Bmi!

[Kca29]

Not really an aibu so apologies. I'm a 5 foot 7 female who needs to lose some weight. I've put my weight and height into nhs bmi and I'm obese, I can try work on that.

But aibu to be really surprised at my 'ideal weight'.

My ideal according to nhs would be between 8 Stone 6 (I mean wtaf) and 11 Stone 5.

I'm never gonna be bloody 8 stone, likely not 11 Stone either. Dp is 11.5 Stone, 30 inch waist and small S clothes, he's very slim and not much taller than me. I'm never gonna weigh the same as him 😅

I was between 11.5-12 stone at age 19 pre kids and I was pretty slim, size 10. I never used to eat much to maintain that weight, used to obsess over calories and was obsessed with exercise. I don't want to be back to that obsessive stage again.

As mentioned above my dp fluctuates between 11.5-12 stone which is in the upper healthy range for a man of 5 foot 9/10. If he was a few pounds heavier he would be deemed overweight. Despite being in a men's size small, 30 inch waist and literally nothing on him 😅

So aibu to think sometimes ideal weight is a load of tosh and we all when different shapes and sizes.

I'm quite broad as well. Quite a 'solid' build rather than excess fat.

It's just disheartening that my ideal weight is probably never gonna be achievable!!

BMI is a waste of time

I'm 5 foot 6 and my ideal weight range is 8 stone something to 11 stone 2. I was 15 stone, got down to 9 and looked gaunt. That weight was also not maintainable for me, I felt like I couldn't eat anything in order to stay at that so it was actually very unhealthy for me. I've put 2.5 stone back on and want to get back down to 10 stone and see how I feel then.

BMI isn't perfect - but it's a broad tool that can be used on a population level.
The weight ranges for a healthy BMI are so broad (at my height I could be 2st heavier than I am now and still be healthy ) that it does accommodate people of most builds and body types.

When I was overweight I always thought BMI was daft and unrealistic etc etc. But then when I got down to a healthy weight and realised I'd been deluded for years. I also realised that most people who trot out the whole "but what about weightlifters" line aren't weightlifters...

Are you talking about the lower end of ''normal'' or the higher end of your 18 -25?

My higher end is 9 stone 4 (I'm 9 stone 10) and my lower end is 96 lbs! That is 6 stone 8lbs. That doesn't sound correct to me but it's on those tables.

If I were you I'd aim for 11 stone 10 lbs to 12 stone.
That sounds more realistic and it sounds SLIM! for your height. I'm only 5'1'' but the thoughts of ever being 6 stone 8 [0_0] wow.

I'm 5.8 and 10 stone 7 which gives me a bmi of 22. I'm about in the middle of normal weight range and I'd say that's pretty accurate.

I'm not skinny and I still have fat around my hips/legs

Have you done the waist to height thing? That’s a good indicator. If you carry weight around your middle that’s something to focus on for overall health.

I forgot to mention. Before kids I was 11.5-12 and a size which I mentioned above. But at one point I very temporarily went down to 10.5 Stone and constantly being told I was too skinny looking and needed to gain some. I looked 'gaunt'.

I just feel like 8 Stone is never going to be achievable, that isn't even do-able. My 10 year old son is 6.5 Stone! I highly doubt I'll be 11.5 Stone anytime soon either. It took a lot of work to maintain that weight when I was in my mate teens and I was obsessed with it. I really don't want to be there again fretting that I've eaten too much etc! 😢

@AnneLovesGilbert

Have you done the waist to height thing? That’s a good indicator. If you carry weight around your middle that’s something to focus on for overall health.

No I haven't, I'll look it up thank you. I do carry weight around my middle!

I’m 5 foot 6 and look my best at just below 8 stone 7. Nobody has ever told me I am too skinny or I look gaunt.

BMI gives an ideal weight range for a reason. Not everybody will suit the upper or lower ends of that range.

I've never seen a single person (unless ill) looking 'gaunt' at a healthy weight.

I've heard it said many a time by people struggling to lose weight though, so I wonder if those around them who might have their own reasons for not wanting them to slim down, are filling their heads with the idea that they'll 'look gaunt'?

I’m the same height and somewhere in the middle of the range. It’s a broad range. I don’t think 11st5 is an unrealistically low weight for most 5ft7 women. I could see most women being able to maintain that as an upper limit without starving themselves or needing to obsessively exercise.

