Coworker said I looked "skeletal" and that I should "stop" losing any more weight

ElJefeChief

My profile pic is a very recent pic of me from a day or so ago. I'm six-foot-three, 207 (as of today) with some decent base muscle from about 20 years of weightlifting (although I haven't lifted for about a year and a half now).

Should I stop losing, or keep going? I still have an "overweight" BMI, I'm just not sure what that means at this point.

SueInAz

If your BMI indicates overweight and you aren't a solid piece of muscle, then I'd ignore the co-worker. There's so many reasons why the person might have said you look "skeletal" and they all have to do with him and none to do with you.

Rheameg

I do not think you look skeletal at all. I believe that you look a nice healthy weight.

Mycophilia

Well looking "skeletal" doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Vickilick

I think skeletal is a bit of a stretch of a description...no offence.
If you're working out and eating healthy and the correct portions you won't be underweight and I don't see anything wrong.
If you're quite muscular BMI won't be much help to you.

sofaking6

Being generous I would guess they meant that as a compliment, to try and congratulate you on successful weight loss. Just a very, very awkwardly phrased compliment....

Definitely not skeletal, you look quite proportionate to me.

auddii

Mycophilia wrote: »

Well looking "skeletal" doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Ha!

I was thinking you should put a skeleton in your coworker's office; they apparently don't remember what they look like.

I think you look fine, but I don't think you look unhealthy skinny. If you would like to continue losing a little more, I don't see a problem with that; if you're fine where you are, that's cool too. And you could always run your goals past your doctor if you're really concerned.

tulips_and_tea

I think you look good. I'd guess that the only "meaning" behind it reflects more on the person who said it. What's their deal? Overweight, underweight? Jealous of your accomplishments? You don't have to tell us. I'd just place the comment more on THEM than having to do with you.

tomofnj

Jealousy, my coworker I hadn't seen in 6 months said I am way to thin, although I clearly have another 40 or 50 to lose to get out of the obese category.. it was said by the guy who must have gained 40 or more since I last saw him.

haters

deladypilot

I think often that when people have seen you out of shape or over weight for any length of time that when you do become healthy they see you as too skinny. It is a mental perception. I think you look fantastic

leanlicorice

My two cents: take it with a grain of salt and move on. Your body; your mind; your choice.

RodaRose

You look great. You co-worker was trying to start a conversation.

jaqcan

You're making them look bad, so STOP IT!
They were:
1) Poorly giving a compliment
2) Jealous of your accomplishment
3) Wondering what your secret is

Tamlyngo

Drives me crazy when people make rude comments when someone looses weight or makes positive changes! I get that a lot since I'm on the thin side and am trying to be healthier and just loose excess body fat. Unfortunately those comments usually come from jealousy or misinformation. I'm also not a huge fan of BMI, especially for talker men with larger bone structure/extra muscle. At your height you'd likely look very thin if you're BMI was under 25. The whole package needs to be considered! Good luck

GunnDancer

I think it also depends on who is saying it. I was heading out to run during my lunch at work and a female coworker saw me in my gym clothes and couldn't stop gushing about how great I was doing losing weight... And finished with "don't lose too much more! Men look better with a little weight on them!"

So consider the source before being offended and just do what you feel you need to do.

Soopatt

People get used to seeing you a certain way and you changing causes them discomfort.

I am starting to get the "too skinny" comments and I still have 10kg's to go. I think they just have a comfort zone which has been disrupted. They might think of Joe as being the "solid large guy" and Beth as being "the one that can carry the extra weight off" and they are probably also comparing themselves in the range - seeing themselves as always being bigger than you or smaller than you.

I had a bit of experience on the other side of the equation when I was a teenager - my sister, who had always been overweight, lost enough weight on one of her crazy fad diets that people were starting to say "Oh look, you are almost the same size as Soo!" I must admit, I didn't like it, because she had always been the pretty one and I was the thin one. I was threatened by her weight loss and went and lost some extra weight myself to stay ahead. She ended up gaining the weight back and the contest was off, so I never really had to face the nasty things that were going on in my head at the time.

I never sabotaged her, but it was hard to support her, for selfish reasons. I probably made those sort of comments, maybe things like "look, you are losing your boobs" or something else nasty that a sibling might say.

I like to think that I would handle it more maturely now, but it gives me a bit of insight into the sort of behavior you describe.

barbecuesauce

DrEnalg wrote: »

My profile pic is a very recent pic of me from a day or so ago. I'm six-foot-three, 207 (as of today) with some decent base muscle from about 20 years of weightlifting (although I haven't lifted for about a year and a half now).

Should I stop losing, or keep going? I still have an "overweight" BMI, I'm just not sure what that means at this point.

