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 in the overweight category. BMI 28.7.

I'm curvy, large bum and boobs, but tall. I know I'm fat.

Men still like me, I look good in dresses, not so good in shorts. I'm not too bothered about it: I have an interesting and full life without worrying about weight.

Of course it is.

I’m 5 feet 6, and currently weight 9 stone 1. I could be anywhere between 8 stone 3 and 11 stone 2 and have a healthy BMI.

However, I like my body best at about 8 stone 10 and it’s reasonably achievable. I have been 8 stone 2 and looked awful, and my periods stopped. I have been as heavy as 9 stone 10, and didn’t like how I felt.

It's not just about that though is it? I want to lose weight for my health and so that I feel good about myself. It's not about men liking me, DH doesn't mind at all but I know I'll feel better in myself and that's important.

Incidentally @Watchthesunrise I'm not saying you need to lose weight for your health, you don't sound massively overweight - I'm much more overweight than you are (my BMI is 33) so I guess that my reasons would be different anyway because I have quite a lot to lose?

I'm 5ft4 and I'm currently 13.5 stone. I've recently lost 2.5 stone and was seriously overweight. I'm 16 on top and bottom but I've always had a chest, bum and hips so even at my smallest I always have to wear bigger clothing to fit nice. X

I am 5 ' 3"

I weigh 8 stone four and size eight.

BMI 20.5

The NHS website suggests that I am a healthy weight and I am at 20.5 but the lower end of where I am could be 7 stone 6 according to their calculations, I would look extremely ill at that weight, if lose two pound it shows in my face not sure what another stone would do.

I am 58 and can scoff at that but some teens would be influenced.

5 ft 7, 10 stone 7 so BMI around 23 mark. Size 10 and very active- lift weights and run lots plus do HIIT and walk a lot. I’m happy at this weight and I feel fairly certain I’d look ill if I weighed much less.

You understand though that many people would not look ill at the lower end of the range, yes?
The lower end isn't a target.

I know I would look wrong at the upper end of the range - I have a small frame.
I do not look at all unwell at the lower end.

I’m 9st 11lbs which puts my BMI at around 22, I’m ok with that but I think I look better when I’m just a little bit slimmer.

My BMI was just under 25 after I had children and I didn’t look good at all. I know some people look great at that weight but it just doesn’t suit my frame.

I’ve never seen a BMI calculator which pinpoints an ideal weight though. The NHS one just gives a (very wide) range.

I'm temporarily up at the moment due to a long running injury that's affected my activity level, and have just clipped BMI 25.1/ 157cm: 62kg. I'm sure people would laugh/ roll their eyes if I said I was technically into the overweight category, but while I'm not hazardously fat, those few superflous lbs are making me feel sluggish and worse, causing painful chaffing in a few places when I exercise due to where they are distributed. The upper boundary of "healthy seems to be in roughly the right place for my body, even though I'm a muscular build with a still reasonably (metabolically) healthy fat level.

These days I don't have a cat in hell's chance of being the low end of healthy, my body has changed too much since it was there in early adulthood and I wouldn't swap my muscle/ bone density for that. There's also a few lbs of post CS pouch that go nowhere. Given that weight tends to creep up with age (and factors like menopause) there's less health issues with a person reaching overweight in their middle age compared to their youth.

The "healthy range" can be pretty brutal on short women to take literally if they're not very young with a naturally lean build and I think it's one of those physical extremes where it's a blunt tool and the maths disconnects from reality. We've all got roughly the same organs and bone structure, but there's less height to distribute that core anatomy. I've got 10" less height to play with than DH, but there's not going to be that much difference in mass of brains, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas etc!

For myself, I look at BMI/ weight as one consideration alongside taking measurements, general look/ feel, evaluating habits, and other indicators like resting heart rate. I'm in a decent place for a 40+ woman. Could do better. I find BMI 22-23 a sweet spot for my general wellbeing, and I'm sure my knees would agree long term.

Agree that BMI is a good general guide but it isn't everything. 10 st 10 lbs is the top of my 'normal' weight BMI. Alas, I am a stone heavier than that and have a BMI of 27. I do keep reading that people with a BMI of 27 have the lowest overall mortality rates. This means I am healthy but overweight. I would look better both with and without clothes if I was a stone thinner. However, I would look awful two stone thinner. I dropped to 10 stone following a bereavement and people told me I looked ill and not to lose any more weight (this from friends who were much thinner than me). I had no boobs and no curves. So I am not built to be 'thin'.

I find it interesting that more than one poster has said that they have a BMI of 26 but wear a size 8. I have a BMI of 27 but wear a size 14. I wear a size 14 when my BMI is 26. Do I need to tone up? I am flabby. Don't exercise. Doubt muscle mass % of my body weight is very high.

It might have been that you lost it in a short period of time and also didn't looks great overall (due to the bereavement). I lost some weight in a short period of time due to divorce stress. People commented. I haven't really put it back on but I look fine as I've settled into it.

I think that must surely be vanity sizing, unless that person is one of the very few outliers for whom BMI isn't an accurate indicator of a healthy weight (world class rugby players or tiny Olympic gymnasts).

@Caroffee I think it depends so much on your frame and where you carry weight. At BMI 26.7 I am a very solid 14-16 (with a 33 inch waist and 43 inch bust, i have tiny ribcage and small hips so i can squeeze into things that are a bit smaller), at BMI 22 (around 130 lbs) I would be a 10-12 top and 8 around the hips, and at BMI 19.8/119 lbs I'd be a 10 top and 6-8 bottoms (i know because ive been all of those weights as an adult!). But I wouldn't be ill-looking or 'skinny' at any of those BMIs. At a size 14 though I look positively fat. I seem to have a small frame that carries weight very evenly, as do most of the women in my family - sadly I just eat too much for my frame.

@Pigeon05 @SwimmingOnEggshells I am 5ft and weigh 6 stone 5. I am healthy and have a bit of an arse/thighs on me so, different strokes for different folks 🤷🏻‍♀️

@TheOrigRights I'm definitely not some sort of of Olympian athlete... But have a BMI of 26... This is a size 6 two weeks ago.

You do look a small size. And toned. I am a relatively small frame on top, not toned and alas carry weight around my middle now I am older which has put me up a size. Wide hips mean that I have never worn less thab a size 10 even when I was two stone below a BMI of 25
(Unsure what that BMI would be).

Same stats as me. I'm a stone heavier than I was 10 years ago, but a lot fitter, stronger and healthier.

5’4”. Pushing 15stone, so very, very heavy. This puts my BMI at 36. I wear size 16 jeans. A 14/16 on top. I am far from happy with myself.
I am not sedentary. I am active and go to the gym 3x week.
I should be 7st11-10st10lb to be a healthy BMI. The closest I got to this was 11st- I wore size 10 dresses and size 12 jeans at this weight.

5 foot nothing. 14 and a half stone, BMI of 39. I'm exhausted. Never been so big. Size 20, 22 sometimes. Uurgh