No really... I AM big boned..?

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Looking for some motivation!

Anyone else out there have a large frame and able to share their story? I'm 5'8 and 220... generally wear a size 16. I was at a Doctor's office the other day and he told me I was NOT big boned, and that he's seen much bigger - he's kinda given me a complex now! So I went and looked online to see how I can judge this myself and the circumference of my wrist is 7"....and according to everything I read that's big boned! I am very broad and carry weight all over, anyways I'm trying to lose weight, and I really wish I can get down to a size 10, is this even possible? I don't even remember a time that I wore something outside of a size 14. About 3 years ago I dropped down to 180, and I was wearing a size 14 - and this was a healthy look for me.

Am I deluding myself into thinking my frame will prevent me from going down to a size 10?

If anyone has got some stories, please share! Thanks!
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Replies

  • gaiareeves
    gaiareeves Posts: 292 Member
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    You may or may not be big-boned, really you won't know for sure until you are in the healthy weight range for your height. If you've overweight, than can actually effect the measurement of your wrist.

    I'm 5'3.5", 127lbs and my wrist measurement is 6" - that makes me medium framed.

    However when I was overweight at 165lbs, my wrist measurement was 6.5" - large framed.
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
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    Why worry about a particular size ?

    If you think you need to lose weight, then lose it ......

    Best of luck to you :drinker:
  • Carolyn_79
    Carolyn_79 Posts: 935 Member
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    I did the wrist measurement thing and I was right smack in the middle of medium/large and I'm an 8/10. I'm 5'6 and 156 pounds right now. I agree your measurement could go down once you lose.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    Skeletons are all about the same size. No such thing as "big boned". Lol.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    5'6, currently 204. My wrist is BONEY (I have no fat on it at all so it wont get smaller unless somehow I lose skin) its over 7inches. I am big boned and I have BEEN size 10 so yes, it is possible. At my smallest (135 and sickly looking) I was a size 6/7. My goal will be 8/10 at about 145.
  • amez1974
    amez1974 Posts: 213 Member
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    I am also 5'8", started at 242 and I looked "big boned." However before I had kids I weighed around 135, so I knew my bones weren't that big :) Now I'm at 168 and wearing an 8/10, so yes I definitely think you can reach that goal. HTH and just keep on working toward losing weight. I'm still not completely sure what my final weight or size will be. I will know when I get there!
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
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    i do not want this to sound rude. i used to think i was big boned. since then ive lost weight and seen a few fitness models post this on facebook.

    BigBonedIncaseyoudidnotalreadyknow_079915_3662645.jpg
  • CrueChix
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    Skeletons are all about the same size. No such thing as "big boned". Lol.
    I agree!!! Big boned is nothing but bull**** that big people use as an excuse to be big. I know, used that same excuse myself for years!
  • redredy9
    redredy9 Posts: 706 Member
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    I have a 7 inch wrist too. I am 5'5 and now weigh 160# When I was a size 12 I thought a size 8 would be my goal. Now that I am in size 8 skirts (10 in pants and dresses) I know that I can get down to a 6 and still look healthy.

    I think setting a preliminary goal and then re-evaluating when you get closer is a good idea. A smaller initial goal will also help keep you motivated.

    I have a larger frame so I will weigh more than most other women wearing the same size 6 skirt but I that means I'll also have a higher BMR!! muahahahahaha!
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    Looking for some motivation!

    Anyone else out there have a large frame and able to share their story? I'm 5'8 and 220... generally wear a size 16. I was at a Doctor's office the other day and he told me I was NOT big boned, and that he's seen much bigger - he's kinda given me a complex now! So I went and looked online to see how I can judge this myself and the circumference of my wrist is 7"....and according to everything I read that's big boned! I am very broad and carry weight all over, anyways I'm trying to lose weight, and I really wish I can get down to a size 10, is this even possible? I don't even remember a time that I wore something outside of a size 14. About 3 years ago I dropped down to 180, and I was wearing a size 14 - and this was a healthy look for me.

    Am I deluding myself into thinking my frame will prevent me from going down to a size 10?

    If anyone has got some stories, please share! Thanks!

    Your frame will probably not prevent you from being a size 10. If you lose enough weight, you could be a 6 or less.

    However, don't shoot for a size like. Aim to be healthy. If 180 and size 14 was healthy, that seems like a more realistic goal.

    Your health is more important than your dress size.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    If people have EXACTLY THE SAME skeletons then how is it possible to identify male from female when fossils are discovered from ancient cultures?

    Why are some women to 'narrow' for childbirth if the skeletons are EXACTLY the same? is the fat making their hips closer together?

    If all skeletons are the same please explain Osteoporosis and the other skeletal disorders. By this thinking then it would be impossible to have any differences in structure at all.

    Here's one from the American Journal of clinical nutrition : http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/75/6/1012.long which discusses frame sizes.

