Overweight Yet In Shape

musicmint

Is it possible to be overweight yet in shape?

Flab2fitfi

Yes!! Weight is just one measurement of fitness. Its the same as you can get people who are a healthy weight but are unfit.

musicmint

Yes!! Weight is just one measurement of fitness. Its the same as you can get people who are a healthy weight but are unfit.

But if you run for example like 15 miles a week how can people still be fat? Cause isn't that what overweight is?

justjenn1977

Is it possible to be overweight yet in shape?

my dr constantly tells me that I am the fittest fat person she knows...

I am 265... but I can go an ride my bike 70 miles in two days (up a mountain...) and I mountain bike... and I hike insanely long distances... and I mountain climb (freestyle rock scramble stuff... not like mission impossible or anything)

my blood chemistries are all completely normal... my blood pressure is completely normal... my resting heart rate is around 70...

so I think yes it is possible to be overweight yet in shape...

although I find that the less overweight I get (lost ~75 so far)... the better shape I am in... so the world better watch out in about 100 more pounds

justjenn1977

overweight means having a weight that is over ideal...

fitness is a measure of howmuch physical activity you can endure


edit:spelling

musicmint

overweight means having a weight that is over ideal...

fitness is a measure of who much physical activity you can endure

thanks for the input this really puts a different perspective on things!

roachhaley

overweight means having a weight that is over ideal...

fitness is a measure of who much physical activity you can endure

This.

I think ideally you'd want to be in the healthy weight range and also fit.

Flab2fitfi

Yes!! Weight is just one measurement of fitness. Its the same as you can get people who are a healthy weight but are unfit.

But if you run for example like 15 miles a week how can people still be fat? Cause isn't that what overweight is?

But you could still eat too much.

justjenn1977

]

This.

I think ideally you'd want to be in the healthy weight range and also fit.

idealy... yes...

Kara_xxx

Yes!! Weight is just one measurement of fitness. Its the same as you can get people who are a healthy weight but are unfit.

But if you run for example like 15 miles a week how can people still be fat? Cause isn't that what overweight is?

15 miles a week isn't an awful lot.

Plus you can easily run so slow that your heart rate is barely any higher than if you were walking somewhere. Also if you always do the same exercise you body becomes acclimatised and works a lot less hard and burns fewer calories.

justjenn1977

overweight means having a weight that is over ideal...

fitness is a measure of who much physical activity you can endure

thanks for the input this really puts a different perspective on things!

perspective is often needed

Kara_xxx

Yes!! Weight is just one measurement of fitness. Its the same as you can get people who are a healthy weight but are unfit.

But if you run for example like 15 miles a week how can people still be fat? Cause isn't that what overweight is?

But you could still eat too much.

Very valid point!

roachhaley

overweight means having a weight that is over ideal...

fitness is a measure of who much physical activity you can endure

This.

I think ideally you'd want to be in the healthy weight range and also fit.

Kara_xxx

I know ultra-distance runners (distances longer than marathons e.g. 26 miles + in a single run) who are fat.

They generally run very slowly and just have huge endurance.

musicmint

It's not alot but you can still be stupid and do too much too fast. It is smart to do it gradually

Bobby_Clerici

Of course!
And skinny smokers are in terrible shape.
I think it becomes a matter of appearance. It's good to be in shape, but is being fat our optimal best?
Of course not.
And do we like the way we looked fat?
NOPE!

musicmint

Yes!! Weight is just one measurement of fitness. Its the same as you can get people who are a healthy weight but are unfit.

But if you run for example like 15 miles a week how can people still be fat? Cause isn't that what overweight is?

15 miles a week isn't an awful lot.

Plus you can easily run so slow that your heart rate is barely any higher than if you were walking somewhere. Also if you always do the same exercise you body becomes acclimatised and works a lot less hard and burns fewer calories.




ONLY if you are not increasing the amount

mandimuscles

Is it possible to be overweight yet in shape?

Yes!! Especially if you're in the process of the journey of losing weight! And it depends on what you eat, I have an uncle who typically bikes 150-200 miles in a week minimum, but he'd by clinical terms be a little overweight because he works out so he can eat some things he wouldn't be able to if he didn't work out. He's not big by any means, but not as tiny as he could be either. I've seen skinny out of shape people I could run laps around, so just like how that works, overweight people can be in better shape if they're working out than people who just don't eat much and don't work out.

Lesley2901

Depends what you are using to define overweight. My OH used to go to the gym 5 times a week and was muscular with very little fat however his BMI indicated that he was overweight.

