Weight Loss Calculator

A healthy BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9. For a 5-foot-4 person (64 inches), that's roughly 110 to 144 lbs. For a 5-foot-10 person (70 inches), the healthy range is about 129 to 174 lbs. For a 6-foot-2 person (74 inches), it's roughly 144 to 194 lbs. Notice how the window widens as height increases — a 4-inch height difference adds about 20 lbs to the top of the range. If your BMI is 27, you're in the overweight category and would need to lose about 12 to 15 lbs to reach the normal range at average height. Your first step is to use this calculator to get your exact number, then check the BMI calculator for a full breakdown of your healthy weight window. That window becomes your target zone for any weight loss plan.

One pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories, so a 500-calorie daily deficit produces roughly 1 lb of loss per week. Start by finding your TDEE. A 35-year-old woman at 5-foot-5, 170 lbs who exercises 3 times a week burns roughly 2,200 calories per day. Eating 1,700 calories daily creates that 500-calorie deficit. A 40-year-old man at 5-foot-10, 220 lbs with a desk job burns about 2,600 calories; eating 2,100 gets him the same result. A 1,200-calorie diet is too aggressive for most adults and often backfires by slowing metabolism and increasing hunger. Use the calorie calculator to get your exact daily target, then the TDEE calculator to see how exercise changes the math. Expect faster loss in week one from water weight, then a steady 1 to 2 lbs per week.

BMI doesn't separate muscle from fat. Muscle is denser than fat, so a muscular person can score 27 or 28 while carrying very little body fat. A 6-foot, 215-lb linebacker has a BMI of 29.2 — nearly obese by the chart — but might have 12% body fat, which is athletic. The same score in a sedentary person could reflect 30% body fat. Frame size matters too: a large-boned 5-foot-9 person may sit at 26 BMI with a 32-inch waist. Waist circumference is a better reality check. For men, a waist over 40 inches signals risk; for women, over 35 inches. If your waist is under those numbers and you lift weights regularly, your BMI is likely overstating your risk. Check the BMI calculator for context, but trust your waist measurement and body fat percentage more than the raw score.

It depends on your height, but the math is simple: one BMI point equals about 5 to 7 lbs for most adults. For a 5-foot-4 person, dropping from BMI 28 to 27 takes about 6 lbs. For a 5-foot-10 person, it takes about 7 lbs. To move from BMI 30 (obese) to 25 (normal) at 5-foot-6, you'd need to lose roughly 30 lbs — from 186 lbs down to 155 lbs. That's a 16% weight loss, which typically takes 6 to 8 months at a safe 1 to 1.5 lbs per week. A more realistic first goal: lose 5% of your body weight. At 200 lbs, that's 10 lbs, which often drops your BMI by 1.5 points and improves blood pressure. Use this calculator after every 5 lbs lost to track your BMI trend, and the calorie calculator to keep your deficit on target.

No. BMI was designed for population studies, not individual diagnosis. It overestimates risk for muscular people and underestimates it for older adults who have lost muscle mass. It also doesn't account for where fat sits. Visceral fat around the organs is far more dangerous than fat on the hips and thighs, and BMI can't tell the difference. A 5-foot-9 person with a BMI of 26 and a 38-inch waist faces more risk than someone with the same BMI and a 32-inch waist. Ethnicity matters too: research suggests people of South Asian descent face higher diabetes risk at lower BMIs, with cutoffs around 23 instead of 25. Athletes, pregnant women, and anyone over 65 should treat BMI as one data point, not the verdict. Pair it with waist measurement, body fat percentage, and blood work. The BMI calculator gives you the starting number; your doctor gives you the full picture.

BMI measures weight relative to height; body fat percentage measures how much of that weight is fat. They can tell very different stories. A 5-foot-8 woman at 160 lbs has a BMI of 24.3 — normal. If she's sedentary, her body fat might be 32%, which is above the healthy range for women (21–32%). If she lifts weights, her body fat might be 24% — solidly healthy. Healthy body fat ranges are roughly 14–24% for men and 21–32% for women, with athletes often lower. You can't get body fat percentage from a scale or BMI alone; you need calipers, a DEXA scan, or a smart scale (which is less accurate but tracks trends). Use BMI as your free, instant screening tool, then get a body fat measurement if you want the full picture. The weight loss calculator gives you BMI in seconds; a DEXA scan gives you the breakdown for $50 to $150.