Looking smaller than you weigh.

kngarber

It's just the way you carry your weight. I get told, by someone seeing a picture, that there is no way I weigh what I do. People think I weigh MUCH MUCH MUCH less.

bookyeti

One of my favourite quotes from here on MFP:

"You can completely reshape your body without affecting your weight much. I simply strive to trust in the process and remember: Who sees the scale? Just you. Who sees your shrinking measurements? EVERYBODY! "

AlexPflug

I don't think people actually know what different weights look like on different frames. People had a hard time believing I was over 200 pounds and would actually argue with me. I didn't see why they thought I weighed less, but I think people have pre-conceived ideas of what a person looks like at different weights and if you don't fit that bill, they don't believe you.

Kirabelly

People's perception of what weight looks like is completely skewed by society and the media.

Smiler106

Maybe people are being polite, you shouldn't ask somebody how much they think you weigh! It puts them in an awkward position! If they guess over you'll be offended so most pople will subtract some in their head before telling you. Especially if they don't know you well. Close friends & family should be more honest. It's like when somebody say how old do you think I am? Even though they look mid 40's - you're gonna guess 38, an incorrect low guess is always better received than an incorrect high guess.

gordonfitch

is it because people lie about their weight on their driving licence, and so people think people look lighter than they are?

closet_fatty

Oh my. Well, I don't usually ask strangers how much they think I weigh, I don't think I would ever get a straight answer. I usually try not to ask at all. If I do, it's to the most blunt and honest people I know. The ones who I know I would rather have constructive criticism over pity any day. (: I actually want to know my problems so I can fix them.

LorinaLynn

"Skinny Fat" - It's a known phenomenon lol. You still retain a good shape and look balanced, but you store higher body fat in some areas than you should. It's a blessing and a curse gah!

Weighing more than you look is the exact opposite of skinny fat.

I really think a lot of people have no clue what anyone weighs. I blame Hollywood and Playboy magazine. Starlets and centerfolds will never admit to weighing more than 110 pounds, no matter how tall or voluptuous they are.

Rae6503

I usually get guesses of 130 and I'm 143 right now, muscle density is a beautiful thing.

This. I now weigh the same as I did last spring. 160lbs. Last spring I was a size 12. Now I am a size 6.

cmayfield3

I made the mistake of telling someone I'm trying to lose 25 pounds and she really got on my case about it--like, not trying to flatter me but really being antagonistic. I'm 5'8". I finally had to show her the BMI charts to convince her that no, I would not be emaciated at my goal weight.

Goal_Seeker_1988

"Skinny Fat" - It's a known phenomenon lol. You still retain a good shape and look balanced, but you store higher body fat in some areas than you should. It's a blessing and a curse gah!

I agree. I am skinny fat I have alot of fat left but it's well hidden under my clothes and ppl think I don't need to lose any more weight blah blah and think I weigh 120lbs when I actually weigh 145lbs and am also 5'7"

ericalynn104

"You can completely reshape your body without affecting your weight much. I simply strive to trust in the process and remember: Who sees the scale? Just you. Who sees your shrinking measurements? EVERYBODY! "

I really like that!!

littlemili

"Skinny Fat" - It's a known phenomenon lol. You still retain a good shape and look balanced, but you store higher body fat in some areas than you should. It's a blessing and a curse gah!

Weighing more than you look is the exact opposite of skinny fat.

I really think a lot of people have no clue what anyone weighs. I blame Hollywood and Playboy magazine. Starlets and centerfolds will never admit to weighing more than 110 pounds, no matter how tall or voluptuous they are.

Half of those models have boobies that weigh about half of what they claim their weight to be. Add in their booty, and implants, and I guess their limbs and organs must be made of air...

stitchinggirl

I get this ALL THE TIME! I'm currently 150'ish and I'm always told I look about 130. I don't understand it, because I'm 5' 2" and I'm about 25lbs overweight. I don't have a lot of height to distribute the extra weight, so this just baffles me.

