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Do you think you look as heavy as you are?

1984sunshine
1984sunshine Posts: 2
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 5ft 4 and weigh somewhere around 11stone (152lbs) - meaning I need to lose around a stone and a half to be smack bang in the middle of my healthy range.

The thing is, I don't know if I'm in complete denial, but I don't think I look like I weigh 11 stone. I'm a UK size 12-14, do no exercise (so it can't be muscle!) and eat relatively well, although my portion sizes were large. Calorie counting on a 'pre-diet' day shows I was eating around 2000 calories.

I obviously do need to lose some weight, but I just wondered. Does anyone else feel like this whole BMI thing is a big horrible conspiracy?!
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Replies

  • theatr3geek
    theatr3geek Posts: 101
    I feel like I look heavier :P lol. I'm 118 and 5'3'' which mean I'm smack in the middle of the healthy range. And I feel like I still look overweight hahaha. So I know what you mean.
  • AnaNotBanana
    AnaNotBanana Posts: 963 Member
    I think the BMI scale is complete crap!! It doesn't take into account body type, muscle mass, etc. According to the BMI scale Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Clooney are obese.
  • neebelung
    neebelung Posts: 115
    It depends... there are days I look in the mirror and think I look pretty damned good, and not at ALL as heavy as my scale claims I am... but then I see photographs of myself, and I recoil in horror and think "Holy hell, when did I get THAT fat?"
  • floozieq
    floozieq Posts: 11
    I am 5'*8 and am "down" to 202.5. I don't think I look terrible - but I know that I am still 50 lbs overweight and I think I am wearing rose colored glasses when I look in the mirror. My BP is still up and I can feel the strain when I walk 4 miles... that means I am seeing what I want to "see" ... You may be doing the same thing... Good luck and try and loose some more!
  • elainecroft
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member
    No way - especially when I compare with other people who are my exact number weight - there is a HUGE range in shapes and sizes!
  • erikblock
    erikblock Posts: 230 Member
    All told, BMI is pretty ridiculous, and I put almost no stock in it at all as an accurate gauge of healthy weight levels. It's a measurement that's made by taking very little into account and leaving a whole lot of important factors out. Your average professional bodybuilder would likely qualify as at least overweight (if not obese) by BMI standards.
  • arthurowenlindsey
    arthurowenlindsey Posts: 18
    im 230 but people are suprized when i tell them.
  • louiseei
    louiseei Posts: 254 Member
    I'm 5' 7" and was 10 st 7lb - but if I told any friends I was trying to lose weight they say they couldn't beleive I was over 10 stone, so maybe. Or maybe it was that I was wearing body control pants most of the time ;-)
  • XxJessdNxX
    XxJessdNxX Posts: 11
    I am 5'3" and weight 12 stone. I know I am bigger than I should be, but there is no way I look "obese" as my BMI says I am, and everyone else says that too. I am a UK12-14 (more on the 14 side, but sometimes smaller). I do have MASSIVE boobs though, which 1. Probably weigh a stone on their own and 2. Make the rest of me look more in proportion than I might do otherwise.

    If I weighed the bottom range of my healthy BMI I thing I would look like a saggy twiglet.
  • carrieliz81
    carrieliz81 Posts: 489 Member
    I think I look about as heavy as I am, but I'm not sure what other people's perceptions are about how much I weigh. I would ask them, but then they'd lowball me because they wouldn't want to insult me, so there's really no way of knowing for sure. :) When I compare my height/weight to other people who wear the same size clothes as me, it's all similar.
  • ErrataCorrige
    ErrataCorrige Posts: 649 Member
    When I got pregnant with my daughter I was in great shape with a lot of muscle. One nurse told me since I was 8% body fat i should consider putting on some weight for the health of the baby. I was 5' 2" and weighed 130, but it was all mostly muscle.

    The next nurse obviously wasn't paying attention because she told me my BMI was too high, and I was close to the overweight catergory! Lol.
  • dmcg123
    dmcg123 Posts: 14 Member
    I think BMI and height / weight charts are two different things. BMI measures lean mass and determines body fat content, whereas height / weight charts just assume everyone has the same frame, bone density and lean body mass. I agree that height / weight charts are trash, but think BMI is indeed useful.
  • AmberLynn327
    AmberLynn327 Posts: 6
    Everyone else tells ME that I don't look as heavy as I am. I thought maybe they were just being nice, but even my GYN told me that my weight must be distributed very evenly. I'm about 5'5" and I weigh 189 lbs, but most people tell me I look closer to 150 lbs. I, myself, do not FEEL like I'm 189 lbs, but my photos say otherwise! :)
  • AmberLynn327
    AmberLynn327 Posts: 6
    Oh, and I also disagree with BMI calculations.
  • ymachick
    ymachick Posts: 33 Member
    I am at 189 lbs and 5'5" and in my early 40's. I've lost 45 pounds so far and my goal is to lose 45 more. So, when I look in the mirror I see someone who looks much better than they used to, but I still think I look overweight.

    I agree with some of the other posts who say it depends on the day and my emotions on that day. If I just jumped on the scale and see I've lost 3 pounds and then look in the mirror, I think "Wow, I'm lookin' awesome." If I've gained 2 pounds, I think, "Wow, I'm huge."

