BMI and transpeople

[Natkat]

just curious
my weight is kinda wierd.

last week where had to take a BMI test because we had about obesesety (uhm fat people?)
First we had to mesure around our waist.
females should be around 79 at maximum and men should be around 95 something at max (I dont remember exactly)

I where around 74.
--
then later we should make the BMI, first take the high, then the weight.
the BMI should be at least 18.5 regardless gender, mine where 17.5 or something.
So my teacher say im underweight and should eat more.

I dont think im underweight, I had taken the test on the internet who said I where normal but she said I couldnt count on that.
in general I think my weight seams fine, but it also very wierd cause im told not to lose more weight, still no matter really how skinny I am I still look like I am slithly chubby.

I got the baby fat in my cheeck T lost some of it but its still there. I also got my wide hips which I cant really get rid of. so even being "normal/or underweight" I have still been told by a guy, that maybe I should lose some weight around my hips.
---
is it typical BMI dosent seams to fit? or have people try being both "chubby and skinny at the same time or what to say?

[CursedFireDean]

I've got like the opposite problem- by measurements and stuff I should be at a normal weight and height, I look about the same as people of a healthy weight who are my build, but I actually need to lose like 30 pounds. I even look the same as when I weighed 20 lbs less. I hate telling people my weight because they always say 'well you don't look it!' or 'I never would have guessed!' It seems like a good thing but I'd rather look my weight because then I'd actually be motivated to try and lose it more. When I don't look it, I find it hard to get long-term motivation to go to the gym.

[Taka]

the bmi is a lie. it doesn't take into account the fat percentage, bone build, and all kinds of other things.

only measurements, in inches or centimeters, matter. find your ideal measurements, and strive to reach that goal instead.
the nurse told me in grade school that even though the scale said i was overweight, my body build didn't, and that's the thing that matters most. if the measure tape says you have good proportions, then that's it. if your overall health is also good, then who cares about the scale...? it doesn't know the difference between different types of tissue, their density, all other factors. waist/hip ratio says a lot more about risk of heart disease than what the bmi does. an overweight person with bigger hips than waist will be at a lower risk than a person with bigger waist than hips.

underweight is a little difficult to measure. if you're healthy, how can anyone say you're underweight? not all can get that heavy without eating three times more than what they can afford (or an average person could eat). it should also be mentioned how the ideal weight is different for different races. it's a genetic thing.

[AdamMLP]

I've been wondering something related to this, my body fat percentage is 15.something %, which is below what they said was average for a girl, but on the upper end of the male average.  To me it still seems like I have too much, but I don't know whether medically I'm doing bad things if I keep subconsciously judging myself by male standards whilst being pre-T.

[Taka]

15% sounds very low.
this article has some information on body fat percentage:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/02/body-fat-percentage/

consider this as well:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/10/07/3-reasons-to-reconsider-stepping-on-the-scale-this-morning/

[Natkat]

underweight is a little difficult to measure. if you're healthy, how can anyone say you're underweight? not all can get that heavy without eating three times more than what they can afford (or an average person could eat). it should also be mentioned how the ideal weight is different for different races. it's a genetic thing.

--
aperently I should weight more. but I somehow thing I just should train then I could weight 2 kg more or something.
-
whats wierd is the whole body thing. theres places where im super skinny like my hands or the area from my cheast to the waist and so, and then I got wide hips with little babyfat who make them look kinda bigger, and babyface fat, and muscular legs because I walk all the time.

So im both chubby, muscular, skinny, mixed in one body =P

[Jack_M]

I've been wondering something related to this, my body fat percentage is 15.something %, which is below what they said was average for a girl, but on the upper end of the male average.  To me it still seems like I have too much, but I don't know whether medically I'm doing bad things if I keep subconsciously judging myself by male standards whilst being pre-T.

Don't worry about that.  15% isn't very low at all.  15% is actually considered the bottom end of "normal" but it's totally fine if you're healthy and physically active.  Female athletes can have body fat as low as 10%, not the 14% stated in the article Taka posted.  I can't understand how it got that part so wrong after stating that body builders could have body fat percentages of 8-9%, and then athletic is 14%?  Yeah, there's a missing 5-6% there!!  And no matter what you're an athlete in, you're going to build muscle somewhere!  It's only when you start to get below 10% that that there's real problems, or if you're at that level without being highly athletic. 

And anyway, accurately measuring body fat is extremely difficult.  The only way to do it to most accurate results is either being weighed while submerged in water or with an expensive scan.  So values are rough to begin with.

You also have to remember that averages are useless with regards to what is a healthy norm as opposed to witnessed norm.  Average results today tends to be borderline to overweight.  Female bodies do hold onto more fat though so hold yourself to female values pre-T.  What you have now is good so it's not worth worrying about!

