Is there a such thing as big boned?

Alifresh
Alifresh Posts: 15 Member
edited September 21 in Introduce Yourself
Can someone explain to me what big boned means or if it is even real. Because I really need to clear this up so I can stop making excuses for myself. I would love info. Thank youu. =]
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Replies

  • ifychudy
    ifychudy Posts: 210 Member
    I am not really sure what the right term should be but I believe there is such thing as "big boned". Using myself as an example, in the past when I looked thin and able to fit into smaller sized clothes, no body could guess my weight because I always weigh more. My bone density is also high. Am still not sure I answered your question but I hope I was able to help
  • sajar_06
    sajar_06 Posts: 173 Member
    There is such a thing and big boned is someone with a large frame. Usually in a female if she is really tall and broad across the shoulders and such. Small boned is someone that is really tiny in height and across the shoulders and such. Hope this makes sense to you. I am medium or average as it is called. God Bless, brenda
  • Amarea
    Amarea Posts: 91 Member
    Like everything else, people have different bone structures. "Big boned" became a term used to describe women who were overweight. That's why going by a height/weight chart, as well as a ton of other factors, to determine what is right for you is all that matters. If you're 5'2" and 234 pounds (like me), there is no way to use "big boned" as an excuse, and in fact, even if you're 6'6", your weight needs to be proportionate, so either way, that's not an excuse that's plausible or acceptable to use to be overweight and unhealthy. Some people obviously have larger heavier bones than others. You can be heavy and perfectly healthy if a large percentage of your weight is in bone and muscle. That's my 2 cents worth. I hope it helps. No matter what, be healthy and comfortable in your own skin, that's the important part. Good luck!
  • suziblues2000
    suziblues2000 Posts: 515 Member
    Yes, there is such a thing as big-boned. I am. If you check out my hands, fingers, wrists etc. they are all really big.

    I'm pretty sure a test is if you can take your thumb and your middle finger and wrap them around your wrist, and they can touch, then you are fine, if they don't touch, you have big bones.
  • NH_1970
    NH_1970 Posts: 544 Member
    I ran across this, if it helps you at all
    Calculating Your Frame Size

    Following is the method the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company used to calculate frame size:

    1. Extend your arm in front of your body bending your elbow at a ninety degree angle to your body so that your forearm is parallel to your body.
    2. Keep your fingers straight and turn the inside of your wrist towards your body.
    3. Place your thumb and index finger on the two prominent bones on either side of your elbow, then measure the distance between the bones with a tape measure or calipers.
    4. Compare to the chart below. The chart lists elbow measurements for a medium frame - if your elbow measurement for that particular height is less than the number of inches listed, you are a small frame - if your elbow measurement for that particular height is more than the number of inches listed, your are a large frame.

    http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm
  • Alifresh
    Alifresh Posts: 15 Member
    Well I can touch my middle to my thumb its a little tight so this means im not big boned? =D
  • suziblues2000
    suziblues2000 Posts: 515 Member
    Well, according to Saunya's post, I am more than double for a medium frame! That must make me big-boned alright. What a drag for me! I feel like a freak sometimes. ugh.
    Oh well. at least I'm fairly healthy and pretty much still alive!
  • suziblues2000
    suziblues2000 Posts: 515 Member
    Alifresh: I don't know if you are big boned or not. Maybe. If your finger's are touching, just barely, you are probably just right. : )
  • Can someone explain to me what big boned means or if it is even real. Because I really need to clear this up so I can stop making excuses for myself. I would love info. Thank youu. =]
    I had a bone density test a few years ago. The nurse said I had "big bones". I asked her if that meant I could use the "large boned" catagory of weight charts, and she just smiled at me.
  • ypena78
    ypena78 Posts: 236 Member
    Well being big boned is having a large body frame. like broad shoulders and tall. That is what big boned mean. At some point you will need to stop making excuses. because even big boned girls can lose the weight. but everyone sometimes go through denial, then finally realizes that they are ready to make change.
  • I ran across this, if it helps you at all
    Calculating Your Frame Size

    Following is the method the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company used to calculate frame size:

    1. Extend your arm in front of your body bending your elbow at a ninety degree angle to your body so that your forearm is parallel to your body.
    2. Keep your fingers straight and turn the inside of your wrist towards your body.
    3. Place your thumb and index finger on the two prominent bones on either side of your elbow, then measure the distance between the bones with a tape measure or calipers.
    4. Compare to the chart below. The chart lists elbow measurements for a medium frame - if your elbow measurement for that particular height is less than the number of inches listed, you are a small frame - if your elbow measurement for that particular height is more than the number of inches listed, your are a large frame.

    http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm

    Thanks! That was helpful! :)
    Sarah
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Well I can touch my middle to my thumb its a little tight so this means im not big boned? =D
    One thing to keep in mind is as you lose weight you'll sure be able to notice it in your wrist so as you drop in weight you'll be able to tell more and more in that area as well as others. :)

    I think many of us overweight woman think of ourselves as big boned until we start seeing the lbs drop off and then we realize, OMG, I'm small framed, or medium framed. lol

    So try not to worry to much, keep doing what you're doing and as well as taking your typical measurements, also add in your neck and wrists as it's fun to move from a choker necklace (that's not intended to be one:blushing: :laugh: ) to a nice long necklace.

    Trust me you'll see, you keep working hard and you'll see all the tiny changes along the way, soon they'll be bigger and bigger changes so you can't help but notice them!

