Hi All!
Welcome to the many new people, and welcome back to everyone joining in from the previous months' groups. I'm so happy to continue to travel this path with all of you.
This month's
Welcome Post touched on setting appropriate goals, and the variety of levels one can choose to get started when transitioning to eating this way (or when trying to continue to get better at adherence). I classify these goals as
intent and
application goals. I will follow the plan this month to lose some weight. How will I do that?
I will remove x,y,z from the cupboards and not eat after dinner time. That kind of thing.
There is a thread in Jeff's forum that I wanted to ensure that everyone had taken a look at because it is also about goals, but more specifically where the evidence suggests we should place our
outcome goal. The thread is called
Getting to a Healthy BMI and it was initiated by some questions from a long-time McDougaller named Nancy.
I try not to put much focus on outcome goals in my posts because for those that are just starting out, or have a long way to go, just having a very basic idea of where you're heading is
enough. There are so many other things to focus on.
However, we are a group with people at many differing stops along the trail to health, and some of you may be wondering about the same things that Nancy was wondering about:
WeeSpeck wrote:Hi Jeff,
I have been pondering for some time what effort is required to reach and maintain a healthy BMI in the lower end of the spectrum, 18-21. I believe you have mentioned the scientific studies have shown this to be the healthiest level for higher mortality.
***
But, my question to you is does one size fit all? Do you believe that under every circumstance, for all genders, for all heights, for all ages, for all levels of activity, that if we follow the calorie density chart that the physics will not fail us?
***
Does one size truly fit all? And how do we adjust? And how extreme do we have to get? Are there naturally skinny people and others that do everything and cannot seem to lose the weight? Are people that are heavier, just not trying hard enough?
It should be as simple as saying, eat this and this and this. But, are there some people who follow that plan and still put on weight and have to go to further extremes to reach the lower BMI? How much effort is needed and when is it okay to say “I am doing enough”?
JeffN wrote:***
I came up with 22 as the cutoff because if you do the math, it’s about halfway (rounded off) between 18.5 and 24.9, which is the healthy range. Understand, this is not a very narrow range at all. For someone my height, every BMI point represents 6.2 lbs. So the healthy range for me would be around 115 to 136. That is ~21 lbs.
![smile :)](./images/smilies/smile.gif)
In other words, we could conclude that, taking in to account all other heath related behaviors, someone of my height might have a 21 lb range in which they can be healthy and still meet the recommendations, but it would depend on several things not just BMI.
Third, while the BMI cutoffs of 18.5 to 24.9 for the healthy range are pretty much standardized internationally, there are some exceptions. The World Heath Organization splits the healthy range into two parts, with the cutoff between them being 22.9/23. Hong Kong and Singapore use 23 as the upper cutoff for the healthy range. (The actual math comes to ~22.9, which they round up to 23).
Fourth, I think when people hear/see the recommendation from me or these other places, “Aim for a BMI of 18.5 to 22,” they assume that the lower they get as an individual in that range, the healthier they will be. Everyone suddenly wants to be a BMI of 18.5 or 19. As mentioned above, making this kind of assumption from populations studies based on averages and transferring it to an individual, can be fraught with errors and lead to unhealthy behaviors. I am glad your post is called "Getting to a Healthy BMI" because remember, this is about being healthy, not just being skinny and BMI is only a number and screening tool.
When I teach the Calorie Density class at the program, I go through all the evidence and go through the 6 recommendations, reviewing each one letting them know, these are all guidelines, not rules cut in stone, and must be applied to the individual. Then I say, I am now turning over the steering wheel to you, you have to experiment and make adujustments as needed. It may take a little while but you will soon find your groove. And when you do, it will be yours and you will know how to apply the principles to your personal situation and hopefully, in a manner you can live with for a long time. If you need help, clarifications or have questions, that is why we are here. Same thing Doug Lisle says in The Pleasure Trap, there is no straight line that works for everyone equally. It is a process of ongoing small course corrections.
Thes issues you raise have come up several times in these forums where these same (or similar) questions have been raised. I think reviewing them, would be a good idea including any links I posted within each thread.
Optimal BMI - Redux
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=52375Difference in food choices and BMI
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=46837Should we all try to get to 22 BMI?
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=30838A Meal Without Starch (or Should we all try to get to 22 BMI Pt 2)
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=43218And of course, the original thread.
Optimum BMI
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6916***
In Health
Jeff
(I have cut out sections of both the questions and answers, as indicated by the ***. This was just for space considerations. The whole thread is quite informative and I highly recommend reading it in its entirety.)
So, as most of you were probably already aware, it can be a good idea to aim for a weight in the lower half of the BMI range. This is with many considerations, but as a general outcome goal it will be beneficial for most people.
Best wishes this week! Work towards those goals.
I am going to eat by the MWL guidelines for the next 7 days!Amy XO
PS. If your goal is very far away, and seems daunting, start with a mini goal; like
Sue or
Landog or
Svenja who have
mini-goaled their way into a low BMI or are on their way to doing so. Those interim goals will help keep you motivated and get you excited for strong bursts of short to medium term effort.
Here are the results for the first week in June:Next Weigh-In is on Friday, June 8th, 2018Total group loss reported in 2018: 244.5 pounds
June 2018 Weight Loss Group :: Monthly Weigh-In Results
Total group loss in January 2018: 54.7 pounds
Total group loss in February 2018: 49.3 pounds
Total group loss in March 2018: 52.5 pounds
Total group loss in April 2018: 26.9 pounds
Total group loss in May 2018: 50.8 pounds
Total group loss in June 2018: 10.3 poundsWeek ending 06/01/2018: 18 participants reported a total loss of 10.3 pounds
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Lonewalker - 1.0
Sundog - 2.0
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Total gains: 3.0
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Landog - 2.5
Arewethereyet - 1.6
Rosey - 5.1
Squealcat - 0.0
Vegasveglovr - 0.0
Randee.fluffy - 0.0
Plantsalot - 0.0
Dbassett - 0.0
Warren404 - 0.0
Moonlight - 1.0
Wannaberosie - 0.0
Krissi3203 - 0.0
Jobet - 0.1
Svenja - 3.0
VegSeekingFit - 0.0
KirstyKay - 0.0
---------------------------------------------
Total losses: 13.3
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Total group loss in June 2018: 10.3 pounds
Week ending 06/01/2018: 18 participants reported a total loss of 10.3 pounds