Frame size and BMI

[switchname]

I love hearing about the positive stories on this board, and hopefully I can have one to add.

I’ve been on wegovy for eight months now and have lost over 20% of my body weight and my current BMI is 21.6. I’m post menopausal and still have flabby bits left on my stomach, thighs, arms, etc. I’ve been working out daily and have increased my skeletal muscle so my body composition has also improved.

I am quite small boned, so I’m keen to hear what other small framed people advise for BMI. I’m thinking that a BMI of 21 would be acceptable. I have a health condition which means excess fat is not recommended.

With thanks 😊

No recommendation but I believe I’m originally a small frame but I’m 5’8

when I’m in bmi 25-29 I don’t look “fat” but I have a belly , my smallest size was a BMI 24 I looked I was anorexic except my tummy ! My mom who is 5’6 has a BMI of 22 (consistent for 30 years) dosnt look slim but also have a belly which is making her look healthy in general for her age

it’s hard to say but with a lot of weight loss comes body dismorphia ! I lost 4 st march 25 to October 25 couldn’t see much didn’t have confidence . Stopped cold Turkey (BMI 28) and gained 1st and restarted after 9 weeks. I’m now back (after 5 months 😩) where I last stopped and now I am starting to see the loss and being more confident etc (imagine that’s what 8 months later)

your BMI if you put it in perspective of when you started is very low , give it time to adjust to your brain but eventually you will embrace it and understand the new you (and if not then skin removal , gym, adjusting etc is the next step)

I think a lot of people can’t see themselves, you’re right, you won’t have looked anorexic at bmi 24, it’s bordering on over weight, but dysmorphia will often mean those who suffer from it can’t see themselves.

op, I’m quite tall, just under 5ft 6.5 and my bmi is 20, I have a very narrow frame, narrow hips, shoulders, rib cage, ankles, wrists, feet. When I gained weight, due to high corotisol following peri, and also when pregnant my body couldn’t cope with it. I have very long legs and a short torso,

at bmi 32, my blood pressure was uncontrollable and I was on max blood pressure meds, I had sleep apnea also. It wasn’t till my bmi got into 24 and below these issues were somewhat resolved and in the heakfhy range , my bmi is now 20, has been for about 18 months, and it’s optimal for my body.

qhen I first hit goal I looked thin, naked or in certain clothes, I also had some crepey skin on my upper arms, tummy and under my backside, but 18 months of focusing on fitness, eating enough protein, continuing with a clean and healthy diet has seen that all tighten up and muscle tone is visible.

its funny, fat goes soft and sort of squidgy/loose when you’re losing weight, when it’s shrinking, if I held a fatty bit in my hand it was pliable, now it is back to normal and firm,

you need to get to a weight where your health is optimal. Where you can maintain, and where you are happy with your appearance.

some people think the appearance thing is pure vanity, but our mental health is imoortant too, and feeling good about yourself, liking what you see in the mirror is also part of this journey,

Thank you for your replies. 😊

I’m also tall at 5’9”.

Although my BMI is 21.6, I still carry a reasonably large excess roll of fat on my stomach when standing.

I also have flabby upper arms, large thighs and a pouch of fat in my inner knee area, so much so wide jeans still fit me best. My back area is skinny, and to a lesser extent, my bum. My cheap smart scales gives a reading of 29.7% body fat.

I think we all carry fat in different ways and BMI in itself is not a true indicator of a healthy weight. I want to feel fit, healthy and lean which I still feel I haven’t achieved yet, although by BMI calculations I have.

I'm large framed, BMI around 22.5, 5'10", size 14. I look biggish but fairly bony, not much flab but a large ribcage and hipbones. Thinnish arms and legs but big knees. I couldn't really go any thinner because I would just look more bony and will never be a size 10.

Have you been doing strength training and consuming enough protein? My bmi is 20 as said, my body fat is just under 24 percent. You are at the healthy range for a woman in fat percentages , but with that bmi I’d be concerned you’ve not been doing this right, and have lost a lot of muscle and bone density, hence your low body weight, but retained more fat.

if this is the case, body recomp is now key. Consume 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight, at a very min, and start doing weight training to rebuild muscle and bone strength. It will be a slow process, but you will see results. Ensure you eat to maintence cals, you want to lose fat and rebuild your muscle and bones.

im not sure of your age, sorry if i missed it, but ideally you should be 25 to 31 percent body fat to be healthy, unless in your 60s. below this is into the fitness range, and you’re towards the upper end, which is on its own, great, but with a low body weight, I’d be very concerned you’ve low muscle mass and bone density, and have not been eating right.

as such, you need to focus really carefully now to resolve this.

@Safarisagoody
Thank you.
To answer your questions, I’m 54.
I have been working hard on my fitness and have burnt on average 740 active calories a day cycling, walking and doing yoga since I started my weight loss. I also do light weights a couple of times a week.

I do eat a reasonable amount of protein - maybe 1.2g for my weight in kgs. I could improve here maybe but it’s hard. The protein I eat is good quality - meat, dairy, fish, eggs, etc.

According to my smart scales, the majority of my weight loss has been 77% fat. Is this good?

My muscle rate is 64.3%. Again I’m not sure how good this is.

It’s very interesting, isn’t it. I’m a size 14, heading towards 12, and my bmi is 29. But my stomach is flat and i don’t think i need to lose another 2 stones, which I would have to if I got to normal BMI. If I am a size 10-12 I’d be happy. If I went down to BMI of 20 I’d probably be a size 6!

Are you sure it’s 64 percent, I am not sure thays humanly possible,optimal range for women is about 30-33 percent.?

