"big boned"
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I have had 3 foot surgeries in the last 20 years. Each time the surgeon has commented to my family that they have never SEEN a larger bone structure on a human being. Yes, people are built differently. It is what you do with those differences that counts. No matter how large your bone structure, fat is fat! Aim for a healthy body fat % and set goals for inches lost not just pounds. In the end, the journey will increase your health regardless of what goals you achieve - just as long as you are moving FORWARD!0
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Bones come in different lengths, but when you average out the circumference based on the frame, they are all pretty much equal in percentages. If I was 4" taller with the same frame, my bone circumference would slightly increase, but the percentages of circumference vs length would still be the same.Bones are all basically the same size. Some people may have broader shoulders or wider hips, etc, but the bone sizes are basically the same. So all this talk about body type/shape is generally a load of crap, and most often used by people who are making excuses or trying to justify something.
Just focus on eating right and getting some exercise. It's impossible to know your ideal body weight until you get there. I've changed my ideal weight several times already and I'm within 20lbs of where I want to be. Then at some point I said the hell with a target body weight, I want to get leaner, stronger, and faster... the scale can read whatever it wants to.
If all bones were the same size then how can they be wider or broader?? And how could one person be taller than another. Bones come in different sizes.
The second paragraph is pretty good advice though.
OP, if you are talking about your ideal healthy weight, then that too can be hard to nail down, but will have more to do with how much muscle vs fat you have for your height, than with your bone structure. That's why charts always have a range.
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
But if you were 4" taller your ideal weight would likely be higher so I don't really see how that is pertinent. While frame width may not change a healthy weight much if height is the same, that doesn't make bones all the same size.0 -
Nobody puts on 30 pounds of bone.0
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All the bones I played with in nursing school were about the same size.
That sounded really bad.
I really have a problem with this logic. There is no way that the femur of the OP (who is 5'2") is the same length and size of my femur (5'11.75").
Additionally, bones change over time. They shrink with the depletion of calcium.
Perhaps, the bones you were working with were all specimens of a similar age and height.
It could very well be, but I'm glad you took one sentence and ran away with it.
Well... several people had made the statement that bones are all the same. I'm just trying to get a grasp of the concept.
Didn't mean to single you out, but since you stated that you went to nursing school, I thought you might be able to help clarify.
Sorry if I offended you somehow looking for clarification.
It's cool
They were literally stuffed into a box in a desk. I have no idea where they came from.0 -
Nobody puts on 30 pounds of bone.
My lil doggie would if I let him chow down on it :laugh:0 -
Now that I think of it... can't you measure the size of your joints with a fat caliper and look that up on a chart to determine frame size? Rings a bell.0
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Reminds of the old meme... Patient: "The problem doctor, is that obesity runs in our family." Doctor: "No, the problem is that no one runs in your family."0
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Are some of you suggesting that everyone of the same height should be the same weight, though? Or just that muscle is the only difference? A larger structure will have to have larger muscles to reach, you'd think, so it seems like there would have to be more muscles, tendons, skin, etc. by nature of a wider structure.
In the end, BF% works best, I think, because lean mass will include those things that a larger structure could entail. Weight and height is not nearly as good a measure, because there are a lot of structural differences (including muscle, but not limited to that).0 -
I think it's pretty clear that some people have a more substantial "frame" than others, but that's something that can't really be ascertained unless the person is within a "normal" BMI range. And it can vary quite a bit. You can have a delicate torso, but sturdy legs, or vice versa. I have a small rib cage, but my hips stick out and my shoulders are not terribly narrow. I also have rather substantial arms and legs, even though I'm thin. You have the skeleton you have, and it's not going to be just like anyone else's. The bottom line is it shouldn't make a difference in your weight loss goals. Lose the weight you think you need to lose, and then reassess your goal when you're at that weight. You may decide to lose more, maintain, or even gain a few pounds and maintain that weight. But it's not something you have to know before you start or before you choose a weight goal.0
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Coming from an overweight family and being overweight for as long as I can remember My dad was 6' and weighed 350ish pounds My mom is 5'2 300ish I have poor eating habits since childhood (parent always gave food to keep us busy/quiet) even poorer cooking habits. Im not really an over eater I used to be an emotional eater but not so much now that I am older. My first question is about certain body builds such as you hear people say all the time "big boned" I'm trying to figure out how to determine my for ideal body weight I am built more like my dad than my mom. I am 5'3 about 281 pounds so pretty close to my mom but I am smaller than her she wears a 28 where I where a 22 I also know it comes down to body shape as well such as she has a flat butt and I have a bubble butt lol and my shoulder are wider than hers. Thoughts??
