hips.

I have a very small frame. Rings have to be made to measure as my ring size is a G.

Dress sizes are meaningless @Womblealongwithme . They have become far more generous over the decades. My wedding dress was a 10 (in the 1980s) and my waist was 24 inches. I can't get it fastened now!

A BMI of 18.5 is considered normal.

Some people have very small frames and bones, but still carry fat.

Let's not start slim-shaming please!

5 ft 7 and between 9 stone and 9 stone 2 ..bmi around 21. I'm 54 and have been the same weight (barring 4 pregnancies!) since I was 20.

I'm no longer the toned shape I was back then, but at this BMI I'm comfy in my clothes... I once edged up towards 10 stone and could really feel the difference.

I don't do sport (other than leisurely kayaking) but walk the dog a lot!

I'm 5'8" and weigh 9 stone 2 pounds. According to the NHS calculator that gives me a bmi of 19.4 which is within the healthy range.

I'm currently wearing a size 10 t-shirt and size 27 jeans (t shirt from primark and jeans from superdry). I'm surprised by previous posters who have a higher bmi than me but are in size 8 clothes? I don't like tight clothes though and have broad shoulders so that might be a factor.