I look pretty fit but I'm overweight?

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Replies

  • esless004
    esless004 Posts: 24 Member
    I'm 10lbs overweight in the "after" pic. I look pretty fit but I COULD still lose. Do I care? not really. If you're uncomfortable then go ahead, but I wouldn't stress if you're marginally outside a normal BMI

    jcrmid2s8etg.jpg

    That is an AMAZING transformation, congrats!
    I think you guys are right, in that a more gradual weight loss to shed 10-15 pounds would be a better place to start.
  • armchairherpetologist
    armchairherpetologist Posts: 69 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    By BMI you're at the outside edge of a healthy weight, not even overweight (I've assumed age 24). http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/result.html?unit=1&hf=5&hi=5&wl=152&us=1&ua=24&gl=

    Just FYI, the "smart BMI" is not recognized by any health or medical organization. While there are people who disagree with BMI, the formula used by the NIH and WHO does not take age into account past adulthood, although children are measured by percentile.

    Also on their site you will find such pseudoscientific claims as set-point and starvation mode being promoted. They strongly discourage CICO based diets and suggest that the very obese cannot lose significant weight.

    The NIH, WHO and Mayo Clinic are all far more reliable sources when it comes to healthy weight and body fat management.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,303 Member
    edited May 2017
    Just FYI, the "smart BMI" is not recognized by any health or medical organization. While there are people who disagree with BMI, the formula used by the NIH and WHO does not take age into account past adulthood, although children are measured by percentile.

    I used to use: http://halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm to capture the fact that standard BMI calculators do not take into account research that shows the lower end of the "WHO overweight category" has as good or better longevity results than the lower end of the "WHO normal BMI category" when it comes to older adults.

    However a while back Halls' site returned a few weird results/errors when looking at underweight BMI's which scared me from using it and sent me towards smartbmi which seems to capture the same point (namely that for older adults a slightly higher BMI may represent less of a health risk than a lower BMI)
    Also on their site you will find such pseudoscientific claims as set-point and starvation mode being promoted. They strongly discourage CICO based diets and suggest that the very obese cannot lose significant weight.
    I have not seen this nor would I particularly agree with it, subject to us understanding the same thing with the terms you are using.

    That said I have certainly seen "commentary" in the smartbmi write ups that I would have skipped/not included/ignored/thought of as lightly funny. Such commentary did not devalue the basic premise of an adjusted level of risk based on age.

    I think that we will both agree that actual fat percentage is the real risk indicator and that broadly speaking BMI helps alert people to being over-fat more often than not.
  • armchairherpetologist
    armchairherpetologist Posts: 69 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Just FYI, the "smart BMI" is not recognized by any health or medical organization. While there are people who disagree with BMI, the formula used by the NIH and WHO does not take age into account past adulthood, although children are measured by percentile.

    I used to use: http://halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm to capture the fact that standard BMI calculators do not take into account research that shows the lower end of the "WHO overweight category" has as good or better longevity results than the lower end of the "WHO normal BMI category" when it comes to older adults.

    However a while back Halls' site returned a few weird results/errors when looking at underweight BMI's which scared me from using it and sent me towards smartbmi which seems to capture the same point (namely that for older adults a slightly higher BMI may represent less of a health risk than a lower BMI)

    There are problems with applying that to individuals, though, and also a lot of assumption going into the assertion that it is a causal relationship.

    The self-titled "Smart BMI" presumes the causal relationship between higher BMI and increased longevity - something that is currently not supported by any actual research - and adds age into its assertions as to what is healthy.
    Also on their site you will find such pseudoscientific claims as set-point and starvation mode being promoted. They strongly discourage CICO based diets and suggest that the very obese cannot lose significant weight.
    I have not seen this nor would I particularly agree with it, subject to us understanding the same thing with the terms you are using.

    That said I have certainly seen "commentary" in the smartbmi write ups that I would have skipped/not included/ignored/thought of as lightly funny. Such commentary did not devalue the basic premise of an adjusted level of risk based on age.

    I think that we will both agree that actual fat percentage is the real risk indicator and that broadly speaking BMI helps alert people to being over-fat more often than not.

    If you indicate that you do any kind of dieting, the commentary that you'll receive is that it can lead to "yo-yoing", will reduce your metabolism as your body tries to maintain fat, calls weight loss goals that are very much within the healthy range as "very ambitious", actively discourages any weight loss at all for an individual with a BMI of less than 25 (even if it's 24.9).

    It spouts this starvation mode pap:
    Your weight is below average: Do you really need this diet? When on this diet, it is important to reduce meals to the optimum extent, but not beyond. Too great a reduction could induce the body to consume less energy and store more of it in fat deposits. This may result in a yo-yo effect. If you want to stop dieting, do it step by step.

    And it flat out will not let you enter a goal that it considers too large a gap between current weight and goal, so for example a person who is 5'8" tall and weighs 300 lbs would be told that having a goal of losing 140 pounds (putting them within the normal range) is too large.