I think you can measure whether you're 'big boned' by measuring your wrist. If it's over 6.5'' you're a large frame, 6.25 to 6.5 medium and 6.25 small. Frame size definitely makes a huge difference. My younger sister is currently a UK size 6 (a US size 2) and she weighs 144lbs. At 130lbs she was a size 0. When I weighed 196lbs, at 5ft 7, I still wore the exact same dress size as my best friend, who at 5ft 2, was 154lbs. Over 40lbs difference and yet we wore the same size and used to borrow each other's clothes. Body shape makes a huge difference, I think from a health perspective as well. If you're an 'apple' shape and carry weight on your tummy, you're far more at risk for metabolic disease. BMI charts are fundamentally inaccurate in that they do not account for denser bone mass, more/less evenly distributed body fat in women, frame or muscle mass. From a health perspective, there is an argument that hip to waist ratio is a more indicative of risk - if the hip to waist ratio is less than 1 (I think I can't remember offhand) the risk of obesity related disease is drastically reduced.0 -
Well of course my weight would be higher if I kept everything in retrospect. I believe what people are speaking here of is how "big boned" relates to actual circumference and not length. Hell you lengthen anyone's bones who are overweight/obese without changing their weight and they will look thinner. But the circumference analogy for "big boned" isn't a legitimate reasoning for why people carry extra weight.
Bones come in different lengths, but when you average out the circumference based on the frame, they are all pretty much equal in percentages. If I was 4" taller with the same frame, my bone circumference would slightly increase, but the percentages of circumference vs length would still be the same.Bones are all basically the same size. Some people may have broader shoulders or wider hips, etc, but the bone sizes are basically the same. So all this talk about body type/shape is generally a load of crap, and most often used by people who are making excuses or trying to justify something.
Just focus on eating right and getting some exercise. It's impossible to know your ideal body weight until you get there. I've changed my ideal weight several times already and I'm within 20lbs of where I want to be. Then at some point I said the hell with a target body weight, I want to get leaner, stronger, and faster... the scale can read whatever it wants to.
If all bones were the same size then how can they be wider or broader?? And how could one person be taller than another. Bones come in different sizes.
The second paragraph is pretty good advice though.
OP, if you are talking about your ideal healthy weight, then that too can be hard to nail down, but will have more to do with how much muscle vs fat you have for your height, than with your bone structure. That's why charts always have a range.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
But if you were 4" taller your ideal weight would likely be higher so I don't really see how that is pertinent. While frame width may not change a healthy weight much if height is the same, that doesn't make bones all the same size.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Nobody puts on 30 pounds of bone.
Totally LOL'd. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:0 -
Skeletal frames infact do vary greatly and thus the amount of muscle that sits on the frame also varies. Whether the terminology used is big boned or large framed, or whatever, there is validity to your question. However, your frame no matter what size it us, obviously should carry the weight that is proportionate to it. My family has alot of big boned people in it. They originate in Louisiana where there is a cookout EVERY weekend and most of the food while it is Soul Food isn't healthy food and it shows. I seen one of my cousins would we thought was VERY big boned decide to change his life and dropped a considerable amount of weight and now people say he is too skinny. Go figure! LOL The only thing that matters is your goals and how you feel in your body. Figure out what that is and ATTACK IT! Leave everything else for other to speculate over!
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Well of course my weight would be higher if I kept everything in retrospect. I believe what people are speaking here of is how "big boned" relates to actual circumference and not length. Hell you lengthen anyone's bones who are overweight/obese without changing their weight and they will look thinner. But the circumference analogy for "big boned" isn't a legitimate reasoning for why people carry extra weight.
Bones come in different lengths, but when you average out the circumference based on the frame, they are all pretty much equal in percentages. If I was 4" taller with the same frame, my bone circumference would slightly increase, but the percentages of circumference vs length would still be the same.Bones are all basically the same size. Some people may have broader shoulders or wider hips, etc, but the bone sizes are basically the same. So all this talk about body type/shape is generally a load of crap, and most often used by people who are making excuses or trying to justify something.
Just focus on eating right and getting some exercise. It's impossible to know your ideal body weight until you get there. I've changed my ideal weight several times already and I'm within 20lbs of where I want to be. Then at some point I said the hell with a target body weight, I want to get leaner, stronger, and faster... the scale can read whatever it wants to.
If all bones were the same size then how can they be wider or broader?? And how could one person be taller than another. Bones come in different sizes.
The second paragraph is pretty good advice though.
OP, if you are talking about your ideal healthy weight, then that too can be hard to nail down, but will have more to do with how much muscle vs fat you have for your height, than with your bone structure. That's why charts always have a range.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
But if you were 4" taller your ideal weight would likely be higher so I don't really see how that is pertinent. While frame width may not change a healthy weight much if height is the same, that doesn't make bones all the same size.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
But the body is usually porportionate. Longer bones would require a greater circumference for the correct volume of marrow to be present to make the bones as durable as shorter bones. If a bone is longer, but with the same circumference as a shorter bone, then the fulcrum changes placing greater stress on the bone.
