BMI frustration

[Flossie44]

I cycle 100-150 miles a week. Walk a lot and occasionally run. I am vegetarian and eat clean.
Just calculated my BMI and I’m classed as overweight!!!!! BMI is 27.
It’s so frustrating!! What else can I do?!

BMI works for normal bodyshapes. If you are very muscly and low fat you'll show up as overweight/obese. It's a dumb tool.

If you feel/are lardy despite all that exercise, you need to
count calories. Exercise won't reduce your lardiness alone, as you will naturally continue to eat to cover the work done.

Get yourself the MyFitnessPal app (free, don't sign up for the fancy version) and religiously weigh and count everything for a couple of weeks. It's a bit of a faff but not all that bad. Then, armed with that information, you can make decisions about what - if anything - to do.

What does a vegetarian clean diet mean? Are you just eating too many calories, even if it is “clean” food?

is your heart rate getting into a fat burning zone? i walk and bike lots but rarely enough to get the heart rate elevated for the necessary amount of time.

BMI works for normal bodyshapes. If you are very muscly and low fat you'll show up as overweight/obese. It's a dumb tool.

I am very muscly and low fat. BMI 18.5.

Do you feel healthy? Are you happy with how you look? Is your diet generally well balanced?

A BMI of 27 is hardly in ‘heart attack’ territory. Some people are just a bit heavier. I know on Mumsnet having a BMI of over 20 is akin to be a great big fatty mcfatface but in the real world, a BMI of 27 is a total non issue.

Fine. "You can show up as overweight. Applies more to men than women, OP didn't say what they are." Better?

Every man competing in World's Strongest Man will calculate up as obese, even the carrot shaped Hafthor Bjornsson. Even the person who came up with BMI says it's awful.

I didn't want to jump into the conversation with "Hey, you must actually be fat" because that may not be correct.

I do indeed feel heathy. I eat a well balanced diet. Very med diet orientated.

What do you actually look like? Fat?

What is important is what is normal for you?
If you feel well then you are perfectly fine. 27 is not very high anyway.

What’s the ratio between your height and your waist circumference? That can be a good indicator.

You can eat clean/healthy or whatever and still eat too many calories which will make you put on weight. What is your body fat and waist size? They are both measurements of health as well as weight. You would be better off tracking your calories, weight, body fat using an app/online tracker to better understand your body.

What clothes size do you wear? Isn't that usually a good indication?

There's cycling...and then there's cycling. Tootling along on your bike for 20-odd miles a without breaking a sweat isn't the same as pushing yourself, hard, up and down hills.

You know if you're fat or not though, OP. I knew when I was fat, it just took me a while to admit it to myself (after about a decade of "I can't be fat - I'm a vegetarian runner!")

I cycle about 30 miles a week. I got a Fitbit a couple of weeks ago and was kind of horrified that what I perceived as being hard work cycling up hills etc was only getting my heart rate up to 120bpm!! No more than a brisk walk. And I only burn about 35 calories a mile. RUBBISH!!!

Running is much better. My heart rate goes up to 160bpm and I burn a lot more calories

I cycle about 30 miles a week. I got a Fitbit a couple of weeks ago and was kind of horrified that what I perceived as being hard work cycling up hills etc was only getting my heart rate up to 120bpm!! No more than a brisk walk. And I only burn about 35 calories a mile. RUBBISH!!!

Running is much better. My heart rate goes up to 160bpm and I burn a lot more calories

So I’m a size 12/14. I live in one of the most hilliest places in the country. I got sone 5 of fat burning zone. My heart rate goes up to about 180bpm. I cycle about 30miles per ride at about 15mph. I also run 10k’s.

Sorry. That wasn’t clear. I get to zone 5

My resting HR is 58

If you have the right kind of scales, what is your body fat %?
Find yourself on bodygallery.

I really wouldn’t worry. You clearly exercise and eat well, you’re healthy, you probably have a good amount of muscle. BMI isn’t the be all and end all. BMI is a blunt instrument and only really useful on a population level, individual level health outcomes are more nuanced.

I'm not sure what you're asking tbh. Do you want us to tell you you're not overweight? Because a BMI of 27 and a size 12/14 would suggest you are. And if you want to change that then you probably need to eat less and switch up your exercise.

The fact you run 10ks is neither here nor there. I ran 10ks and half marathons when I was overweight. Just not very quickly! I also ate and drank too much.

Do you calorie count? Try MFP for a week & be honest. Get some electronic scales & weigh EVERYTHING. £10 on Amazon.

I'm doing less exercise than you (30 miles cycling, maybe 25 miles running a week) and shorter than you (5ft6) and losing weight (very slowly)

I eat 1500-1800 calories most days. I'm 47.