I’ve lost some weight over the last 10 months. Around 30lbs to be a little more specific. For quite some time only close family noticed or perhaps they were the only ones who said anything. But towards the end most people have noticed and said something. Generally. it’s been positive and I feel great about the accomplishment and I like the reflection in the mirror.
I didn’t just lose weight, I worked fairly hard at replacing it with muscle mass. I work out almost every second day on the Bowflex and over the last couple of months I’ve been augmenting that with a targeted abs routine. This summer I rode my bike to work 2-3 times a week a 20km round trip, and I like to ride fast, which made it a good workout. So, less weight, more toned muscle – at least that’s what I think.
Now I’m starting to hear that I might be getting too light! That I might be loosing my “presence” as a trimmer guy. This is quite a surprise. So I thought I’d look at what the recommendations are for someone my size. The first benchmark that came to mind is the Body Mass Index (BMI). OK,this may not be the be all and end all of measures, but it is one that is well respected and established.
I’m currently 210lbs and 6′ 4″, well I may be closer to 6′ 3 1/2″, but I’ll give the BMI calculator the benefit of more height. According to the BMI calculator this puts me at a BMI of 25.6 which in in the 25.0 – 29.0 overweight category. OK, perhaps just inside the range but clearly not in the normal category of 18.5 – 24.9. Now, there appears to be one overriding factor which may cause a higher BMI that
BMI – Body Mass Index: BMI for Adults: About | DNPA | CDC
- Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather than increased body fatness.
I guess I could think of myself as a “highly trained athlete”, but then again, perhaps not.
Since inquiring minds want to know and assuming my height will not change significantly, what would the BMI consider my normal weight range? Well, for 6’4″ It’s 151 to 205, so it seems that according to the BMI I still have some room to loose and still be “normal”. Hmmm, what would I look like at 150? Now that would be too much. Or would that be too little?