* I don't know if vernacularly I got this right, but I do know what I'm talking about. Longer bones would need a greater circumference for equivalent durability and strength of shorter bones... because physics. Someone help me out here.0 -
I'm 5'6'' and I just measured my wrists - 7 inch. That puts me in the large body frame group which isn't terribly surprising. I also have man-sized feet and hands, wide shoulders and hips.
The whole wrist measurement thing is flawed. If you're overweight you'll have fat wrists. If you're stick thin you'll have smaller wrists. It just doesn't work.
You can't judge your what you weight should be based on your bone structure or your perception of what your bone structure is.
This isn't necessarily true. 10 years ago, my BMI was 21.5, so perfectly healthy range. I wear the same watch and bracelts I had back then. They aren't tighter than they were then. I do know that some people have fairly fleshy wrists, I don't. I do have fleshy ankles though.
That's why I wrote it's not terribly surprising for me that I'm large framed. The wrist-measurement-thing only supports what I thought anyway. Had I been the same BMI my friends were back then (ca 18/19 BMI), I would have looked horrible because it would have been too little for my frame. They looked great and healthy because their body frames were completely different.
Question is though - What SHOULD I then base my goal weight on? The fairly random BMI? Clothing size? I choose to look at those options. My experience tells me that I have a large frame, even when at normal weight. I also have big boobs at normal weight and wide hips. Which tells me that it wouldn't make sense for me to aim for the same weight somebody would choose who has less in the boob/hip department, smaller shoulders etc. I also know from experience that I was unable to maintenance at BMI 21.5 without seriously losing quality of life as I perceive it. Clothing sizes are rubbish anyway and I don't care as long as the shop carries a size I fit into.
So overall that means: I will aim for a weight that is at the high end of the healthy BMI scale, possibly slightly above that. I know my frame can carry off a bit more weight, which I also find visually pleasing. At that weight I will hopefully be able to go into maintenance without having to police every bite I eat.0 -
Coming from an overweight family and being overweight for as long as I can remember My dad was 6' and weighed 350ish pounds My mom is 5'2 300ish I have poor eating habits since childhood (parent always gave food to keep us busy/quiet) even poorer cooking habits. Im not really an over eater I used to be an emotional eater but not so much now that I am older. My first question is about certain body builds such as you hear people say all the time "big boned" I'm trying to figure out how to determine my for ideal body weight I am built more like my dad than my mom. I am 5'3 about 281 pounds so pretty close to my mom but I am smaller than her she wears a 28 where I where a 22 I also know it comes down to body shape as well such as she has a flat butt and I have a bubble butt lol and my shoulder are wider than hers. Thoughts??
I wouldn't worry too much about your build and body shape... Just focus on losing weight for now!
I agree with this, whole-heartedly. I have no idea if this is an old-wives' tale or not but: I've heard something about wrist measurements being an indicator of bone structure. I have no idea if this is true or not... but, I feel like someone has told me this once before.0 -
Coming from an overweight family and being overweight for as long as I can remember My dad was 6' and weighed 350ish pounds My mom is 5'2 300ish I have poor eating habits since childhood (parent always gave food to keep us busy/quiet) even poorer cooking habits. Im not really an over eater I used to be an emotional eater but not so much now that I am older. My first question is about certain body builds such as you hear people say all the time "big boned" I'm trying to figure out how to determine my for ideal body weight I am built more like my dad than my mom. I am 5'3 about 281 pounds so pretty close to my mom but I am smaller than her she wears a 28 where I where a 22 I also know it comes down to body shape as well such as she has a flat butt and I have a bubble butt lol and my shoulder are wider than hers. Thoughts??
I wouldn't worry too much about your build and body shape... Just focus on losing weight for now!
I agree with this, whole-heartedly. I have no idea if this is an old-wives' tale or not but: I've heard something about wrist measurements being an indicator of bone structure. I have no idea if this is true or not... but, I feel like someone has told me this once before.
