Scale says VS how I look..

caitlinlaura00

Ugh.
So this morning, I weighed in at 170.8..I am 5'3.
But seriously, when I look in the mirror, I can't figure out where ALLL this 170 is hiding..
I mean, I have a bit of a tummy and thighs, but I don't feel like I look 170.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to get this hidden weight to go away?

tennileb

we all carry it differently. some people gain evenly all over their body.

muscle weight more, it's only one measurement it's the overall state of your health that is important.

BrookeLee2

It's probably muscle, because as you probably know, muscle weighs more than fat. Try more cardio rather than toning exercises to get rid of more fat if you wish to:) (although from your profile picture you definitely don't look 170 to me)

azdmelani

Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/busting-the-muscle-weighs-more-than-fat-myth.aspx

KathryneJY

Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/busting-the-muscle-weighs-more-than-fat-myth.aspx

Of course it doesn't. But by volume it does, which I think is what the other posters are trying to say may explain why the OP doesn't "look" 170 lbs. As stated, perhaps it is a misnomer, but did you honestly believe that what everyone was intending to say is that a pound of muscle is heavier than a pound of fat? I didn't get that out of the responses even though that is how it was written.

Gidzmo

Ugh.
So this morning, I weighed in at 170.8..I am 5'3.
But seriously, when I look in the mirror, I can't figure out where ALLL this 170 is hiding..
I mean, I have a bit of a tummy and thighs, but I don't feel like I look 170.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to get this hidden weight to go away?

I seem to have the opposite problem: the scale says I have lost weight, but I do not see it--especially around the middle.

BluejayNY

I had this issue. I weighed in the 170s and had no clue I weighed that much until a doctor's appointment. Then she started discussing testing for diabetes. I was only 22. I became so worried and it was like I suddenly became aware of how I REALLY looked.

Now I look back at pictures of myself and I do look quite overweight to myself. I hope to never be anywhere close to that again.

I think maybe you just get used to looking the way you do. I also tended to gain it evenly all over and still maintained an hour glass shape. But it was still unhealthy and not what I wanted for myself in the end.

bert16

I had this issue. I weighed in the 170s and had no clue I weighed that much until a doctor's appointment. Then she started discussing testing for diabetes. I was only 22. I became so worried and it was like I suddenly became aware of how I REALLY looked.

Now I look back at pictures of myself and I do look quite overweight to myself. I hope to never be anywhere close to that again.

I think maybe you just get used to looking the way you do. I also tended to gain it evenly all over and still maintained an hour glass shape. But it was still unhealthy and not what I wanted for myself in the end.

I think this is my situation, also. I gain pretty proportionately, so still have an hour glass and no major bulge that's inconsistent with the rest of my body. And, since I've gained weight an ounce at a time, I think I'm just used to looking the way I do, since the change was so gradual. I'm 5'7" and 164 lb, which isn't so great... I don't feel like I look overweight, but my clothes definitely aren't fitting properly anymore and I recently saw a photo of myself that wasn't so flattering (even though I can look in the mirror today and still think I look OK).

I know I need to drop some weight... I just don't think I look as heavy as the scale indicates. And I don't plan on asking anyone if they agree!!! :laugh: Instead, I'll just do the work to lose the weight.

ETA: And we'll both lose the weight the same way anyone else would... by keeping ourselves at a caloric deficit through what we eat (and exercise also, for me!). I don't think this issue of perception or how we carry the weight changes what has to be done to lose it.

candicane32081

This is how I feel! I have noticed that some people that look bigger than me weigh less, but then I noticed that people are shaped different. My sister in law weighs just a little bit more than me, but she looks about 40 lbs. more than me! She has really small legs, but is heavier from the waist up, where as I am a little thick through out!

SteelySunshine

Measure your wrist and if it's more than 6.25 Inches you are large framed. Also measure your shoulder points larger than 17 is larger than average. It's about 15 inches without larger muscles and what not. So anyway if you are much larger than that it's not likely fat that is making you larger. And get your BF% tested at least by the caliper method if you are at 25% fat then you are at a healthy weight no matter what the BMI charts say.

lin7604

i used to think the same. i always was tiny ( 5.2 ft and under 120 lbs) and then my weight crept up very slowly over the years. I didn't see any of it creep up on me, and i always thought and felt i looked great and still small even though my sizes were going up. I just didn't see where the weight was... that was because i gained my weight very evenly all over the place not just in certain areas... now that i lost the weight, i look back at those pics and was like " wow" i totally see it!!! i was just so blind at the time..

BrookeLee2

Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

If you take a cubic inch of fat, and a cubic inch of muscle, the cubic inch of muscle will weigh more than the cubic inch of fat. js