Weigh What?

Once upon a decade or so ago I weighed 265 pounds. Now I weigh 182. That’s good, but I’ve weighed around 180 for a long time now, so I decided to see what I should weigh. Of course, there is no one answer. That would be too simple.

I started with the official Body Mass Index(BMI) chart. It says I should weigh 160 or less. However, I don’t really trust the BMI. It doesn’t take into account muscle mass. For instance, those skinny bike racers in the Tour de France are considered obese by the BMI. They are not.

Then I found a formula on a popular health site, which I then found on several other sites. According to this one I should weigh 140 pounds. This one takes age into consideration and it says the older you are, the less you should weigh. Don’t like the sound of that.

According to a site aimed at amateur athletes, based on how much I ride and how fast I go, I should weigh 170 pounds. That sounds doable, but also sounds too high. Judging from the fat still on my body, I’m betting it’s more than 10 pounds.

Finally, I found some good, but non-commital advice. Lose 5 pounds, then figure out if your happy with your weight. If not, lose another 5 pounds. Do this until you’re happy.