People with big weight loss...weigh more at smaller sizes?

cherbapp

Ok this has been bugging me for years....I have been trying to find a scientific answer and have googled forever with no luck.

Is there a reason why people who have lost 100 pounds or more seem to fit into a smaller size than someone if their same height and weight who has not had a massive weight loss??

I was at one time over 300 pounds and now at 200 I get told all the time that there's no way I weigh that much. (I wish i saw what they did) Anyway, I started looking at tons of before/after pics and notice a trend with people who have lost significant amounts of weight. They do look smaller than they say they are. And I see many posts on clothing sizes where girls who lost a lot of weight are fitting into a dress size or two smaller than others with small losses who are the same height and weight.

So whats the deal....or is it just a coincidence?

Years ago I heard severely overweight ppl have a higher bone density? Or is it possibly more muscle mass from hauling that extra fat around for so long?

And if this is a legitimate issue...then how much should I really weigh? BMI calculators would be off.

llkilgore

Because you eat healthy and exercise, maybe? At my high of 180 pounds I was a couch potato, and looked it. Now I'm fit enough to run half marathons, and I look that too.

verptwerp

I have no answers ....... just want to congratulate you on that awesome weight loss ...... be happy, be healthy :drinker:

trkilpatrick

My guess would be that to lose that much weight, they probably had to put on quite a bit of muscle in the process. I have seen many comparisons between people who lift weights and those who don't. the ones who lift weights have quite a bit more muscle than those who don't but will weigh more with less volume. I hope that makes sense...

steph1278

I have no answer to that question, but I also am told that I look like I weigh less than I actually am. I'll take it.

RojaBlaze

I went from 230lbs to 123.6lbs at my lowest (I've gained back almost 20lbs) and I was still in a size 9. Other people my weight (or more) looked way smaller than me and took smaller sizes. I feel like no matter how much I lose I'm always gonna be bigger than everyone around me. Now that I'm 140lbs again I'm between an 11 and a 13. It sucks.

jynxxxed

I would guess and say that in most situations it deals with muscle gain. I've seen a lot of people who look physically MUCH smaller than when they began working out, but they are basically the same weight on the scale as when they started out.

earthsember

Not sure on the bone density, but I think the muscle gains likely have a lot to do with it. I haven't lost any weight, according to my scale, in a while, but I've done a lot to gain muscle and I've dropped two pants sizes without dropping an ounce.

Lobster1987

I get told that too. I'm about 150 and according to people I look like I'm 130. They can't believe I'm in an 8/10 pants. I really think I weigh more because my skeleton is very dense. My fingers don't touch when I grasp my wrist, and I really am not that fat, I have bones sticking out all over... I think being a formally morbidly obese person makes your skeleton heavier to hold up the weight.

knowwhentoshutup

I think height is a huge factor.

ajswriter

Don't have answers either, but I'm wondering if the clothing sizes are just bigger & being labeled smaller for our self-esteem or something so that we buy more... lol I lost 102lbs & am in a smaller size, in theory anyway, than I was when I was 18.

Aviendha_RJ

I've never had a huge weight loss. I've only lost 20lbs. BUT I do get told CONSTANTLY that there's no way in hell that I weigh 155lbs. People guess me ALL THE TIME at 145-ish. Hey, I'm not complaining, I'll take it...

But at the same time? I used to be 145-ish pounds & FULLY a size 9. All my size 9 clothes fit perfectly. Now? I'm 155lbs & a size 7 in some things, & a 9 in some others. It's messed up... but it's muscle. Oh, & I have a dense bone structure too... I can't actually float in water.

LaurenAOK

I totally know what you mean! I'm one of those that never had much weight to lose (my first goal was to lose 15 pounds, which I hit, and I'm in the middle of the healthy weight range now at 128). I'm a size 8, and have been for years. I mean, the size 8 was a bit tight before and now it fits well, but I'm still a size 8. Meanwhile, I see women who went from 300 to 200 fitting into like, a size 10. Huh?! How are they only one size bigger than me? I'm not hating; I'm genuinely curious. I've been meaning to make a thread about it.

gvheintz

For those with big weight loss, I have to wonder if some of it might be skin? I've seen on some of those transformation shows the doctors saying they would remove about 10 lbs of skin/connective tissue?

Icewolf_The

I started out at 496 lbs. And I am now down to 339. So with that said. I am fitting into clothing that is the same size I wore in High School when I weighed in at around 250-270lbs. How is that possible, I dunno.

MY body fat percentage has been tested and shows to be much lower than what it's 'supposed' to be for any BMI/body height weight calculator. So everything is off. I've gotten used to this.

As an example I went to amusement parks this summer and the ride attendants were all dumbfounded why I didn't fit on some of the rides, when they were absolutely sure I would. Annoying. But I am sure it will be even worse if I ever actually DO get any more of the weight off.

And Father.... I'm happy to donate any amount of skin and tissue anyone wants to remove from me *grins*

kealambert

that is interesting! I've lost 90 lbs collectively (lowest I was down 145 lbs overall, have gained back since then), and very often am told there's no way I weight the amount I do, usually people guess about 50 lbs less than I am, or so.

I usually just attribute that to people assuming the best, but I have no idea.

