BMI for more "athletic" type

[Purpleandteal]

When I look at myself in the mirror I don't see someone overweight but according to my BMI I am. I know it's not the most accurate thing as even when I was marathon training and looked borderline underweight (you could see my ribcage) I was still just bang on in the middle of "healthy". Is there anything else I can trust? Photos for reference. Want to add that I've been doing strength training for the past month or so.

I'm not a fan of BMI, I don't think it's necessarily that useful if you're sporty. DH is in the best shape of his life, muscly etc yet on BMI is almost obese. I think it's because muscle is denser that fat.

I'm currently losing weight and my target weight will still leave me at overweight on the BMI scale (and I think that'll be me a size 10/12 - I'm 5ft 11)

I think the waist to hip ratio is a good one for keeping track of, and also body fat % if you've got a scales that does it.

PS I think you look great!

Yes my partner is the same. He cycles to work every day (so about 10 hours per week) and is just borderline "healthy" objectively he looks healthy and slim.

My scales do have the body fat % which was slighy reassuring as it out me in 28%. 25% is considered "fitness" so not too far off.

Why do you need to know your BMI? It's only really useful for people at the extremes of weight. Do you just want to know that you're progressing and strength training is worth it? I'd stick to monitoring your clothes fit, how you look in the mirror, what weights you're able to lift, and what you're able to do in life that you couldn't do before. For me, it's things like I can lift the futon mattress by myself and carry the 25kg bag of salt in from the car, when I couldn't before! You look great in the photo, so I think you must be doing well!

Yes pretty much that MrsJasmin . I'm new at strength training (I used to do it but just as cross training). I know my body will be very different from this in comparison to running. But just don't know how much.

Well give us your height and weight then!

You don't look overweight but neither do you look like someone for whom BMI is not useful (extreme athlete, Olympian)

the bmi is a useful tool.
even if you were 'pure muscle' the extra weight of a high bmi would take a strain on your heart and put on higher risk of heart disease/stroke/diabetes.

you look great btw. but skinny you aint.

I'm 1.58m and 67.8kg.

I'm definitely not skinny. I thought I was slimmish (or at least within the realms of healthy) I'm a size 8-10.

In this photo my BMI was 21 and change. I was a size 4 and had to wear kids clothes. That photo might not look too dramatic but just saw other ones and it definitely looked more extreme.

I think our view of 'healthy' has been skewed.
being overweight is now normal.

well dine for being active, that definitely helps long term to keep in good health.

tTo tie them together, here is yes ur other thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/a3943279-BMI-for-more-athletic-type?msgid=97593942#97593942

C&P of what I posted there:

Elite athletes need bespoke consideration. But most people aren't elite, and even the Army uses BMI as a screening. OP does not say that she has en excessively physical job, or participates at all in a muscle-building sport (let alone at an intensive enough level for it to makeba BMI difference)

Being able to see ribs is not a sign of being underweight (indeed in children, nit being able to see them is a sign of overweight)

We have totally lost sight of what 'normal' looks like (and everyone 'poses' themselves for the mirror (consciously or not). So I have no idea what your BMI is likely to be.

What are your scales telling you? What are your energy levels like? Are you still running?

PS: my BMI is far too high at the moment (eating too much in lockdown, whilst not race training)

When properly fit I'm around 21, and agree that vanity sizing is an utter nonsense, as I can be in size 4s then, but my 1980s size 8 clothes also fit.

If I'm at peak racing form, BMI can go a bit lower, to just under 20.

Even at peak racing (I was able to sun a sub 4 marathon) and did looked too skinny. Oddly enough my waist measurement is not that far off (2in atm) .

I feel and look great. Yes, I'd like abs again but the price to pay is my bum and I like it as it is.

I originally thought I'd be about 6lbs lighter. I'm very happy (and look healthy) at 60kg.

I work in stone and lb,.
So between those 2 pics you've gained over 2 stone.
That seems really odd, especially as it's put you as quite overweight and you say that when you are a healthy BMI you are a tiny size 4.

That wouldn't normally happen just because you've stopped marathon training (or whatever).

Yes the difference in weight between the two is about 2st and more than two clothes size (I'm 8-10 atm). I did have a baby just 8 months ago.

Just seems really odd that you can have a BMI of 27 and fit into size 8 clothes.

If my BMI was 27 I would be 4 stone heavier than I am now and I wear a size 8 (5'8").

Anyway you ask if there is anything you can trust - well weight is just one part of overall health so if you are otherwise healthy and feel good then I don't know. Does a GP think you being overweight is an issue?

I haven't been to my GP at all because I just started working out again (about 6 week's ago but more intensely about 4).

i was just shocked by my weight as I really thought my BMI was going to be 25. My fat percentage was 28% which is lower than I thought. Swings and roundabouts and all of that.

I think I'm same as ever but when I see pics of myself I'm shocked at how frumpy middled aged woman I look, totally changed shape from my youth.

Totally agree with @AuntieStella

Back in my twenties I was very serious about rowing - morning and evening sessions on the water, six days a week, weights and fitness training on land on top of that.

During this period I put on half a stone of muscle, and a couple of inches round my chest (definitely went on pecs/lats, not into cup size!) I was still comfortably under 25 in terms of BMI.

Jonah Lomu aside, most athletes are in the 18 to 25 range despite carrying a lot of muscle.

Cara I was that type of person about 3 years ago. I would run at least 60miles per week. Plus cross training equivalent to about 7 hours on top. I think I was training between 15-20hrs per week. I was eating accordingly to said training. I reached a BMI of 21 but my body fat was 15%. Then I developed amenorrhea. I was ok with it for a few months felt great and looked great (in clothes). Then we decided to TTC and ha dto changey training habits and eventually conceived.

Nevermind I've found my own answers myself. When I bought the jeans I was about the same size I am at the moment and the difference one weight is less than 3lbs. I guess I thought I was slimmer when I bought those jeans, but I think I believed that as by the time I bought those jeans (a few years ago) I had already lost more than 2st.