Low weight called ''average''

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Hey guys,

I'm currently in the weight loss process and I have really changed my eating habits and attitude. I have always been pretty skinny and I was size S at my biggest. However, I find some things I'm reading online quite disturbing. I'm 5'8'' tall female and I currently weigh 125 lbs. I know I am skinny, my dress size is XS and I know my eating habits are healthy. What irritates me is that people keep calling this weight ''average''. How is 125 lbs ''average'' for someone who is my height? It really makes me think whether I'm doing something wrong and it's not motivational at all. I have seen shorter women than me with the same weight called ''small'' and getting responses like, ''No worries, honey, you're very slim''. Does the fact that I'm tall somehow make me ''average''? I know that online comments shouldn't affect me but I'm starting to feel like I'm the delusional one... :frown:

Replies

  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    Where are you seeing this info? I've never heard that in my life. Stop reading online
  • blond_giraffe
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    Where are you seeing this info?

    Random message boards and online discussions where people are discussing fitness goals, weight loss etc.
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
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    Eek, whoever is saying those things is full of BS. I would say you're very slim! Since so many people in the general population are larger, I really don't think your weight for your height can be called average.

    Don't listen to these people. This website: https://www.healthtap.com/topics/average-weight-5-8-female seems to indicate that you are on the very lowest end of "average" weight for a woman of your height.

    I am 5'1" and at times when I've been at my heaviest (116-120 lbs. . . I had a belly, love handles, and generally looked plump and not at my best in that weight range) people have still said I am "tiny." Bah, I certainly didn't think so, since I carry that weight badly-- me looking "tiny" would be me at or below my goal weight of 105 (I'm small-framed).

    Weight and size don't always go together anyway-- some people are denser or have larger bone structure, etc.
  • Loralrose
    Loralrose Posts: 203
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    You are VERY thin! I'm 5'8" and weighed 170 at my lightest, and that was a healthy fit weight for me. But if you asked most girls what 170 lbs looks like that would tell you it's huge and the person would be so fat. Women tend to have a very distorted perception of weight. When these people say 125 pounds they are not visualizing what you actually look like - they're probably imagining someone much heavier. You can see this face to face if you ask people to guess your weight. People usually guess 30 or 40 pounds too light for me.

    Also a lot if girls lie about their weight so lots of people don't even know what normal is.
  • blond_giraffe
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    Eek, whoever is saying those things is full of BS. I would say you're very slim! Since so many people in the general population are larger, I really don't think your weight for your height can be called average.

    Don't listen to these people. This website: https://www.healthtap.com/topics/average-weight-5-8-female seems to indicate that you are on the very lowest end of "average" weight for a woman of your height.

    I am 5'1" and at times when I've been at my heaviest (116-120 lbs. . . I had a belly, love handles, and generally looked plump and not at my best in that weight range) people have still said I am "tiny." Bah, I certainly didn't think so, since I carry that weight badly-- me looking "tiny" would be me at or below my goal weight of 105 (I'm small-framed).

    Weight and size don't always go together anyway-- some people are denser or have larger bone structure, etc.

    Thanks! :smile: