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OK, I am a male, 30 years old, 5'11.5'' (right between 5'11'' and 6'0'')...weight 181 lbs. stark naked first thing in the morning, probably with clothes on, food in me through the day, etc., more in the mid-180s.
I walk 4 or 4.5 miles per day; I eat relatively healthfully I think...don't think I totally overeat or anything.
With my clothes on, most folks (maybe they are just being nice) say that I look good. When I have my shirt off, I admit I have much more flab on my belly/chest than I would ideally want.
Due to some current physical circumstances, I cannot lift weights / run / bike, etc., so I have to stick with pretty low impact stuff like my walking (which sucks).
When I look at all of the ideal height/weight calculators, they have me anywhere from 15 to 25 pounds overweight. I am probably what you'd consider a "medium" build...not small, but not large either. Ideal weights for this height / build are in the 165 to 170 range. I am a decent amount over that. My BMI is near 26 (and anything over 25 is classified as "overweight").
What is my purpose in these babblings? While I am not a huge metrosexual or anything, it depresses me to no end that I am classified as being "overweight"! I admit that I am definitely flabbier than I would like, but to be 10 or 15 pounds overweight is somewhat boggling to me.
Does anyone else have experiences like this with ideal ht-wt charts / BMI? I cannot claim I am especially muscular either, discounting the BMI! But with me walking 4+ miles per day and not eating like a hog all too much, I am just shocked that I am an overweight fella.
IMHO the BMI is flawed...just so you dont feel so bad....it says I am morbidly obese...now Im not..I go to the gym 4 days a week and run bleachers all the time...the BMI cant calculate muscle, which weighs more than fat.....
I am currently at 209..and it says my ideal weight is @160..so it says Im 49 lbs overweight-lol.
I would say your weight is more than fine. it's hard to realize at first ~ that height has everything to do with how you carry your weight. and some people.. are just built poorly, to where all the weight deposits in their arms, or all in their gut, or all in their face, etc. . . it's all about porportions - self improvement is always good, and walking is great cause it doesn't even feel like exersize... I want to be able to start walking more myself.
Don't stress about the small things you're a guy. guys are supposed to be bigger anyways! to protect!
No you don't sound overweight! You sound like a normal, average guy who needs to quit worrying. If you feel comfortable with yourself and how your clothes fit, then be happy
I find all those charts and height to weight ratios completely confusing. I know guys who weigh 230 lbs, but to look at them you wouldn't guess since a lot of it is muscle.
Thanks folks...so far your feedback has been very kind.
Frankly, I typically haven't been overly sensitive or had a bad body image or anything - really, I am kind of a "typical guy" generally with weight...don't worry tons about it.
But I am just shocked I guess to see that I am officially listed in my doctor's office as "overweight" or on a BMI index as "overweight"...again, I don't think I am skinny as a rail, but many folks even think I am "slender"...but I guess that is with my clothes ON. Maybe, off, they'd have a different picture of ol' "Overweighted One"??!
As for how my clothes fit, I am a little tighter but not tight at a 33 inch waist, a little loose but not baggy at a 34 inch waist. I have a 32 inch length. Shirt size is typically a medium (dress shirt). I guess I do wish I was more in a 32 inch waist and was more like 165 lbs instead of narrowing in on a buck-85!
But thanks to you guys for making me feel a bit better. I just never pictured myself as being "Overweight"!!!
OK, I am a male, 30 years old, 5'11.5'' (right between 5'11'' and 6'0'')...weight 181 lbs. stark naked first thing in the morning, probably with clothes on, food in me through the day, etc., more in the mid-180s.
I walk 4 or 4.5 miles per day; I eat relatively healthfully I think...don't think I totally overeat or anything.
I have good news and bad news.
First the good news:
You are normal compared to the people around you, maybe even a little on the fit side.
Now the bad news:
The BMI is a good indicator for an average (including all body types) person, especially if you're not lifting weights. So yes, you are overweight.
The sad truth is that the majority of our nation is overweight. A little flab around the middle, some extra padding in the rear is all it takes to be overweight.
Now, that doesn't mean that you're going to die tomorrow, or that girls will laugh when you walk by at the beach, but it does mean that your risk of some diseases is elevated and you are going to jiggle if do jumping jacks.
It's good that you walk several miles a day, that will help out with your general health, but the problem is what you do the rest of the day. If you have a job that involves sitting, you are leading a sedentary lifestyle, even if you hit the gym for high-impact stuff an hour a day 5 days a week.
I don't have a good solution for you, unfortunately.
I'm 5'10" and I've maxed out at 190lbs and bottomed out at 150lbs (due to illness). Right now I'm holding just below the overweight line at 165 lbs. I eat a light breakfast, a salad for lunch, and steamed veggies (with the occasional meat or potato dish) for supper. I commute by bike and get 2 hours of vigerous aerobic exercise 5 days a week, thanks to that. You'd think I could get some results for all that time and effort,but I have a sedentary job. That, and wanting to enjoy life and eating s--t food on the weekends makes it extremely difficult to stay inside the lines if you're an endo-or-mesomorph.
