Lowering my bmi

[teaandtoastwithmarmite]

Hi there I weighed myself at the gym today and was shocked to discover my bmi was 33 and is obese. I certainly look overweight but not obese. I had a look at the chart and to get to a healthy weight I would have to lost four stone and be just under 10 stone. I've not gone down that low in years. Is it me or is bmi a bit ridiculous

Don’t mean to be mean, but I think people’s perception of ‘obese’ are now out of touch as so many people are much larger than before. I am classed as just into the obese category.
I personally think BMI is a good starting point, but understand it doesn’t take into account muscle mass etc.

Having been obese, I agree with this. Being a bigger size is becoming normalised (I agree with promoting body confidence whatever size you are, of course, but we are in an obesity crisis in the UK).

Also those who are overweight may have a large amount of visceral fat that you can't see - and this is dangerous fat that wraps around your organs.

BMI is a good average indicator, it's only rubbish for those with a high muscle mass.

Unless you're a bodybuilder or rugby player, bmi is a good indicator.

Its very difficult to admit how bad things have got (I've been there), when 2/3rds of adults or overweight or obese. We end up normalising unhealthy weights because it's so common.

My visceral fat is 9 and muscle mass has gone up. Will this even out then if I continue regularly working out? Growing up I was very skinny but was 10.10 for years then I went up after having dd then down again and can't really get any lower than 10.10. I'm 13.6 at the moment

And 5.5

At your height and weight, fat loss would definitely bring added health benefits and lower risks of preventable illness, so personally I'd focus on that and not on your BMI if it's causing you to feel negativity about yourself - keep going and find your personal happy-place balance weight/health wise :)

If you're 5.5 you don't need to be under 10st to be in the healthy range. I'm 5.4 and iirc the top level for me to have a healthy BMI is 10st7lb.
If you're over 13st then I'm not surprised you're into the obese category, OP. I know it's horrible to realise that's where you are, but as people have said, these days being bigger has become normalised so we really don't realise where heathy or not.

@jimboandthejetset oh no I totally agree and accept the obese category I just felt a bit fed up as I can see some weight loss and toning already and I think it's just demotivated me a bit.

@Redouble you're right x

So I looked and I may have read it wrong. I see that anything under 10 10 is 'normal'. That's much healthier. Also I need to lose just 4lb to get into the overweight category so will concentrate on that first

Ah brilliant. That's extra incentive if you're that close! Honestly, well done for taking control and taking action, it's not easy.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that BMI is ridiculous, but it’s not the only or necessarily the best measure for determining the health impact of excess weight.

The weight to height ratio is a much better indicator for that as it takes into account whether a lot of the weight is stored on your stomach, or somewhere else. A healthy range for the waist to height ratio is between 0.40 and 0.49. You basically don’t want your waist to be more than half your height.

and even for body builders and rugby players the extra weight puts a strain on the cardiovascular system and joints.

I think people just think obese means you should be on a channel 4 doc and being craned out of bed, whereas it just means being significantly overweight which if you are 5 4’ and 14 stone(?), you are.

It’s just a word and it just means you should loose s bit of weight, which you are, so well done on that.

@Luredbyapomegranate well I'm 13.6 and 5'5" but I get what you mean. There's definitely a lot of people larger than me so I think I get what u mean

What are your bust-waist-hip measurements?

The BMI is a good indicator for 99.9% of the population. Rugby players, bodybuilders and other athletes are a rare exception.

If the OP wants a more precise analysis, a DEXA scan is the best tool , and not even that expensive.

Everyone should have one at least once in their life. We all have ideas and concepts in our mind about numbers on a scale, words such as overweight and obese , but nothing beats the print-out of a DEXA Scan report and it can be a great motivator to change things when it comes to body fat%, muscle mass, bone mass, ...

I think our perception is out.

After I had my son I was BMI 30, I was a size 16, I'm 5ft 8 - none of my family believed I was obese (all family are slim and they would tell me!). I've since lost 3.5 stone and I'm much happier but even though I didn't feel "obese" I definately was. Just lost perspective on it.

Being overweight is so normalised that it's easy not to see it, and to make excuses. When I was very overweight, my favourite excuse was "I can't be overweight; I still fit in a size 12 and the average size is a 16."
Never mind that the 12 had to be from M&S/Next/Fat Face etc for me to get in it - that was my favourite lie. Closely followed by "I have big boobs, I'll never be a size 10 however much I lose" (I'm now a size 8) or"I go to the gym 3x a week, I'm fit" (well yes I did, but I would just go through the paces of a Les Mills class and then drive home).

When I lost the weight and got properly fit, it was really like seeing reality for the first time. Realising that yes, 9st was a sensible weight for my height (5ft 5) and not a ridiculous pipe dream was v weird to come to terms with, as I hadn't been 9st anything since school. I also got rid of all my "fat" clothes and realised I'd been kidding myself with stretch and jersey fabrics for years.

So no, BMI isn't ridiculous, but it's very easy to convince yourself it is, especially when so many people around you are also overweight and very willing to play along with the "oooh, but what about bodybuilders" nonsense. These days I tend to point out in response that most of our most muscular female athletes are at the lower end of a healthy BMI (Nicola Adams, Jess Ennis, etc) and they certainly carry more muscle mass than the average person doing Pump a couple of times a week...

I could have written this exact post. I thought I was pretty slim, pretty fit and ate pretty healthily because I was surrounded by less fit and active people.

In reality, I was shocked to discover I had a BMI of 29. Now, two and a half years later, at a BMI of 23 and I feel incredible and am still working to cut a few more lbs. I am so much fitter and am amazed at what my body can do. My lifestyle revolves around energetic pursuits. I really enjoy pushing myself to my limits now; whereas before, I would literally hide at the back of a gym class, bop around and feel pleased I’d been to the gym.

OP, don’t be disheartened. I’ve been where you are, you can do this!

BMI is useful for generalising the health of a person, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor for someone’s health.

The fitness of an individual is more important. Can you run? Can you lift heavy weights? Can you do exercise classes and not get out of breath? You could be in the overweight/obese category and still have better fitness than a ‘normal’ BMI person.

@Goatinthegarden sorry for late reply but wanted to say thanks for your words of encouragement

@Stellaris22 I can run but not very well. I can lift weights and things. My fitness isn't great but I'm working on it.

If you don’t like BMI, a simple calculation of healthy weight is to measure your waist around your belly button, and that measure should be no more than half your height.

An Apple Watch or other wearables are really useful in assessing your health.

The ‘Health’ app on your phone gives you masses of info on your fitness and health. Lots of people find that really motivating when starting to get healthy. It keeps you engaged and monitors your progress fantastically