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No F#$ckin BMI Way



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@AJ Tylo

118 pounds is fantastic.

It does not matter where any of us land on the BMI chart or fat% chart. Resolve your medical issues and live a healthy life. Find a weight you feel comfortable maintaining long term.

Many of us lose/burn muscle with rapid weight loss. You will look healthier after your weight stabilizes. (adding carbs/calories in maintenance) The comments “skeletal” “cancer patient”” too thin” are not helpful. It’s hard enough to deal with rapid weight loss. No need to cause more body dysmorphia issues.

Just an observation on this site over the years.

Most of us are accustomed to seeing ourselves at our high weight. It’s a shock to see your face and body changing. Do you see other people at your weight as too thin? Do you see others at a overweight/normal BMI as too thin?

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16 minutes ago, elcee said:

So many people think they will look too thin at normal weight because being overweight is so normal that we have forgotten what normal weight should look like.

Agree

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Girl those BMI's are trash. I get so tired of that. Every body is different. If I tried to be 140 I'd look like a skeleton!

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IDK. Many here are at a healthy BMI and don’t look too thin, skeletal or ghostly. To each their own.

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Agree with looking gaunt and ‘too thin’ when first hitting your healthy BMI range and then you do settle into your new body weight. I look soooo much better now then I did a couple of months ago.

Agree with not knowing what we really look like at a healthy weight. The whole body dysmorphia is a head trip. It takes time to really see who we are & how we look now.

BMI is calculated on your height & weight & there is a range of 18.5 - 25 to allow for your frame. If you have a large frame you would be very thin if you had a BMI of 18.5. Treat it as a guide. These are my thoughts though.

I’ve a medium frame and am now in the middle of the BMI range for my height. Believe me I still have thighs & boobies. I have a butt though it is part way down my thighs - ha. I’m not bony or skeletal and still have a decent pinch worthy layer of flesh/fat over my body.

In saying all that, find the weight at which you are healthy & happy. Find the weight that does not compromise the life you want to live.

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16 hours ago, elcee said:

So many people think they will look too thin at normal weight because being overweight is so normal that we have forgotten what normal weight should look like.

Exactly! It takes time to adjust to the new way we look and even though we may look thin compared to before, it doesn't necessarily mean we look sick, just different AND it takes the brain a long time to adjust.

Anyway good article explains this whole 'i have a big frame' thing.

https://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/body-fat-calculator-2/frame-size-how-much-does-it-affect-your-weight/

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https://www.livestrong.com/article/219938-how-to-know-your-body-frame/

Body frame actually does come into your ideal weight as explained here.

For instance I have a good mate who is actually 3 inches taller than me but his frame is so small that he weighs around 160lbs

I know for a fact I would never get near that nor do I want to.

Everyone comments on my build all my family have broad shoulders and even my sister's are 5ft8 and 5ft10 my 17yr old niece is 5ft11 and all around 150lbs.

my uncle is 6ft5 so it is true different genetics can determine your frame and build.

Another family I'm close with every child they have girls are all 5ft-5ft4 and 100-120lbs.

The lightest I've ever been in my adult hood was I think 195-200 and I felt great yet others thought I was unwell.

I'm currently 215 and I plan to get below 200 whether I end up at 180 or 190 I guess I'll find out even though BMI scale alone says that's still considered overweight which is outrageous.

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58 minutes ago, Superman84 said:

https://www.livestrong.com/article/219938-how-to-know-your-body-frame/

Body frame actually does come into your ideal weight as explained here.

For instance I have a good mate who is actually 3 inches taller than me but his frame is so small that he weighs around 160lbs

I know for a fact I would never get near that nor do I want to.

Everyone comments on my build all my family have broad shoulders and even my sister's are 5ft8 and 5ft10 my 17yr old niece is 5ft11 and all around 150lbs.

my uncle is 6ft5 so it is true different genetics can determine your frame and build.

Another family I'm close with every child they have girls are all 5ft-5ft4 and 100-120lbs.

The lightest I've ever been in my adult hood was I think 195-200 and I felt great yet others thought I was unwell.

I'm currently 215 and I plan to get below 200 whether I end up at 180 or 190 I guess I'll find out even though BMI scale alone says that's still considered overweight which is outrageous.

Thanks for sharing ! This is a great article, I've been claiming "large frame/big boned" all my life, now I have written proof.

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And my Mama, may she rest in PEACE, always stated- always believed I was Big- Boned, fated to be on the Larger side of Things. Well having lost over 1/2 of ME, 178ish from High Point of 365+ I AM MERELY Medium - lady- sized boned after all. Told my ortho, the esteemed Kenneth H Doolittle II MD, I was an OBESE Athletic build, told me that was an impossibility! Last office visit, He ate his words, shook my hand and conceded I WAS CORRECT under all that Flabby Fluff lurked an 15/16 Junior size body- almost justifies going from a DD bra cup to a B, semi- perky , at 74 things "flop" instead of "bounce merrily" but it's GOID- ALL GOOD after all!

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And my BMI teeters between 28/29 - big change from 55+, isn't IT?

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2 hours ago, Bastian said:

FYI the link to calculate frame on the article above results in a 404-Not Found :(

2 hours ago, Superman84 said:

https://www.livestrong.com/article/219938-how-to-know-your-body-frame/

Body frame actually does come into your ideal weight as explained here.

This one had instructions and comparison values, thanks, @Superman84!

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I’m not sure if somatotype is accurate – I qualified as endomorph at my higher weight. With weight loss I am a mesomorph

What is your somatotype take this test. Link below

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker3.htm

Can knowing your somatotype can change your body composition

https://inbodyusa.com/blogs/inbodyblog/can-knowing-your-somatotype-help-you-change-your-body-composition/

ENDOMORPH.

You struggle to lose fat but can usually gain more muscle than the other body types. Strength training should be done to get a better muscle-to-fat ratio, which will help to boost your metabolism. Use moderate weights at a fast training pace, allowing for very little rest between sets and exercises. Get your heart pumping by engaging in some form of daily activity such as brisk walking or biking.

MESOMORPH.

You have a naturally fit body but, to maintain or improve it, you should adopt an exercise and diet regimen that complements your build. You can strength train more often and for longer periods of time, but be careful not to overdo it. Train with moderate to heavy weights and keep a moderate pace, making sure not to rest too long between sets.

If you train and eat well, you may find you gain muscle quite easily. When you're happy with your muscle size, simply train to maintain. Stick to a good, healthy diet to stay lean and muscular, and watch for any slow-creeping fat gains. Engage in and enjoy aerobic activities, but be careful not to overdo it.

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1 hour ago, Lbtnew said:

Thanks for sharing ! This is a great article, I've been claiming "large frame/big boned" all my life, now I have written proof. 

It's funny because for the past 15 years, I've been claiming large frame/big bones as well.

I just made some measurements and apparently I'm small framed:

5'2" female: 5.25 inch wrist circumference, 2 inch elbow breath

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Those charts are very generic and don't take into account the individuals body type. When I talked to my surgeon about what he thought a healthy weight for me would be he said 130 - 135. I'm 5'1 so if you look at the charts that would put me in the low 100's. When I was a teenager I weighed 115. If I was that weight now I would look way too skinny. My advice to you is get to a healthy weight you feel good at and makes you happy.

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      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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