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Offline Wmiii

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BMI?
« on: March 28, 2011, 11:32:37 AM »
Please excuse my ignorance.  As you can tell from my other posts and questions, I have not given a lot of thought to food, prep, benefits, vitamins and over all health issues pertaining to food products.  My wife has made most all my meals for the past 40+ years and other than College days, my mother.  They put it in front of me and I eat it.  Life is/was good!
Now getting started on this Paleo change, I keep finding things I'm not familiar with:  BMI  Body Mass Index?  I just looked at my last Dr. report and apparently mine is 32.87  I think my Dr. suggests I get to 25.  And I assume that is good. 
What is BMI and is 25 OK?
Wm
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Offline Bearso

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2011, 12:32:04 PM »
25 BMI beats the crap out of 32.87 BMI.  While I don't put all my faith in BMI, it is a way to measure progress but little else IMHO. 

Normal BMI = 18.5 - 24.9
Over Weight = 25 - 29.9
Obesity        = > 30

I am currently 5'7", 151 pounds, 57 years old my BMI is about 23 body fat about 19.  For me to get down to 18.5 BMI I would need to weight about 118 pounds and baby, THAT ain't happening.  I am getting pretty thin as it is...  I expect to drop maybe 5 to 7 more pounds so I would be about BMI of 22.6.  I am more concerned with body fat but even more than that, I want to be strong so none of the measurements really matter if I just keep working out and getting stronger.
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Offline PaleoGhost

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2011, 01:08:44 PM »
BMI is pretty useless... It's just entirely too general. At 5'9'' 120lbs I come out at 17.7
Less than 18.5 is "underweight". Agreed I'm def under the average weight for my height, but at about 7% bodyfat I hardly think I'm at an unhealthy weight.





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Offline Wlfdg

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2011, 06:42:52 PM »
BMI is useless. My BMI is 31 and I'm as lean Ghost.
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Offline samjohn

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2011, 08:55:39 PM »
BMI is good as a general guide, but will always be of limited use as it does not distinguish between fat and muscle.

Tape measures are awesome.
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The answer to your question is 'eat more fat'.

Stop counting calories. If you are eating Paleo, there is usually no need.

If you are having weight loss issues, it'd be a good idea to start posting a detailed food journal, then everyone can help.

'Anecdotal Evidence' is an oxymoron.

Offline avelin

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2011, 05:13:58 AM »
BMI is roughly your weight in relation to your height. It's supposed to be a guide to how much body fat you have but because it doesn't take into account how much of your weight is muscle as opposed to fat, it can be way off. A pound of muscle is way smaller in size than a pound of fat so it's possible for someone who is fit and strong to be thinner but heavier than someone who is out of shape but is the same height.

It's best used for sedentary types who haven't worked on their strength but it's not a good guide for people who have little body fat and lots of muscle.

From what you've posted so far, wmii, it's probably a reasonable guide for you to use BMI as a guide for a while, but if in the future you work at exercise that will develop your muscles and strength you'll find it gets less and less accurate. I'm with samjohn - measure yourself (especially your waist).
« Last Edit: March 29, 2011, 05:19:08 AM by avelin »
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Offline Wmiii

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2011, 06:21:59 AM »
You say waist, I say waist.  Mine's the same as it was years ago.  Of course it has dropped some  ;)

According to the tables I'm obese?  My self image does not agree.  Oh well.

Wm
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Offline Wlfdg

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2011, 06:53:07 AM »
Quote from: Wmiii on March 29, 2011, 06:21:59 AM

According to the tables I'm obese?  My self image does not agree.  Oh well.

Wm
GOOD! Throw the tables overboard!
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Offline PaleoGhost

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2011, 10:47:50 AM »
They should just include bf% in the formula somehow.



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Offline Bearso

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2011, 11:02:22 AM »
I think it comes down to body composition.  There is no way to account for that simply by measuring your relative height, weight and in some cases age and BF%.  If you use BMI at all, it "might" (and I emphasize might) be used to track progress but only if your body composition is out of whack and you want to change that!
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Offline el cogollero

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2011, 11:24:59 AM »
If you stick to the diet it will all be irrelevant - you WILL lose a lot of weight.
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Offline Paleo Curmudgeon

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2011, 07:00:27 PM »
Quote from: Wlfdg on March 29, 2011, 06:53:07 AM
Quote from: Wmiii on March 29, 2011, 06:21:59 AM

According to the tables I'm obese?  My self image does not agree.  Oh well.

Wm
GOOD! Throw the tables overboard!

BMI calculators are for couch potatoes following the food guide pyramid. If you work out and lift heavy weights gaining muscle and low body fat the BMI calculator will show you obese or over weight.
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Offline Degarth

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #12 on: April 24, 2011, 11:54:14 AM »
I definitely am overweight at 29.6 BMI. But if I get to my target of 190 lbs (very lean for me) according to BMI I will still be overweight at 6 ft and 190 lbs.

And BMI really wouldn't matter and could just be chuckled at or ignored if not for the fact that insurance companies literally use it to justify charging people more money on life insurance policies. So a muscular person who is just a little overweight on BMI would (according to the BMI table) be more healthy of he dropped 20 lbs of muscle and replaced it with 8 lbs of fat. Great logic.
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Oodar

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Re: BMI?
« Reply #13 on: June 03, 2011, 12:34:27 AM »
It's flattering to me that I'm within 10 pounds of "overweight". I hope to get obese soon.
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Re: BMI?
« Reply #13 on: June 03, 2011, 12:34:27 AM »

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