    Also, the person who posted on the pictures thing couldn't be more right. I think I'm looking great, but I looked at some pictures of me on New Year's Eve and I think I look huge. As depressing as it is, pictures don't lie so I have to believe that's how other people see me.
  • mafery
    mafery Posts: 167 Member
    It depends... there are days I look in the mirror and think I look pretty damned good, and not at ALL as heavy as my scale claims I am... but then I see photographs of myself, and I recoil in horror and think "Holy hell, when did I get THAT fat?"

    I love it! I think the same too. Especially when I pull the chin back and get the bull frog chins look.
  • ymachick
    ymachick Posts: 33 Member
    Oh yea...on the BMI thing. I think it's one more calculation out of many. I don't hold much stock in it. I pay closer attention to my wight, my body fat % and my measurements.
  • Stefani74
    Stefani74 Posts: 448 Member
    It depends... there are days I look in the mirror and think I look pretty damned good, and not at ALL as heavy as my scale claims I am... but then I see photographs of myself, and I recoil in horror and think "Holy hell, when did I get THAT fat?"

    That was my exact reaction last night when my husband took "before" pics of me! We just started P90X and wanted comparison pics. I am 5'3" and 145 lbs. I didn't feel like I looked THAT bad...until I saw the pics. WOW!!
  • courtrptr13
    courtrptr13 Posts: 272
    Most people tell me I look great (I had a baby 7 months ago), but I think clothes hide it well. I can tell when I look at pictues especially that my face is heavier and my boobs are still very big even though I never breastfed. I guess my answer is, I feel I look as heavy as I am, but other ppl don't.
  • nicholasnam
    nicholasnam Posts: 4 Member
    Oh yea...on the BMI thing. I think it's one more calculation out of many. I don't hold much stock in it. I pay closer attention to my wight, my body fat % and my measurements.

    I'm overweight according to BMI.
  • Spitfirex007
    Spitfirex007 Posts: 749 Member
    I'm 6'1 270. Really the only place that my weight shows is my stomach and "love handles". Most people would guess I weight about 230 or 240.
  • littlelioness
    littlelioness Posts: 57
    The heaviest I ever weighed was around 150. I was in martial arts. Now, I weigh anywhere from 105-110. Every day I look in the mirror and think I look exactly the same as when I weighed 40 pounds more lol.
  • KokomoJoe
    KokomoJoe Posts: 435
    I'm 6'1 270. Really the only place that my weight shows is my stomach and "love handles". Most people would guess I weight about 230 or 240.

    I understand that. My people didn't believe I was pushing the upper 200's. Now I am mid 260's and I don't see a difference despite 20lbs being gone. To be honest only one person commented on me losing some weight. I don't think anyone else has noticed anything. The only area I have noticed is several pairs of pants I couldn't even get int to, now I can fit into but they are very tight, so obviously something has happened.
  • live2smyle
    live2smyle Posts: 592 Member
    I started at 222. No one ever knows how heavy I am. I have that hour glass figure and carry most of my weight in my thighs and butt. Easily camaflouged in good jeans and a well fit shirt. I dont usually share because I hate that OMG REALLY?? I would never have guessed it was that much Snooty response I get from people. It makes me want to say Yes really!!! Sorry you cant tell on me...I spotted your 185 a mile away :tongue: You dont make many friends like that hahaha :drinker:
  • kitta3
    kitta3 Posts: 84
    I am actually the oposite.
    I look smaller than I am.. when people find out what I weigh, they dont believe me.

    youd think that would make you feel good... but it doesnt... for me anyway
    I feel worse that I cant weigh less and look ever thinner.

    Ive gained probably 70 pounds in 4 years.. and its so not pretty.
    I think I look about 20 pounds less than I am, I guess thats lucky
    but it makes me feel worse, for whatever reason
  • etherah
    etherah Posts: 83 Member
    I'm with you on the mirror thing. I keep thinking I look pretty decent but once I see myself in a photograph, I find I look huge! I swear my arms don't look chunky in a mirror but they sure do in a photo! I don't trust mirrors anymore and think they're all part of some conspiracy. Damn skinny mirrors!
  • jmcniel
    jmcniel Posts: 65
    I was blessed with broad shoulders, so it evens me out and people are shocked when I tell them I weight 298, or even my heaviest of 325.
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
    I think I look heavier than I am and everyone else thinks I'm smaller than I really am.
  • madijo41
    madijo41 Posts: 367 Member
    Some days I feel I look like what I weigh. Some days I feel damn fine! My bmi states I am morbidly obese. I weight 204 lbs. Brad Pilion from Eat stop Eat has a different formula to decide if you need to loose weight. Take you height in inches, divide that in half. Your waist measurement in inches should not be any bigger. So I am 66 inches (5'6') my waist is 40". So I need to loose 7 inches.
  • Tonya79
    Tonya79 Posts: 12 Member
    No, not until I look at pictures of myself...then I think I look heavier than I really am. I look at those pictures and think, "there is nooo way I am that big!"
This discussion has been closed.

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