Has anyone experienced their doctor telling them....

lissaann22479

The more important question is if you are happy with your current weight. If not, find a way to lose until you are.

graciemom828

I agree with the concept that just because it is your IBW does not make it the ideal weight for you. (This is just my opinion however.) I have gained/lost several people in my lifetime and all of this has been complicated by multiple belly surgeries and muscles are in sad shape after these with one of them being a C-section. I think there comes a time when the scale does not want to move and at this point in my life, I am more interested in having smaller clothes than what the number on the scale says. That being said, exercise is my big deal and I can't seem to spend enough time there. I am working hard to get back into a 12 which there are many folks who would say that is "plus size", etc. I am almost 60 years old and think if I could consistently be a 12, it would be great. So, we should probably not beat ourselves up near as much as we do.

twinmom01

I think what your doctor might mean is that your weight is fine now. That doesn't mean you can't lose a little weight, it just means not to be too worried about it if you dont

I think what your doctor might mean is that your weight is fine now. That doesn't mean you can't lose a little weight, it just means not to be too worried about it if you dont

I really agree with this statement. There are some things that can be done to push your weight lower... You can maybe decrease soda intake, drink more water, temporarily lower your intake for 2-3 days to jump start, work out more at the gym, etc. If you are only 10 or so lbs overweight, your doctor is not going to prescribe anything. those solutions are for those with extreme weight loss.

Now, for a bit of an analysis... You are 5'9" and about 203 lbs. This places your BMI at 30 which is right at the bottom of obesity 1 and the top of overweight range according to BMI standards. You mentioned that you have a large frame (which can be determined by measuring your wrist) and checking a chart to make sure. This would account for some of this excess. Also, if you have an athletic build then certainly this raises your optimum weight by quite a bit since your fat percentage would be lower. I know when I mistakenly told my doctor that my bmi was 29 -- he said "that is not too bad... it is overweight but not too bad)... Then when I said -- I mean it is 39 (currently 34) he SUDDENLY got alarmed and started talking to me about getting it down...

At any rate, the best way to lose weight is eating nutritionally at the level of a person would at the weight you aspire to be and exercise. Do these things and you re-establish a lifestyle that is sustainable over time. Best wishes on attaining your goals.

BMI is crap - as it is based pretty much only on weight and fails to take into account muscle mass and body fat %

I know people who weigh less than I do, have a lower calculated BMI than I do but yet they look heavier than i do and wear a larger size then I do...because they have more body fat than I have...

Heck my sister who is skinny as all get out and does solid workouts according to BMI she is in the overweight catagory...

More important is finding out your body fat %....two people can weigh exactly the same and one could have 20% body fat and the other could have 35% body fat...and according to the BMI charts both fall in the oveweight catagory...the one with the 20% body fat - pretty sure they aren't going to be overweight....KWIM

UsedToBeHusky

Just for perspective... tall people generally ARE big-boned!!

But that does NOT equal being fat.

ETA: I am 5'8" and used to claim this big boned theory - till I lost weight and saw that just bc your bones may be "large frame" it does mean you need to weight 50+ lbs over the healthy limits/standards.

If that 50 lbs is muscle and not fat, then why should it matter. Your posts imply that people never have a large frame and should not use that as an excuse for weighing more. I may have misinterpreted you or you may have misrepresented yourself. Either way, my point is that people as tall as the OP are going to typically have larger frames because that is what is naturally porportionate to their bodies. Implications that having a large frame is a 'theory' as you put it, generates the status quo that 'society' (meaning you) gets to dictate what my body image should be.

UsedToBeHusky

What is wrong with weighing 125? Lord have mercy... I keep reading these comments that portray someone who weighs 125-130 as some kind of enemy anorexic. I'm 5' 7 and went from 217 lbs to 128 lbs and now a size 2 by using this site and exercising. It is possible to be this weight even if you don't think you have the frame or if you've never been below a certain weight in your life. It just takes a lot of freaking hard work. /end rant

To the original poster- only your doctor can explain his/her motives for their comment. Ask them and good luck!

For some people, such as myself, 125 lbs falls into the underweight range. At 125 lbs, I would be anorexic. The OP is tall and has a large frame, and is trying to determine what a realistic goal for her body type should be. Why do people generalize everything? It is not all about you!

Rae6503

I'm 5'9" and very healthy at 160lbs. I'd rather be a little leaner but it's all "vanity" now. I have a larger framer and a decent amount of muscle. I'd have to lose a lot of muscle and would look very unhealthy at 125. I don't think I've weight that low since I was 11.

I think what your doctor is saying is that you are healthy where you are. If you try hard, remain consistent, exercise, maintain a moderate calorie deficit, you can get below 2000 calories. You've just got to want it.

Cheval13

Doctor's will advise based on what is "normal," but not necessarily what is best for you... a lot of it is based on BMI, but they will give you the middle of the "normal" BMI, not the higher or lower end. Also, in the U.S. normal is not necessarily ideal.
As for a 5'9'' woman at 125 pounds... that sounds scary, though I understand that it all depends on the individual. I am all for healthy body fat percentages and focusing on how much of that weight is lean muscle mass. Some scales give you the weight for if you were a wrestler at 4.9% fat (kind of impossible for most women) and for me, that's 110 pounds... so clearly someone three inches taller would need to be at least 125 pounds... (five pounds of lean muscle per inch) and that means 125 is really the lowest possible...but ya... I think more and more that if you look good, and most importantly, if you FEEL good, then you're at a good spot.

Ocarina

Weird that I have a medium to larger body frame at 5'9'' but weigh 146 lbs and could EASILY pull off another 15 lb loss without being anorexic. Lol...

Seems a bit extreme. Maybe I have no muscle... but I get asked to lift heavy things all the time.

fatboypup

Im tall and i dont have big bones

Rloral

This might seem a little smart assed, but please don't take it that way. Why don't you ask your doctor this question? A lot of the best free nutritional advice you can get is from asking your family doctor questions. They have studied nutrition for years in practice on top of their medical knowledge plus have first hand experience with hundreds of patients.

Not saying you won't get good advice on here, but asking the doctor why he said what he did is going to get an answer tailored to your specific health needs, which your doctor knows about, but we don't!!!

I did not take this as being "smart assed". I asked the doctor and she said with my body frame and the exercising that I'm doing my body is basically fine where it is. I did a body fat analysis and if I wanted to be 25% body fat percentage my weight would be

Your Body Fat Weight is: 54.46 lbs
Your Muscle Mass is: 145.54 lbs
Your Body Fat Percentage is: 27.23%

145.54/75 (which is 100-25%) it came up with 194 pounds. Which is not to far from where I want to be. Thanks for your reply.

slkehl

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208082569868428.html

Here's an interesting article on why carrying a few extra pounds isn't necessarily a bad thing. Your doc might see that you're eating healthy and exercising, which is what's really important.

I remember being surprised when I went to the doctors and had gained a good 10 pounds since I saw her a couple years ago. No comment on that. I think it's because I told her I was training for a 10K and she knows I'm a nutrition science major.

hikergalrm

My doc calls me fit fat, she and I want me to be slimmer, but I have the classic big belly, but very normal blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar. I trail run and hike 5 to 6 miles a day. I think it depends on the person, genetics, etc. I joined MFP to help me keep track of my food intake and to change up my diet to lose the BB, hope it works. By the way I am medium framed and my whole family, we are all athletic all have the same build. Don't fret

mfpcopine

As someone else has said, some doctors have very low standards; others are completely out of touch because they see so many overweight people. I once asked a doctor whether a medication he was going to prescribe caused weight gain (a problem I once had from a medication). Without knowing anything about my weight or health history he starts giving me a lecture about proper weight ranges. I have never been anorexic a day in my life. Even when I weighed in the low 90s, and for a short time in the high 80s.

When I told another doctor that it was important to me to keep my weight down because I was trying to avoid my family's history of Hypertension, stroke, and Type 2 Diabetes, he said that although no one knew for sure that weight control would work, it would never hurt me to keep to a healthy low weight. Even if you develop an illness over which you have no control, it's worse to have that illness and be extremely overweight. It puts stress on the body.

Both doctors were thin, so it wasn't a weight-related issue. The second, sensible doctor was much older than the first, so it wasn't a question of a younger doctor being more open-minded.

