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!!

So people think BMI is shit but take dress size seriously? Wtf

@NearlyAHoarder

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.

@NearlyAHoarder using the NHS BMI calculator the range is actually 7 Stone to 9 stone 6 for someone of your height.

The lower ranges are for smaller builds, the higher for larger builds. I'm medium framed and the lower end would be impossible for me but the higher end would see me overweight, so I think it's right.

I think our perception of 'overwight' and 'gaunt' have become warped over time as we've got accustomed to seeing obesity. Who are the people proclaiming gauntness? If they're over or under weight, their perception might not be reliable.

My BMI is reasonable I think. There’s a range for a reason. I used to think I’d be way too thin if I ever reached my lowest but after losing weight in 2020 I realised that I still had a belly even near the lowest

I think you probably have an unrealistic idea of what slim looks like. A person can be medically overweight without looking "fat".
Clothes sizes mean nothing -I gained 3 stone during pregnancy and could still fit into some size 10 non maternity clothes, depending on the style. I think that bone structure has more to do with the size. My mum is 5 foot 7 and weighs 7 stone. She still wears size 10/12 because of her shoulder and hip width. Obviously she's underweight but I wouldn't say she looks gaunt, or particularly different to when she was 9 stone.

BMI isn’t perfect but for the majority of the population it’s a pretty good measure. Of course, you get outliers like Arnie but I find that on MN there is a lot of excuses on what nonsense BMI is from people who are actually overweight

I am 5, 6 and weigh 10.3, i do a lot of sport so have a high muscle mass (have abs etc)
I have been this weight without a high muscle mass but regular gym going in the past and would still it's my ideal weight.

However, don't get fixated on numbers but have other goals like fitness, health, clothes sizes etc.

Figure out why you want to loose weight, and if your really do, then the excuses will melt away.

Bmi was based on the average white male. I would use it as a guide but ultimately it has flaws.

I have only once had a healthy bmi as an adult and that was after norovirus! But that doesn't mean I think it's rubbish. I am short but quite a big build and hourglass shaped with frankly enormous thighs and bum (which are flabby - it ain't muscle).

However I do skirt around some quite disordered eating patterns and can get obsessive. My weight has been very high - bmi of 35. I also don't and never have lost weight easily.

So I make a choice. My weight settled for years at around 11.5 stone which is about a stone above top end of bmi and bmi 27ish. I was a size 12/14 but one with a small waist. It wasn't great health wise and I look chubby but I was fit, wasn't having unhealthy swings between over eating and extreme dieting, had a waist measurement under 30 inches and so whilst I never thought it was optimal I made peace with it.

Now I'm back over bmi 30 and that ain't good.

The BMI ideal weight range covers all people of that height, not just you!

A female of very slim, waif type build will likely sit in the lower end of the range and someone like you who has a broader frame will tend to sit at the top end of the range

If you are someone with chunkier, muscley limbs (like a stereotypical rugby player) then your ideal BMI is probably 25-26

I don't BMI works for everyone. When my BMI hits 25 I'm slim (not even chubby, but proper slim, and would be a solid size 8). The thinnest I've ever been has been a BMI of 21... I was a size 4 or had to wear kids clothes.

I'm glad the NHS calculator will allow me to be 9 stone 6!
I only need to lose four pounds to be a normal weight so.

I'm 5'7" and 11.5 on me is a tight size 12, comfortable 14, and my "skinnies" were straight legs.

I think you might have an unrealistic idea of size- it’s not your fault though it’s just what we have gotten used to in society. I have always been larger than average and described as ‘big boned’ and I too thought BMI was crazy. That was until I sorted out my diet and started exercising. I am 5 foot 7 and 11 stone- I’m size 12 in the bottom and 10 on top BMI of around 24. People have told me to stop losing weight and that I’m getting too thin- I am toned but definitely have lots of body fat so should be in the upper end of healthy so for me BMI is accurate. Unless you are a body builder it’s likely to be accurate for you too.

@TheOrigRights

The ideal weight for you may well be quite a lot different to the ideal weight of someone else - hence the very large range.

