The FastDay Forum

For me to nudge in to the healthy part of the scale, I need to get down to 9st9lb. I'm 5'2.

I really, really don't think that is realistic. Don't think I have been that light in living memory, not even after I lost weight with ww years ago, and strutted around in a size 10 showing my midriff off (I was only about 30 at this time, and it was the 90s, so I think I can be forgiven this faux pas).

So, how seriously take it? I started on 14st11, am now 13st, aiming for 11st and then see how I look and feel. I would then have a BMI of 28.

I've been busy posting this morning, going to shut up for a bit so you don't get bored with me!

9 stone something sounds ok for a non-tall woman. Wait till you get into the 10s and it'll be easier to see.

BMI is doable, but I believe waist measurement is a more accurate gauge of health, it relates to levels of visceral fat.

[carorees]

See here for previous discussion of this issue: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=236

I have a large frame so I have similar concerns about ever reaching a "normal" BMI! But I'm just going to keep fasting and see where it takes me!

9 stone something sounds ok for a non-tall woman. Wait till you get into the 10s and it'll be easier to see.

I'm not arguing that it doesn't sound OK, it's from the published charts!

I think I was 10st when I finished ww, which at the time was still to heavy to join them as a Gold member - something the leader of my group agreed was mad, as I looked great. And it would now put me in the overweight category on the BMI scale.

I will start measuring waist and hips though, I found a tool on the NHS website that gives you an indication of healthy ratios (having said that, if you have a "boyish" frame I'm not sure you can ever reach a healthy balance).

I'm not arguing that it doesn't sound OK, it's from the published charts!

BMI is just a formula, so it can't be wrong or unreliable it's how we use it that may be debatable. If you're saying a BMI of 24 would be too thin for you then my opinion might be different

Being short does make it more challenging as dividing by height squared is powerful for tall people. 10% more height is 20% off your BMI at the same weight.

A 10 stone woman is likely to be ~30% fat, whether that's good or not is largely in the eye of the beholder. Adele vs Victoria Beckham type decisions.

I'm not saying I would be *too* thin with a BMI of 24. I'm just saying, that when I was 10st, I took a UK dress size of 10. And I can't see how you can be over weight at that size.

It would mean that me getting down to a healthy BMI I would be down to a size 6-8. Which seems v small indeed.

As I've said elsewhere, me at 9 stone is referred to as my "Belsen" look as there are some terrible pictures of me looking angular and gaunt, many years ago.

I'm 160cm but aiming for 11 stone something. I'll reassess if & when I get there. I do get a bit freaked by people saying their starting weight is my current target!

I've always been someone who carries weight well, people are always very surprised I was as heavy as I was. Big boned farmer's daughter, never going to be petite. My wee sister takes after my Dad and looks large at 10 st, which is the heaviest she's ever got to, usually around just under 9 stone. It's how you look and feel that is important.

Sounds like we're of very similar build BBT.

Big shoulders, etc. I'm not saying I'm not fat, because I am but I struggle with women's clothes around the arms and shoulders and will still do so even at lower weights.

Frankly, if you can fit a size 10 in anything, no one can say anything!

I think I said on the other thread about the GP's nurse saying she was technically overweight at 8.5 stone but that she wasn't going to try to be within her BMI range as she'd be 7.5 stone and would look awful. (4" 10 lady.)

It's also an age thing, if you are older you need a bit of padding not to look ill.

On the small boned/big boned stuff you could look at tables of ideal body weights produced by insurance companies e.g. for a 5' 6" woman, ideal body weight might be small frame/136-142lbs medium frame/139-151lbs large frame/146-164lbs or the Hamwi Formula for Women; 100 lbs for first 5 feet + 5 lbs for each inch over 5 feet (medium frame) Small frame (- 10%), Large frame (+ 10%). However I think these formulae may have been somewhat discredited.

This is helpful. I have always disliked that our doctor used the BMI so much. My husband is shorter with very big bones. He tried years ago to get down to his BMI and looked like a skeleton! His doctor told him to put 10 lbs back on! I know someone else that was told his BMI was too high and to loose weight and he didn't have an ounce of fat on him....but lots of heavy muscle.
I have a different issue. I have a small frame with tiny bones. My BMI may say I'm good, when there is still a lot of fat on those skinny bones.

It's also an age thing, if you are older you need a bit of padding not to look ill.

Agreed!!

It's also an age thing, if you are older you need a bit of padding not to look ill.

Agreed!!

Maybe, but is that because we really need the padding or because we have unhealthy ideas of how we want to look when we are older? (i.e. we want to look younger!) I think my mother kept quite a bit of weight on because she felt it helped her skin tone. It may have done, but then it probably didn't improve her longevity (understatement).

See here for previous discussion of this issue: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=236

Great link. In that thread you say:

As height increases, the amount of non fat mass (bones, muscles, water etc) increase by a greater proportion, so BMI is particularly inaccurate for tall (or short) people

Can you elaborate? I'm only 5ft1 so how does this impact on the reliability of BMI for me?

Wow, interesting to see how much height affects the BMI calculations. I'm only 5'6 and I can be up to 11 stone to stay under a BMI of 25. So I was surprised to see that just 4 inches of height difference made over a stone difference in the healthy weight range. But in my book, no-one who can fit into size 10 trousers can possibly look overweight! I dream of size 10 trousers!
And huge congratulations on the weight loss so far! Is that all by following the 5:2 plan?