"big boned"

Bones are all basically the same size. Some people may have broader shoulders or wider hips, etc, but the bone sizes are basically the same. So all this talk about body type/shape is generally a load of crap, and most often used by people who are making excuses or trying to justify something.

Just focus on eating right and getting some exercise. It's impossible to know your ideal body weight until you get there. I've changed my ideal weight several times already and I'm within 20lbs of where I want to be. Then at some point I said the hell with a target body weight, I want to get leaner, stronger, and faster... the scale can read whatever it wants to.

If all bones were the same size then how can they be wider or broader?? And how could one person be taller than another. Bones come in different sizes.

The second paragraph is pretty good advice though.

OP, if you are talking about your ideal healthy weight, then that too can be hard to nail down, but will have more to do with how much muscle vs fat you have for your height, than with your bone structure. That's why charts always have a range.

Bones come in different lengths, but when you average out the circumference based on the frame, they are all pretty much equal in percentages. If I was 4" taller with the same frame, my bone circumference would slightly increase, but the percentages of circumference vs length would still be the same.

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But if you were 4" taller your ideal weight would likely be higher so I don't really see how that is pertinent. While frame width may not change a healthy weight much if height is the same, that doesn't make bones all the same size.

Well of course my weight would be higher if I kept everything in retrospect. I believe what people are speaking here of is how "big boned" relates to actual circumference and not length. Hell you lengthen anyone's bones who are overweight/obese without changing their weight and they will look thinner. But the circumference analogy for "big boned" isn't a legitimate reasoning for why people carry extra weight.

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Skeletal frames infact do vary greatly and thus the amount of muscle that sits on the frame also varies. Whether the terminology used is big boned or large framed, or whatever, there is validity to your question. However, your frame no matter what size it us, obviously should carry the weight that is proportionate to it. My family has alot of big boned people in it. They originate in Louisiana where there is a cookout EVERY weekend and most of the food while it is Soul Food isn't healthy food and it shows. I seen one of my cousins would we thought was VERY big boned decide to change his life and dropped a considerable amount of weight and now people say he is too skinny. Go figure! LOL The only thing that matters is your goals and how you feel in your body. Figure out what that is and ATTACK IT! Leave everything else for other to speculate over!

I'm 5'6'' and I just measured my wrists - 7 inch. That puts me in the large body frame group which isn't terribly surprising. I also have man-sized feet and hands, wide shoulders and hips.

The whole wrist measurement thing is flawed. If you're overweight you'll have fat wrists. If you're stick thin you'll have smaller wrists. It just doesn't work.

You can't judge your what you weight should be based on your bone structure or your perception of what your bone structure is.

This isn't necessarily true. 10 years ago, my BMI was 21.5, so perfectly healthy range. I wear the same watch and bracelts I had back then. They aren't tighter than they were then. I do know that some people have fairly fleshy wrists, I don't. I do have fleshy ankles though.
That's why I wrote it's not terribly surprising for me that I'm large framed. The wrist-measurement-thing only supports what I thought anyway. Had I been the same BMI my friends were back then (ca 18/19 BMI), I would have looked horrible because it would have been too little for my frame. They looked great and healthy because their body frames were completely different.

Question is though - What SHOULD I then base my goal weight on? The fairly random BMI? Clothing size? I choose to look at those options. My experience tells me that I have a large frame, even when at normal weight. I also have big boobs at normal weight and wide hips. Which tells me that it wouldn't make sense for me to aim for the same weight somebody would choose who has less in the boob/hip department, smaller shoulders etc. I also know from experience that I was unable to maintenance at BMI 21.5 without seriously losing quality of life as I perceive it. Clothing sizes are rubbish anyway and I don't care as long as the shop carries a size I fit into.

So overall that means: I will aim for a weight that is at the high end of the healthy BMI scale, possibly slightly above that. I know my frame can carry off a bit more weight, which I also find visually pleasing. At that weight I will hopefully be able to go into maintenance without having to police every bite I eat.

Coming from an overweight family and being overweight for as long as I can remember My dad was 6' and weighed 350ish pounds My mom is 5'2 300ish I have poor eating habits since childhood (parent always gave food to keep us busy/quiet) even poorer cooking habits. Im not really an over eater I used to be an emotional eater but not so much now that I am older. My first question is about certain body builds such as you hear people say all the time "big boned" I'm trying to figure out how to determine my for ideal body weight I am built more like my dad than my mom. I am 5'3 about 281 pounds so pretty close to my mom but I am smaller than her she wears a 28 where I where a 22 I also know it comes down to body shape as well such as she has a flat butt and I have a bubble butt lol and my shoulder are wider than hers. Thoughts??

I wouldn't worry too much about your build and body shape... Just focus on losing weight for now!

I agree with this, whole-heartedly. I have no idea if this is an old-wives' tale or not but: I've heard something about wrist measurements being an indicator of bone structure. I have no idea if this is true or not... but, I feel like someone has told me this once before.

And THAT's what I get for not reading the whole thread! Sorry for the repeat of info!!

no such thing as 'big boned'. My husband processes tissues and bones for transplant. Under all the fat is the same sized skeleton (proportionately speaking)..... I thought I was 'big boned' too because that's what my mom always told me. I finally lost the weight and it turns out I just had too much fat. Took 44 years for it to happen.....

yes please

I think the difference in frame size or big boned-Ness is catered for in the BMI range if you are big boned stay near the top if you are not stay near the bottom (of the healthy weight range)

There are calculators that say measure your wrist or width of elbow in a certain position. And others who say putting your thumb and index finger around your wrist is enough to check (if the meet, don't meet or overlap)

But again the healthy weight suggested is no more than a a couple of kilos (4lbs) more than the top of the BMI range.

And I know when I was thinner my thumb and index finger met comfortably around my wrist now they don't its the fat on my wrist and my fingers that is different not my bones.

If you do get close to the top of your bmi and are healthy and comfortable there stay there you don't need your bones to decide it for you. Make your own decision on how you feel.

I got this from the National Institute of Health's site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/17182.htm

It's absolute horse **** to say that bones of the same length can't vary in size/circumference. You can conjecture and make funny little remarks all day, but it doesn't change the truth. Case in point, I was trying to determine a goal weight comparing to a woman who was slightly TALLER than me with slightly LONGER arms and who was very slender. Her wrist was half the size of mine, and there was no fat on mine at all. Her feet were a size 9, mine 11-12. Her hips wide, mine narrow. Her shoulders narrow, mine wide.

We are all different! Trying to lump everyone together makes no sense. Just because we recognize our differences doesn't mean it's an excuse for anything. It simply informs an educated decision on a reasonable goal.

Right.

And this is why having a goal "weight" is a problem. Body fat is what we are after.

It's absolute horse **** to say that bones of the same length can't vary in size/circumference. You can conjecture and make funny little remarks all day, but it doesn't change the truth. Case in point, I was trying to determine a goal weight comparing to a woman who was slightly TALLER than me with slightly LONGER arms and who was very slender. Her wrist was half the size of mine, and there was no fat on mine at all. Her feet were a size 9, mine 11-12. Her hips wide, mine narrow. Her shoulders narrow, mine wide.

We are all different! Trying to lump everyone together makes no sense. Just because we recognize our differences doesn't mean it's an excuse for anything. It simply informs an educated decision on a reasonable goal.

Right.

And this is why having a goal "weight" is a problem. Body fat is what we are after.

Exactly. And there are other issues like bone, water and, for those who begin morbidly obese, excess skin as well. You really can't know until you get there.