I used to eat even less and work out more (2 hours of freeweights 1 hour of aerobics daily, plus 4-8 hours of moderate aerobics every other weekend) and that only shaved off 8 lbs from where I am now, though it did add some nice mucle definition and shrink the jiggly parts. But no one who holds down a real job can keep that up and still have a serious relationship/family/etc.
So, I'll give you the same advice as a cardiologist I admire gave me (he's a jolly rotund guy at 74 nowadays): Enjoy your life.
If you can't enjoy your life without the body of a greek god, then hit the bricks and celery sticks. Otherwise, don't stress about it too much if you're within a stone's throw of the overweight line.
Walk more if you can. Try small salads for lunch a few times a week. Spinach and mushrooms are a great way to hit the USRDA for almost every vitamin and mineral you need, and they taste pretty good topped with some croutons, peas, corn and cheese. Get a big steamer and do rice/fresh veggies a few nights a week. It's pretty fast and tasty. Consider adding soy sauce or experiment with spices. See if you can find a sushi place or--better yet--a vegitarian diner near you and use that to mix it up. The main thing is to find a balance of healty food you can live with without wanting to fashion a noose out of the string beans.
Yeah, these things are pretty screwy. I feel like I'm in great shape and I'm 6'1, 185 lbs, so just a hair taller, and the same weight. It's so faulty because they have no way of telling how that weight is allocated. For instance, everyone in the NFL is considered overweight by the BMI calculators. In fact, such "fatties" as Brian Urlacher, Brady Quinn, and LaDanian Tomlinson are considered OBESE!!! Quick footed offensive lineman Orlando Pace is considered morbidly obese. These guys are in top athletic shape, and they're considered obese because body fat percentage isn't taken into account at all.
Location: Ohio, but moving to El Paso, TX August/September
434 posts, read 1,636,762 times
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I'm going to talk in generalities, so nobody get offended..
I think people often do not see themselves for their true weight because I think a little meat on the bones has become the standard in the US.
About a year and a half ago, I admit, I let myself go. I'm 5 feet tall and had gotten up to 122. It was a combination of being inactive (not by my own accord, I was having a really bad arthritic flare plus being shot up with steroids). It had happened slowly, so I gradually got to see myself as bigger as not really being bigger. I didn't realize how big I had gotten until I saw a picture of myself with some friends. I went on a diet, and have been at 106/107 for the past 6 months.
I think nowadays it's hard for people to judge if they are overweight or not compared to others because far too many people have added pounds to where it has become the norm.
I'm going to talk in generalities, so nobody get offended..
I think people often do not see themselves for their true weight because I think a little meat on the bones has become the standard in the US.
About a year and a half ago, I admit, I let myself go. I'm 5 feet tall and had gotten up to 122. It was a combination of being inactive (not by my own accord, I was having a really bad arthritic flare plus being shot up with steroids). It had happened slowly, so I gradually got to see myself as bigger as not really being bigger. I didn't realize how big I had gotten until I saw a picture of myself with some friends. I went on a diet, and have been at 106/107 for the past 6 months.
I think nowadays it's hard for people to judge if they are overweight or not compared to others because far too many people have added pounds to where it has become the norm.
Ok, flame away.
no flames....I did the same thing...until I saw a pic of myself at the river..can I xay denial fast enough? Since then I dropped 15 lbs of fat and added about 10 lbs of muscle, I def dont wanna do see myself looking like that again.
For instance, everyone in the NFL is considered overweight by the BMI calculators. In fact, such "fatties" as Brian Urlacher, Brady Quinn, and LaDanian Tomlinson are considered OBESE!!! Quick footed offensive lineman Orlando Pace is considered morbidly obese. These guys are in top athletic shape, and they're considered obese because body fat percentage isn't taken into account at all.
Appearances can be deceiving. These guys are probably NOT in such great shape as you might think. They have tremendous athletic talent that they can abuse their overweight bodies for a few years and get away with it. By the time these guys reach 40 they will probably be OLD MEN just like the hundreds of athletically gifted, overweight football players before them. I wouldn't call them fat or obese, just overweight, extremely gifted athletes who think they can abuse their bodies and get away with it. They can't and they won't.
Granted, being overweight and muscular is preferable to being overweight and fat. But overweight by any means is still overweight. In both situations, the organs have to do alot of extra work, the bones and joints have to do extra work, the heart has to pump alot of extra blood. It's like the body systems are always in a work out mode which takes energy and wears you out over time. That's why so many athletes are old men before their time.
regards....Franco
Last edited by CosmicWizard; 08-22-2007 at 04:35 PM..
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you're a guy. guys are supposed to be bigger anyways! to protect!
Since then I dropped 15 lbs of fat and added about 10 lbs of muscle, I def dont wanna do see myself looking like that again.
Gifted athletes, but still overweight!