Catherinekiss

I have this problem as well. I am not nearly as tall as you are though. I am roughly 5'3" and wiegh 145-150 and I am told that i look a lot smaller. I think it all depends on how ones body carries fat. I just kinda lucked out with boobs and butt

staceydeelane

i use to weight 157lbs and a size 14 at 5 foot 4 inches
when i had my wedding dress fitting they could not beleave i was in the 11 stone mark as i apparently hide it well (the term here being hide)
i dont look bad in my clothes but out of them in a bikini yuck! who wants to hide.................. i want to jog along a beach in a skimpy bikini and not wobble lmao i was a size 8 before children at 8 stone 5lbs and thats were i want to be again
lifes to short, it doesnt matter how much you weigh-its how you feel about yourself if your not happy you can change it

trinitrate

Half of those models have boobies that weigh about half of what they claim their weight to be. Add in their booty, and implants, and I guess their limbs and organs must be made of air...

The newest fancy ones are filled with Helium, so they actually weigh negative weight! 130lb girl + (-20 lbs implants) = 110lbs !

Before anyone yells at me, its a joke!



In my case, I had someone arguing with me Friday that I must weigh about 210 - 220... I'm at ~ 275 at the moment.. Part of it is public perception, most of it is frame size and muscle build. My goal weight is 210 which will still have me well into the obese category for 5'11", but I know at that weight I will be a ~32-34" waist and in very healthy shape. I'm much more interested in fitness and size than an arbitrary BMI scale.

SmallerBecky

"Skinny Fat" - It's a known phenomenon lol. You still retain a good shape and look balanced, but you store higher body fat in some areas than you should. It's a blessing and a curse gah!

I thought "skinny fat" was the opposite of this. She would actually weigh 120 and LOOK like she weighed 140 because it was all flab and no muscle.

To the OP: Do you lift? If so, you'll appear smaller than another person weighing 140 who only does cardio (or no exercise at all) because muscle takes up less space than fat! Sounds GREAT if you ask me!

closet_fatty

I'm currently going up on the scale again. ): However I know the cause, poor food choices. >.>

Well, I'm at 147 atm, and I fit great into American Eagle size 6 long, and I have a 28'' waist. IDK if that's normal, or not. I think it is. But since I was really young I've had this happen to me. Being mistaken for weighing less, I mean. I'm really glad I'm not alone in this.


Is there any way to tell if it's muscle or fat that's causing me to be so heavy?

LOL, the only lifting I do is at work. I'm a cashier. So only, pop and bags of dog food, ect....

amykathleen2005

Weirdly when I always feel like when I see pics of people, those who have recently lost alot of weight look smaller then those who have been at that weight. I don't know why!

jadedone

One of my favourite quotes from here on MFP:

"You can completely reshape your body without affecting your weight much. I simply strive to trust in the process and remember: Who sees the scale? Just you. Who sees your shrinking measurements? EVERYBODY! "

So true! If I get to my goal size and I am above my target! That works for me. (As long as I don't have health problems, I have no desire to bother with getting to 125 or whatever the "midpoint" is for my height. Waste of energy for me.

jadedone

"Skinny Fat" - It's a known phenomenon lol. You still retain a good shape and look balanced, but you store higher body fat in some areas than you should. It's a blessing and a curse gah!

Weighing more than you look is the exact opposite of skinny fat.

I really think a lot of people have no clue what anyone weighs. I blame Hollywood and Playboy magazine. Starlets and centerfolds will never admit to weighing more than 110 pounds, no matter how tall or voluptuous they are.

LOL. I know, everyone weigh 110 in Hollywood. And notice there is rarely talk of measurements?

Hannova

I'm currently going up on the scale again. ): However I know the cause, poor food choices. >.>

Well, I'm at 147 atm, and I fit great into American Eagle size 6 long, and I have a 28'' waist. IDK if that's normal, or not. I think it is. But since I was really young I've had this happen to me. Being mistaken for weighing less, I mean. I'm really glad I'm not alone in this.


Is there any way to tell if it's muscle or fat that's causing me to be so heavy?

LOL, the only lifting I do is at work. I'm a cashier. So only, pop and bags of dog food, ect....

Sure - use a scale that measures the percentage of body fat from your total weight.

I have one and while I don't like what it says in the numbers, what it's crying out to me is "You have to work out, or when you lose weight you'll lose lean muscle along with the fat!"