No offense, but I think you should keep going. You don't really look like you have an overweight BMI, but you're not overly lean either.

Your coworker's comment says a lot about them and nothing about you.

happygalah

You don't look skeletal. You look great! Keep going and don't listen to the co worker.

WheezynFat

my two cents: none of your co workers business, at the end of the day if you have a plan of where you want to get to stick to it.

lauracups

You didn't get fit for the approval of coworkers, don't stop your journey because of one.

msf74

And their opinion matters why?

FuchsiaCandi

Talk to your doctor, not the internet. That's the best expert to assist you in truly knowing where you are. We don't have access to your blood work. Appearances can be very deceiving.

oh_happy_day

1) Rude.
2) None of their business.
3) Check with your GP about a healthy weight range for you. I'd like to get a DEXA scan at some point to get an analysis of my body composition, so that I can a weight range for me personally, as opposed to the range for all 5"2 women. Maybe consider something like this if you're wondering where you should stop?

MKEgal

DrEnalg wrote:

My profile pic is a very recent pic of me from a day or so ago.
I'm six-foot-three, 207 (as of today) with some decent base muscle from about 20 years of weightlifting
(although I haven't lifted for about a year and a half now).
Should I stop losing, or keep going? I still have an "overweight" BMI, I'm just not sure what that means at this point.

0 - other than your doctor, wife/husband, and parent(s) / grandparent(s), nobody's opinion matters but yours w/r/t your weight.

1 - That being said... looking at your picture, you are NOT "skeletal". So forget that. I'd say you look average,
maybe toward fit, but with a _little_ extra weight. That could be just a bit of body fat that could be resolved with
recomposition. Increase weightlifting, continue daily cardio, eat at maintenance. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

2 - how's your current body composition? (I don't need to know, you do.)
http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy
Once you put in your info, click on the down arrow on the right end of the symbols under where
it tells you "body fat category".

3 - going by BMI, you're about 10 lb above the healthy weight range.
If you have a larger than average lean body mass (see point #2), don't worry much about that.
But if not, if your body fat % is toward the high end, it would be worth continuing to slowly lose a little bit more.

4 - check with your doctor, of course.

khhregister

Not even close to skeletal. I don't know where people get off making such bizarre personal comments. I think it's weird that your coworker even thought that in the first place. And then to say it out loud - people like that are missing some kind of filter.
It looks to me like you are close to your goal, so maybe now is a good time to think about transitioning to body recomposition. Just so you have a plan in place for when you don't need to lose anymore but you want to continue leaning out. But above all, don't listen to loudmouthed people with ISSUES.

BasicGreatGuy

khh1138 wrote: »

Not even close to skeletal. I don't know where people get off making such bizarre personal comments. I think it's weird that your coworker even thought that in the first place. And then to say it out loud - people like that are missing some kind of filter.
It looks to me like you are close to your goal, so maybe now is a good time to think about transitioning to body recomposition. Just so you have a plan in place for when you don't need to lose anymore but you want to continue leaning out. But above all, don't listen to loudmouthed people with ISSUES.

Good post.

BReasen

Remember, in the world today, most people think it's OK to be BIG! It's NOT! It's very unhealthy. If anyone thinks you are to thin, I would take a quick look and decide if they are envious of your weight loss and feeling a bit jealous. Be the encourager. Trust yourself. Be a healthier you!

iLoveMyPitbull1225

That's a rather rude thing for your co worker to say. You are not skeletal...

LotusFlwr2013

DrEnalg wrote: »

My profile pic is a very recent pic of me from a day or so ago. I'm six-foot-three, 207 (as of today) with some decent base muscle from about 20 years of weightlifting (although I haven't lifted for about a year and a half now).

Should I stop losing, or keep going? I still have an "overweight" BMI, I'm just not sure what that means at this point.

You Look Good, and I think you have very little non-essential fat ...and I do not think you are skeletal you LOOK fit and healthy... if people on this site bothered to actually open and look at your picture you can tell you are all abs...

That being said, my boyfriend is like you, 6'3 and weighs 211lbs... his body fat is .08%... so forget everyone's visual assessment (including the people on here as camera weight and photogenic is factored in) and go to your doctor and get a real assessment.

Sweets1954

When I told my husband I wanted to lose 75 lbs and my doctor agreed, he said I would look like a "stick". Very encouraging NOT! When I began this process he would ask me "Is that all you are going to eat?" He has finally decided that I am serious and no longer does that.

MsJulesRenee

deladypilot wrote: »

I think often that when people have seen you out of shape or over weight for any length of time that when you do become healthy they see you as too skinny. It is a mental perception. I think you look fantastic

+1 That's what I was thinking