Weighing more than I look :(

knittygirl52

I had the same thing for many years. It can be frustrating when people use that fact to "dis" your weight loss efforts--"You don't need to lose that much. Have a cookie." Actually, though, if you think about it, it's a good thing. They expect someone your weight to not look as good as you do!

rml_16

That is true. Although, I've actually only told 3 people my weight (well until now - I'm in the open now I guess). My 2 best friends and my boyfriend. It was only after I had said that I wanted to lose 70 pounds and they were shocked and said it was too much.

I am an hourglass shape and have a very large chest. I do a lot of lifting at work so I guess that's where my muscle has come from.

I'm also an hourglass (the large chest comes with that!). We tend to carry our weight evenly distributed (someone said that already, I believe) so it doesn't all concentrate in one area. Apple shapes tend to carry it all in their bellies, so you can really see it on them. Pears carry it all in their butts, hips and thighs, so you see it. Imagine all your extra weight concentrated in one area and you'd probably be more likely to look your weight. When it's all over the place, it's harder to tell.

But that's still not a bad thing.

When people tell me I don't need to lose, I just mostly smile and nod. It's about me, not them. I'm not aiming for an unhealthy weight. I'm eating healthy foods and I'm not starving myself -- if I'm hungry, I eat! So, the rest doesn't matter.

Lyndzo

From now on I will take it as a compliment and keep working hard

josparkle

Technically I should be aiming for 130-140, but right now I'm trying to get down to 170. I think I will look good at that weight.

I think you're doing the right thing by going in stages. 170 will come and you'll look and feel better and then you can re-evaluate. I am 5ft 5ins and know that historically 140 is a good weight for me because I can sustain it, it looks good and I feel and am healthy at that weight. However, the last time I was 140 was 6 years and my second child ago so currently I'm aiming for 140 but checking along the way - could be more, could be less, could be dead on. Any way, it will be less and healthier than I currently am!

As you say, take it positively and use that to keep on going. Wel done.

therobinator

Ever since mid-college (where I packed on about 40 pounds worth of muscle - Div I athlete) people have always thought I weighed a lot less that I really do. At my heaviest, I was just shy of 180, but even then people thought I was closer to 130. I guess I am one of those who "carry it well" and I definitely do have a lot of muscle mass. I know that will make it difficult to get down to a "recommended" weight for my 5'2" frame (because I will probably need to lose some muscle, not just fat), so I am trying to focus less on the scale (although it does matter to me) and more on how I look and feel. People still can't believe that I wear a size 14/16 these days (at 5'2" and 170 pounds). They think I must need a much smaller size.

mmannequinn

i'm 5'3 and weight 184 -- i don't look like i weigh that much! i wear a size 9 or 11 depending what brand. i've always been this way. my fat is just evened out i guess :-/

i wish i could just slice off the extra fat in my stomach and i'd be happy...a bloody mess but i'd be happy lol

Yarnpiggie

We have talked about this around the office. When one of the girls who was on the diet program I used to be on was dancing around because she had "finally" gotten below 200 pounds. I was shocked. I think the fact of the matter is that nobody knows what weight looks like. We obviously all know what it feels like on us, but we all think that people look a lot thinner than they really are.

I even find people telling me how "skinny" i look since I have started losing weight. At over 300 pounds, still, that is quite obviously far from the truth... but it feels good, and they don't need to know how much I really weigh. :-)

HazelDiva1913

I totally feel you on this. It sucks. I weight 312 currently. No can beleive im over 200 lbs. I literally have friends that are bigger than me and wear larger clothes that weigh AT LEAST 100 lbs less than I do. I guess its our body chemistry who knows. I am 5'10 though so supposedly that counts.

