BMI?

[eyeamsam]

Ok in Jan. 2013, I decided to try to lose some weight-  I am 6'1" and weighed 229.   I thought If I could lose 20-30 lbs that would make me feel better.   So, I got down to 190 - at my annual check up my docotr says, you are still overweight by BMI- 25.1-  Now I am down to 183 which gives me a BMI of 24.1-  On the BMI scale the low end of 18.5 I would need to weigh 140 lbs.   So my question is how can BMI be accurate- a 6'1" man wieghing 140 lbs?  Is that even possible?  

[eyeamsam]

This is what I did and it sounds too easy, but it is true.  I got the MyFitnessPal app (you can also go online).  It is free.  You can track all the food you eat and exercise.  It has a huge list of foods and you can scan codes off packages for info so you don't need to know the caloires to use it they are all in the app. I entered my info- weight height gender and how much I wanted to lose.  I put down maybe 2 pounds a week- my goal - I think I listed 195.   My calorie intake was generated at1900 per day.  I was amazed at how many calories I ate before I started watching it.  I may have ate 2-3 times more than I needed.  I have lost just about 46 pounds which is 1.5 lbs per week on average.  So, it takes a lot of time.  All I did at first was watch what I ate.  I really tried not to just eat the entire 1900, but to be under 1900.  I did not cheat by saying yesterday I was 500 under so tomorrow I can eat 2400.  Likewise if I went over, I did not starve my self the next day I just stuck to the plan.  No rewards no punishment, just eat what I need to.  I still eat ice cream., but look at the container- a 1/2 cup serving is about 120 calories so just eat 1/2 cup and use a measuring cup- one of my first days I was hungry at night, I pulled out Saltine rounds- my new favorite cracker- serving size 6 crackers- caloires 60 and two tablespoon of hummus anohter 60 caloires- 120 calories and guess what, I felt better- I did not need to eat 1/4 -1/2 bag of chips like i used to.

I try to eat fruit and veggies often and started taking a multi vitamin everyday.  When I lost some weight, I added walking to it.  Now I added the couch to 5k app and am in the 6th week of that.   I did that becasue as I lost weight, it would be harder to lose more when I had less to lose.  It was also easier to run when I did not have an extra 30 pounds on me.
  
My mindset when I first started was that the feeling I got when I was hungry- was something I needed to enjoy- it was a new feeling.  A feeling that I was not always full-because I did not need to always be full.  That helped me to find comfort with the new feeling- I welcomed it rather than regreting the old feeling.
It was not easy.  My family thinks I am an addict becasue I never miss using MyFitnesPal.  I was on a camping trip last week and entered all my info everyday.   My wife is annoyed becasue I talk about calories and she has had a hard time losing weight.  She says she may weigh more than me now.  I do not bug her about it.  I just hope seeing that it can be done will rub off.  But I hear losing  weight for women can be harder.  So, I am no expert, but that is my story.  and no I do not get paid by MyFitnessPal.  

I hope this helps someone else.

[Barb135]

What have you done to try to lose weight?

[Barb135]

You have to keep your BMI at a level that's healthy for YOU...... the BMR chart is a range of what's healthy.  I, personally, think there's too  much emphasis on BMI, because it doesn't take into account the amount of fluid you have in your body...... For instance, I tend to retain a lot of fluid, so if my weight jumps up to 153, I'm obese, going by BMI, but the extra weight isn't fat, it's fluid.

According to the height/weight chart, normal weight for a 6'1" man could be anywhere between 152 and 192, depending on frame size.

[virgo1986]

Hi my name is Diana I am 5'3" and weight 217lbs how did you lose that weight. I been trying loosing weight but its just so hard for me. Can you give me some advice.