Losing weight?

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I am 5'7 and weigh around 148-149 pounds currently. According to this bmi calculator the healthiest weight for my height is 139 pounds since it puts me right in the middle of the healthy weight range. I did weigh 139 pounds and i looked to thin in the face and my body was really scrawny. My body looks better now at 148 pounds of lean muscle.

Do you think it would be better for my health in the long run if i was right in the middle of the weight range becuase for my height 148 lbs is actually heading towards the upper end of the healthy weight scale according to this site http://tinyurl.com/c4mt9h



My mum said last night when i weighed 143 pounds my clothes did not fit properly and likewise when i was 158 pounds my clothes did not fit well either.

bmi is not a measure of health. it's just a ballpark figure that helps identify obese or anorexic height/weight ratios. Many people who are in incredible physical shape (athletes, body builders, etc) have very high BMI numbers and they're obviously not obese even though the BMI falls under the obese range. So don't lose weight to meet a target on a flawed health scale.

Well carrying too much muscle into the overweight or obese range for your height can actually put a lot strain on your heart and organs. All that muscle can turn fat later in life as well just look at mike tyson or former bodybuilders. Better to build muscle within the healthy weight range. My grandfather was 5'10 weighed 189 pounds. 189 is overweight for 5'10 according to the bmi calculator. More to the point though my grandfather developed diabetes in his 40s and eventually died of cancer in his mid 60's. He did smoke and spent a lot of time in the sun without protection but i suspect being overweight is the reason why he got diabetes. My brother is in the height range of 5'11 is really muscular and weighs 182 pounds (heading into overweight range for his height) and my parents are concerned he might be developing diabetes like my grandad. My bro has little body fat as well.

People mock the bmi but a lot of the time in tends to be correct.

In extreme cases, perhaps, but your relatively moderate gain is very far from extreme.


That's a myth.

Ignore BMI. Body fat %, waist measurement or simply looking in the mirror is a much better indicator of health than BMI is ever going to be.

BMi is a 200 Year old formula which was to study the body mass of that population
but 200 years ago part of that base population was starving
it also doesn't understand bone mass, or muscle mass

A everyone says ignore your BMI results. Don't listen to a 180 year old study that focused on people who didn't work out and many other variations to today.

Stay where you are now if your happy with what you see. Please dont use the results of a study from 8 generations ago.

Go with what you can actually see and not what your told you should be.

Eat vegetables to help you feel full and drink plenty of water.
Eat frequently in small amounts.

5'7" and 150 is fine as far as I'm concerned regardless of build, musculature, etc.

I'm only a scratch taller than that (5'8.5" in bare feet) and I couldn't crack 150 when I was in the best shape of my adult life, back when I was 25-26. I didn't drink, I had kind of a sh***y diet but it was all in moderation, and I worked out or played sports almost every day. I was muscled OK but hardly a beefcake, and the lowest I got was 151, and usually carried myself at 155-157.

The only general knock on my health then (albeit a significant one) was that I smoked like a chimney. I was working night shifts back then so it was no prob 3/4 of a pack a day. As far as doctors were concerned, that specifically was a bad thing in a long term sense but as far as they could assess I was as healthy as humanly possible.

health is the most important

'Flawed' is not synonymous with 'useless' - BMI does have value/use.

Yes, it may not be perfect - yes, it is flawed - but it is a good general indicator of overall body mass.

You're also selecting the convenient examples to support your statement that many people in incredible physical shape have very high BMI numbers - the opposite could also easily be given - dancers/distance runners/gymnasts etc often have very low BMI numbers - yet are also in incredible physical shape.

It depends on what you hold to be 'incredible physical shape'.

This could be a cultural perception. I live in the UK - my BMI is under 19 - to most people here, I look anorexic. However, the majority of the UK is overweight, with a large percentage being obese.

I spent some time in Eastern Europe (Lithuania/Latvia etc) - relatively, in these countries, I was close to average build.

When I returned to the UK I saw with 'fresh eyes' how overweight my country was.

There are a number of ways of interpreting the above:
1) BMI is wrong and I need to eat more as I look 'scrawny' to heavier people
2) My home country is overweight and needs to see itself for what it is
etc.


As above.


Statistically there are risks at either end - increased risk of cancer/diabetes etc when overweight, and a higher likelihood of osteoporosis etc at the lower end.

This would suggest being within the 'healthy' band is preferable, in terms of your overall health.

how many times per day you eat can be entirely based on personal preference. there's no data that show many small meals helps anything unless you have a tendency for hypoglycemia. if your BMI is high because of muscle and not fat, there is no health risk.

I agree with you. Don't look only on your BMI. I was once underweight by 5 lbs against my BMI but doctor said that it's fine. I was just asked not to go for a diet. Instead, continue eating healthy food and doing proper exercise. Now, after I gave birth, my weight did not go back to normal. I am overweight but not obese. So far, I have no health issues but I putting limits on my daily meal just to maintain the pounds I have now. Try checking with your doctor as well and whatever advice you'll get...that would be probably the best thing to do. Cheers, pal.

I've started losing weight by taking up the nutrition plan I found on http://dblogged.com and running in the mornings. I like my results so far, and I hope everything will be great in the future too. How do you guys run?

I'm 5'1" and trying to lose weight to stay in shape.