Originally Posted by InTheRain

According to BMI charts, 6'0" and 221 lbs puts you in the obese category. 6'0" and 184 lbs - 220 lbs puts you in the overweight category. 6' 0" and 140 lbs - 183 lbs puts you in the normal category.

I'm not 6'0" (I'm 5' 10") so I need to get to 173 lbs before I hit the normal category for my height. I think that the BMI charts are a pretty accurate reflection of where we should be for normal weight. I believe that most of us have developed a skewed view of what "normal" weight is. I know I had. I always thought that I was "big boned" or had a "large frame." And yes, I probably do have a large frame (I wear a 50" suit jacket.) And, I carry my weight well. Most people are stunned when I tell them I'm 215, 225, or 235 (it's crept upwards over the years.) They tell me that they thought I was a muscular 200 lbs. I thought of myself as the exception to the BMI charts... I had a large frame, I was muscular, I was athletic. Yes, all those things are true... but they don't make me the exception. At the time in my life that I was the most muscular, strongest, fastest, and most athletic... I weighed 163 lbs. At that time I can say that I was a finely tuned athlete... I'm a far cry from it now.

I know that until I fully accepted that I was obese, I was not going to do anything about it. I've lied to myself long enough. I'll look and feel great at under 200 lbs (overweight.) But the ultimate goal is to just be normal... under 173, and feel "normal."