(Tw: body dismorphia, ED) What do you guys think of Bmi charts do you think they are helpful or inaccurate?
This is my body right now I've lost 35lbs in the past year and my bmi is 24.4 which is apparently slightly overweight / just under the healthy weight line. The logical part of me would like to think that everyone has different body types and caloric needs so the Bmi charts isn't completely accurate. But my obsessive body dismorphia believes that it is and still wants me to lose more weight even if it means eating less than the recommended amount of calories for an active adult. I would like an outsiders perspective, because I have struggled with eating disorders in the past and I still struggle immensely with body dismorphia so I really don't know if others see me how I see myself. Do I look slightly overweight? (Please be honest) and what do you think about the Bmi chart?
You look thin and also, gorgeous. The BMI chart was designed to measure the health of [u]large populations[/u] of people; the fact that it's ever used on individuals is kind of absurd. It fails to account for individual factors like bone density and bone size, and it doesn't adequately account for height either even though it's part of the formula. If you don't think your body dysmorphia will let up knowing that (which makes sense considering that it's unhealthy thought patterns and all), you might wanna check up on ways to measure your percent body fat with medical professionals.
But yeah, you definitely look thin. Very nice hair, too.
@BlueVeins thank you, I appreciate your perspective and kind words, I definitely would like to know my fat percentage, I would like to believe that I still have a lot of muscle mass from being a dancer for so long but I don't know, I know I'm still kind of toned but not nearly as much as I used to be. I try not to compare myself to my younger teenage body that had a faster metabolism and was dancing 10+ hours a week but it's hard not to miss and envy that life style, I still try to get some exercise every week but it's hard working 40 hrs a week now
The issue with body dysmorphia is that it trains you to recognize fat and it will never let you be happy with what you look like because you can always find a bit of fat because we need it to live.
The question is are you HEALTHY. And you look great and very healthy.
BMI charts are a guideline and really don't account for build, either.
You look FINE!! No not overweight 🌹...I just read the other day, that BMI is quite inaccurate Because it was made for and by, European men. So it was based on a MAN'S body mostly. Which it said, does not account for a woman's different anatomy....so they're trying to slowly alter the BMI system..not go by it as much🌻
SW-User
Girl , you’re not overweight at all 😲. You look great.
Well done for losing those lbs 💕 you look great and clearly a healthy weight to me. Healthy weight bmi goes up to 24.9 but it is just a number and these healthy weight boundaries will just be averages. You don’t seem close to the top of it at all
you look healthy to me. you look like you could stand to lose or gain a few pounds and still be healthy either way. BMI charts are just based on average builds and could vary according to your bone and muscular structure.
You do not look remotely overweight. BMI is useful to a point, but it has a lot of problems. I'm at about a 27 right now, looking to get back to a healthy 25. Actually that's my first goal, but then I would like to get to the lower end of health, I forget what BMI that is. So BMI tells you the range of what is healthy. Don't go outside that. And if you're losing weight, do it slowly. Eat just a few less calories than you need, but not radically less. But you certainly do not need to lose any weight, you look amazing as you are! Stay health first, and within the healthy range, do whatever makes you feel best about yourself.
As I mentioned to Harriet in the comments, BMI is outdated and a relic of the past, so definitely disregard it. Even so, you look *ab fab* (AB-so-looooote-ly FAB-oh-luss 😛) in this selfie. Everything about you is perfect, so simply maintain all that you're doing now. Hope that made at least some sense! 😂
@Poetvann Vann you're soooooooo welcome (!!!) and hopefully it did boost your self confidence. Many other members obviously feel the same way in the comments. :)
SW-User
You look healthy. BmI isnt the best to go by. It doesn't take a lot of factors into account
I believe the BMI charts are based on the average American and the lines for over and under weight are lines of standard deviations. People the same height may have longer or shorter arms, may have thicker or less think bones, may have longer or shorter torsos, etc., etc. Also muscles are heavier than fat, so just being muscular along with having long arms may put someone over the edge. So take the charts with a grain of salt ... provided you don't have hypertension and aren't sodium sensitive ... in that case, may a grain of sugar, provided you don't have diabetes, or pre-diabetes :)
It's hard to judge caloric needs and consumption. Just 100 extra calories a day can translate into 50 extra pounds over a 5 year period. If neither gaining nor losing weight and otherwise at a healthy weight means you are probably consuming the right number of calories for whatever your activity level.
From what I can see in the picture you are not overweight. A BMI of 22–23 would be better, but yours is still healthy. Why would you want to look like a beanpole? Enjoy your life and stop worrying please. You're good. 🌷
They are both helpful and inaccurate, for adults. For most people if their BMI is outside the 'healthy range' they should probably [i]consider [/i]some change to their lifestyle, eating habits, how much exercise they take and so on.
If you are inside the 'healthy range' you are most likely alright.
For children BMI is not very useful and the weight charts are much better but of course both BMI and weight charts suffer from the same problem: if you are not a part of the population that was used to generate the charts then the chart will not be as good.
But both are just simple guides to get a starting point, to suggest whether or not it might be worth getting a second opinion.
@Ryannnnnn I do have quite a bit of muscle because I was dancer for so long, people have always assumed that I'm lighter than I am. So that might be why I'm heavier than I want to be.
@JohnnyNoir I was severely eating disordered in my early teenage hood and have always carried eating disordered thoughts with me. So when I actually was overweight it was hard for me to healthily lose the weight because in my mind the easiest and fastest way was just to starve myself because that's the only way I've ever known or practiced losing weight, and I do still struggle with starving myself some days and not letting myself completely fall back into that so shes right I am still easily triggered by a lot of things
@Poetvann you look fine to me. I wasn’t trying to make light of you situation, I wish we weren’t so hung up on expectations of what constitutes a normal body type. This beauty culture only contributes to our feelings of not fitting in. Lots of good advice here so listen and take it to heart. You’ll be fine
[quote]24.4 which is apparently slightly overweight / just under the healthy weight line[/quote]
May I ask the source of that information? If you got it from Google, I totally get it; if you got it from a doctor/dietician or trainer, that's an issue.
@Poetvann Thank you...there's a lot of conflicting info on those sites. Even if you don't already have an ED, they'll give you one LOL I used to spend way too much time on [b][i]all[/i][/b] of them.
You look really good and hopefully you feel just as great; ultimately that's what really matters.
You don't look overweight, but the BMI is a pretty accurate indicator of what your weight should be based on your height. Yes, body types do exist and people who are heavier will struggle to lose weight. But you need to get it to the healthy BMI range to avoid health problems
BMI is useful across populations or as a rough guide, so I wouldn’t stress too much. That said, if it puts you into obese or underweight categories it’s a good time to ask your doc about what that means for you personally.
Your BMI is healthy and you look healthy, no need to worry.
@HannahSky 5'1 short as hell so balancing weight is definitely a struggle for me because there's not a lot of space for it to be evenly distributed lol
@Poetvann ok, I'd stick with the bmi for your target weight, it's likely more reliable for you than what you visually think, given your disorder.. Unless your doctor says otherwise.
I don't put a lot of stock in the Bmi chart. But my honest opinion isn you look great. Don't let worries about your weight rule your life. The people who judge you for your weight are not worth knowing