I believe in seeing physicians who are in tune with my health goals.

mfpcopine

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208082569868428.html

Here's an interesting article on why carrying a few extra pounds isn't necessarily a bad thing. Your doc might see that you're eating healthy and exercising, which is what's really important.

I remember being surprised when I went to the doctors and had gained a good 10 pounds since I saw her a couple years ago. No comment on that. I think it's because I told her I was training for a 10K and she knows I'm a nutrition science major.

I agree that 10 pounds is not that big a deal, especially if you're not short. I personally aim to be a little under. In my experience, it is NOT true that being overweight makes you look younger. I guess it's an individual thing.

mfpcopine

Determining frame size: To determine the body frame size, measure the wrist with a tape measure and use the following chart to determine whether the person is small, medium, or large boned. Having a large frame does equate to justifying obesity.

Women:



Height 5'2" to 5' 5"
Small = wrist size less than 6"

A couple of days ago, I started a thread asking for petite women's wrist measurements. I said I had a small frame. Same result according to this too.

susannamarie

What is wrong with weighing 125? Lord have mercy... I keep reading these comments that portray someone who weighs 125-130 as some kind of enemy anorexic. I'm 5' 7 and went from 217 lbs to 128 lbs and now a size 2 by using this site and exercising. It is possible to be this weight even if you don't think you have the frame or if you've never been below a certain weight in your life. It just takes a lot of freaking hard work. /end rant

To the original poster- only your doctor can explain his/her motives for their comment. Ask them and good luck!

Nothing's wrong with people who weigh 125. But for me (5' 10", large frame, broad shoulders), getting anywhere under 150 would require losing a fair amount of muscle. Although it might be *possible* to do that, I don't see why it would be healthier or why I'd want to.

My mother, on the other hand, is only 2 inches shorter than I am, but looked heavy at 150 and had a normal weight of 125-130. She has a very slender build and looked superb and healthy at that level.

I agree w/you that people shouldn't portray other people who weigh 125 as anorexic -- but one size really doesn't fit all.

runnerchick69

What is wrong with weighing 125? Lord have mercy... I keep reading these comments that portray someone who weighs 125-130 as some kind of enemy anorexic. I'm 5' 7 and went from 217 lbs to 128 lbs and now a size 2 by using this site and exercising. It is possible to be this weight even if you don't think you have the frame or if you've never been below a certain weight in your life. It just takes a lot of freaking hard work. /end rant

To the original poster- only your doctor can explain his/her motives for their comment. Ask them and good luck!

Not a thing if 125 is a healthy weight for your frame. I bounce between a size 0 and a 2 depending on the clothing maker and have even has people tell me I'm lying because they knew I weigh in the upper 120's. I run and bike so I have a large amount of muscle mass and the only way to get down to my 'ideal' weight would be to lose muscle mass which is something I am not willing to do. Do what works for you and find a place where you feel good and also realize that these are message boards and people are going to share their opinions

Elizabeth_C34

I've found that doctors have very low standards when it comes to weight.

Totally agree. My cardiologist explained this to me last time I saw him. He said most of his patients have a very negative reaction when they hear that they're 100+ lbs from where they should be. Instead, he tries to encourage them to get down to a lower but still high weight, because it's better than where they're at. I find that very sad.

Rloral

I just want to clarify. I wasn't downing any one size or body frame. I was just asking if anyone had been in this situation and if they had pushed pass their weight loss stall and what they did to get pass that stall. I'm not to focused on the number on the scale but I am 45 and I have flabby arms and flabby inner thighs so I know I can afford to lose alittle more weight with toning. I'm trying to be in my 40's and fabulous :happy:

Another fact. I have already lost 130 pounds. I do lots of aerobics and I was also doing floor exercises and 30 day shred. I was on level 3 when I had to stop for right now per my doctor.

I thank everyone for their comments and advice.

nz_deevaa

My doctor told me that after 'a certain age' (I THINK it was 35, but honestly I can't remember) that he's not so much worried about what weight I am, but that I'm not gaining weight.

He told me this in context of me having lost 24kgs, and me saying I was only half way to my target weight.

He congratulated me on my weight loss, and said he'd be thrilled if I got to my target, but that he'd be just as happy if I was able to maintain the loss I'd made.