How Fat is Fat? The All American State of Denial and BMI

[Healy Arms]

So...

 

I'm reading the post by MT. CAT in the "Potential Realized Training" thread and get to the point where he talks about "I had no idea I had that much fat to lose" and a light goes on. That is a common theme in the gun shop. Now that I have personally lost enough walrus blubber for it to be readily noticeable (not the one-eyebrow up with the question, have you lost a few - but the real hey, you look a lot better. Your gut was getting huge) the conversations centered around "I need to lose a few" have been a near daily occurrence. America has gotten fat. So not a day goes by that someone in my sphere of influence couldn't stand to "lose a few".

 

When I finally said enough is enough and realized I was quickly becoming comparable to a beach ball with feet, I went to my doctor. I told him I was ready for a physical and a life change with my weight. I was 44 years old, 5'9" and 245lbs. The physical & blood work surprisingly came back pretty good, but he assured me that would be short-lived if I didn't cut weight and change my eating habits. Which led to the question - Doc, how much do I need to lose? Knowing I'd need a visual, he handed me a Body Mass Index or BMI chart and said here is a good gauge for you to set some real goals with. Here is a picture of the chart.

 

 

Of course he's a marathoner and a lean 65 year-old jogging machine. But I know that only silly people run for fun so I take this obvious affront casually at first. I'm looking at a chart that says I should be between 160 and 169 on the HIGH end and immediately think BMI is just a guideline right? BMI must be outdated right? 165? Surely not. So I say to the doctor - uhm... are these numbers accurate? Do I need to be shooting for 165? And he bluntly says - YES. He adds that if I were in the mid 170's I would be just fine, but I should shoot for 160-165 and let's see what happens. I say to him - I was thinkin' I need to lose 30-40 pounds. He tells me - yeah, that'll be a good start, but if you lose 30 you will STILL be obese. Still?? I thought, holy moly he just used the O word. I can't be! But, there it is. In black-n-white right in front of me.

 

Being the quick thinking type that I am, I begin to defend my idea of 30-40 lbs and question the Body Mass Index validity. He's obviously heard this line of tripe before and shoots my balloon out of the sky immediately. The Doc says - you need to go look at photos of American men in the 1950's and 1960's. A man back then who was 5'9" tall was overweight at 180lbs and that has NOT changed. There are some VERY NARROW exceptions to BMI based on body frame and muscularity, but if you get to 180 and you're so dang huge that you're ripped to shreds, let me know 'cause I'd like to see it. He added - you need to understand that the idea of "being fat" in America has changed as we've gotten way, way, way too fat. Clothes have gotten larger and the tag that should say XL or XXL now have a tag that says Large. He called it "vanity sizing" and said we glorify being super-fat with brands like Big Dogs which he said makes obese pre-diabetic men feel like super-studs. He summarized - BMI still applies in 2014 and every ounce of fat you choose to keep is an ounce of fat working against you when you hunt, swim, exercise, play with your son, etc. etc. Just because you don't WANT it to apply doesn't matter - it does.

 

To say the least, it was an eye opener.

 

So I look back at photos of my grandfather in his late 30's and early 40's and the Doc was right. He was 5'8" tall not an ounce over 145 - a lean and muscular pit miner from Globe - certainly not starving as we might say if a man is 5'8" and 145 today. Then I get out a photo of me graduating from police motorcycle school - there I am at 175 - looking nothing like the 245 beach ball status I had attained. The evidence is in and the Doc is right. I need to lose at least 75 pounds. That's reality. Period.

 

The reason I bring this up is to shed some light on what a healthy weight actually is. I've talked to plenty of BMI deniers since I've taken this project on. Big guys that need to lose 70-100lbs who say "I'd like to lose 20 or maybe 30 pounds". If I know them well I will challenge that notion and work on a more real perspective of where they need to be so they can set a goal. If I don't know them well I leave it alone because 20 or 30 is a darn fine start anyway.

 

I've chosen a one-year path to lose the 75lbs. I amped up my exercise routine and have done a lot over time to clean up my eating and drinking regimen. I did NOT make drastic food changes right away that resulted in huge weight loss. Rather I made smaller changes that both gave results and that I could sustain forever. I've lost 38lbs and I'm happy to share with anyone who wants to know what I'm doing.

 

In the meantime, best of luck to all who begin the journey. I hope this information helps. And remember - they won't tell you when you're way too fat until you lose it and then they'll tell you how they couldn't believe you'd gotten that big. LOL

 

Here's to huntin' light!!

 

[johnnie blaze]

I guess nothing gets easier the older you get.

[Healy Arms]

I guess nothing gets easier the older you get.

 

No sir - and doing old age as a fattie is very unappealing. It was time to change.