My body fat percentage is ~12.5% and I've only been on T for 3.5 months.  I was 13.5% right before I started T.  So 15% - that's absolutely fine!

As for OP's question about BMI, yeah it is a joke, but at the same time, it's there to indicate possible problems.  I wouldn't automatically assume having a low BMI is reason to panic, but I honestly do believe that if you have a BMI a whole 1 point lower than considered healthy, that you really should to get it checked out by professionals.  Not teachers or folks going off what some indicators say, but a proper, legit doctor.

And another important factor - those waist limits are wrong unless you're Asian or from South or Central Americas.  I'm not sure where you're from but for Caucasians and Europeans that's wrong.  Unfortunately they pedal the lower values too often but I know that for Caucasians, the ideal sizes for men are around 35 inches (89cm) and women around 32 inches (81cm).

[Taka]

And another important factor - those waist limits are wrong unless you're Asian or from South or Central Americas.  I'm not sure where you're from but for Caucasians and Europeans that's wrong.  Unfortunately they pedal the lower values too often but I know that for Caucasians, the ideal sizes for men are around 35 inches (89cm) and women around 32 inches (81cm).

that would have to be based on an average height. different height = different ideal waist measurement. but it also has to do with hip measurement, can't have a waist that's too much smaller than the hips, unless wearing a corset.

[Jack_M]

Yeah there's definitely leeway but that's the average ideals but that's why the overs are wrong because the average ideals for Caucasians are very close to the overs.

[Shantel]

Something interesting to note is that muscle weighs three times as much as fat when measured by volume. Visualize a one pound can of Crisco shortening it's all fat, that same can 1/3 full of muscle mass would still weigh one pound. Taka's BMI charts are good visual aids.

[Jace]

I wouldn't worry about it if you've always been like this. I'm severely underweight on the BMI scale but I'm perfectly healthy. I've been in the bottom percentages since I was a toddler and doctors have always said I'm super healthy. So just judge for yourself I guess. If you think you should ask a doctor, ask a doctor. If you think you're fine because you've always been underweight, you're probably fine.

[Natkat]

As for OP's question about BMI, yeah it is a joke, but at the same time, it's there to indicate possible problems.  I wouldn't automatically assume having a low BMI is reason to panic, but I honestly do believe that if you have a BMI a whole 1 point lower than considered healthy, that you really should to get it checked out by professionals.  Not teachers or folks going off what some indicators say, but a proper, legit doctor.

And another important factor - those waist limits are wrong unless you're Asian or from South or Central Americas.  I'm not sure where you're from but for Caucasians and Europeans that's wrong.  Unfortunately they pedal the lower values too often but I know that for Caucasians, the ideal sizes for men are around 35 inches (89cm) and women around 32 inches (81cm).

I'm from Europa but it could also be I got the messurement wrong. I just remember one of the girls got around 72, in her waist and I where a couple of numbers above but I dont remember the goldern number for a maximum.

I don't think I should go to a doctor being just 1 number below the scale. I have kept the same weight for above a year and haven't been told anything, im general told im fine as long I don't lose more weight.

[pebbles]

the bmi is a lie. it doesn't take into account the fat percentage, bone build, and all kinds of other things.

Everyone immediately says that it's so Obvious "WELL THE TEST IS WRONG! ITS ALWAYS WRONG!!!"

Yes while It's got serious shortcomings and it's often it is out, I read a paper about it's accuracy and it's wrong about 20% of the time
(usually misreporting Overweight people as normal and vice versa, People who think there weight is Normal via BMI but they are actually overweight) That second instance NEVER gets mentioned.

"Oh My BMI says I'm normal but I'm nearly certain I'm overweight"
"Oh shush! Your begin silly your fine"

Look it might well be wrong and it's entirely possible that you are one of those 1in5 what I'm saying is that BMI is an Okay guideline It's not the end all of everything so you don't need to bother a doctor but just reflect on it abit.

I say this as a person who's been all sorts of weights in her time at 5'7, From begin borderline Obese at 13.5 Stone(189ibs) down to as low as 8.5Stone (119ibs)
When I was 12stone I didn't think I was overweight at all and rambled off the same line as you, As it turns out later I was overweight because I felt SO much better once I'd lost 2.5 Stone it's unreal.

All the while I've only ever "showed" the weight at either end of the extreme.

I don't think I should go to a doctor being just 1 number below the scale. I have kept the same weight for above a year and haven't been told anything, im general told im fine as long I don't lose more weight.

a sensible course of action.

[Magnus]

BMI by itself (strictly between height and weight ratio) is fundamentally flawed and it always has been. Wicked insurance companies invented it and they know damn well it's flawed (I'll add that their paper-pushers have no business whipping medical standards out of their @$$).

