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"Ideal" weight and looking like a weakling.

post #1 of 30
5/5/09 at 12:26am
Thread Starter 
I'm about 20lbs away from my ideal weight, as determined by the weight tables. I'm excited about reaching this goal, but I've been looking at some guys that are roughly my height and are currently at my targeted weight (155-160lbs).

Truth is, they look like 98lb weaklings. They are trim and all, but some of them look like woody allen stunt doubles (sans glasses). What gives? Is this what I've got to look forward to? I guess looking this thin is healthy but I don't think it'll improve my chances with the ladies (which is what I want).
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post #2 of 30
5/5/09 at 12:47am
I'm assuming your referring to the BMI which can be very misleading. According to the BMI I am overweight at 6"2 and 205 lbs yet I have a body fat percentage between 10-15% and am extremely fit I just have a decent amount of muscle from working out. The BMI doesn't differentiate between muscle and fat which is its problem. Once you reach your target weight work on putting on lean muscle and don't worry about being above where the weight tables say you should be just watch your bf % and you will be healthy and not like like a total weakling.
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post #3 of 30
5/5/09 at 1:29am
BMI is a load of bullshit so don't worry about it. Just eat healthy and exercise. If you want to get bigger, eat more and lift heavy. If you don't, then eat maintenance and lift heavy. It's really up to you to determine your ideal bodyweight.

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post #4 of 30
5/5/09 at 2:20am
Right now I'm on the upper end of the normal bmi range. And when I was lifting super big I was "overweight" at aroudn 12% bf. Like others have said, don't worry too much about that. However if you aren't packing on muscle through weight training and are just running/doing cardio or whatever to lose weight then you may want to target getting in the normal bmi range.
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post #5 of 30
5/5/09 at 2:29am
FWIW, I used this: Link



And the regular formula for BMI and they both came out almost the same (within .25). I agree that BMI isn't a good indicator but it seemed to work for me when I compared it to the machine above.

Maybe the computer above sucks as well?
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post #6 of 30
5/5/09 at 2:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tck13 View Post
FWIW, I used this: Link


And the regular formula for BMI and they both came out almost the same (within .25). I agree that BMI isn't a good indicator but it seemed to work for me when I compared it to the machine above.

Maybe the computer above sucks as well?

BMI is a standard formula, why do you think it would be any different with the machine? It's doing the same thing your doing.
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post #7 of 30
5/5/09 at 3:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradstudent78 View Post
BMI is a standard formula, why do you think it would be any different with the machine? It's doing the same thing your doing.
I assumed that the computer using electriclal impulses to measure body fat would be more accurate than just using the BMI formula taking one's height and weight.
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post #8 of 30
5/5/09 at 3:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tck13 View Post
I assumed that the computer using electriclal impulses to measure body fat would be more accurate than just using the BMI formula taking one's height and weight.

It uses that for the body fat calculation, but not for the BMI calculation, which just uses the same formula.
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post #9 of 30
5/5/09 at 8:07am
I just went to three sites including the CDC and the National Heart and Lung institute, and Consumer.gov. I reminded of why I have totally discounted the BMI B.S. that The Industry has foisted on us.

In all cases I was told I was overweight, nearly obese, according to the BMI calculator. In NO case was I asked if I was a man or a woman.

I'm 6'0", 215 pounds, 38"waist, 44L and in very good shape. I hardly ever weigh myself. I just pay attention to how my clothes fit. I figure that if I can drop in to a standard suit and have it fit with only sleeve and trouser length alterations, I'm probably going to live.

Of course you will look like a weakling. You are using the same standard of measure as women! What the h*** are these people thinking?
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post #10 of 30
5/5/09 at 8:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Liberty Ship View Post
I'm 6'0", 215 pounds, 38"waist, 44L and in very good shape. I hardly ever weigh myself. I just pay attention to how my clothes fit. I figure that if I can drop in to a standard suit and have it fit with only sleeve and trouser length alterations, I'm probably going to live.
I'm sure you'll live, and I agree that BMI can be misleading (good for populations, bad for individuals, blah blah blah), but I wouldn't consider the fact that a standard drop 6 suit fits off the rack to be an indicator that one is in good shape.
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post #11 of 30
5/5/09 at 8:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcg View Post
I'm sure you'll live, and I agree that BMI can be misleading (good for populations, bad for individuals, blah blah blah), but I wouldn't consider the fact that a standard drop 6 suit fits off the rack to be an indicator that one is in good shape.

Of course not. And I don't.

Do you think that the same BMI standard should apply to men and women?
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post #12 of 30
5/5/09 at 9:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Liberty Ship View Post
Of course not. And I don't.

Do you think that the same BMI standard should apply to men and women?

No, in fact I think that even if there were separate standards for men and women it still wouldn't be an accurate tool for individuals. For one thing, the problem of lean mass vs. fat remains. And even if you disregard that, the formula itself is flawed (the exponent in the denominator should be closer to 2.6 than 2 from studies I've seen - people are 3 dimensional, not 2 dimensional, but taller people on average have a slimmer build than shorter people.)
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post #13 of 30
5/5/09 at 11:45am
I don't think the BMI is quite bullshit- I would only say it "need not apply" if you're seriously into bodybuilding/weightlifting. People often use athletes (especially football players) as an example of "see, BMI doesn't matter!), but football players are not normal people.

Other professional athletes (NBA basketball players), fit nicely in their BMI categories.

Too often, I've seen people that weightlift 1x/week discount their weight b/c "they're serious weightlifters". As if doing curls on a machine is equivalent to professional NFL workouts.

And sorry, liberty ship. Not to pick on you, but if you have a 38" waistline, you're probably overweight. It might not look like it in America, because so much of our country is obese, but if you went to anywhere else in the world, you'd probably stick out like a sore thumb.

For a serious weightlifter who falls outside this range, just look at kunk. He's 215, a wide chest, and a 33.5" waist. That's what muscle does to you- it makes everything wider and bigger except your waist.

Just because you fit into a drop 6" suit further illustrates this point- If you were in incredible shape, you'd have an incredible drop- sometimes even 10-12". Simply saying that you can fit into a 6" drop makes you merely average. If you put on 20 more lbs, I'm sure you'd fit into a size 46 suit just fine, too.
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post #14 of 30
5/5/09 at 11:52am
perfect example of BMI being bullshit. i'm 6'2, 215 (same weight as you), with a 47 chest and 33 waist. everyone is different.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Liberty Ship View Post
I just went to three sites including the CDC and the National Heart and Lung institute, and Consumer.gov. I reminded of why I have totally discounted the BMI B.S. that The Industry has foisted on us.

In all cases I was told I was overweight, nearly obese, according to the BMI calculator. In NO case was I asked if I was a man or a woman.

I'm 6'0", 215 pounds, 38"waist, 44L and in very good shape. I hardly ever weigh myself. I just pay attention to how my clothes fit. I figure that if I can drop in to a standard suit and have it fit with only sleeve and trouser length alterations, I'm probably going to live.

Of course you will look like a weakling. You are using the same standard of measure as women! What the h*** are these people thinking?
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post #15 of 30
5/5/09 at 11:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tck13 View Post
FWIW, I used this: Link



And the regular formula for BMI and they both came out almost the same (within .25). I agree that BMI isn't a good indicator but it seemed to work for me when I compared it to the machine above.

Maybe the computer above sucks as well?


My gym has one of those things lying around. I've used it a few times out of curiosity and gotten wildly improbable readings. Though, it seemed to be improbable in a fairly consistent way.
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