Obviously you need to balance the lifestyle changes you’d need to make to get there and whether it’s worth it, but I wonder if you’re trying to talk yourself out of trying for fear of failing.

I don't think the people telling you that you looked "gaunt" at 10.5 stone had your best interests at heart.

I don’t think 11.5st is unrealistic… im 5ft 7 weigh roughly 9.5st and I look slim but not skinny and definitely not thin or gaunt!
I do agree a lot of people who say BMI is unrealistic are often slightly deluded…

I just feel like 8 Stone is never going to be achievable, that isn't even do-able.

Why would you want or need to be 8 stone?

@trumpisagit

I don't think the people telling you that you looked "gaunt" at 10.5 stone had your best interests at heart.

Agree

@WorraLiberty

I've never seen a single person (unless ill) looking 'gaunt' at a healthy weight.

I've heard it said many a time by people struggling to lose weight though, so I wonder if those around them who might have their own reasons for not wanting them to slim down, are filling their heads with the idea that they'll 'look gaunt'?

I think it was because I was obsessing over weight at the time, not really eating much and went from 11.5 down to 10.5 then got pregnant with Ds where I lost some more weight due to extreme morning sickness. I wasn't overly healthy. As above I was a comfortable size 10 at 11.5-12 Stone but would have been deemed overweight despite being a size 10! Is that a healthy message to give? I've come a long way from my obsessive stage though.

But this is quite depressing. I would have been happy to get 12.5 Stone compared to what I am now after 2 kids and too many treats but I'd still be considered overweight still with that!

@trumpisagit

I don't think the people telling you that you looked "gaunt" at 10.5 stone had your best interests at heart.

I wasn't eating much at the time..

Where uou pregnant when people were telling you that you looked gaunt? Maybe it was concern that you were losing when you ought to have been gaining?

I agree that the “you’ve lost too much” when you’re a perfectly healthy weight comments are common and not always accurate.

Were not where

Is that a healthy message to give? who do you mean?

I've come a long way from my obsessive stage though. that’s good! There are probably changes your could make that would be sustainable and could be done while maintains balance and a healthy outlook.

I would have been happy to get 12.5 Stone then aim for that and see how you feel when you get there.

It's a broad stroke. I just looked up mine and I should weigh between 135-165lbs. When I weighed 150lb (I'm 5' 11") I was a size 10-12, which on my height was quite thin. In fact I recently gave one of my favourite tops from then to my size 10 daughter and couldn't believe that it fit her perfectly and that I was once that size and yet 5" taller than her!
I think a good weight for me is 170lbs, I'd be thrilled if I got to that again.
So ignore the charts and go by what looks and feels good FOR YOU.

I agree that the “you’ve lost too much” when you’re a perfectly healthy weight comments are common and not always accurate.

Yep. I remember one of DH’s “friends” telling him he “looked like a cancer patient, wtf is wrong mate” when he was a healthy 12.5 stone at 6’1 after shifting some weight. “Friend” was very touchy about his own weight.

People’s body composition does vary. If you were a slim size 10 at 5 foot 7 then you it’s seems reasonable that you would feel better at the top end of your healthy weight range as estimated by bmi rather than at the bottom. How much do you have to lose theoretically? In your shoes I’d probably aim for a bmi of 25-27 and if I felt good at that weight and had no health issues at that weight I’d aim to maintain that rather than lose more. Forget the 8 stone 11, it’s not relevant.

I dunno, the range seems accurate enough to me.
I'm 5.7 and currently post Xmas just under 11 stone. Last year I went up to 12.4 and was in my mind clearly overweight ie had a large tummy roll under my clothes etc. I still prob fitted in to a size 14 though.
I genuinely believe that society's view on a normal weight has changed significantly in recent years . My goal weight is 10 stone which I rarely get to and I normally hover around the 10.7, I've never ever been called too thin even at 10 stone but then I'm a hour glass so always have big boobs and wide hips.

I think a big problem is that over the last 50-100 years is that we have all gradually become accustomed to people being larger because of the greater availability of food, and especially the unhealthier things. As a result we have lost our sense of what looks normal, so very often people see very healthy weight individuals as gaunt when in practice they aren't

We also transfer this problem to how we view our pets. I've been heavily involved in cat welfare for the better part of 20 years, and have lost track of how many 'starving strays' I've been out to see who are just perfectly normal weight cats with a home just down the road.