Slavic_Spice

I'm in the same boat... 235 on a 5'7" frame... the number 235 scares me to death, but I am too small for Lane Bryant pants. I wear a 40DDD, but I know ALL the weight can't be there. I'm not in a habit of advertising my weight, but when I mention wanting to lose, they don't seem to take it seriously. I guess it is a good thing, but I still want to get that number WAY down.

heidiberr

I hear you guys. I'm starting to fit in size 12 pants and I weigh 196. I don't believe it--but I'm just trying to come to terms with it. I changed my goal from getting down to 130 to getting into a size 6. If the weight follows, great, but if not, I don't want to beat myself up over not getting down to that goal weight. The smallest I've ever been was a 10 so I'm obviously doing something right with working out.

maconk22

I think most of us fall in this catergory. I weigh 166 pounds and I get this frequently.....but I am only 5'1. This is heavy for me. I dont ever want to be my ideal body weight (which is 127) but I would love to get back to 145-150 AT LEAST!

Dont let it offend you...take it as a compliment. Only YOU know what the scales say!!

Beth720

Yeah. No one ever believes how much I weigh. Usually even at the doctor's office I have to tell them to move the big weight on the scale up another notch.

And yeah...the whole shape and size thing is so frustrating. I felt (and in pictures looked) smaller than my educational assistant last year, but her pants were the same size or a size smaller than mine! I would feel so defeated when she would say 'Oh, these 12s are too big' or something. I have finally just convinced myself to worry about ME and know that I'm doing what's right for ME. (I also know that with my e.a. last year it's definitely a frame thing - because of her weight she has all kinds of joint issues and she's a type 2 diabetic,,,things I don't have to deal with.)

Aeriel

I think one of the issues is that people, including myself, have no idea how to translate a scale number to a visual number. I never thought I looked really heavy (even at my highest, 234) and thought where is the 80 pounds that I am supposed to lose? I couldn't see it. Now looking back at pictures, after losing my most recent 44 pounds (I'd lost 20 before that) I can see exactly where that weight was! :grumble:

Now I am sitting at 170, with good muscle tone and still some fat to lose. However, I am now fitting in size 11 or 12 pants, bought a size 8 dress with a flowing skirt that looks amazing and I am in size M or L shirts instead of 18/20 pants, XL or 2X shirts and no dresses!

Every one says...you must be done. You don't need to lose any more. You can't possibly be 170! Well, as others have said, I am still in the overweight category, barely, for my height (5'8"). I am aiming for 150 but I am flexible and comfortable enough with myself and my body that if I look good at 160, I'll stop. The biggest thing is to be happy with yourself. It doesn't matter what others think, just what you know and how you feel about yourself.

I lost this weight for myself, not for anyone else, but I will admit that it made me feel wonderful the other night when my husband said I looked fantastic. I blushed and said thanks, I am glad you think I look good, so do I. And he clarified that no, he said fantastic.....there's good, there's great, there's really great, and there's amazing.......but I am looking fantastic, which tops them all!

Thanks for the wonderful ego boost sweetheart! :happy: :blushing:

H_82

I'm in the same boat. People always think I'm 20-30lbs lighter than I am. Of course I never argue w/ them or tell them my actual weight, I just smile inside I think it has a lot to do how ya dress, too. Obviously, if ya wear tighter clothing - where stuff is oozing out, ya look heavier. But if you dress for your body, ya look great! I just take it as a major compliment. But there are always those nosey people out there that just really want to know what you weigh, for jealousy reasons, or whatever. I say screw them! :laugh:

Beth720

I'm in the same boat. People always think I'm 20-30lbs lighter than I am. Of course I never argue w/ them or tell them my actual weight, I just smile inside I think it has a lot to do how ya dress, too. Obviously, if ya wear tighter clothing - where stuff is oozing out, ya look heavier. But if you dress for your body, ya look great! I just take it as a major compliment. But there are always those nosey people out there that just really want to know what you weigh, for jealousy reasons, or whatever. I say screw them! :laugh:

Really baggy is just as bad as too tight in terms of making you look big. I've got a friend who's slimmed down A LOT lately (she's in a really dance-heavy show and she's actually having to eat a ton to keep from gaining weight), but when she was heavy it was always wide-legged black pants (or maybe a skirt) and a tunic of some type that made her look so much heavier than she was.

Pandemonium

I have definitely got that before where some would think I was lighter than I actually was.

