How to make sense of the numbers

[spyrosmom]

According to the AMA, I'm still 20lbs overweight
My BMI is 2 points high
My body fat% (using Navy measure method) is 1% high for my age
My waist to height ratio is correct
My hip to waist ratio is correct
My blood pressure runs low
My heart rate runs low
My cholesterol runs low
My blood sugar hangs out on the low end of normal
I can run 13.1 miles, and am working on 26.2 for this year
I did the 100 pushups challenge
I'm on round 4 of STS
I wear size 10 pants

So what does that make me? Fat? Fit? both? normal? A work in progress? I'm pretty sure I'm not a walking heart attack.

I think part (and goodness knows not all) of the weight is extra skin. Gross, I know, but I can see it when I'm in a plank, and there is no sucking it in. It's just there, nothing I can to about that.

This stuff drives me crazy sometimes. Most of it is good, a little of it is not.

My goal is to shake 10lbs, which would put me where I'd be happy (100lbs total lost from highest weight) and then poo-poo on the AMA. That would bring the BMI down to normal, and I think the body fat % as well.

But for real, and I'm not trying to make excuses, given all the good stuff, do those other numbers really mean a whole lot?

Nan

 

[regina]

BMI is only really somewhat accurate for the average person. If you have a a high muscle mass percentage then the BMI is not accurate. Many professional athletes would be well above the desired BMI (according to the standard charts) for their weight/height, but they are certainly fit.

 

[NRG Woman]

Also, the mortality rate from all causes is lowest in the overweight BMI group.

I think overrelying on external measures can do us harm to no end. Why are you trying to live up to abstract measures, developed by people who never met you, for an unhealthy population at large?

 

[NY25]

Weight is also totally dependent on muscle mass. A super-fit, well muscled person can weigh above what one might expect for their frame. While someone in the right range could be all fat and no muscle.

 

[Fit_mommy]

I think that the fitter you become, the less the "numbers" make sense. The previous posters basically said the same thing only in different ways and obviously ITA with them!

I have all but completely given up on the #'s. I track my weight though I really don't know why.... It's higher then it should be according to all of those charts out there because of my muscle mass.

On paper I basically look overweight, unhealthy and at risk for a heart attack when the truth is I am the exact opposite!

 

[lisa_la_machina]

If losing 10 more pounds would make YOU feel good, then go for it. Beyond that, keep doing what you're doing. Your future is a lot healthier than someone who is "skinny fat" with a perfect BMI.