Flixie00

I am still overweight (178 lb so officially 8lb over the top weight for my height) and my BMI is still above that of a healthy women of my age and height (26.4 against a target of 25), but yet I now have an excellent body fat ratio for my age (24.7%). I am basing this on the scales I use at Boots the Chemist where I weigh in, and they seem to have a problem acurately reading my height, so not 100% certain that this data is acurate. I consider myself fit (yeah!) but officially overweight :ohwell:

Kara_xxx

Rachel Cosgrove's article "The final nail in the cardio coffin" explains very well why hours and hours of steady state cardio will not necessarily address overweight.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_final_nail_in_the_cardio_coffin

I first came across this article after training for an Ironman triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, marathon 26.2 mile run -- all in one day). The cardio training load was so high (15 hours a week+) that I was forced to ditch my weight training. But 80% of the training is steady state cardio, just building endurance...

So what was the result??? Yes I could go and jog for 4 hours comfortably... Yes I could cycle for 7 hours comfortably... but my body got flabby!

So yes you can be overweight yet have good endurance in certain activities, just like not every skinny person is necessarily fit.

But if you don't want the flab you'll have to do more than just steady state cardio.

Lynxie83

As the others have said, it is possible. I have a friend who would easily be 20kg lighter than me, yet I can out do her at gym classes, boxing, dancing... Just about anything cardio driven. She is slimmer, but I am fitter! She had better look out when I get slimmer too :bigsmile:

MonkeyBars

For me, it's about linking the 5 components together.

I need:-
cardio endurance
muscle strength
muscle endurance
flexibility
body composition

If I am weak in 1 of these areas, I can become injured.
Injury = set back

Mine is chaotic circuits (always different combining strength/balance/speed/cardio) with running (distance, short sprints, hills, long springs, recovery runs).

Find your way

Wonderob

I know ultra-distance runners (distances longer than marathons e.g. 26 miles + in a single run) who are fat.

They generally run very slowly and just have huge endurance.

There is a bit of a misconception as to how many calories get burnt off by exercise. With my current weight, I would burn off 1 pound by running 47 miles!

So if I ran 100 miles a week - yet averaged just 500 calories a day extra (basically a couple of chocolate bars a day) then I still wouldn't be losing weight!

Phrak

I am classified as obese. But i still think im in decent shape.

CoderGal

I wouldnt call someone in shape over weight. I think they are mutually exclusive. With that said heavier people should not use the bmi scale to determine their fitness level. That scale is more for a sedentary person.

bcattoes

Is it possible to be overweight yet in shape?

It depends on what you mean by "overweight" and "in shape". Many athletes are overweight by BMI or other standards that don't account for those with a lot of muscle, and are in shape, whether by that you mean physically fit or low BF. And it's possible to truly carry too much fat on your body and still be physically fit. This is true of some athletes like linebackers, and it's true of many people who are in the weight loss process, though these people don't always look "in shape".

MonkeyBars

This is very true. When I was 96kgs and 15% body fat, I renewed my mortgage and they sent a nurse for the life assurance. Turns out I was showing up on their BMI calculator as having an obesity problem.

She met me and said, "oh". Then took my blood pressure and gave me the all clear.

Amusing and annoying at the same time!

nursenelson

I am classified as obese. But i still think im in decent shape.

I too, think that you're in decent shape

Kara_xxx

This is very true. When I was 96kgs and 15% body fat, I renewed my mortgage and they sent a nurse for the life assurance. Turns out I was showing up on their BMI calculator as having an obesity problem.

She met me and said, "oh". Then took my blood pressure and gave me the all clear.

Amusing and annoying at the same time!

Was she expecting someone much shorter than you? :laugh:

MonkeyBars

LOL - yes Kara

I think we really should petition the NHS to drop BMI as a cheap quick test! It's an instant fail.....

I was bought in recently by my NEW GP who'd only met me once for having too much creatinine in my blood. After 6 blood tests and urine tests they told me I had Chronic Kidney Disease as it was a matter of time before I'd need dialysis!

To say I was upset was an under statement! I researched it and all the time as chronic in medical terms means you can fix the damage already done! There was no way to eat or train my way out of it!

But....I kept saying, "I eat alot"..., "I train alot". This fell on deaf ears, they went into auto pilot, following process! I even spoke to my old GP who new me, he said "er...they do know you're pretty fit don't they". He didn't really want to be pulled into the process.

Finally I got to see the "consultant".

When he met me, he laughed his socks off! His first response after I took my shirt off was, "why are you here? you're built like a butcher's dog. you're wasting my time and we're wasting yours?".

So I took a 24hr urine test in a "huge" container! I couldn't go anywhere for 24hrs unless I wanted to take mr PeePee pot with me!
I joked with the nurse I would fill it, she said impossible! So, after starting @ 8am, I'd filled it by 3:30am ... dammit!
Still, it had the start/end times on it, so they'd be able to calculate my "flow".

Sure enough, they took more blood when I bought in my pot of pee that day!
They checked me out and within 3 days said, "you're not the average male 40+ year old in the UK, there's nothing wrong with you. Carry on!"

Annoyed, yes! Relieved, yes!

Trust the general health community? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm