BMI Horror/ Confusion. Do I need to get to a "normal" BMI?

[Ray92]

I've always been heavy, the only time I've been a normal BMI I smoked and ate 1,000 calories a day.

I'm currently 8 months pp and 16 stone 9. Before pregnancy I was around 15 stone. Obese in both instances. I'm clearly delusional, as I don't feel I looked obese! My blood pressure, cholesterol, fitness, blood sugar have been checked and they are all good. I'm so ashamed of being so obese.

What do I do? Get down to "normal" by any means possible or is it okay to be 15 stone, which I feel is manageable?

Does anyone else have this problem with BMI?

I don't know how I've put so much weight on, but my breasts have .gone from a 34C to a 36I

I'll attach pics of me around 15 stone for reference.

I think a big problem with asking this question, and the answers you'll get, is that people seem to equate "obese" (from a health perspective) with looking terrible.

Obese and overweight people can look good, while simultaneously being an unhealthy weight for their bodies in the long term.

The answer to "Is it okay to be overweight?" isn't "But you look good so you can't possibly be overweight".

Yes I’d say height and also body shape
I have a small back 32” but probably around E maybe bigger cup
I wear dress size 10-12
I verge between 910-9’12 depending on the week of the month
10 stone is not tiny
If I was ten stone I think I would look extremely overweight
This is why I still can’t get my head around someone weighing 15 stone being a size 12
( not being rude , absolutely just curious) x

Different clothes also fit differently. A size 12 dress which flares out and skims over the bum/thighs will often fit someone who has a small waist but whose hip measurement is a size 14 or 16.

So you don't have to have all your measurements at a size 12 to wear some size 12 clothes, if that makes sense.

I definitely think, in women, BMI can be misleading. I have virtually no boobs, they're tiny. My BMI is going to be lower than a women with big boobs. Nothing to do with how fat or thin they are. I have slim arms and legs, and my bone structure is quite fine. I'm tall. But although I am a healthy BMI (5'8"; 63kg) I can see that I'm carrying excess on my abdomen.

I wouldn't focus on 12 stones. Focus on 15, then 14½, etc.

You look great in those photos. I would aim to get back to that weight rather than a higher target that may feel unmanageable.

You look sensational at 15 stone it's the way your body is so hourglass and toned like a painting or a marble statue. Gorgeous!
I'm sure it's been said, but waist measurement is increasingly more valuable than bmi in determining risk to diseases as it correlates to visceral fat. Your waist should be less than half your height in inches, I think that's how it goes and in your case op it definitely is. Get back to 15 stones and see how you feel.

Your waist should be less than half your height in inches

How exactly would doing the measurements in cm be any different? Half is half, whatever unit you use to measure.

OP you look amazing in those pictures and I'm sure you still look amazing now. Try not to focus too much on the numbers, live a healthy lifestyle and be kind to yourself.

Well OP you've had a successful fishing trip.

I'm 10st 2 and 5ft 6 with measurements of a 30F bra size, 27 inch waist and 39 inch hips. I have a wide pelvis! I got the gym 5 times a week and do a mix of cardio and weights. I wear a size 8-12 bottoms depending on where I shop. I am fit and strong. Body shapes and types are different and if my body fat percentage was higher I'd weigh less because I have a lot of muscle. Those saying if I was 10 stone I'd look fat are basing it on a higher fat content then I have.

OP looks curvy and sexy and carries her weight well. Be happy with what's in the mirror and ignore the scales. I do.

I'd say think less about how you look and more about your long term health.

When you're old (like me) you won't look lovely and firm and curvy. You'll be suffering with dodgy hips, cardio vascular disease and a whole raft of other health problems. Or at least you'll be more likely to.

So many posters have their head in the sand and are confusing a healthy weight with an attractive weight.

Sorry to be blunt OP but you need to lose some for your long term

I'm vegan.

Thank you so much for all of the lovely, kind messages. There are some truly supportive and wonderful women out there, who are prepared to go out of their way to be kind to a stranger.

I will aim to get back to 15 stones, keep exercising and eating a good diet ( with fewer treats!) and focus on body fat % and waist measurements.

So many posters have their head in the sand and are confusing a healthy weight with an attractive weight.

Spot on.

You look great x

I'm 5ft7 and around 12stone and had just been in hospital for preop tests they had a height and weight machine in there that said I am 81kg with a bmi of 30 which means I am obese apparently I wear size 16 which is actually big on me, I know I haven't gained weight as all my clothes still fit. I used to do weight training a lot and still have muscular arms and legs.

She doesn't look fat or overweight she looks amazing!

How is anyone a size 14 at 15 stone - I'm a size 14 at 11 stone 🙁

BMI doesn't work for taller people or people who have muscle. I work out. I have about 5 stone of skeletal muscle. On the BMI scale I am obese. Just.

I do have some kg of fat I need to lose, but with the amount of muscle I have, the only way I can have a healthy BMI is to have zero body fat.

At the gym we are not interested in BMI... Just percentages.

I also look at my waist measurement.

BMI does work for "people who work out" - particularly women, as women do not build the level of muscle mass men do. It does also work for tall women, unless you're meaning over 6'5" or something.

Statements like this make it sound as though if a woman, who otherwise lives a normal life and does a desk job, goes to the gym a few times a week, BMI is irrelevant to her. Which is total nonsense.

I always give Selena Williams as an example here - she's a very strong woman with plenty of muscle, and she "works out" far more than any woman who isn't a professional athlete. And her BMI is healthy.

^ Serena Williams!

If you think of a person as a cylinder, radius should go up in proportion to height.

However, with bmi, it's a square relationship.

So, bmi is a blunt instrument, based on much shorter people in the early 20th C.

Rugby players mostly have a bmi of 40. Muscle is denser than fat.

Of course BMI works for taller people! What a a crazy statement to make.

OP, how’s your diet and how much exercise do you do? Focus on that, making decisions based on good health over the long term. I’m guessing you are quite young, once you hit mid 40s- 50 carrying excess weight will catch up with you.

I’m 5’9 and about 55kg. I eat vegetables, fruits , whole grains, eggs, full fat dairy, fish. Very little sugar, no meat and no UPF. Physical job, on my feet and lifting / moving things for 3+ hours each day. I’m very strong and yes very lean. I cannot imagine being almost twice my body weight, it would badly inhibit my life and put my organs under immense strain.

Make HEALTH based decisions and know you are doing the best you can for future you.

I don't know if it helps OP but my BMI is overweight too

https://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/bmi.html

It may be a blunt tool, but the "healthy" range is wide enough to accommodate the vast, vast majority of the population. I work out, and I'm tall for a woman, but my BMI iis slap bang in the middle of the healthy range.

Male rugby players are irrelevant to women. The muscle argument doesn't stack up for women because we don't build muscle bulk in the same way that men do due to biology, unless you're literally talking bodybuilders or professional weightlifters who go to great effort to do so.