Doctors Keep Telling Me I'm Overweight
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I am also 5'8" and my goal weight is 160 lbs. Today is my "1 year Anniversary" that I have been with MFP. I have lost 52 lbs but have been stuck fighting 3 lbs for 3 months (my fault). But to the OP just go along with what they say and take your birth control and run. Grin through your teeth. BTW remind them that BC causes weight gain and thank them for their advise. Just keep working at it :flowerforyou:0
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I personally think you can't listen to the message board or your doctors, nor can you follow your own opinion.
I'd get a real body composition analysis done. It can guide you to the true answer, done professionally, is not that expensive (it's your health and life that's at stake, after all!) and will tell you the final real truth of the matter.
In my area, a quick search for "bodpod" finds plenty of faciltiies that'll do this analysis for $50 canadian. I'd look for bodpod first because it's accurate and not super annoying. If you can't find a bodpod, the next option is an immersion tank, but that might be harder to find.
I personally use a body fat scale to tell me what's what but that's because I know I'm overweight and I can live with the results if they're wrong by a few percent. When approaching truly healthy, I think a more accurate measure is needed.
As an added bonus, you'll wind up with a doctor telling you the right answer if you go this route!
Osric
Just to clarify: What is an immersion tank?
*Edit: I'd just google it, but google has lied to me in the past, so I want to be sure.0 -
Change doctors.0
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Just to clarify: What is an immersion tank?
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/fitnessevalandassessment/g/UnderwaterWeigh.htm
Again, a bodpod would be a lot more convenient and probably easier to find. http://www.bodpod.com/en/products/body-composition/adult-children-bod-pod-gs/bod-pod
Osric0 -
Change doctors.
Best answer!0 -
Change doctors.
And then keep changing doctors until one tells you what you want to hear.
What crap advice.0 -
Change doctors.
For what?0 -
Where are you getting 140 as the ideal weight? Is it that ridiculous outdated 100 lbs plus 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet you are? Because that's even less accurate than BMI.I would listen to them. With you being 5'8" and 152-160, you are overweight still. And looking at your pic, you are a medium frame. Try measuring your wrists and ankles. You don't have a low body fat % and that would be the only reason you wouldn't be considered overweight with those stats. Keep up the good work.
Her bmi isn't in the overweight range though? So how are you determining that she's overweight?
Body composition. She is medium or even small frame according to her tiny wrists. Ideal weight for 5'8" is 140 with good body fat %. She has a little higher body fat % and 12-20 extra pounds. So that is slightly overweight. BMI is not a good test if you are looking to be fit.0 -
I'm also 5'8" (okay, okay, 5'7.75") and I weighed 160 for years. At that weight, I wore a 14 and a L in most clothing. I was fairly fit, exercised frequently, but was not particularly muscular.
My current goal is to be about 155-160 with ~25% body fat. If you're wearing a s/xs at that weight, it's hard for me to imagine that you have a really high body fat %. As others have mentioned, you might try to figure it out yourself through bodpod/dexa or even calipers (and be wary of taking advice as gospel from strangers on the internet instead of real professionals), but my knee jerk reaction is that you can't be too overweight if all those facts are accurate.0 -
Where are you getting 140 as the ideal weight? Is it that ridiculous outdated 100 lbs plus 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet you are? Because that's even less accurate than BMI.I would listen to them. With you being 5'8" and 152-160, you are overweight still. And looking at your pic, you are a medium frame. Try measuring your wrists and ankles. You don't have a low body fat % and that would be the only reason you wouldn't be considered overweight with those stats. Keep up the good work.
Her bmi isn't in the overweight range though? So how are you determining that she's overweight?
Body composition. She is medium or even small frame according to her tiny wrists. Ideal weight for 5'8" is 140 with good body fat %. She has a little higher body fat % and 12-20 extra pounds. So that is slightly overweight. BMI is not a good test if you are looking to be fit.
Why do you think that is ridiculous and outdated? Is it because over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese and you think we should up the ideal for you?0 -
I am 5'8" and my weight falls between 150-154, depending on the day. Usually when I go into the doc's office and they weigh me, the nurse is surprised to find that she has to bump up to the 150 range to get my weight. I wear medium in just about everything, sizes anywhere from 8 to 12, depending on the brands and I cannot remember the last time I have ever worn a small. But I have never had any doctor tell me I am overweight (even when I weighed 12 more pounds than I do now). I agree with others that say that this could be a body composition thing that you might have to deal with, where if you are really concerned about what they are saying, you might get your body fat checked and work on lowering your body fat % and retaining as much lean muscle mass as possible, rather than just losing weight.0
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I ran the numbers too, and got the same results as others: 24.3 and barely in the normal range. Normal for you is 19 - 24.Perhaps that is why your health professionals are still telling you to lose weight. My doctor gave me a weight range to be in - 150 - 160 based on BMI calculations. Perhaps that's what they are trying to tell you too.0
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Where are you getting 140 as the ideal weight? Is it that ridiculous outdated 100 lbs plus 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet you are? Because that's even less accurate than BMI.I would listen to them. With you being 5'8" and 152-160, you are overweight still. And looking at your pic, you are a medium frame. Try measuring your wrists and ankles. You don't have a low body fat % and that would be the only reason you wouldn't be considered overweight with those stats. Keep up the good work.
Her bmi isn't in the overweight range though? So how are you determining that she's overweight?
Body composition. She is medium or even small frame according to her tiny wrists. Ideal weight for 5'8" is 140 with good body fat %. She has a little higher body fat % and 12-20 extra pounds. So that is slightly overweight. BMI is not a good test if you are looking to be fit.
Why do you think that is ridiculous and outdated? Is it because over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese and you think we should up the ideal for you?
