More realistic ways to calculate your ideal weight

I have been trying to do a better job of staying fit for the past year. Chasing around small children isn’t as easy as it used to be. In my quest for a fitter me, I have often wondered how much I should weigh. I am male, 6’6″ tall and I weighed 233lbs last week. What results have I found?

The BMI based formula(recommended by the US Government): result BMI 27
Ideal BMI is 18.5 to 25
(weight in lbs * 703) / height in inches squared

The Hamwi formula: result 214 lbs
Men: 106 lb for the first 5 ft; 6 lb for each inch over 5 ft
Women: 100 lb for the first 5 ft; 5 lb for each inch over 5 ft

The Robinson formula: result 187 lbs
Men: 115 lb for the first 5 ft; 4 lb for each inch over 5 ft
Women: 108 lb for the first 5 ft; 3.75 lb for each inch over 5 ft

The Miller formula: result 178 lbs
Men: 124 lb for the first 5 ft; 3 lb for each inch over 5 ft
Women: 117 lb for the first 5 ft; 3 lb for each inch over 5 ft

The results show that I’m a fatty. Luckily for me, I did find one other resource. Dr. Hamwi suggests that especially small boned people can subtract 10% and those with larger frames can add 10% to their results. So, how do you know if you have a small frame or a large frame? Measure, your wrist. If your wrist measures, 7 inches, then you have an average frame. Less than 7 inches suggests a small frame and more than 7 inches suggests a large frame. My wrist measures about 8 inches, so I can add 10% to my previous result.

This gave me a final result of 235lbs.

The truth in the end, is that you probably know your body better than the calculated results. I personally know that all of those results are very low for me. I weighed 205lbs when I graduated from high school and I was a scrawny kid. I can’t imagine weighing less than 220lbs, let alone 178 lbs as the Miller formula suggests.