@Safarisagoody
I think it’s correct.
My smart scales have two muscle readings.
Muscle rate which is 64.3% today and skeletal muscle which is 37.3%. Does this sound a bit iffy?

More than. A really elite athlete is unlikely to get to 40 odd percent and body builders just above 35 percent, most women are in the low twenties if fit.

it’s not actually humanly possible so if your scales are saying that then I’d bin them,

My scales also give an implausible percentage for one of the muscle readings. They’re perfectly sensible otherwise, so I’ve just decided that measurement should be ignored. It must be measuring something different than the usual muscle percentage comparison. One day I’ll try to click through all the info and find out what that number actually refers to.

Congratulations on your weightloss, OP! Sounds like focusing on fitness and body recomposition is healthier now than making a lower BMI your primary goal?

How do you gals decide if you're "small" or "big" frame?

For me, it’s the fact that I’ve got big hands and feet - compared to other women. A big head (hat size). The circumstance of my wrist and my ankles is big, even when I’m slim. That’s what makes me feel I’m big framed.

For me it’s my wrist size (Apple Watch band size 3 out of 12), ring finger size (J), bra band size (32”), and general size of my shoulders, neck, head, hips and ankles.

I would say I was small to medium and I am also tall at 5’9”.

I always feel really huge backed on the bra threads where everyone is 30 or 32 band and I'm 36 because of my big ribs. My hands are also big and I have difficulty getting women's leather gloves to fit even though my hands are skinny, I also have huge kneecaps. All this sounds quite horrible but it's alright when I'm dressed as I choose clothes that cover it. The worst clothes for me would be skinny jeans and a skinny jumper

There are calculators for body frame size: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/17182.htm

But doesn’t wrist measurement depend on body fat? Before I lost weight my watch strap was on the last hole and a bit tight at that. Now I’ve lost the weight my watch is on the second hole, so about 4cm smaller than it was. Which would change the body frame measurement massively. Does it only work if you are in the healthy weight range?

I have a very small frame - my back size is 28 and my feet are a 4.5. I am 5’6 tall and my BMI is 18 - 18.5 at the most. I don’t look particularly skinny/thin just normal. But this doesn’t really help you as there are different types of small frames an a bmi of 18 might look too small on you

Thanks @coffeeagogo i just measured my wrist and it was between 6.5 and 6.75 inches which was large even though my wrist is thin, there is no fat on it, I have been blessed with good arms😀. I doubt it would work on a overweight person though who had chubby arms and wrists.

You need to measure the bit of the wrist that actually moves, right underneath your hand, not where you put a watch. But I guess even there may carry some fat when we’re big.

The "flabby bits" will be loose skin - 21.6 is quite lean if you're reasonably fit and muscular. I have a similar BMI and am 5'10, also a 32in bra band and size I-J ring finger but am late 20s with what i would describe as big bones (wide clavicles, large hands, big square pelvis). I also have loose skin from losing about 12kg and if I lose weight I get leaner but also correspondingly saggier. There is a sweet spot.

BMI is such a blunt tool for frame size and fat distribution, so 21 can be perfectly reasonable for a small-framed person

I’d agree with this. I think you want recomposition not further weight loss and losing more weight might make matters worse. You need more muscle and this will increase your metabolism and burn fat in itself. Your exercise is mostly cardio and mobility so you ideally need to lift heavier weights and up your protein intake to get the results you want. Two people of the same weight can look very different depending on the proportion that is muscle and I think what you describe wanting is really a more toned look aka one with more muscle rather than just losing more weight when you are already at a very decent BMI.

Im not sure what size of frame I have. I agree with @Safarisagoodyand @Bipalossthat it’s very difficult to see ourselves clearly.

I think I have a relatively slim frame, which until recently was covered in an awful lot of fat, so didn’t look slim at all. But I’m just not sure.

I am 5 ft 6. I was almost 13 stone and just looked like a blob, massive spare tyre around middle.

I am now down at 10 stone 7 and feel and look so much better. BMI is 24, body fat percentage is, I think, 32% and muscle 35%. So whilst I don’t necessarily want to lose any more weight I do want to improve those metrics.

i have wide hips and a small bust so body shape is pear. I think hips are naturally wide but there’s no denying that’s where I carry weight - I can see the softness of the fat clearly in that area.

I wear a 10/12 on top and 12 on bottom although bought a teadress in Morrisons yesterday which is an 8 as it is not tight over hips. Only bought an 8 to try as it was only size they had, and happily, it fits.

I think waist is relatively small, but against other people’s measurements I’ve read lately maybe not.

bust: 35
under bust: 30
waist: 27.5
hips: 39

hips were 41 before so 2 stone loss only equates to 2 inches loss, but maybe that’s ok.

when I lost the weight I remember thinking I looked so different when looking in bathroom mirror wearing my dressing gown. Could only see shoulders / upper torso but I just looked so much less “bulky”. And I didn’t really know / think / realise I had been carrying fat in that area but i obviously was.

I agree, op you’re unlikely to be building muscle doing cardio and that ratio of protein, whilst in a defecit. It’s notoriously difficult to build muscle in a defecit.

now you’re stopping losing, you can up your cals to maintenance level, but increase your protein and add in heavy weights, lift to exhaustion. Multipe reps is for endurance, a low number of reps and heavy weights is strength.

I also think it’s not your bmi it’s lack of muscle and tone. As said, it does make a difference to how you look, I can now see a ring round my stomach of muscle, when I walk upstairs etc I can see the muscle in my things, my backside stands up on its own, I can see the muscle in my arms.

its very hard for women to bulk up, muscle on us tends to make us leaner and elongated looking.

id also throw your scales out, and get a decent pair, as the readings are clearly very wrong.