How to work out what weight I should be? page

[Tribal Rob]

I'm not really a fixed number kinda person, but I am getting closer to a good body composition, I look pretty good in clothes now (definalty don't look fat when dressed anymore), but there is still a far bit more fat to go at till I LGN

Thing is I've always been broad built, barrel chested, big legs and arms, and I've added lean mass from doing PBF so BMI is completly useless. I know I need to lose a couple more inches off my waist, and I know when I see ab defination I will be very lean. But it would be nice to put a figure on how far away that roughly is.

Any ideas for working this out - is it just work out body fat best way I can and do the maths or is there something I can use to save my brain?

[RitaRose]

Assuming no eating or body image issues, I'd stick with when you think you look good and feel good.

I know my ideal weight on Primal is 5 pounds heavier than when I looked good eating CW or Atkins. I just looked in the mirror when I got out of the shower one day and said "Yeah, that'll work."

[Tribal Rob]

Good point but I'm impaitent and I want some idea of how far I have to go till I'll think - yep that'll do

[otzi]

I always liked the old "pinch an inch" method. If you can pinch more than an inch of belly flab, you are too fat.

[Tribal Rob]

well yeah I know I'm too fat but I want an idea of how much too fat I am, I just don't know what a good weight to aim for is for me.

[JoanieL]

Check out insurance charts for optimal weight. It's just a guide. It falls short for very muscular people (who may weigh more than the charts say they should even though they look great), and people with very slender builds, but for most of us average folks, it's a good jumping off point.

[Owly]

Check out insurance charts for optimal weight. It's just a guide. It falls short for very muscular people (who may weigh more than the charts say they should even though they look great), and people with very slender builds, but for most of us average folks, it's a good jumping off point.

I find them wildly off. According to a lot of insurance charts, I'm either borderline or too heavy for my height and frame size. I wear a size 4. I'm pretty sure I'm not too fat (I also fall into the healthy BMI range, but insurance charts tend to place the ideal range for women lower than the non-gendered BMI calculation).

I'm guessing that if Tribal Rob is finding that BMI is not very useful with his build, an insurance chart is also not going to accommodate him well.

[JoanieL]

Owly, could be. I found that at the weight at which I feel comfortable, the insurance charts said I was underweight.

Tribal Rob? Was there ever a time in your adult life when you were at a good weight? Maybe you could use that as a jumping off point and then adjust for muscularity, etc.?

For me, I have a very old denim skirt that I've had since college. If that fits comfortably, I'm good.

[peril]

For the numbers inclined, you can base a guess of your ideal body weight off the BMI (weight in kg divided by the square of your height in metres). Provided you're not beefcake material from lots of working out, a midrange BMI of 22 or 23 is a reasonable target. Multiply that by the square of your height in metres to get your target weight

But really, deciding you look good is the only way you reach any sort of satisfaction

[Tribal Rob]

Unfortuantly there has never been a time when I have been a good weight, I was 196 lbs when I was about 21, but I was still overweight, and less lean mass than I have now and look really quite skinny looking back at photos.

I think I have less body fat now as I can just start to see the veins in my fore-arms, I've never had that before, but I am 215 lbs now, and 6 foot and a tiny bit tall.

I think I probably have between 15 - 20 lbs to go, but I'm really not sure I may need to lose another 10lbs on top of that and I'm not really sure the best way to figure it out.