Do you have a BMI or a Weight goal?

[KartMan 58]

For me, the weight goal is tied to my BMI goal. 25 BMI is the upper end of normal so I shot for just under that as my goal. I have had (and have) mini goals on the way. My first mini was to move from Obese to Overweight and I made it (currently at 29.3 BMI). My next mini goal is to get to less than 215lbs which is the lowest I was ever able to get to on a regular diet. Interestingly enough, 185lbs puts me at a 24.4 BMI. It is interesting because that is the weight I was when I got out of boot camp when I was 18 years old. Looking back at pictures from then I think I was too skinny, so we’ll just have to see if that is the right weight for me.

I’m curious because I see goals of 27 or 29 BMI in people’s tickers and wonder why one would set a goal that still puts them in an unhealthy range. It seems to me that the risks of setting a goal like that is that you might just attain it and stop there.

[Minxz 0]

My first goal is to just get under 200 lbs. When I get there I will restock and eventually try to get to about 150-160. I am tall and that is the upper range of healthy for me.

[Jachut 487]

Oh we've had some HUGE arguments over that on this forum over the years. I dont get setting an overweight goal either, nothing in me will ever understand it. To me fat is fat is fat. Its not curvy, its not sexy, its fat. But that's ME.

And the thing you have to remember is that people's body compositions differ. A BMI is not truly a measure of how overweight you are when you're talking in the 20's. Some people are more muscular and can have higher BMI's without being overweight. I'm not that muscular and I'm fairly fine boned - for me a BMI of 27 is flabby and fat, but for the next person, its quite firm and curvy. So you have to sort of think about it in variable terms, not according to your own body.

The same people who I think are stopping while they're still fat probably think I look anorexic, so who's right? We all have a right to look how we want to.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I started out so high that I mostly just look at mini goals. For example preband I'd never lost more than 45 pounds on any diet. In my mind that 45 was the initial goal. Now I'm looking at 335 because I last weighed that in 2003.

As for FINAL? My PCP said if I could ever get under 200 he'd cry tears of joy (LOL) Now that I finally have restriction I'm fairly sure I can get under 200, so I'll see. It is not "normal" for me not to have a rigid fixed goal, but lots of things are different this time. I'm just taking it in small manageable chunks. Right now anything I lose is making a big impact on my health. Later, I'll have to see.

[KartMan 58]

I see your point in that. As overweight people we told ourselves over the years we can never get under x (because we never have been able to), or I’m big boned, or I would be way too skinny at that weight and I don’t want to look unhealthy. Then, after restriction, we realize that the weight does steadily come off and we have a glimmer of hope that we can reach a normal weight and be within the normal BMI range. For me, that feeling was when I crossed the threshold from Obese to Overweight. What a revelation, I just knew that this was going to work for me.

I know some people have more weight to lose than others and that can make for a daunting goal. But I really encourage everyone to set their final goal in the “normal” range. With this awesome tool, this great support system, your renewed strength, and just a little luck you might just hit that goal and shock yourself and everyone else along the way.

Monkey, I have a feeling your PCP will soon cry his eyes out and we will all Celebrate your success :biggrin:.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Thanks Kartman! I'm in for the duration! Now that I know what "restriction" means (as opposed to the kind I got as a kid LOL) I'm thinking the sky's the limit! :biggrin:

[KartMan 58]

Shouldn’t it be “the grounds the limit”? We are going down after all:sneaky:

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I wanted to just type LOL but it made me type a "longer" response....so....LOL!

[Sarah.R 2]

You know I've been asked by people on here what my goal weight is but really I don't have one. I just want to be healthy, not have to go to hospital so much. When they ask me to do an excercise test every 3 months I'd like to last on the bike longer than 10 minutes. Just little things. I also don't want a huge goal straight away because I feel like I might set myself up for failure (just the way my mind works) so my first goal is to loose 20kgs by my sisters formal which is in November. I've heard of people loosing upwards of 60-70lbs in 3 months but I'd rather go slow. So 20kgs (44lbs) in 6 months is definitely doable I think =)

[Jachut 487]

You know, the "i would be too skinny at that weight" I've always argued against. I just couldnt understand how people could see normal weight as "too skinny". I thought they were just displaying warped perception caused by so many people in our society being very obese.

