Now i know BMI is, for some people, only a guide e.g. body builders etc but looking at my 'goal' BMI according to all the calculators, if i am to stop being 'overweight' i need to get to a weight that
1) i haven't been since i was 16 and would struggle to get there
2) would never be able to maintain it.

Anyone know of a different BMI calculator or similar that would give me a realistic goal weight without judging me as aiming to be overweight?

It's a bit demoralising to be aiming to be 'overweight' if you know what i mean........

Hi acid trip I am with you my BMI will always been in the overweight even when i am at a healty weight. I never look at BMI i look at sclaes, my shape, if I feel healthy and am happy with myself.

How about buying some of those scales that do a lot of things viceral fat, body age, weight, muscle mass, skeletal muscle the best are omron which i think you can find on trade me

BMI calculators are just one thing that with very little info height and weight give you a label. You are the best judge of your own body and how healthy you are

Yeah some people are naturally heavier than others. I am only just in my healthy BMI as size 10 at 170 cms.

I tend to go by weight and what I see as being healthy for me. A BMI is a guide really

http://www.slide.com/r/qJJVsNFP1z92mJfVC...403158410162966

is a very good illustration of why BMI is such a crock. I always look at 'shauna' and wish I was 'that' overweight

Thanks Fel - you always put things in perspective for me!

So true!

wow what a good illustration! i have been "overweight" as a minimum ever since i was a teen, and that label made me miserable and feel huge compared to all my friends..(looking back at photos i was actually very close to the same size as the one in the group i saw as the skinny one!!!) at 15 i was a size 10, 173cm tall, yet weighed 68kg so was therefore overweight on the BMI chart. when really, how can a tall size 10 be anywhere near overweight????i was just solid boned. still toned, and not much fat on me (which is what they should measure for health IMO!)yet the idea i was overweight really got into my head and i had a pretty low image of myself as a teen... now im more relaxed about it and realise its not realistic for me to go by BMI. if you feel good, are fit, and dont have too much fat on you (that can cause health issues etc) then you are perfect

I think that the one measurement that might be useful as a rule of thumb, is the waist one - your waist (females) should be under 80cm, as it is that carrying of weight round the middle that is the dangerous one - so from a health perspective, maybe follow that advice?

DM- 173 cm and 68 kg is in the healthy range (BMI= 23)?

Felicis- I think that the 80 cm measure is a better guide too.

Really it is your own fitness that matters I think- I've been the same BMI both fit and unfit and I'm pretty sure the fit one was much healthier (was wearing smaller clothes too because muscle is less bulky than fat).

ah true Lunna! maybe i calculated it wrong as a kid lol thanks for that! but you see how those numbers can mean everything in the world to someone who is over-concious about their weight and sees others who are a different build to them so assumes they must be huge in comparison...sad ay. and i guess compared to then i have a completely different body shape, now i have boobs and hips to start with! haha. and having had a baby etc. being below 25 for me now just wont happen..but all good totaly agree too- its your fitness that matters

My GP said he only loosely applies BMI, with his patients and prefers to use waist measurement as an indicator instead.
Less than 88cm for woman and less than 102cm for men.