BMI is ‘normal’ yet I feel overweight?

[Pinkginxx]

Summer is upon us and I feel... chubby.
I’m late 30’s, 5’0,and BMI is 23. I’ve always heard people scoff at BMI but usually the other way round eg rugby players who are 20 stone but perfectly fit.
I don’t feel fit, I feel wobbly and sausage armed.
Is BMI a bad calculation? I’m thinking maybe because I’m short?
Or am I indoctrinated into seeing teenage bodies on middle age women that I’m sad I don’t look that way??
Or am I making excuses?

I'm male and look fine at the top end of the BMI normal range at 24. I have no appreciable flab at all.

My wife on the other hand looks best right at the bottom end of the range. At BMI 24, she would be 3 stone heavier and resemble the Michelin man.

Muscles do two things – the shrink and they grow. They don’t TONE.

When someone tells you they spent the weekend chilling out do you get arsey and tell them that if they weren't outdoors and cold they are wrong? Toned up is common parlance to mean lose small amounts of fat while building lean muscle without getting bulky. People of a fairly healthy weight use it to describe a body type they'd like to achieve. Unless someone is writing a scientific paper for peer review on the subject claiming that there is no such thing as toning up is just being ridiculous. People may have the wrong idea about how to tone up but it doesn't mean using a common two word phrase that everyone knows the meaning of instead of an exacting but lengthy sentence is wrong.

I don’t really want to refer to my “growing muscles”. That sounds forced and awkward. Much easier to refer to my “toned muscles”. Pretty sure at least 99% of people understand what I mean when I say it.

Your body shape and genetics can make a huge difference. I look a bit chubby at my current BMI of 20 - I have to get down right to the lower end before I appear slim. It's because I carry my fat on my arms and waist so I look larger than I am, like a potato on skinny toothpick legs.

The problem is that BMI doesn’t account for frame size. Thats why there’s a range and it can be a little misleading. I’m around bmi 20 and I feel a little chubby but I have a very boyish frame (narrow hips and minimal boobs) so any weight on my tummy shows and I feel a bit too rounded. You can only decide for yourself what suits you. You know your body best and everyone is different.

Looking at my BMI calculations I also feel happier at 21-22. I've recently lost about half a stone so I'm now at 21-22, but I was at 23 for a few years previously and I definitely felt chubby.

I can be anywhere between 7.10 - 10.4 and be "healthy". Your body type will dictate where in the range you feel comfortable. At under 8 and a half stone I look unwell. At over 9 stone 10 I feel quite fat

I'm near the top of the normal BMI at 5ft 2 and just over 9st. I have a large frame and an hour Glass shape. I also have chronic health conditions - underactive thyroid and osteoarthritis which makes it difficult to exercise as much as I'd like and as I used to. TBH I consider it an achievement to maintain a normal weight at all.

It is very variable. I reachedon't my top BMI range once and was so skinny I looked ill

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that BMI is misleading but not in the way people think (judging ppl with lots of muscle to be overweight) but actually by making lots of ppl within 'normal' range think they're fine when actually their body fat percentage is not good. So you have to take it as one measure among many (waist measurement, fitness levels etc.) otherwise it's a bit meaningless. FWIW I'm the same OP, currently within 'healthy' range but lots of tummy flab and have been eating rubbish/not feeling very fit atm so it's not just a vanity thing. I know I need to sort some of my bad habits out.

When my BMI was 23 I felt and looked tubby. I am really happy with how I look now at a BMI of 21.

Just because it's officially "healthy" doesn't mean that's where you'll feel your most comfortable.

I definitely look chubby over a BMI of 22, especially without exercise.

Toning = burning fat and building muscle. The overall effect is of a leaner and firmer body, i.e. toned.

yanbu
bmi is a good measure on population level but needs to be taken with caution on individual level.
at your bmi I had fatty liver disease. admittedly I was barrel shaped and failed the 'string test'.
(5:2 fasting sorted that btw without losing weight)

BMI 24 here (after being BMI 34 a couple of years ago).

Still feel very big. NHS reckons I should be in the middle of the normal weight range (that would be BMI 21.5 for me) so got 1 stone 4 pounds to lose. Sure I will feel better then.

I'm your height and same bmi. I'd like to loose half a stone really. But others tell me I'm skinny then.

My wife on the other hand looks best right at the bottom end of the range. At BMI 24, she would be 3 stone heavier and resemble the Michelin man.

No, she wouldn't. I hope for her sake she never puts on weight, imagine your attitude then.

Mine is 23.18 (according to the new bmi) , I do exercise a lot but I'm apple shaped and need to lose 1/2 - 1 stone.

No, she wouldn't I hope for her sake she never puts on weight, imagine your attitude then

I think I know my wife better than you.

In any case, I was quoting her. She hasn't always been slim.