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

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cherbapp
cherbapp Posts: 322
in Health and Weight Loss
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.
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Replies

  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    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
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
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    I have no answers ....... just want to congratulate you on that awesome weight loss ...... be happy, be healthy :drinker:
  • trkilpatrick
    trkilpatrick Posts: 37 Member
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    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
    steph1278 Posts: 483 Member
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    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
    RojaBlaze Posts: 7
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    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
    jynxxxed Posts: 1,010 Member
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    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
    earthsember Posts: 435 Member
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    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
    Lobster1987 Posts: 492 Member
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    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
    knowwhentoshutup Posts: 318 Member
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    I think height is a huge factor.
  • ajswriter
    ajswriter Posts: 117 Member
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    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
    Aviendha_RJ Posts: 600 Member
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    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
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    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
    gvheintz Posts: 138 Member
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    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
    Icewolf_The Posts: 308 Member
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    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
    kealambert Posts: 961 Member
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    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
    KnightAmber Posts: 9
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    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
    RawTriGal Posts: 190 Member
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    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
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    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
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    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
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    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. :smile:

    P6170004-copy.jpg

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