    Good luck on your journey Hon
    Becca:flowerforyou:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    oh phooey, double post:blushing: :drinker:
  • I am 5'5" and i weigh 139 lbs. im not fat but im not entirely skinny. My mom use to have the exact body measurements as Marilyn Monroe who was indeed big boned. I take after my mom with having big bones. You dont have to be fat to have big bones. Skinny people suffer with it too but big bones do exist. People who dont have big bones dont think it exists and only say that you think you have it cuz youre large but thats not true. You know if you are big boned if you dont have bird legs, tiny wrists, skinny fingers, and a tiny waist. So those who say big bones dont exist are only kidding themselves because it DOES exist. People always try to convince me otherwise but i think i would inow and so would my mom.
  • happydaze71
    happydaze71 Posts: 339 Member
    being big boned has literally nothing to do with being overweight... so no hun, its not an excuse.
    I am 163cm (short), wide shoulders, bigger rib cage, wider across the hips, but this doesnt have anything to do with why I am overweight.
    If you have flab on you, its just that simple, your bone stucture is just your bones.... although it is a great excuse some people use, but incorrect.
    hope that helps!
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    myth-i-am-just-big-boned.jpg
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    big boned/big framed exists. simply put, some people look better heavier than their 'ideal weight' because their bones are heavier than other peoples. I prefer to think of myself as 'normal' and finer boned people as 'scrawny' :p
  • gstaats7938
    gstaats7938 Posts: 2 Member
    To check what size "boned" you are, take your middle finger and thumb and wrap them around your wrist between the hand and the bone on your wrist. if your finger and thumb do not touch, you are big boned. if your finger and thumb touch, you are medium boned, and if your finger and thumb overlap, you are small boned. (it's actually the frame of your body). if you want to get more technical you can go to this site. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/17182.htm
  • citygirl04
    citygirl04 Posts: 286 Member
    No
  • SandyAnnP
    SandyAnnP Posts: 252 Member
    Well my wrists are skinny, so are my ankles but I have wide hip bones. My GP said I should weigh the same as her as we are the same height. She is a very small framed Asian lady I would seriously have to cut an arm and leg off to weigh the same as her!!
  • I do think I have thicker bones and a slightly winder frame than average women. I always appear thinner than what my weight suggests. Also, as a small child I was very very skinny, yet I always had thick wrists and ankles. I also have large feet.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    There is some differentiation between individuals in bone length. thickness and density... but bones don't jiggle.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
    This thread is like 3 years old. Even I asked this question a few months back...
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    People have different frame sizes. This is one of the reasons why some people look "skeletal" at a higher weight than other people (there are other reasons as well). A larger frame means there is more space for muscle and fat, and even larger organs. It can be difficult to know what frame size you have if you are overweight. Because frame size is determined more by the size of the rib cage. I actually don't know how tall I am. I always say I am 5'2", but realizing I may be 5'1" (I guess I'll measure today). And my rib cage measurement is 26 inches. There are people my same height, that have the same basic body fat percent, and have a rib cage measurement of 38 or 40. Obviously they weigh more than I do and have more lean body mass.

    Edit: Oh, very old thread bumped by the search function.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    large frame size usually refers to having larger shoulders, pelvis and rib cage than is average for your height. It makes you heavier than average for your height, so you'll be healthier at a higher BMI than someone with a medium or small frame. But it only goes so far... someone with a large frame may be healthy at a BMI somewhere between 24 and 30* or thereabouts.... but no-one's healthy at a BMI of 50.

    *ETA: someone with a BMI of 30 and a healthy body fat percentage is probably both large framed and athletic, because adding muscle mass through training will also increase your BMI, and this is related to frame size in that larger framed people tend to put on muscle more easily, but it's not exactly the same, as frame size = larger bones, e.g. longer clavicle, wider pelvis, larger ribs, while gaining muscle = getting bigger muscles, which doesn't make your actual skeleton bigger (although your bones may get denser as a result)

    Regards how to tell if you're "big boned" or not............ forget frame size altogether and just go by body fat percentage. If you have a large frame, you'll be heavier at the same height and body fat percentage as a smaller framed person. For example if you have 2 women who are the same height, and they both have the same body fat percentage, but one is 30lb heavier, then she has a larger frame. So basically, aim to get your body fat percentage in the healthy range and just let your weight be what it wants to be when you get there. IMO there is *way* too much focus on scale weight and not enough focus on healthy body composition. Body fat percentage is a more reliable measure of that than scale weight.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Yes. There is a way to check out how big your frame is somewhere online, based on your wrist size.

    However, the words "big boned" are usually brought waaaayyyy out of context and don't usually mean, what some people think it means. It's often used (sadly) as a reason for people having too much fat. It's denial basically. As ironanimal said, bones don't jiggle. It's one reason why I love the mirror as a measure of progress over the scale - you can see for yourself whether you have too much fat or are just "big boned"
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    The way most people use the phrase, no
  • ClementineGeorg
    ClementineGeorg Posts: 505 Member
    Each person is different and some people have wider bones than others (as some have longer bones than others and such they are taller), so they appear larger even if they have the same body fat percentage as others.
    You can see this mostly on woman's hip. Some have a wider hip bone, some one smaller. Or on men. Some have really broad shoulders and appear massive, and some have shoulders as wide as a woman and tend to look whimpy (although with proper training they can add muscle to look better).

    It's not to be an excuse. You actually have to see the bones to say `they are bigger than average` and some people who give this excuse have too much fat around their bones.

    And yes, longer or wider bones do weight more than average, doh. But the weight around them mey weight even more.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Oh god damn necrothread


    I hate that.
  • abbyolurin1
    abbyolurin1 Posts: 153 Member
    Usually big boned indicates you don't necessarily have much fat but can be broad. Like Callie from Grey's Anatomy below.

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTB3FO5k5XgPmPV9wm76yxSK-6KKVqTgZ3XtU6klltIxvtfBLSO
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