    After messing around with that site when I first found it, I decided to avoid it and don't recommend it to anyone else because it seems to have an undercurrent to it that opposes deliberate weight loss.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    edited May 2017
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    esless004 wrote: »
    Hi all, I have been thinking about losing the weight I gained in college for a while but now I am finally committing to it. I am currently 5'5 and 152 pounds. I wear between a size 5-8 pants and 32D bra. The issue is, I do not really have jiggly places, rolls or bulges. A little cellulite but who doesn't. I have abdominal definition and you can see my quad muscles popping out. I'm overweight, but I look pretty fit and I work out a lot. I'm not happy with myself, but I'm also not *unhappy*.

    I know I would be much happier - and feel better about a healthier lifestyle - if I lost 20 pounds and was a bit smaller everywhere, but how can I motivate myself to keep going when there aren't any particular areas I need to target? I am pretty confident in my body as it is but I can't find the motivation to get healthier regardless of my body itself.


    I've edited this 6 times, trying not to be pervy

    D Cup can be up to 5-10 lbs. so take that into account.

    No...5-10 pounds is much higher that what is typically the case. A 32D is the same cup (breast size) as a a 34C and a 36B. The typical weight that you see quoted is just under 2 pounds for both combined.

    This is not true and I don't know why the fashion industry is trying to convince people it is. Try picking up a 36B and a 30DD and put one cup in the other. You will see they are not even close to the same cup size. Heck what about a 38A and a 28F? NOPE!!! An A cup would hardly cover my nipple when I'm actually an F regardless of if I could clasp the band around me.

    Sorry, little pet peeve of mine.
    It is true that the cup is relative to the band size though. It has to do with the difference of inches between your measurements around the ribs and around the breasts, in inches. B cup means there's something like a 3" difference in circumference and D means more like 5 or 6". Big difference.

    It is said something like 80% of women wear the wrong bra size. The myth in quotes is why.

    Annnyyyway....

    OP, you might have more muscle mass than a lot of women, relative to fat. Especially since you mentioned you can see ab definition. You could try to lose a little but I wonder if it's not really a big deal. The key is to feel proud of your body. Maybe just start with 5 lbs and see how you feel.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    I'm 10lbs overweight in the "after" pic. I look pretty fit but I COULD still lose. Do I care? not really. If you're uncomfortable then go ahead, but I wouldn't stress if you're marginally outside a normal BMI

    jcrmid2s8etg.jpg

    Holy *puppy*, that's an awesome transformation.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    A woman with a genetic marker for muscles.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priscilla_Lopes-Schliep
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    esless004 wrote: »
    Hi all, I have been thinking about losing the weight I gained in college for a while but now I am finally committing to it. I am currently 5'5 and 152 pounds. I wear between a size 5-8 pants and 32D bra. The issue is, I do not really have jiggly places, rolls or bulges. A little cellulite but who doesn't. I have abdominal definition and you can see my quad muscles popping out. I'm overweight, but I look pretty fit and I work out a lot. I'm not happy with myself, but I'm also not *unhappy*.

    I know I would be much happier - and feel better about a healthier lifestyle - if I lost 20 pounds and was a bit smaller everywhere, but how can I motivate myself to keep going when there aren't any particular areas I need to target? I am pretty confident in my body as it is but I can't find the motivation to get healthier regardless of my body itself.


    I've edited this 6 times, trying not to be pervy

    D Cup can be up to 5-10 lbs. so take that into account.

    No...5-10 pounds is much higher that what is typically the case. A 32D is the same cup (breast size) as a a 34C and a 36B. The typical weight that you see quoted is just under 2 pounds for both combined.

    This is not true and I don't know why the fashion industry is trying to convince people it is. Try picking up a 36B and a 30DD and put one cup in the other. You will see they are not even close to the same cup size. Heck what about a 38A and a 28F? NOPE!!! An A cup would hardly cover my nipple when I'm actually an F regardless of if I could clasp the band around me.

    Sorry, little pet peeve of mine.
    It is true that the cup is relative to the band size though. It has to do with the difference of inches between your measurements around the ribs and around the breasts, in inches. B cup means there's something like a 3" difference in circumference and D means more like 5 or 6". Big difference.

    It is said something like 80% of women wear the wrong bra size. The myth in quotes is why.

    Annnyyyway....

    OP, you might have more muscle mass than a lot of women, relative to fat. Especially since you mentioned you can see ab definition. You could try to lose a little but I wonder if it's not really a big deal. The key is to feel proud of your body. Maybe just start with 5 lbs and see how you feel.

    The other real issue is that a 32C(32x38) is expected to fit 31x38/39, 32x37,38,39, 33x37,38... so a 30D(30x38) will also fit some of those same sizes.. as will a 34B(34x38) Because Mass Production.

    I actually built a spreadsheet with the math, and the differences between Circumferences and cylinder volume, but I chunked it because I didn't really want to deal with math in public and other people.
  • danika2point0
    danika2point0 Posts: 197 Member
    As you write, you are neither happy nor unhappy with your body, so it sounds like you could probably coast where you are fine enough for a while. I've done it before. But then I either get my motivation back and am ready to get to the place where I am fully happy or I gain a few pounds and feel unhappy and that kicks in the motivation. I am not sure what will work for you. Going from my own personal experience, even losing 5-10 pounds on your weight and height might make a huge difference in how you feel and view yourself. For instance, I am 5'3.5''...the difference between 140 and 130 for me is huge. I go from feeling 'okay, a bit pudgy, but I can live with' to downright feeling slim. Just my two cents :-) xx
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