BMI Charts

Most likely as you will be losing weight, you also may be losing muscles and eventually bone density.

I used to be fat, active woman, with heavy bones, and strong big muscles. My lean body mass used to be estimated as 165-170, when I was 235-250 lbs.

But even though I exercised some, I still lost muscles as I was losing weight. My body no longer needed such a big muscles to carry me around. And with time, my bone density decreased. I used to have big, thick, strong bones, to carry me around. Over 11 years post op WLS, my bone density is slowly decreasing. My body doesn't need such a strong bones since there is app 100 lbs less of me carry around in daily activities.

As for BMI - my goal is to be 150-155, BMI over 25. Considering everything, and confirmed by body DEXA scan, my body fat % would be 21-25%. Lean. I can safely get to 160-162, because my body fat % would be still in a good range. But 175 of more - when my BMI start getting into obese range - is too heavy for me. For my age, my joints. I get in more pain when I am heavier. Sure, my body fat% should still be in acceptable range, but my joints don't care if the weight is from muscles or fat. Too much is too much.

Most places - like bigger cities- you can get Dexa scan for a reasonable amount. I have one scheduled by the end on June.

Currently, I am way too thin, I am 138-139, and that is just app BMI of 24, but my body fat % is really low. I had food poisoning, and unfortunately I lost 10 lbs more than I was planning to lose. With my diet, I am having problem putting on the extra pounds. Because I have food allergies and sensitivities, plus I am a dumper, adding some foods to my diet is not possible. And what I can eat: meat, fat and veggies, is not good for gaining weight. But as long as I don't lose more, I can manage. Some people are jealous of my situation, but they are too focused on their problem losing, that they can't pay attention to my issues. Even if I wanted, I can't eat most carbs and starches, and some fruits. Some would cause allergic reaction, others - dumping. I still wish and want to eat that, but I hate hurting, so I use my strong will not to eat them.

BMI has been around since the 1800's, but got popular in the 1990's.

It is the tool I find most helpful in staying at a good weight. I feel the best between 23 and 25 BMI. I also use a smart scale and get DEXA scans. I had caliper testing many years ago and that depends entirely on the skill of the tester. There are much better and more accurate tools available now.

Like H.A.L.A, my muscle and bone density is much lower at a lower weight. The body changes with age and testing needs to be updated periodically.

Interesting points HALAB, but as I've lost weight I've actually gained muscle mass because of the program I'm on. Any program that doesn't include strength training, as well as cardio, is incomplete, IMO.

Erk! H.A.L.A.B., that's too bad about the food poisoning. Didn't know you were dealing with that. Best to you.

BMI charts are not perfect. But all it requires is a weight, a height, and a chart to look it up on. An accurate test requires a few hundred bucks and a lot more equipment and time.

But BMI charts are remarkably accurate. There have been several scientific studies that have detailed results. They all show that you can have a BMI of over 25 and still have a healthy body fat percentage. But it is rare. It is just as likely that, if your BMI places you in the healthy range, your body fat is still too high -- the so-called "skinny fat."

At 5'9" and 192 pounds, the BMI chart puts you at 28.4. So while in the middle of the overweight category, it's possible your body fat percentage is healthy. At 210 or 230 it would not be.

Calipers are a horrible way to check body fat percentage. Tarot cards would be just as accurate. The only truly accurste method to check body composition is a DEXA scan.

At 5'9" and 230 pounds, you would be obese. You can convince yourself that you have extra muscle mass, but unless you are winning international weight lifting competitions, you are just deluding yourself.

And by the way, no one -- no one -- has a body fat percentage of 0%

Actually Grim, Calipers are considered an excellent and reliable source of data concerning fat % and multiple sources make that claim, but that wasn't the point of my post. My only claim was that calipers are substantially more reliable then the BMI charts. As I pointed out earlier, BMI charts were revised DOWNWARD a few years ago, and many think it was for political reasons.

No, calipers are an extremely inaccurate measurement. Five different people will measure five different results. There is nothing scientific about measuring body fat with calipers.

BMI on the other hand is purely scientific. It was developed in the 1830s by a mathematician, and is derived by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. The formula has not changed in almost 200 years. Politics are not involved at all.

I do look forward to hearing your views on Area 51 though.

Grim,

As I understand it, the BMI charts are accurate for about 60% of the population, however, there is about 20% on each side of the numbers for which the chats are useless. For those 40% calipers are definitely more accurate source of data then the charts. I find it hilarious that you would support a "scientific" discovery made in the 19th century, particularly since just about every other "scientific" discovery made during that time has since been eliminated as nonfactual. What is scientifically true is that the average height of a male is dramatically different (taller) then in 1830. This is from the CDC "Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI can be an indicator of high body fatness. BMI can be used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems but it is not diagnostic of the body fatness or health of an individual." (emphasis mine) https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/index.html

If there is one thing I know, there is a lot of BS out there today, and I haven't found a single area of study where more BS exists than in the field of nutrition. I looked up youtube video's regarding this issue, and in the pages of video's I scanned there wasn't a single one put out by a medical professional, instead they were put out by guy's "who own gym's" or pump steroids into their body so they look like some freak from another planet when they walk across the stage flexing. I decided to go to an exercise class at one of our area gyms owned and operated by a guy who markets himself as a "Trainer" and after 5 minutes I walked out because everything he was saying contradicted everything I was learning from the Exercise Physiologist that I have been working with for over 2 years now.

A couple of months ago Rachel Ray had a fitness "expert" on her show and he was asked to list the top ten drinks for fitness and losing weight. Number 3 on his list was "Fruit Juices" and the reason given was "because of their low sugar content". I nearly fell out of my chair from laughing so hard, because I had just had this conversation with my nutritionist about two weeks prior and she was telling me how bad fruit juices were because of their HIGH sugar levels, and my nutritionist was correct. 10 ounces of Tropicana PURE Orange Juice has nearly 1/3 of the total sugar recommended for an entire day's intake.

BMI may provide a place to begin the discovery for an ideal body weight target but it is NOT the end all so many of you seem to think it is. I knew that I would get the push back from you all that I have received on this thread because of the obsession that you all have with this "number" and I expected it. Go ahead and do what your doctor's say by all means, but as for me I will continue to work with people who specialize in the field of diet and exercise as it relates to obesity. Keep buying into those meal replacement shake based diets, keep believing that those size 2 girls in the Weigh****chers ads lost 18 pounds in just thirty days, meanwhile I'll keep doing what has helped me lose 100 pounds WITHOUT surgery and we'll see who gets the last laugh.

For those who'd like some reliable information about BMI, the Wikipedia article on BMI is quite good. And absolutely fascinating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index