To think this would be too much weight to lose?

[Lemononachair]

I've lost 2 stone since last year but I know I'm still overweight. My BMI is around 27 so I wanted to lose around another stone to put me comfortably within the healthy range.

However, the calculator suggests that to be in the middle of the healthy range I'd need to lose 2 1/2 stone and that I could actually lose as much as 4 1/2 stone and still be a healthy BMI!

I'm short so I know I can't get away with weighing as much as someone taller but this really surprised me because I'm a reasonably well padded size 12/14 but I've noticed significant differences in my body since losing weight. My bum has shrunken to the extent where it hurts to sit on a hard surface because my bones dig in. I can see and feel my ribs, collarbones and hip bones pretty well - not to the extent where I look emaciated but there isn't much coverage there anymore and I'm sure if I lost another stone they would be quite prominent and another 2 1/2 stone off would make me quite gaunt. I'm already noticeably wrinklier in the face than I was too.

Maybe I've just been overweight so long I've lost sight of what a normal weight looks like!

Maybe I've just been overweight so long I've lost sight of what a normal weight looks like
yep, that's the pertinent phrase.
You should be able to see ribs / hip bones and a size 12/14 is still overweight.
You've done brilliantly and know you can lose the weight so carry on doing what you have been.
(btw, how have you lost the weight?)

The weight range is to accommodate different shapes etc.

My DD is heavy because she weight trains and does MMA, but she takes a size 6.

I'm currently on a low calorie diet and it's important to protect your muscle mass. That's were skinny-fat comes into play.

We shouldn't be hung up on just weight. We should go by body fat and how we look naked.

I do think that we've lost sight of how we should look, though.

Since losing two and a half stone, I'm starting to feel cold.

I had a particularly brutal breakup and started walking miles and miles per day to keep my mind occupied. Also lost my appetite and basically lived off sandwiches for a few months. It was a good start but I've kind of plateaued now I'm eating properly again so I need to step it up a bit.

I know I'm still overweight hence why I want to lose another 1-1 1/2 stone but I anticipate that by that point I'll be around a size 10 which is really as small as I wanted to be. I want to still have curves but just be toned and healthy, not skinny.

I am quite chilly generally but I'm cold a lot now.

You don't have to be in the middle or bottom of the healthy range - healthy is healthy - you just need to make sure you can keep it there

Similar to me it sounds

I’m 5ft 4 and currently 12/14 and around 28bmi.

When I weigh a stone less I am a comfortable 12 and a BMI of just under 25.

I have a body shape that doesn’t look good (in my opinion) at much less than a 24 bmi

Bmi is a range for a reason. If you would feel more comfortable getting to the top end of the healthy range then just do that. You don’t have to go all the way down to the bottom end of the bmi scale in order to be a good weight for your height and frame size. I am bmi 19.5 and I think I look alright but then I have really narrow hips and tiny wrists and sort of a boyish frame shape so if I were at the top end of a healthy bmi I would have no waist at all and look quite chunky. We’re all shaped a little differently so there’s no absolute right and wrong.

It's your body... do what you want with it.

BMI gets a bit distorted if you're unusually tall or short.

How tall are you, OP?

I was reading that a healthy BMI used to be up to 27.3 but it was changed to 25 and that was due to influence from the weight loss industry. Something to think about. You sound fine the way you are.

Also to prevent osteoporosis BMI 26-28 is best, for the future.

I have lost some weight recently and have been told I am FAR too thin etc. I'd have to lose a bit more than this to be underweight according to the BMI checker.

People lose sight of what "too thin" actually is as so few people are even slim these days.

BMI can be thrown off by things like muscle Vs fat weight. I'm not a fan of BMI, when I first fell pregnant I was the smallest I'd ever been a size 8/10 , and when I was weighed they told me I was in the overweight category verging on obese. I am incredibly short but still .
I agree with pp that we should concentrate more on body fat % and how you feel.
I refuse to weigh myself now because I'm always so heavy, it just upsets me.I go off measurements instead and now know what I'm comfortable with.

