Officially Obese

You have a fantastic attitude about the news! Keep that going.

I will say I disagree completely and whole heartedly with the BMI chart that is used in most medical/screening situations. It is not based on an actual person it is based on math and numbers.
There are many people who would look and be very very very unealthy at the weight that is suggested to be "normal" Edit: not normal "healthy" for them.

So understand that, the Label that was given to you is just that. a label. You are worth and can do so much more than that.

It's interesting how labels control us.

We could be dealing with the discomfort of being overweight, which affects almost every aspect of our lives such as mobility, endurance, comfort and aesthetics, but when we're told we're now "obese," that's when the alarms go off.

I didn't have discomfort. I could out-exercise my teenagers. Didn't need seatbelt extenders or the like.

It was more the potential negative health ramifications than the label, per se, that made it sink in how much too much weight I was carrying.

You were officially obese, and could out-exercise your teenagers?

Were they obese also?

If not, you may want to look into their lifestyle habits.

I was not just officially obese, but Obese II.

One daughter is 5'7" 112 and the other is 5'11" 158 so, no, not obese. Just because I was (even more) overweight doesn't mean my endurance or strength (you try hauling around 335 pounds 24 hours a day) were poor, it just means they probably weren't where they could otherwise be.

Their lifestyle habits are fine -- they exercise and lift, among other things -- even if it conflicts with your view of how things ought to be.

I think it's just something about the word "obese." People think obese = MASSIVE and that's just not always true. I am still obese at "just" 182 pounds. I don't have trouble with mobility or comfort. I wear size 12 jeans. LOL It's just a word with a stigma attached to it.

It's interesting how labels control us.

We could be dealing with the discomfort of being overweight, which affects almost every aspect of our lives such as mobility, endurance, comfort and aesthetics, but when we're told we're now "obese," that's when the alarms go off.

I didn't have discomfort. I could out-exercise my teenagers. Didn't need seatbelt extenders or the like.

It was more the potential negative health ramifications than the label, per se, that made it sink in how much too much weight I was carrying.

You were officially obese, and could out-exercise your teenagers?

Were they obese also?

If not, you may want to look into their lifestyle habits.

I was not just officially obese, but Obese II.

One daughter is 5'7" 112 and the other is 5'11" 158 so, no, not obese. Just because I was (even more) overweight doesn't mean my endurance or strength (you try hauling around 335 pounds 24 hours a day) were poor, it just means they probably weren't where they could otherwise be.

Their lifestyle habits are fine -- they exercise and lift, among other things -- even if it conflicts with your view of how things ought to be.

I think it's just something about the word "obese." People think obese = MASSIVE and that's just not always true. I am still obese at "just" 182 pounds. I don't have trouble with mobility or comfort. I wear size 12 jeans. LOL It's just a word with a stigma attached to it.

I agree completely.

Yeah, I was a pretty large human being at 335, but I was also 6'9". I wasn't getting around stores in an electric cart or anything. It's just now sinking in, 61 pounds later and with plenty still to lose, how much extra weight I was carrying. Even my doctor was surprised at how much I actually weighed. Again, it was the health and risk factors that went along with the label more than my ability to live life that got my attention.

It's interesting how labels control us.

We could be dealing with the discomfort of being overweight, which affects almost every aspect of our lives such as mobility, endurance, comfort and aesthetics, but when we're told we're now "obese," that's when the alarms go off.

I didn't have discomfort. I could out-exercise my teenagers. Didn't need seatbelt extenders or the like.

It was more the potential negative health ramifications than the label, per se, that made it sink in how much too much weight I was carrying.

You were officially obese, and could out-exercise your teenagers?

Were they obese also?

If not, you may want to look into their lifestyle habits.

I was not just officially obese, but Obese II.

One daughter is 5'7" 112 and the other is 5'11" 158 so, no, not obese. Just because I was (even more) overweight doesn't mean my endurance or strength (you try hauling around 335 pounds 24 hours a day) were poor, it just means they probably weren't where they could otherwise be.

Their lifestyle habits are fine -- they exercise and lift, among other things -- even if it conflicts with your view of how things ought to be.

I think it's just something about the word "obese." People think obese = MASSIVE and that's just not always true. I am still obese at "just" 182 pounds. I don't have trouble with mobility or comfort. I wear size 12 jeans. LOL It's just a word with a stigma attached to it.

I agree completely.

Yeah, I was a pretty large human being at 335, but I was also 6'9". I wasn't getting around stores in an electric cart or anything. It's just now sinking in, 61 pounds later and with plenty still to lose, how much extra weight I was carrying. Even my doctor was surprised at how much I actually weighed. Again, it was the health and risk factors that went along with the label more than my ability to live life that got my attention.

At 5'9" and 375.3 lbs, I was morbidly, morbidly obese, with a BMI of 55.4, which falls in extreme obesity, class III. I was off the edge of the NIH's BMI tables. While I couldn't run, I had no mobility issues and in fact got through all the requirements of clinicals in a nursing program without much difficulty at all.

I am 1lb now from dropping my BMI below 45! I will not escape the "Extreme Obesity, Class III" label for 35lbs yet, and have even further to go until I can even be classed "Overweight" (102lbs), but I am doing it, one way or another.

I knew that I had gained a lot of weight and had to buy new (bigger) clothes, didn't like my appearance, etc. but it was a year ago when I discovered that I was three pounds over the obese line that I knew I had to make changes. It was really a red flag for me. After I got serious, getting back down to overweight happened relatively quickly, but the journey to healthy/normal weight has taken the better part of a year.

It takes determination and self control, but you can do it--and it's worth it. I didn't expect my diet and exercise changes to impact so many areas of my life, but the improvements have been really worthwhile. I have regained control of my body and lifestyle, and that's a good feeling.

Keep up the positive attitude. Want it for yourself...to be healthy, to achieve a goal or to lose that label! I was very happy with myself at 180 (ish, I didn't own a scale and went with a weight 6 month prior to starting MFP). But I am now even happier with a healthier self. You got this!

I weighed about 220 a year ago and now I'm around 123/125. Just keep going and before you know it you will be significantly smaller

I think it's just something about the word "obese." People think obese = MASSIVE and that's just not always true. I am still obese at "just" 182 pounds. I don't have trouble with mobility or comfort. I wear size 12 jeans. LOL It's just a word with a stigma attached to it.

I'm obese at a size 6. Go figure. I can't fit in with the plus sized girls and I'm definitely no skinnie minnie either! We need our own club.