KnightAmber

I know with me I don't look like I weigh as much as I do, this is because I am tall and have been luck at how my body has placed the fat so I don't look as big as I really am. My bones are only 3.3 so it doesn't have much impact I think.

RawTriGal

Congrats on the fantastic weight loss! And I'm guessing that it has to do with muscle mass versus body mass.... the numbers may be the same but are the measurements? A pound of fat takes up more space than a pound of muscle... a pound is still a pound, however, hence not seeing a difference on the scale for instance, between a person who is 150 pounds and healthy and fit and 150 pound person who is unhealthy and sedetary.

lauren3101

It's not just about what the scales say. It's about your height and your body shape too.

At 5"10, when I was a size 14, I looked like a size 10. At my heaviest over 20 stone and a size 24, no-one believed I weighed that much.

However if my 5"4 friend weighed over 20 stone, she'd look a lot different, and would probably be a bigger size too.

sarahrbraun

My guess would be that to lose that much weight, they probably had to put on quite a bit of muscle in the process. I have seen many comparisons between people who lift weights and those who don't. the ones who lift weights have quite a bit more muscle than those who don't but will weigh more with less volume. I hope that makes sense...

THIS^^^^

8 years ago I thought I was fat, and I sorta was....I took measurements before I started Atkins to lose some weight. Now I really AM fat ( started out 60lbs heavier) and recently took my measurements after losing 20lbs+ and found that I was 30lbs heavier, but had the same, or smaller measurements. I KNOW I have muscles now that I did not have then!

2004******************************2012

174********************************200

chest 38*************************39

waist 37*************************39

hips 42**************************41

thigh 24***********************23

clothing size 14

LorinaLynn

Muscle. People gain muscle with fat, just like we lose muscle with fat. We don't only put on muscle when we're picking things up and putting them down.

Take someone with an extra 25-50-100 pounds, and they are going to need more muscle in their body to carry that extra weight. If you lose weight sensibly and maintain lean mass, you're going to have more muscle than someone who never carried that extra weight.

If you lose weight without preserving lean muscle, though, you're not going to look as lean at the same weight.

10 years ago, I had a jaw problem and couldn't eat normally. I wasn't concerned enough with nutrition or exercise, so when I lost weight, I lost lean mass. When I could eat again, I gained weight, including lean mass.

When I lost this time, I took nutrition and exercise very seriously, and preserved lean mass. I'm about 15 pounds heavier now, and the same size. Maybe with a smaller waist.

pkw58

I think you could line up a dozen women who wear a size 8 Brand X jean who are all 5'8" tall and see a dozen different body shapes and a dozen different weights. My size 8's fit perfect (no need for the 1% spandex in them) with about an extra 1/2 inch in the waist.. I have one style of jeans that is a size 6 that fits exactly the same.. but I am calling myself a size 8 to start - generally fits but may need to go up one size or down one size.

I have a doctor certified small frame -long thin bones but with really good bone density. Working on developing long lean muscles!

Lina4Lina

I would also say muscle. Im bottom heavy but when I weighed 210 lbs at 5'6", I wore size 14 misses jeans and size M tops. Since I'm bottom heavy, I tend to use jeans as a guideline.

JulieRoselovesFreeze

I have no scientific answer but I have Always weighed more than I look....I wear a size 2 (size 4 designer) and I weigh 141 pounds now- and am 5'2". I barely do any strength training besides some sit ups once a week and some planks (I know I should do more...!)My best guess is that I am naturally muscular and/ or built it early in life by starting dance classes at a very young age. I even have a mini six pack poking through, lazy as I am now:) So yeah, it's gotta have something to do with muscle...

bibliophilic

Hey, I know this is a fairly old thread, but I thought I'd answer anyway for people still reading it. When you gain a significant amount of weight, your body creates more lean mass (muscle) to support the extra load. Think about it- Your body has to find the strength to move your larger frame around, and that requires more energy to do even simple things like sitting down and standing up. This is a bit of an exaggerated example, but imagine you weigh 300 lbs & you are getting up off the couch- it's almost like you're doing a 300 lb squat! Obese people tend to have more lean mass (muscle) than regularly lean people. It's just difficult to see because that muscle is covered in layers of fluffy fat. Sure, you gained fat, but your body built extra muscle for you at the same time! Take advantage of this! Those people you see that lost a lot of weight but look trimmer than their equal-weighted counterparts look so great because they lost the weight the best way & preserved that lean muscle mass. Muscle is very dense. It takes up less space than the same amount of weight in fat. 5 lbs of fat is nearly 3 times the size of 5 lbs of muscle!

kazzsjourney

My guess would be that to lose that much weight, they probably had to put on quite a bit of muscle in the process. I have seen many comparisons between people who lift weights and those who don't. the ones who lift weights have quite a bit more muscle than those who don't but will weigh more with less volume. I hope that makes sense...

This. People do often say i dont look like i weigh nearly 200 pounds. But when I had a dexa scan...i weighed 191 pounds at the time and 147 pounds was lean body mass. You have to remember when someone is bigger (i was 380 pounds) my body had to carry around 380 pounds,,,,,there is strength training there just in my then day to day life And trainers have always commented that I am much stronger then they expect