| What should I do? |
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eleo1
New Member
| Joined: | 15 Aug 2006 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
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Posted: 15 Aug 2006 04:04 pm |
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| I am a female, 5'6 with a muscular athletic build and weight 160 lbs. According the the BMI weight/height chart I am overweight, but I have 28" waist and a large frame (according to wrist measurment). My doctor recently told me that I needed to lose weight because my BMI was high, but I consider myself to be a healthy eater (even though most people tell me that I don't eat enough) and fairly active. I have had a few problems in the past with not eating and starving myself and I don't want to fall back into that pattern, but have found myself stuck at this weight and desperatly wanting to get down to 140 lbs. I dont' know what else to do and now because of my doctor I am constantly worried and thinking about my weight, even more than I used to. Last edited on 15 Aug 2006 04:10 pm by eleo1
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trimB
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 16 Aug 2006 02:59 pm |
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I think many people here would agree with me that a body fat % measurement is a better indicator of your health/fitness level than your BMI. If there is any way you could get your body fat % tested, this would give you a better idea of whether or not this is something you need to worry about.
If you belong to a gym, perhaps they offer a testing service (and help interpreting the results). I bought skin-fold calipers online several months ago, and they also come with a handy chart to help you evaluate the results of the measurements.
Hope this helps... good luck!
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 16 Aug 2006 09:59 pm |
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I agree with trimblebe. Although your BMI (25.8) makes you appear overweight, BMI is not designed to work for those who are pregnant or athletic/muscular. (Doesn't your doctor know that? Presumably they're not aware of it and will not have body fat % testing facilities.)
Here is one way of interpreting body fat % (for WOMEN). Source = BFFM
Very Lean (excellent) <15%
Lean (good) 16-20%
Average (fair) 21-25%
Below average (poor) 26-30%
Major improvement needed (Very poor) 31-40%+
Please have a look at these topics:
http://www.thelegacywebsite.com/tutorial_composition.html
http://www.thelegacywebsite.com/tutorial_BMI.html
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runway_frail
New Member
| Joined: | 17 Aug 2006 |
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| Posts: | 12 |
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Posted: 20 Aug 2006 06:23 pm |
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i find that online bmi such #%@&!. it doesn't take into account bone structure and things like that. heck, i girls people your height, at 175 who look fantastic, because it's all muscle.
don't take the scale too seriously. it should raelly be about how you look and how you feel.
and doctors aren't always right. i don't see how he could tell you to lose weight :S maybe you should get a second opinion?
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Peter
Founder of this forum
| Joined: | 24 May 2005 |
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| Posts: | 4180 |
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Posted: 21 Aug 2006 06:15 am |
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MY BMI calculator is not #!@&!. You just have to read the notes:
The BMI equation is extremely popular, yet it can be extremely inaccurate and misleading.
The equation does not take into account body composition, a measure of the percentages of muscle and fat composing your body. It is therefore less accurate if you have a non-typical amount of muscle.
This is because while a person with an above average amount of muscle is likely to be healthier because of it, the equation simply interprets the added muscle as fat and overestimates obesity. The problem is compounded by the fact that muscle weighs more than fat.
Conversely, with older persons and others with a below average amount of muscle, the BMI equation underestimates obesity.
Because of this discrepancy, if you are gaining (or losing) a significant amount of muscle with your weight loss program, checking how your clothes fit might be a better way to monitor your progress than recalculating your BMI.
A more accurate assessment can be made by measuring your body fat percentage as discussed in the topic Calculating Body Composition.
Peter
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