Here are my vital stats as of January 1st, 2008:
Sex: female
Age: 31
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 130.5*
Body fat: 28.2%
BMI: 22.4
*Because I missed some scale readings at the end of the year, I think it's actually more like 131.5
Goal height: I wish ;)
Goal weight: 120
Goal body fat: 20-22%
Goal BMI: don't care, as long as the body fat percentage works out
Goal date: April 1, 2008
I did the math, and if all the weight I lose comes just from fat (I don't want to lose any muscle mass, as little as I have of it, and actually hope to gain more), then I'll end up in the 21-22% fat range, so that's where I got my target.
My BMI always lists me as being "normal", but checking the body fat information against a variety of resources tells me that I'm significantly outside of the "normal" range, and in the "overweight" range, closing in on "obsese" instead. Egads!
I always knew that BMI was deceptive.
My goal date is pretty aggressive, but based on past history, doable. It is actually based on Seppo's goal date, since things work better if we coordinate our efforts. After the difficult first three months, we can hopefully devote the rest of the year to maintenance.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
BMI can be very deceptive. The BMI value correlates well with overfatness when you look at a large population of data. For individuals it is not advisable if you have a better way to track your health, such as directly measuring your body fat percentage.
It's like how having high cholesterol doesn't necessarily mean that you are about to have a heart attack, or vice versa, but it's been shown to be a good indication on average.
Anyway, hooray for choosing a meaningful goal, and setting yourself up for success.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Yeah, I agree -- statistical correlation within a population is useful but not as useful as actual measurable indicators for a given individual, i.e. me. :)
Post a Comment