How do you know?

[Angor]

Hi, guys! Hope the weekend is treating you all well!

 

I have a question: How do you know how much you're supposed to weight? I'm 5'7". In high school I weighed about 185 lbs, and I was fairly fit. Not built, just fit. Right now I'm 26, same height, and last time I weighed myself I was 207 (down from 215 woohoo!).

 

How do I know how much I'm supposed to weigh? I'm also interested in building my upper body muscle (or I guess everywhere on my body), and I know muscle weighs more than fat.

 

Tips?

 

Also, I'm doing the beginner's body weight workout. Is this a good step in the right direction if I want to build a bit more muscle? I'm not trying to be Leonidas. More like LeeSin or Ezio or Jackie Chan.

[Raincloak]

The BMI is a rough guide, if you aren't at the extremes of height or mass (at 5'7" your reading should be fairly accurate, as you're neither very tall nor very short).  207 is definitely overweight, 185 is somewhat overweight.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

 

according to the BMI, at your height you should weigh less than 160 lbs.  I'd round that up a bit if you are bulking some muscle (maybe 165).  Once you get down into the ideal range, you can tweak things based on your performance and what you see in the mirror -- if you feel weak, eat more, if you want to look more cut, eat less.

 

another indicator is to compare yourself to other people about your height.  For example, I'm 5'5" and 143, and nudging the high end of the good range.  If you are just 2 inches taller but you weigh 40 lbs more, you're probably too heavy.

[Bullroarer Took]

BMI is a rough estimate.  Some research suggests hip to waist or height to waist is a better measure.  You can be really healthy and over your ideal BMI if you have a lot of muscle mass.  You are unlikely to run into that with waist to height.

 

The mirror and your opinion are probably a better measure.  I know I have set target weights before and when I got to it... I was not satisfied.

 

Some folks prefer to set performance goals and find that body composition falls in line with those goals.  Someone who focuses on distance running is going to want a different composition than someone who wants to powerlift.  The examples you list are quite lean figures.  I would say at your height a build like that even with substantial muscle (but low bodyfat) would probably bee in the range of 130-140ish.

 

 

For reference, I am 5 foot 8 inches and my BMI is 22.5 and I'm probably at least 10-15 pounds away from seeing abs.  Not even sure if I will see them before winter bulk comes around

[Yraen]

BMI is a decent guide but it isn't always the best. For instance I'm around 6 foot and weigh around 200 pounds. That gives me a BMI of 27.1 which is overweight. However do to the way I'm built I actually get called thin at times, and I'm capable of doing things people with average weight can't so like I said BMI is okay but it isn't exact.

[Angor]

A lot of what you guys are saying here mirrors what I've been thinking. I'm surprised at how much more overweight I am than I thought I was, at least when using the BMI. So, looks like I have a lot more work to do. Yaaaaaaay.......

 

But I like what you guys said about going by what I see in the mirror. In one of my posts I posted a photo of my torso, and it's definitely in need of work. I was kind of daunted, in the past, thinking of the work I would have to put in to get to my ideal weight (which now seems like still might be quite a few pounds over). But since joining NF, I'm mostly just curious about how much time it's going to take for me to get there.

 

I'm hoping I can grow from the beginner's body weight workout into something else soon.

 

Thanks for the input, fellas!

[Ilham]

A better measurement would be body fat %. As its name suggests, it's the ratio of fat compared to your lean mass. People can look different at the same BF%, but it's a more "reliable" measurement as it's a better indicator of fitness/health too. For example, 25 % body fat for men is kinda overweight, whether you are strongly built or not. In comparison, a very lean man with a ton of muscle will have the same BMI than another man who has zero muscle and a lot of fat.

 

Here's an article that explains quickly what I'm talking about. http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/ 

 

Look at the pictures, see what BF you want to attain, and lose fat accordingly. You hinted at wanting to build muscle, but remember, while losing fat you can't be building muscle at the same time. To lose fat you have to be in a caloric deficit, and in order not to lose muscle at the same time, you have to be careful with your protein intake. Which is contradictory with wanting to build muscle, which requires a caloric excess.