I found that a lot of people who do not guess right seem to have no concept of how to judge a person's weight. As well as, people no matter their height, have different factors to consider when thinking about one's weight. There's age, gender, height, and genetics all play a factor into one's weight.

I'm sorry you feel upset by this, but stay positive, work hard, eat right and the pounds will start melting away.

sbilyeu75

I've always been glad that I weigh less than I look. But weight is just a number, it's the bodyfat and measurements that mean something.

00trayn

I'm in the same boat. People always think I'm 20-30lbs lighter than I am. Of course I never argue w/ them or tell them my actual weight, I just smile inside I think it has a lot to do how ya dress, too. Obviously, if ya wear tighter clothing - where stuff is oozing out, ya look heavier. But if you dress for your body, ya look great! I just take it as a major compliment. But there are always those nosey people out there that just really want to know what you weigh, for jealousy reasons, or whatever. I say screw them! :laugh:

Really baggy is just as bad as too tight in terms of making you look big. I've got a friend who's slimmed down A LOT lately (she's in a really dance-heavy show and she's actually having to eat a ton to keep from gaining weight), but when she was heavy it was always wide-legged black pants (or maybe a skirt) and a tunic of some type that made her look so much heavier than she was.

I totally agree, the way you dress yourself really makes a difference too. I've been completely avoiding any tops that aren't fitted around my stomach (not too tight since I have a bit of a muffin top I'm getting rid of still), but enough that my shirt comes in below my boobs. If I wear flowy tops that drape down off my size 38C, I look HUGE!!! I've given away all my tops that do that (its the style I used to wear all the time). And having pants that fit right go a long way, otherwise my butt looks big in droopy pants. People don't believe I'm in size 10 (now 8) jeans when I tell them what size I used to be and what I am now. In tops I'm a small or medium in just about every store (still a large in some juniors but they run smaller).

Yarnpiggie

I'm in the same boat. People always think I'm 20-30lbs lighter than I am. Of course I never argue w/ them or tell them my actual weight, I just smile inside I think it has a lot to do how ya dress, too. Obviously, if ya wear tighter clothing - where stuff is oozing out, ya look heavier. But if you dress for your body, ya look great! I just take it as a major compliment. But there are always those nosey people out there that just really want to know what you weigh, for jealousy reasons, or whatever. I say screw them! :laugh:

Really baggy is just as bad as too tight in terms of making you look big. I've got a friend who's slimmed down A LOT lately (she's in a really dance-heavy show and she's actually having to eat a ton to keep from gaining weight), but when she was heavy it was always wide-legged black pants (or maybe a skirt) and a tunic of some type that made her look so much heavier than she was.

I totally agree, the way you dress yourself really makes a difference too. I've been completely avoiding any tops that aren't fitted around my stomach (not too tight since I have a bit of a muffin top I'm getting rid of still), but enough that my shirt comes in below my boobs. If I wear flowy tops that drape down off my size 38C, I look HUGE!!! I've given away all my tops that do that (its the style I used to wear all the time). And having pants that fit right go a long way, otherwise my butt looks big in droopy pants. People don't believe I'm in size 10 (now 8) jeans when I tell them what size I used to be and what I am now. In tops I'm a small or medium in just about every store (still a large in some juniors but they run smaller).

It's very funny because I finally gave in and bought a new pair of pants. I have been avoiding this solely because I don't want to buy new clothes for every size I go down. As it is getting colder, though, I am having to give up my capris for more winter clothes. Every time I wear this new pair of pants people tell me how skinny I am starting to look. I have decided they are MAGIC pants. lol

Pandemonium

It's very funny because I finally gave in and bought a new pair of pants. I have been avoiding this solely because I don't want to buy new clothes for every size I go down. As it is getting colder, though, I am having to give up my capris for more winter clothes. Every time I wear this new pair of pants people tell me how skinny I am starting to look. I have decided they are MAGIC pants. lol

I was thinking the same thing. I am avoiding buying new clothing all together if I can help it. I was thinking of buying pants that have draw strings in them so I can pull the string as I get smaller.