It's an annoying comment from a scale, but I believe it's true. I look less than I weigh as well - it's all a matter of how your body distributes and carries the weight.

jadedone

Even if you look on MFP, I see people my height who are 20-40 pounds heavier or lighter than I am who wear the same size I do. There is not one single way that it works.

MelissaLZ

This thread hits close to home. I'm 5'9, 155, pretty musclar, approx. size 6-8. Some people say I don't need to lose weight when I mention I am trying to get a few off (not a lot, just looking to be 145-150, and tighten up). Then when I tell them how much I weigh, I've had people say, "oh, well, ok, I guess you could lose a few." It is so funny to me when someone sees you and thinks you look fine, but then hearing a number causes them to think otherwise. I either look good or I don't - it shouldn't matter what the number is. I really agree with the people who have said there is no good frame of reference. So many people lie about their weight that, particularly when it comes to women, people just don't know what normal is. I'm not an an unhealthy weight, but there is a perception amongst some that any woman over 130 pounds is fat, with out any respect for height, build, etc. The lowest I have ever weighed is 137, and I was too skinny at that weight. It is hard for me to even phathom how all these movie stars and models of similar height allegedly weigh 100-115, but that kind of reporting really skews people's view of what is normal.

closet_fatty

Well I do have a scale that does that but I'm not sure if I can trust it. On Athletic mode it gets me as 20.2% and on normal I have 24%, and I'm not sure if that's right. Is there any way to check?

closet_fatty

This thread hits close to home. I'm 5'9, 155, pretty musclar, approx. size 6-8. Some people say I don't need to lose weight when I mention I am trying to get a few off (not a lot, just looking to be 145-150, and tighten up). Then when I tell them how much I weigh, I've had people say, "oh, well, ok, I guess you could lose a few." It is so funny to me when someone sees you and thinks you look fine, but then hearing a number causes them to think otherwise. I either look good or I don't - it shouldn't matter what the number is. I really agree with the people who have said there is no good frame of reference. So many people lie about their weight that, particularly when it comes to women, people just don't know what normal is. I'm not an an unhealthy weight, but there is a perception amongst some that any woman over 130 pounds is fat, with out any respect for height, build, etc. The lowest I have ever weighed is 137, and I was too skinny at that weight. It is hard for me to even phathom how all these movie stars and models of similar height allegedly weigh 100-115, but that kind of reporting really skews people's view of what is normal.

That's exactly it! I look at the actresses who have my frame, and what they claim their weight is, and I get completely baffled. If I ever pushed for anything under 120 it would look unnatural. & I haven't been under 127 since I was fourteen. What you said makes me feel alot better about the fact that the perfect number won't fit me.

Maystar80

I'm 5'10" and I weigh 160 pounds. I've actually had people ARGUE with me about it because they were *sure* I must weigh less than I claim to - by 20 pounds or more (since my LBM is around 130 pounds, that wouldn't even really be possible for me).

It's called muscle mass, and it takes up less space than fat. I have a fairly low body fat % so I'm relatively compact. I actually have a large frame, but it doesn't look like it because I also have an hourglass figure.

Bottom line - I'd rather be fit and healthy than worry about whatever number the scale tells me or whatever weight other people assume I must be.

Plus, I'd rather look like I weigh less than I do than more... that would stink.

I'm exactly the same way. Except I'm much shorter, about 5'5''. But I sometimes ask people how much they think I weight because it makes me feel better to know people see me as about 140-145 when I'm actually 160. My goal weight is 150 because even though all the bmi things say I could be 130-140, I've never been below 150 and felt like I could sustain it long term. I too have too much muscle for that. Btw, you're so lucky to have an hourglass figure! I'm more of an apple....

JennyZD

I'm 5'5 and weigh 167 pounds! No one ever believes me. I had to show my number on the scale to my bf because he didn't believe me. I've come to the conclusion that I'm pretty muscular (I wear size 7 pants) or my fat is evenly distributed, or both. I'm 27 pounds away from my goal weight, but I plan on stopping if I ever look scrawny LOL. The least I want is to lose lean muscle mass.

fteale

I get this all the time. No one ever believes I weigh 9 stone. People think I am 7 1/2 - 8. I think it's because I am very muscular, so smaller than the average 9 stone female.