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 😊

That’s a bit odd. Do you have health conditions that would preclude you? If not, I’d eat a big meal, drink a couple of litres of water and weigh myself In jeans in the evening. Or I’d lie and shrink my height by an inch.

@BuntyBeaufort Voy aren't dodgy. They are a mainstream legitimate online weight loss service, registered and regulated just like the other ones you've mentioned are.

They are a subscription model service, and they can be pretty expensive, so that's worth checking - that you know how long you are subscribed for, if/how to cancel and what the actual cost each month will be after any initial discounts.

I am surprised that MedExpress said no, was this recently? Their change to prescribe to BMI 25+ was only in the last couple of months or so.

Bone mass is indeed just a small % of bodyweigh, but yes of course we have different frames and some people have literally wider/bigger bones.Plenty of studies, for example Functional integration of skeletal traits found that bones of similar length differed substantially in width and overall structure.
I do have robust bones, my ankles are for example sturdier than DH's slim delicate ones, so indeed I will look bony at a weight where a small framed person would look just slim.

However, body composition and muscle mass makes a much bigger difference.

@BuntyBeaufort do look carefully at the prescribing criteria and make sure you fill in the form in a way that makes clear how you meet them. You almost certainly do.

Try and increase your muscle mass. That way you can have a BMI of 21 with no flabby bits. My BMI is 23 but I have visible abs. My bodyfat is circa 18%. My guess is that if you have a BMI of 21 and have flabby bits you could be “skinny fat”

I'm 5'8 with a BMI of 27, I'm a size 10-12. I currently weigh 12st 11. I would say I have a large frame (wide feet, big hands and head, wide ribcage and hips) but I look a healthy size and feel good. My daughter is also 5'8 but has a small frame (small hands and feet, narrow hips, tiny waist). Shes a size 6-8. I would describe her as slender. I will never be able to get down to the same weight as her as per my ideal BMI, I would look ill. My BMI indicates I'm "overweight" but my waist to hip ratio is now in the healthy range. I think too much emphasis is put on BMI.

I'm 37, weigh 52kg, height 165cm, size 4 or 6 depends on brand, with a BMI of 18-19. Was an athlete in my 20s, still train 2- 3 times per week but have always had a bit of fat on my thighs.

I agree it's probably loose skin. It has a layer of (normal, healthy) subcutaneous fat under so it feels like excess weight but really isn't.

I'm also 50s, down to a healthy BMI and have the same problem in the same places - inner thighs and upper arms, belly. It's not going anywhere. I'm trying to build triceps muscles to at least fill up the arm flab!

How do you calculate body fat mass and muscle mass??? 👀👀👀

Different options. Many home scales measure it nowadays, but they tare not super accurate. Most gyms have BIA machines, which are better. You can also get a DEXA scan, or use calipers.

Oh and of course ignore any online calculators that claim they will calculate your fat percentage just based on BMI, that's not possible.

1.2g/kg is the top DRV setting for protein only below that of professional athletes. You don’t need more.

No it’s more likely that she is just an older adult who has just lost a lot of weight. The majority of humans have some body fat. Healthy women have 20-30% body fat and only athletes tend to go under this.

That’s quite wild,size ten, I assume in a fixed waistband, at nearly 13 stone. I’m muscular and need to get well below 10 stone, at an inch or so shorter, to be a ten.

I also do light weights a couple of times a week.

That's the issue here. I swear, muscle mass makes all the difference. I am old, I lost 20 kilos last year, I have no flabby bits because I lift heavy weights. Try it, you might be surprised.

Yes that post confused me too, I'm taller and lighter than that poster, well muscled and BMI 23, big frame (size 9 feet) but am a 12-14. I can't imagine where she's carrying all her weight if she is a) a size 10 and b) can't get her BMI under 27 without looking sick.

But she's happy, so good for her I suppose!

I'm 5 ft 4 and 11 stone. BMI is 26. I am a size 10 to 12 and look slim. I do have a 36G chest. I have a flat stomach, slim legs, arms, just seem to carry weight on my breasts. Size 4 in shoes.

My sister is 5ft 2, 10 stone and looks heavier than me, her words. She is more "chunkier". She has heavier legs, arms and wider hips.

@BuntyBeaufort I have recently started with Voy, from a BMI of 26. They will prescribe 'off label' for BMI 25-27 so they would certainly prescribe to someone with a BMI of 28, assuming no contraindications. They are expensive, though I've heard of people getting a short prescription and then being able to switch to other cheaper providers.
I know medexpress advertise that they prescribe for lower weights but it seems no one has told their clinicians as lots of people applied and then got told they weren't eligible. For the lower BMI's it's usually a video consultation and they do ask a lot of questions (understandable when things are a bit borderline I guess)

In relation to the thread, I'm another small frame - short, with narrow shoulders, hips, small wrists, flat chested. I know I'm not big, but my weight has been creeping up year on year and I don't carry it well at all. My frame is naturally petite, I just need to train my portion sizes and appetite to match!

Not sure how to take this! I'm somebody who weighs a lot heavier than they look. I always have been. My mum is the same height as me, is over a stone lighter but a size 14-16. This is why I don't rely on BMI as a good indicator of my ideal weight. In my case, it just doesn't work.

I just asked chatgpt why this might be and there are plenty of logical reasons for this. What can I say? Everyone's different.

And this is why I think its so individual.

I am 5ft 4, a very small build, tiny wrists, hands, feet (children's sizes) but at BMI 25 I look chubby and definitely not a size 8 or 10. I am now 8st 6 and BMI 20.4 and a size 8 now. I am big chested so dont look skinny up top, I am probably looking a bit scrawny elsewhere as need to tone up more but dont look underweight in any way.

I am too 5’8 and wrote an earlier response that I looked anorexic at bmi 24! My goal weight is bmi 25-26 a weight I was in most of my teens (13-19) which was considered very very normal weight for where I am from (I’m nordic) . Please please people stop judging , someone can be a very normal range weight at BMI 26-28 with someone else being healthy at 18-19 . BMI does not take into consideration bone density and muscle weight!!! Someone can be slender and healthy with a high healthy range (eg athletes) or a slim framed short person can be healthy at a low BMI. I find it outrageous that someone can judge on what is suitable for them when we all here for one reason , be healthy and look our best . We should be supportive not judgmental no matter what people are aiming for and what is there goal and how they look themselves in the mirror !

I would have to be over 2 stone more than I am now to be bmi 24.
I am slim build for sure, but I really can’t see how being Nordic (I believe they use the same BMI standards) would render you looking anorexic at that weight.
Maybe your naturally healthy weight sits at the higher end of the range (which is 3 stone at our height) so you may not look so healthy at BMI 24.

Bone density is a red herring as skeleton really doesn’t weigh much - but in terms of muscle mass I have gained around 8kg from weight lifting over past 5 years.

bone density I agree won't make much of a difference, but bones can be genetically more slender or robust, which will make a difference how people look at same weight. (some interesting studies like "Functional integration of skeletal traits: an intraskeletal assessment of bone size, mineralization, and volume covariance" or "Variation in childhood skeletal robustness is an important determinant of cortical area in young adults")
Slender boned person would be looking simply slim at the weight a robust boned person can look bony.