    It is utterly ridiculous to say that everyone has the same size of skeleton.
  • ebony__
    ebony__ Posts: 519 Member
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    If people have EXACTLY THE SAME skeletons then how is it possible to identify male from female when fossils are discovered from ancient cultures?

    Why are some women to 'narrow' for childbirth if the skeletons are EXACTLY the same? is the fat making their hips closer together?

    If all skeletons are the same please explain Osteoporosis and the other skeletal disorders. By this thinking then it would be impossible to have any differences in structure at all.

    Here's one from the American Journal of clinical nutrition : http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/75/6/1012.long which discusses frame sizes.

    It is utterly ridiculous to say that everyone has the same size of skeleton.


    I don't think any one in this post has said everyone has 'exactly' the same size skeleton lol
  • kellison89
    kellison89 Posts: 33 Member
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    Skeletons do have differences, but this is something I wouldn't concern myself with if I were you. Focus on being healthy. When you lose weight your body will change and you'll notice when you feel the best for whatever frame you have.
  • Mima79
    Mima79 Posts: 112 Member
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    i do not want this to sound rude. i used to think i was big boned. since then ive lost weight and seen a few fitness models post this on facebook.

    BigBonedIncaseyoudidnotalreadyknow_079915_3662645.jpg

    There is tremendous variation in size and shape of human bones (some more so than others). For example, if you exercise a lot, many microscopic cracks will form in your bones and bone cells will grow into the cracks to repair them. As a result, someone who exercises a lot will have much thicker bone than someone who does not exercise. Diet, diseases, parasites, evolutionary responses to temperature and many other factors also influence the dimensions of human bones.
    It is true that the sizes of bones in a population will cluster around certain average values. This is because some aspects of bone growth are under fairly strong genetic control. But any such values are statistical approximations, not fixed limits of bone dimensions.
    What the doctor have meant to say is that one cannot blame obesity on a person being "big boned". Bones simply do not make up that much of one's weight to tip the scale, as it were, between normal weight and obseity.

    at the end of the day if you challenge yourself for a healthy life you will notice that you are not "big boned" you were just out of shape :)
  • sarahmichelle876
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    I'm a physical anthropologist, and there IS such thing as big boned. No bones are the same size. Your ancestry plays a large part it it. It doesn't make a huge difference, but it's not irrelevant either. Now to say its an excuse for 50+ pounds is just crazy. But it can make things like wrists and ankles appear larger. It doesn't effect weight except by the smallest fraction. But a lot of things can change how you appear. Like a girl I went to school with was 5'7, 115 pounds and wore a size 6-8 depending on the brand because her hips were wide. She wasn't big boned, but her hip bones were spread apart farther.
  • jeolds
    jeolds Posts: 104 Member
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    It is not a myth. I have met people that have a decisively smaller tibia than mine on numerous occasions.

    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/17182.htm

    People vary in ratios of bone lengths, circumferences, etc. My scale estimates bone mass, and that can vary since it can change in density, mostly affected by strength training and age.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/225710-how-to-measure-muscle-bone-mass/


    We'll see if I have the code right for links.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    I have chronic pain in my pelvis above my hip joints, and after having x-rays and CT scans to figure out what's wrong my doctor told me I just "have an abnormally large pelvis." Ugh. Thanks, Doc. So I actually am "big boned." But is sure isn't an excuse to stay the size 14 that I am now (or 18 that I was a few months ago.) I'm shooting for a size 10 and 150ish pounds at 5'7".

    Edited to add "big" can mean a lot of things. In my case it means my pelvis is wide (hooray for easy childbirth!) not necessarily dense or thicker.
  • jeolds
    jeolds Posts: 104 Member
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    I'm a physical anthropologist, and there IS such thing as big boned. No bones are the same size. Your ancestry play a large part it it. It doesn't make a huge difference, but it's not irrelevant either.

    ^^^^ See, empirical evidence. Isn't science (actual science) a wonderful thing?
  • SmexAppeal
    SmexAppeal Posts: 858 Member
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    i do not want this to sound rude. i used to think i was big boned. since then ive lost weight and seen a few fitness models post this on facebook.

    BigBonedIncaseyoudidnotalreadyknow_079915_3662645.jpg

    You beat me to it lol. I was just about to post this. Wrist size is irrelevant. Fat is all over your body, even around your wrists and ankles. Don't let that get you down though. Actually, find encouragement that "big-boned" is a false theory, because that means you can lose it. Stay on this site, stay motivated and just DO IT!!!!!
    We're all here for you :)
  • gaiareeves
    gaiareeves Posts: 292 Member
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    No one said that everyone's skeleton is exactly the same.

    It's more a case that no one is so 'big boned' that they are naturally fat. The weight range for large boned people is higher than it is for smaller boned people, but it's still in the healthy range.

    It's an argument I used a lot at one point. "I'm big boned, I'll never weigh less than 147lbs, I'm just not built to."

    I'm now 127 and my frame isn't actually that big at all.
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