and hear I thought I was already at a good BMI

My BMI is 24.6-25 depending on the caluclator.

In the high range but"healthy". So I was thinking this is an ok place to be.

Today I read (I don't remember where but on a reputable website) that for women a truely healthy BMI is between 22-23.5.

That's a little depressing. It just fuels that annoying voice in my head that I'm not doing enough.

On the one hand I want to enjoy my life - I have tested and found out that logging Sun-Thu and then taking the weekend off logging with a little exercise is just fine for me to maintain.

I don't know if I have it in me to really cut back or drastically change my diet without it feeling like a punishment...

 

any thoughts?

 

bmi is just a height-weight ratio and not a reflection of health.  you can have a higher bmi be very fit, with low body fat and lots of muscle, or you can have a low bmi and have little muscle lots of midsection fat.  the former condition is much, much healthier than the latter.

your cardiovascular fitness is a better measure.  can you walk briskly for 30 minutes?

I am pretty fit . I can so a spin class. Or walk for an hour. I do yoga. Currently I am doing the couch25k plan - its good for my back\knees to build up to running slowly.

so its fat percentage thats important... I think I have a lot of muscle however it is hidden behind fat :) What is the average healthy fat to muscle ratio?

 

I really shouldn't worry.  The BMI is a range for precisely the reason that there is no absolute 'healthy weight' for anyone.  Once you get past BMI 25 anything else is just cosmetic.  And health, as the other post rightly says, is more than weight... it's a combination of a lot of other things.  A skinny old smoker that lives on scotch whisky is probably going to hit the crematorium slightly quicker than a chunkier bloke without the bad habits!

Relax.... You can over-analyse and over-measure.  Be happy in your skin.

Thanks I needed to hear that!

Original Post by tamarbee:

 

 

any thoughts?

 

That BMI is mostly pointless, for someone wanting to get fit and healthy...

 

I'm at a BMI of 26, but for my weight I have a lot of muscle and fit much smaller clothes than most people my height and weight.  So BMI is just a number.  I could still stand to lose another 15 lbs to get rid of the tummy jiggle, but that wouldn't put me at the perfect BMI.

Screw BMI, look at Body Fat %, a 23 BMI can be Athelete, and can also fall under Obese... Its an absolutely terrible number to judge anything by...

Get yourself a set of calipers, and go by your body fat%...

Description Women Men Essential fat 12–15% 2–5% Athletes 16–20% 6–13% Fitness 21–24% 14–17% Acceptable 25–31% 18–25% Obese 32%+ 25%+

If you're physically fit and your lifestyle habits are healthy, don't worry about it. Your BMI is not problematic. 

Get a guestimate without the calipers:

http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home -body-fat-test-2774-143.html?ic=4001

I got these figures from my Doctor and if your within the "healthy" then here in UK you are good to go.

Body Fat % female age 20-39/ too low 0-21/ healthy 21-33/ too high 33-39/ obese 39+..men..................../.............. 0-8 /..............8-20  /...............20-25/ 25+

Body Fat % female age 40-59/ too low 0-23/ healthy 23-34/ too high 34-40/ obese 40+..men..................../...............0 -11/.............11-22/...............22-28/ 28+

BMI <18.5 under weight/ 18.5-24.9 normal/ 25.0-29.9 over weight/ 30.0-39.9 obese.

As yours is right at 25 I really wouldn't be over concerned, and I agree that you should go more on BF% than BMI