No, I don't think we should up the ideal. It was actually lowered in 1998. It's ridiculous and outdated because even BMI, which is flawed, gives a range from 122-164 as being a healthy weight for someone who is 5'8. If you weigh 141 you're not overweight, and if you weigh 139 you're not underweight. The OP is within that healthy range. That's not overweight.
FWIW I'm 5'8 and my goal weight is 160. Even when I was a gawky, scrawny high schooler I was 150. I do have abnormally large wrists and ankles, though, if that means anything to you. And they're bony! Even at my current weight!0 -
Where are you getting 140 as the ideal weight? Is it that ridiculous outdated 100 lbs plus 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet you are? Because that's even less accurate than BMI.I would listen to them. With you being 5'8" and 152-160, you are overweight still. And looking at your pic, you are a medium frame. Try measuring your wrists and ankles. You don't have a low body fat % and that would be the only reason you wouldn't be considered overweight with those stats. Keep up the good work.
Her bmi isn't in the overweight range though? So how are you determining that she's overweight?
Body composition. She is medium or even small frame according to her tiny wrists. Ideal weight for 5'8" is 140 with good body fat %. She has a little higher body fat % and 12-20 extra pounds. So that is slightly overweight. BMI is not a good test if you are looking to be fit.
Why do you think that is ridiculous and outdated? Is it because over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese and you think we should up the ideal for you?
I mean, to be fair, according to that formula I should be 115, but I'd be hardpressed to believe I need to lose another 30someoddpounds.
YMMV
And not to confuse my case with the OP, who may very well have a high body fat percentage and could be fine at 140. Just saying it certainly doesn't apply to everyone.0 -
Where are you getting 140 as the ideal weight? Is it that ridiculous outdated 100 lbs plus 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet you are? Because that's even less accurate than BMI.
Why do you think that is ridiculous and outdated? Is it because over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese and you think we should up the ideal for you?
No, it's because giving a specific number as the 'ideal' weight is a ridiculous idea. Some people naturally tend towards the lighter end and some towards the heavier end at the same body fat %. One of my friends has the same body fat that I do and her BMI is 7 less. That's why BMI, as flawed as it is, still gives a *range*.
I could probably get down to the 150 lbs that that formula gives for me, but I would need to lose at least 10 lbs of lean mass to do so, and I see absolutely no reason to do that. My goal is a specific body fat %, not a specific weight.
ETA: With respect to the OP, I would second the recommendation to get your body fat checked if it's affordable. Then you will know for sure.0 -
Where are you getting 140 as the ideal weight? Is it that ridiculous outdated 100 lbs plus 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet you are? Because that's even less accurate than BMI.
Why do you think that is ridiculous and outdated? Is it because over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese and you think we should up the ideal for you?
No, it's because giving a specific number as the 'ideal' weight is a ridiculous idea. Some people naturally tend towards the lighter end and some towards the heavier end at the same body fat %. One of my friends has the same body fat that I do and her BMI is 7 less. That's why BMI, as flawed as it is, still gives a *range*.
I could probably get down to the 150 lbs that that formula gives for me, but I would need to lose at least 10 lbs of lean mass to do so, and I see absolutely no reason to do that. My goal is a specific body fat %, not a specific weight.
ETA: With respect to the OP, I would second the recommendation to get your body fat checked if it's affordable. Then you will know for sure.
I kinda like this one: http://www.grassrootsnaturalmarketandkitchen.com/ns/c/calculator-idealweight.htm?storeID=FE37DD3DABC14A398DFEFCE5499F7C810 -
Doctors always goes by "statistics" when it comes to height and weight. Let them say what they will say, but keep it clear that you are not overweight. Also, ask them why they say your are overweight.
Or, you could say, "Hey doc, the numbers don't count." :bigsmile:
I had a trainer once who told me the numbers don't count when I complained about how overweight I was at that time. She was about 5 foot 10 or 11 and weighed 185 pounds. She had not one ounce of fat on her and she looked and felt fabulous.0 -
Even when I was overweight, my doctor kept telling me I wasn't - even at 5'8" and in the 190s, I was still being told by my doctor that I didn't need to lose weight unless I was doing it for purely cosmetic reasons. His logic was that I've always been very active, have a lot of muscle, I don't carry my weight around my abdomen (even at 190) and all my bloodwork and blood pressure and such was good. I lost weight and feel much better now, but I guess I didn't "need" to.
Ask the logic behind what they are saying. We are all guessing here as to whether they are basing their comments off of some sort of chart or visual impression or whatever, but we're just guessing as to what your doctor meant. Only your doctor knows what he/she meant, so you have to ask.0 -
Where are you getting 140 as the ideal weight? Is it that ridiculous outdated 100 lbs plus 5 lbs for every inch over 5 feet you are? Because that's even less accurate than BMI.
If this is the case in in trouble seeing as I am 5'4" and my LBM is 117 lbs, yet 100 + 5 would put me at 120. That's only 2.5% bf. :frown:0 -
I would listen to them. With you being 5'8" and 152-160, you are overweight still. And looking at your pic, you are a medium frame. Try measuring your wrists and ankles. You don't have a low body fat % and that would be the only reason you wouldn't be considered overweight with those stats. Keep up the good work.
Her bmi isn't in the overweight range though? So how are you determining that she's overweight?
Body composition. She is medium or even small frame according to her tiny wrists. Ideal weight for 5'8" is 140 with good body fat %. She has a little higher body fat % and 12-20 extra pounds. So that is slightly overweight. BMI is not a good test if you are looking to be fit.
Ideal weight for a 5 8" person is 140lb?
I am 148lb in my avi - at 5 6".0
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