Do certain body shapes "carry" weight better?

Yes many people carry weight better than others.

idk i think bodyshape does kinda have to do with it, because people always assume i'm under 100 pounds (im pretty short/petite anyway) and im not, i tend to carry most of my weight in my thighs/bum in general though.

The above photos were progress pics of me at 256 pounds. I get told often that I look like I weigh a lot less. I don't know if that's because so many people lie about their weight that people have no idea what it looks like or if it's because I'm just very evenly proportioned. I would imagine that someone who carried ALL of their weight in one section might look larger than someone like me who is fat from ankles to nose!

I'd say there you look much less than 256lb. I think that a lot when I read success stories too. The "before" photos never look the weight they do when I compare them to myself. I'm just over 200 and I look much bigger than you in that picture.
But like someone else said, it's probably the fact of most people are very critical of themselves and see everyone else as looking fine/skinnier then themselves!

I'm the same way. I carry my weight better. I actually went down a ring size since losing 40 pounds because i really carry my weight everywhere.

My work colleague is about 8-10lbs heavier than me.... and 3-4 dress sizes bigger. It's because she carries all her weight around her middle, while I'm more hourglass shaped. She has skinny legs!

I think certain people can carry their weight better than others. I always gained in my tummy & chest & had relatively skinny arms & legs so I definitely looked my weight.--like a weeble wobble with legs. If I had more of an evenly distributed hourglass shape while I was heavy, my weight wouldn't have been as noticeable.

Definitely.

I'm 5'6" and currently weigh 157lb (weighed 165 a few weeks ago). When I mentioned I was trying to lose weight, my colleague commented "But you can't weigh much more than 10 stone!" (140lbs).

I am technically overweight (not for long - 156lbs will put me at the top end of a healthy BMI!) but whilst I'd never be described as skinny, people say I'm "slim" and "have a good figure". I have pretty massive legs (large calf muscles from 20 years of ballet, tap and jazz dance, thighs are just fat!) and have larger than average boobs too. So although my waist measurement is larger than I'd like (30") I'm in proportion as my hips and boobs are significantly bigger than my waist.

A few years ago I lost a lot of weight due to working 60-70 hours per week, most of it waitressing. I didn't have scales, but I'm guessing I was around 145 lbs. People commented on how thin my face was and thought I looked unwell.

I'd still like to get down to 145 lbs this time, and hopefully by doing it healthily (not just by working all the time and skipping meals because I'm too busy to eat!) I won't look ill. But I'll reassess based on how I feel along the way.

The above photos were progress pics of me at 256 pounds. I get told often that I look like I weigh a lot less. I don't know if that's because so many people lie about their weight that people have no idea what it looks like or if it's because I'm just very evenly proportioned. I would imagine that someone who carried ALL of their weight in one section might look larger than someone like me who is fat from ankles to nose!

I would have guessed a lot less as well.

Basically the same thing others here have already said, but yeah.

OP you sound a bit like me - tall, broad shoulders and hips, weight pretty evenly distributed and so on. I have always been told I carried my weight well and honestly up to about 240 lb I do think that is true. Over that weight though, I don't think it was so great because I still have a relatively slim face/neck and forearms and hands, so I think over 240 I kind of looked like an average sized person wearing too much fat around my boobs, back, hips & belly.

My legs are long and proportional as well which I think goes a long way at fooling people to assume you're more like a size 18 when you're a 22, and so on. Although I think it also kind of works the other way when you get smaller, because at 5'8" and a size 10-12 some of my friends see me as so much "bigger" than them, even now that I am barely overweight - I just take up more space with long arms & legs and still have a bum & hips, they assume I am still in plus sizes or larger than them. A 5'4" size 10-12 lady still kind of looks like a way smaller person than me, if that makes sense, even though we can wear the same dress or shirt or even jeans (adjusted for length).

I am sure a lot of ladies who have responded here have had similar experiences...but when I would go to the doctor, and the nurse or tech would weigh me in...they would almost ALWAYS express surprise at my weight being so high. A lot of them would comment that I just didn't look that big (usually around 270s and once hitting 307). I really don't think they were ALL saying that just to be nice.

I am an apple and I look FAT!! I am 200 lbs and hate it. I don't hink I carry my weight well at all. I look like a big round apple with toothpicks for arms and legs!!! (And an olive for a head???) I think I look pregnant... And I am 52, so that is not what I want to look like.

Clothes are a nightmare to fit, because I am not the traditional hourglass. I always have to wear super big shirts. Even when I was down to 130 lbs, I had to wear an extra large shirt....

Definitely.

I'm 5'6" and currently weigh 157lb (weighed 165 a few weeks ago). When I mentioned I was trying to lose weight, my colleague commented "But you can't weigh much more than 10 stone!" (140lbs).

I am technically overweight (not for long - 156lbs will put me at the top end of a healthy BMI!) but whilst I'd never be described as skinny, people say I'm "slim" and "have a good figure". I have pretty massive legs (large calf muscles from 20 years of ballet, tap and jazz dance, thighs are just fat!) and have larger than average boobs too. So although my waist measurement is larger than I'd like (30") I'm in proportion as my hips and boobs are significantly bigger than my waist.

A few years ago I lost a lot of weight due to working 60-70 hours per week, most of it waitressing. I didn't have scales, but I'm guessing I was around 145 lbs. People commented on how thin my face was and thought I looked unwell.

I'd still like to get down to 145 lbs this time, and hopefully by doing it healthily (not just by working all the time and skipping meals because I'm too busy to eat!) I won't look ill. But I'll reassess based on how I feel along the way.

I'm now at 140lb and have just decided to drop another 7lb and I constantly have people telling me to stop and then I end up saying my weight as I swear people think I'm down in the 120's and I end up telling them how much I do weigh! I also have people saying l look drawn in my face, people don't tell you that your getting fat and to stop eating!

I'm the same way. I carry my weight better. I actually went down a ring size since losing 40 pounds because i really carry my weight everywhere.

LOL Me too! My wedding ring is about 2 sizes too big for me now

But yeah I've heard the whole "you carry your weight so well" although now, looking back at pictures of myself, I think they were just being nice......