I am 5'8" and at 8 stone 10 have a BMI of 18.5
I'm very lean - long limbed, bony and not a lot of body fat.
The top end of my BMI is 11 stone 11 and I can categorically say I would look terrible and be unhealthy. BMI is a guide.

Also if I lost another 1/2 stone I'd look too thin.

You keep saying 8 stone, when you're lower weight is 8 stone 6. At a low weight, those 6lb make quite a bit of difference.

I could have written this pretty much word for word and my stats are nearly the same as yours (maybe weigh 2-3 pounds less). A couple of years ago I weighed approx 9.5 stones and I look at pictures and my face looks huge! It's just how different people carry weight differently. I currently wear a size 8 and find it very surprising when people can weigh significantly more and also claim to wear a size 8 but again, people obviously carry it differently.

I don’t think the BMI is rubbish at all.

I’m 5 ft 9, weigh about 132lbs.
At my heaviest I was 154lbs. I could put about another stone on top of that and still fall in the normal range (I think at my height I can go up to 170 or thereabouts). At 154lbs I was competing at uni level in a particular sport. Included heavy weight training. So I was not remotely small.

I personally couldn’t fathom carrying another 40 lbs from where I am now and feeling healthy.

BMI is a rough guide for most of the population. That is why it gives a wide range for each height, and the NHS one asks for age, sex and ethnicity. It doesn't work for a few outliers (IE heavily muscled people, eg body builders, who know they aren't fat and wouldn't be interested in BMI!). I think part of the problem is that so many people are a bit overweight, and are used to having a fuller face, that they look 'gaunt' when they lose weight - when that is just how their face should look.

@RampantIvy

As above I was a comfortable size 10 at 11.5-12 Stone

I'm 5'7" and weigh about 10 stone, and there is no way I can get into a size 10, so I'm struggling to believe that someone who weighs 1.5 stone more than me can.

Literally came on here to say this exact thing. I'm 9st 12lb and 5'7" and I'm sometimes a size 12 in clothes.

The reason why we divide weight by height squared rather than some other power is determined by simplicity rather than theoretical perfection, so the "healthy" BMI calculated range is a little harsh on taller individuals and a little generous on very short people.

But it's a big range and the fact that you're never going to have a BMI of 19 isn't an issue - ignore that bottom end which isn't relevant to you and work on targets which are.

I think BMI gives a huge leeway for someone to fit in - it’s about three stone. It’s much more accurate than dress size. I’m at the low end of healthy, but I’m small boned. I could be three stone heavier and still be deemed a healthy weight, which blows my mind a bit.

@AnneLovesGilbert

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.

Quite.

I’ve always been very slim quite easily my whole life…except now in my mid thirties, distracted with life and no longer at the gym as much + lockdown…I’ve put on approx 2-3 stone. I’m quite tall so…I am able to take it (at the very top end of green bmi section on NHS) but I’m not comfortable with it. It’s not familiar to me.

I have privately decided to get back to the size I know…(quietly)

The amount of women friends who seem to panic and get hysterical when they know my aim and say “but you don’t need to lose weight, no no no, you’re fine, don’t lose any, noooooo!!!” is astonishing. They then proceed to try and get you to eat cake, biscuits, desserts….

Men don’t really give a sh!t, it’s women mainly who have this reaction.

I should add, I will be quite comfortably within healthy bmi at the end of it when I’m back to normal!

OP do you enjoy listening to podcasts? If so try 'maintenance phase', they dive into topics to do with weight and explain where they came from - often from very very shaky evidence or none at all!!

They have a whole episode on BMI which explains why it isn't that good of a measure, as PPs here have said. You might find it interesting, I definitely did

Agree it’s hilarious that everyone puts so much reliance on dress sizes rather than BMI.

My size 10 clothes from 15 years ago still fit me but I have to buy a size 6 in some high street shops now. 5.3’, 7st 12.

Anyone who is telling you “ooooh you’ve lost too much weight” when you categorically have not is just jealous and has their own food issues.