I wouldn't get too hung up on BMI. If I go below a certain weight i look ill skin and bone but according to BMI I could lose more.

I’m 5ft 3 and weigh 63kg, I look fairly slim and wear a size 10/12 but yet I sit right at the top of ideal weight. Apparently I could be 47kg!

I honestly think it’s that we get so distorted because so many people are very overweight that if you’re just a bit chubby (my stomach isn’t flat and I have fairly large thighs) you end up thinking “but I look fine compared to really big people” even if technically you’re still overweight.

It’s annoying.

My former GP was an advocate of aiming for a weight where you could lose or gain a stone and not leave the healthy weight.

I've never been below the top end of the range though, or above it. I'm tall, wide shoulders and hips, muscular legs, big boobs and a narrow waist.

At 15.5st, my waist is already less than half my height. I'm aiming to reach the bottom end of 14st and see how I look there - last time I was that weight, I had a 28" waist and extremely active.

Also I was 55kg at one point and my face definitely looked drawn - I could have carried it off at 22, but not at 42.

I actually think BMI is a load of rubbish unless you fit into the average population. If you're particularly tall, short or into any type of sport that requires muscle mass its not a great calculation.

I think just get to a place where you feel comfy and healthy. Everyone knows where this is, and its different for different people.

Your weight loss story is great so far! Keep going!

Are you sure this range is correct - I am 5'3 and my BMI healthy weight range is 8-10 stone. 3.5st seems a big range!

It depends on your body shape as well as height
I am hourglass with well covered arms and legs
I’m currently 10-12 aiming to be 8-10
I’ve been as small as a 6 when I was younger and still had chunky arms and legs as does DD
DS carries all weight on torso and has no bottom and skinny legs

A healthy BMI was worked out as around 27 by the inventor.

IT was changed to overweight +25 and obese +30 in the 20th century as it was thought this would be easier to remember for health professionals and patients. BMI isn't the holy grail of health people seem to assume it is. Measuring abdominal fat/waist circumference etc gives you a more accurate picture.

There is also a gender difference - BMI was made for men, women who natural have higher levels of body fat int heir breasts etc trigger earlier than men who don't despite being just as healthy.

There is also a racial difference. People of Asian heritage are more likely to get diabetes, and can trigger an abnormal BMI later even thought they have a higher abdominal fat and are at risk of diabetes.

In short , BMI is problematic - ignore it. Focus more how you feel/look and on permanent healthy habits. The only reason it is promoted is it's very simple to work out at any health encounter, all you need is height and weight. It's useful for working out extremes of health, ie a very low BMI in anorexia, or a very high BMI in morbid obesity, and that's about it.

there is also evidence that a slightly higher BMI is protective against premenopausal breast cancer oddly enough.

Well done on losing 2st! How much do you weight/what’s your height.

I too have lost 2 stone from my heaviest of 12 stone. I’m now hovering around 10 stone. My bmi is also 27. According to the charts I could lose another 2 stone and only be mid range healthy bmi. When younger I was a healthy fit 7 1/2 stoner. I know that weight won’t happen ever again. I’m aiming for another half stone. It’s slow going.

I do in essence agree with @Glacecherrychops. But I like graphs and numbers and geeking stats

Maybe I've just been overweight so long I've lost sight of what a normal weight looks like

this and seeing so many other overweight/obese people around. it really affects our perception as to what is normal.

I think just go with what you feel comfortable! I went down to 10.5 stone last year and was constantly told I look too thin and had lost too much weight. (I hadn't been that weight for a good number of years so I think part of it was people forgetting what I used to look like) but at this weight I was on the higher end of my BMI, nearly on the overweight section. Personally I wouldn't of wanted to lose anymore I was happy where I was!! I probably could of lost more but decided that I was comfortable where I was. I was doing slimming world at the time and actually increased my target because I didn't want to lose anymore. Just go with how you feel, well done for losing weight so far!

Also as a side note - the problem of losing so much weight means I had to buy a whole new waredrobe 😅 was wearing about 4 outfits on rotate to begin with!!!