Stone vs Pound

Jenny_Taylia
Jenny_Taylia Posts: 540 Member
edited January 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Ive seen a lot of people say they lost a stone or they gained a stone....






What is a stone????

Replies

  • lukesiv
    lukesiv Posts: 4 Member
    14lbs in a stone. We use stones and pounds in the UK.

    So my current weight loss is 1 stone and 9 lbs (my ticker says 23lbs) x
  • Jenny_Taylia
    Jenny_Taylia Posts: 540 Member
    14lbs in a stone x


    Ah ok....Why dont people just say 14 lbs instead of a stone? Is it an American thing? lol
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    No, us UK'ers say that too.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    14lbs in a stone x


    Ah ok....Why dont people just say 14 lbs instead of a stone? Is it an American thing? lol

    it's an old English/British term from many centuries ago. still in use there. not much anywhere else though. it's from the 14th century.

    http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=stone
  • jayboy123456
    jayboy123456 Posts: 13 Member
    it's a British thing!
  • Jenny_Taylia
    Jenny_Taylia Posts: 540 Member
    Thanks guys! I think I prefer to say I need to lose 2 or 3 stones lol
  • lukesiv
    lukesiv Posts: 4 Member
    The terms derives from literally using stones as weights:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_(unit)
  • Zylahe
    Zylahe Posts: 772 Member
    huh i always thought it was 13 lbs, and thought its was 6.5kgs (is actually 6.3kgs)
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    These days it's only used for people's weight - you wouldn't say a sack of potatoes weighed a stone, for instance.
  • CarolinaMoon76
    CarolinaMoon76 Posts: 78 Member
    We use it here in Ireland too :smile:
  • lukesiv
    lukesiv Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks guys! I think I prefer to say I need to lose 2 or 3 stones lol

    True, but counting lbs allows you to celebrate more milestones e.g. 150, 140, 130. Whereas I have to wait until I lose 14lbs for each "weight loss" milestone (only a motivational thing).

    When people comment on my weight loss or ask how I'm doing - if I use lbs (which I do quite often now because of using MFP) I can see them attempting a quick conversion in their heads and then it finally clicking into place when they get it!
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