While the following is still incorporating BMI, it does add the frame-size factor based on the size of your wrist bones (obviously because those with larger or smaller build NOT JUST HEIGHT will have less or more weight respectively). http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/ideal-body-weight-3146-143.html

What that does lack is your LBM but that is much harder to get. It takes calipers and measurements as well as the BMI and the frame size factors and that all would still only be able to give a rough estimate and not what it exactly, really is. Nothing can do that (or if it can you can rest assured it costs a fortune).

So really, go by what you feel and how it actually looks to you. If you know you're a bit pudgy than by all means and if you want, go and slim down some. If you're not pudgy at all and look like you're starving (e.g. bones sticking out is far less attractive than a bit of pudge IMHO), bulk a bit. At the end of the day that's the best method. Not what such and such says about it but what it actually looks and feels like for you. It is uniqe because we're not all cookie-cut perfect to one another. That's the major flaw in BMI. Just because we're the same height does NOT mean and usually really doesn't, that we're all going to have the exact same LBM and frame/bone size. That's why its flawed and always has been and always will be by itself.

[Taka]

While the following is still incorporating BMI, it does add the frame-size factor based on the size of your wrist bones (obviously because those with larger or smaller build NOT JUST HEIGHT will have less or more weight respectively). http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/ideal-body-weight-3146-143.html

i like this much better. it tells me exactly what i know from experience. bmi on it's own doesn't give me the right answer.
but this is probably only valid for as long as i don't do much strength training.

Yes while It's got serious shortcomings and it's often it is out, I read a paper about it's accuracy and it's wrong about 20% of the time
(usually misreporting Overweight people as normal and vice versa, People who think there weight is Normal via BMI but they are actually overweight) That second instance NEVER gets mentioned.

"Oh My BMI says I'm normal but I'm nearly certain I'm overweight"
"Oh shush! Your begin silly your fine"

well, i acknowledge both possibilities. someone with a small frame would be overweight in the upper range of my normal weight.
which is why i mentioned measurements. the ideal measurements (in terms of model beauty) are impossible for me to reach because my hip bones are too big, but i can still get that ideal waist/hip ratio at least. for as long as i stay female, that is.

for trans people it might be a little more difficult, since hrt often can't change fully grown hip bones, so the waist/hip ratio will also be likely to lie.

[Konnor]

I've got like the opposite problem- by measurements and stuff I should be at a normal weight and height, I look about the same as people of a healthy weight who are my build, but I actually need to lose like 30 pounds. I even look the same as when I weighed 20 lbs less. I hate telling people my weight because they always say 'well you don't look it!' or 'I never would have guessed!' It seems like a good thing but I'd rather look my weight because then I'd actually be motivated to try and lose it more. When I don't look it, I find it hard to get long-term motivation to go to the gym.

This, exactly! Everyone tells me I don't need to work out or diet or lose weight, but they think I weigh about 25 lbs less than I actually do. I'm glad I carry it well, but I wish I weighed what everyone thinks I weigh. Unfortunately I suck at motivating myself to diet, and exercising 2-3x a week isn't making a difference for me.

[CursedFireDean]

This, exactly! Everyone tells me I don't need to work out or diet or lose weight, but they think I weigh about 25 lbs less than I actually do. I'm glad I carry it well, but I wish I weighed what everyone thinks I weigh. Unfortunately I suck at motivating myself to diet, and exercising 2-3x a week isn't making a difference for me.

Same for me, but I can only get to the gym once a week right now :/ I found a pretty good 15 minute workout that I want to start, but I just need to remember to do it every other day XD

[Taka]

some people have heavy bones. it's pretty easy to find two kids with the exact same build and size and same amount of fat on their body, and one can be light as a feather while the other is heavier than lead.
measure your flab if the scale says weird things. i know i got a little too much of it, so i'll soon start working to get rid of that. very independently of what any scale would tell me.

[Dante]

I have the exact opposite problem from you--I'm actually obese, though I don't really look it at all. I've always been overweight, and unfortunately it seems any weight I gain won't go away no matter what I do, and I've never really been a big eater either (I eat 1200-1500 calories a day without purposefully trying to eat more or less). I'm starting to suspect I have hypothyroidism, as my mom has been battling with it for a very long time, and it is a hereditary condition.

Anyway, enough about me. BMI is okay as a guideline, but it will vary between people. You may be underweight by BMI standards but still perfectly healthy. If you're worried about it, you might want to talk to a doctor and ask their opinion, as they will surely be able to give you a better idea if you need to weigh more or if you are okay where you are.

[Nygeel]

BMI doesn't actually say much about your health, nor does it give you a "good idea" of your health status. It's simply a proportion of height and weight. It was created in the 1830s-1850s but didn't start being used regularly until the 1970s...which gives you an idea of how little weight it holds (hurr hurr hurr).

Basically the number is meaningless unless you give it meaning. It's like weight. Weight alone doesn't determine your health, or say if you're fat or thin. It's just a number that people put too much power in.