But I've lost a bit again lately, I saw 67kg on the scales this morning. My healthy weight range is 63-79. I was comfortable till 70, I'd been that weight before. I know for my body even 63 would be pretty good. But its SCARY hitting these new weights that I've never ever weighed. I now weigh what I did at 13 years old - and I wasnt particularly fat at 13 years old! I was only an inch or two shorter than I am now. Its really kinda weird. I have bones showing now. Not skeletal, lol, but I'm getting to the point where there's really no excess fat left (just sag, sigh). And it does feel kinda weird.

But the point is I'm really NOT too skinny. I'm a healthy weight. It really IS my perception of it that's warped. But I've never had a BMI above 36, I think it's a lot more realistic for me to expect to get to this sort of weight at about 100lb lost than if I'd had to lose 200.

[jillrenee15 0]

To me, the bmi thing is a no go. Those charts are from 40 years ago. People were smaller and shorter. My sister and I are very similar in build and composition, but I was fat, she has always been skinny. At 5'3 she was 102lbs. She looked skeletal. She couldn't get pregnant because she didn't have enough body fat for her hormones. She had to GAIN 20lbs, by doctors orders, to get pregnant and stay pregnant. I know I will never see 102 or 122 for that matter. I am aiming for a size 8/10. Whatever weight that is, is my goal. I stated 160 on my ticker, because at one point I was a 10 and was 170. Where does that put me on the bmi scale? I don't know and don't care. To me it's a feeling, of being healthy and happy and looking good in my clothes. Considering now that most of the world's average is a size 14, I will be happy with an 8/10. I'm a 16/18 right now. I looked at my ticker tonight, holy crap, I'm almost half way there!!!

[keithf 2]

The last time my body lean body mass was measured, about 2 years ago, it was 215#. I'm 5'10: you do the math and discover what BMI I would have with zero fat on my body.

BMI is a useless measurement for me. Weight, also, is questionable since lean body mass can vary with or without weight gain or loss. I certainly can lose weight by consuming muscle mass instead of fat mass (and if I do, someone stop me).

I'm hoping, once I get around 240-250, to have my lean body mass updated, and use that to decide when I should be working on the transition to maintainance.

[KartMan 58]

The last time my body lean body mass was measured, about 2 years ago, it was 215#. I'm 5'10: you do the math and discover what BMI I would have with zero fat on my body.

BMI is a useless measurement for me. Weight, also, is questionable since lean body mass can vary with or without weight gain or loss. I certainly can lose weight by consuming muscle mass instead of fat mass (and if I do, someone stop me).

I'm hoping, once I get around 240-250, to have my lean body mass updated, and use that to decide when I should be working on the transition to maintainance.

How do you check your lean body mass?

[keithf 2]

How do you check your lean body mass?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

The first time I had it done (when I was about 9), was hydrostatically. I put on swim trunks, and was lowered into a giant tank of Water and had to expell all the air from my lungs.

The skin calipers are the "can you pinch an inch" test. Whee.

What I've had mostly is bioelectric impedance. In that, they attach a couple electrodes across your body and measure how much your body acts like a resistor -- fat vs non-fat have different resistances. That's what those Tanita scales you can buy for home do. You can refine the measurement by providing additional information about the shape of the body. I don't think it's likely to be as accurate at a hydrostatic tank, but it's definitely better than calipers, and probably good enough to determine where a true healthy weight is.

And it certainly is more widely applicable than either BMI (all men must be within this density range) or pure weight (all men must weigh 170# no matter how tall or muscular).

Of course, these are all tools. My surgeon, I think, doesn't really care. He seems to have the attitude that the body will know when it's happy about its balance of lean vs fat. If, with exercise and healthy eating habits, my body decides that 20% body fat is exactly what it wants (or, conversely, 7%), instead of the 10-15% I might want it to have, who wins in that fight? :blushing:

Edited June 6, 2009 by keithf
more interesting link

[Jachut 487]

Calipers wouldnt work very well for most formerly obese people. I'm sure I can pinch more than I should be able to for whatever body fat level I actaully do have because of the skin issue. It may not be hanging or needing surgery, but I have a bit more skin than I would have had if I'd stayed thin all my life!