And THAT's what I get for not reading the whole thread! Sorry for the repeat of info!!0 -
I'm 5 foot 3 inches and my doctor said that I could reverse any health problem such as borderline diabetes and high blood pressure if I got down to 160 pounds. My starting weight was 238 pounds. I am now 163 pounds, but I think a good goal weight would be 150 pounds for you, and then if you want to lose more from that point, then it would be at your discretion.0
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no such thing as 'big boned'. My husband processes tissues and bones for transplant. Under all the fat is the same sized skeleton (proportionately speaking)..... I thought I was 'big boned' too because that's what my mom always told me. I finally lost the weight and it turns out I just had too much fat. Took 44 years for it to happen.....0
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It's more of a fine tuning issue. For people like the OP, at 100+ lbs overweight, it's not particularly relevant.0
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yes please0
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I wouldn't worry about it til you get there but I've been at the top end, over, and in the middle of my BMI range and I feel I look best in the slightly over/gray zone, about 26 BMI. I am 5'5" and when I was 135, people were trying to have interventions on me.0
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I think the difference in frame size or big boned-Ness is catered for in the BMI range if you are big boned stay near the top if you are not stay near the bottom (of the healthy weight range)
There are calculators that say measure your wrist or width of elbow in a certain position. And others who say putting your thumb and index finger around your wrist is enough to check (if the meet, don't meet or overlap)
But again the healthy weight suggested is no more than a a couple of kilos (4lbs) more than the top of the BMI range.
And I know when I was thinner my thumb and index finger met comfortably around my wrist now they don't its the fat on my wrist and my fingers that is different not my bones.
If you do get close to the top of your bmi and are healthy and comfortable there stay there you don't need your bones to decide it for you. Make your own decision on how you feel.0 -
some bones are bigger than others, but honestly that doesn't matter anywhere near as much on the scale as one might think. Muscle mass matters, sure, but I think you are asking the wrong question or focused in the wrong place.
Whether your "ultimate goal" is 120 or 150 isn't something you are going to know right now, especially since you always been big and came from a big family. Just work towards something reasonable, and then reassess.0 -
I got this from the National Institute of Health's site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/17182.htm0
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It's absolute horse **** to say that bones of the same length can't vary in size/circumference. You can conjecture and make funny little remarks all day, but it doesn't change the truth. Case in point, I was trying to determine a goal weight comparing to a woman who was slightly TALLER than me with slightly LONGER arms and who was very slender. Her wrist was half the size of mine, and there was no fat on mine at all. Her feet were a size 9, mine 11-12. Her hips wide, mine narrow. Her shoulders narrow, mine wide.
We are all different! Trying to lump everyone together makes no sense. Just because we recognize our differences doesn't mean it's an excuse for anything. It simply informs an educated decision on a reasonable goal.0 -
It's absolute horse **** to say that bones of the same length can't vary in size/circumference. You can conjecture and make funny little remarks all day, but it doesn't change the truth. Case in point, I was trying to determine a goal weight comparing to a woman who was slightly TALLER than me with slightly LONGER arms and who was very slender. Her wrist was half the size of mine, and there was no fat on mine at all. Her feet were a size 9, mine 11-12. Her hips wide, mine narrow. Her shoulders narrow, mine wide.
We are all different! Trying to lump everyone together makes no sense. Just because we recognize our differences doesn't mean it's an excuse for anything. It simply informs an educated decision on a reasonable goal.
Right.
And this is why having a goal "weight" is a problem. Body fat is what we are after.0 -
I think it's pretty clear that some people have a more substantial "frame" than others, but that's something that can't really be ascertained unless the person is within a "normal" BMI range. And it can vary quite a bit. You can have a delicate torso, but sturdy legs, or vice versa. I have a small rib cage, but my hips stick out and my shoulders are not terribly narrow. I also have rather substantial arms and legs, even though I'm thin. You have the skeleton you have, and it's not going to be just like anyone else's. The bottom line is it shouldn't make a difference in your weight loss goals. Lose the weight you think you need to lose, and then reassess your goal when you're at that weight. You may decide to lose more, maintain, or even gain a few pounds and maintain that weight. But it's not something you have to know before you start or before you choose a weight goal.
I agree with this. Once you get near the top end of normal BMI, you will begin to see how much further you need to go. It's really 'fine-tuning' of about 10-15 lbs. (plus or minus) if you are small or large framed versus being average or medium framed.0 -
It's absolute horse **** to say that bones of the same length can't vary in size/circumference. You can conjecture and make funny little remarks all day, but it doesn't change the truth. Case in point, I was trying to determine a goal weight comparing to a woman who was slightly TALLER than me with slightly LONGER arms and who was very slender. Her wrist was half the size of mine, and there was no fat on mine at all. Her feet were a size 9, mine 11-12. Her hips wide, mine narrow. Her shoulders narrow, mine wide.
We are all different! Trying to lump everyone together makes no sense. Just because we recognize our differences doesn't mean it's an excuse for anything. It simply informs an educated decision on a reasonable goal.
Right.
And this is why having a goal "weight" is a problem. Body fat is what we are after.
Exactly. And there are other issues like bone, water and, for those who begin morbidly obese, excess skin as well. You really can't know until you get there.0 -
Our bones are definitely not all the same size! A large boned woman can healthily weigh 10 lbs more than a small boned woman. Here is a link for calculating your ideal BMI based on your frame (bone) size, including an easy way to measure how big or small boned your really are:
http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/bodyFrame.php0
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