[Str8Shot]

BMI graphs are nice and all but far from accurate... there are many , many people who are in outstanding physical shape and have below 13% Body fat Which is the high side for athletes, but if you go by BMI they are all obese. Look at Body fat percentages to gauge in contrast to BMI and you may fall somewhere in between

 

Essential body fat for men is 2 -5% .... Being a Wrestler in high school I can tell you I seen first hand how lacking a body can be under 5% and know some guys as low as 3% who had no essential fat protecting organs.

Athletic percentages are in 6 - 14% range This is the range that most pro athletes fit in ... I DID SAY MOST

A fit Man , the gym guy on average falls between 14 - 17 %

Average healthy Male 18 - 24%

Anything over 25% +'s OBESE

 

 

I am 5' 11" and know that at 185 I was measured at 13.5% body fat and would still be considered Overweight by this chart... I can tell you starting at my highest on this Jan 1 of 310 lbs I know what feeling the extra weight does and the difference physically between that amount and the mid 230's I am at Now ...

 

I am just saying BMI charts are not always the best indicator and do not factor in many things.

[AverageJoe]

6'0 and 140 is ideal????? HAHAHAHAHA maybe for a pencil neck European homo

[trphyhntr]

ya its always a trip to see how much weight you have to lose to see real changes.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Great post thanks for sharing

[Healy Arms]

BMI graphs are nice and all but far from accurate... there are many , many people who are in outstanding physical shape and have below 13% Body fat Which is the high side for athletes, but if you go by BMI they are all obese. Look at Body fat percentages to gauge in contrast to BMI and you may fall somewhere in between

 

Essential body fat for men is 2 -5% .... Being a Wrestler in high school I can tell you I seen first hand how lacking a body can be under 5% and know some guys as low as 3% who had no essential fat protecting organs.

Athletic percentages are in 6 - 14% range This is the range that most pro athletes fit in ... I DID SAY MOST

A fit Man , the gym guy on average falls between 14 - 17 %

Average healthy Male 18 - 24%

Anything over 25% +'s OBESE

 

 

I am 5' 11" and know that at 185 I was measured at 13.5% body fat and would still be considered Overweight by this chart... I can tell you starting at my highest on this Jan 1 of 310 lbs I know what feeling the extra weight does and the difference physically between that amount and the mid 230's I am at Now ...

 

I am just saying BMI charts are not always the best indicator and do not factor in many things.

 

Please note - I did say that the Doc provided for big frames and lots of muscle as a way out of BMI top end calculations. He just challenged that most people use that as an excuse when in fact they need to lose more weight. As I stated, he said come back at 180 ripped and hard and he'd call for an exception.

[rossislider]

Just my opinion, but I think this chart is ridiculous. I'm 6"4 and this suggests I should be at 200 lbs to be on the high end of optimal??? If I weighed 200 lbs I'd look pretty sickly. But as your last post suggests, I am big framed and lift weights daily.

[DesertBull]

5' 8" 150 lbs?

 

I drop deuces that weigh more than that.

[deercrazy]

This is an important thread if you have a CDL drivers license. They are changing rules, and Body Mass Index(BMI) is going to be really important. They say if you have a high BMI. that you are most likely to have sleep Apnea, and all kinds of disorders. I have all kinds of friends and relatives that are "living clean" and they are full of cancer and having all sorts of medical issues. This fat guy is healthy as a horse, and enjoying life right up until I have to lose 50 pounds to keep my CDL.

[rcdinaz]

BMI charts are a good starting place and useful for the untrained body most people have. I also think Healy is correct most people grossly underestimate how much they really need to lose if they want to mostly get rid of a problem area gut, hips, etc. The other booger of a problem is those areas we want to see disappear tend to be the very last to go even when you are kicking butt and taking names.

 

Overall I am right there with what str8shot posted, If you have even slightly above average muscle mass they don't make sense. I am 5'10" and 190 right now and would like to drop 8lbs, that specific because of a body fat goal. If I drop under 180 I will be in the magical realm of sub 10% bodyfat, which is a complete mofo to maintain if you have a real life. Every chart says I would be a borderline fatty at 180.

 

Oh and here - here! Another vote for getting older sucks!

[loco4coues]

Thanks for sharing and good luck on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. It sounds like you have made some great progress. It's always good to self evaluate and make healthy changes. Eating well and exercising daily is so much more important than a number on a chart or on a scale. That being said, here are a few of the issues with BMI charts: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

[hunter4life]

I see we have a lot of BMI deniers coming out of the woodwork, or just a bunch of big framed guys with hulking muscles. The original poster has it correct, there are a few narrow exceptions, but most people are just plain overweight and making excuses.

[mr.smith]

At 6'3" 228 I am on the edge of obese according to that chart. Sure I have a couple pounds to lose but never really considered myself even fat. When I was in the Army I held at 212 and still had to get taped every time we had a PT test because of that stupid BMI chart. 150-190 is optimal. I haven't been that light since I was 18 and at that time I was super skinny.