Do you think you look as heavy as you are?

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13

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  • crystal_sapphire
    crystal_sapphire Posts: 1,205 Member
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    I don't think BMI is a conspiracy, but it should be only one of many tools to measure ones level of health. Relying only on BMI versus waist to hip ratio, body fat percentage, and blood pressure for example.

    I think I look heavier than I am, but I have BDD.
  • skinnyminnie
    skinnyminnie Posts: 95 Member
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    I'm one of the veeerrrry few people that the BMI scale is right on target for. I'm 5'3" and it tells me that I should be between 104 lbs - 141 lbs. Having been every weight from 107 lbs and up (much, much higher up), I know what I looked like at all of those weights and it is dead on. I look the best at about 110-115 lbs - slim, but with some meat on me.
    That being said - it is TOTALLY inaccurate for my husband. It tells him that he is overweight even at his skinniest weight. I've seen him there before, and he is very, very thin at that point. He's just one of those people that puts on a lot of muscle and spreads it out.
    I think it only works for very average people like myself - not very muscular, average builds, etc. Not for anyone that has a larger frame or a good deal of muscle.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    I've had a couple people guess my exact size (7) which I fond odd, how on earth can you tell? I guess b/c I'm a healthy weight and tall they can actually see my shape I suppose. When shorter chubby people tell me they are a size 4 I am just a little p.o’d and shocked b/c of how plump they actually are but that's how it goes.
  • knighttrain74
    knighttrain74 Posts: 125 Member
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    I don't look like I weigh as much as I do, I lifted weights 6 days a week in high school and packed on a lot of muscle, but once I stopped a lot of it turned to fluff... I still look like a lifter with close on because of my build, but I don't look the same
  • autumntia
    autumntia Posts: 72 Member
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    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!

    O-M-G Can I tell you that I am 5'8 and feel the same way!?!?!?! I have never been this size before in my life, but I guess i have gotten kinda used to the extra weight cause I don't think that I honestly look so bad. I am at 216 and I am hoping to just lose another 24 pounds and I will be just fine with that, I don't really plan on trying to lose the whole 54 pounds that I "should" to be at an ideal weight... idk I think that I am healthier now and I just want to be feel good, and look good.
  • KayakDeb
    KayakDeb Posts: 19
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    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?"

    LOL!! Oh - me too!! When I'm standing in front of the mirror - I call it "reverse anorexia" because I don't *think* I look that bad (I do)

    However, I HATE the BMI, because at 5'6" - if I can get down to 160-ish, I WILL be bathing-suit ready. I once went down to 140 - and my friends staged an intervention - afraid that I was suffering from anorexia....LOL!! I've always been more muscular than the average girl....
  • MomsDaily140
    MomsDaily140 Posts: 116
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    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.

    ^5 to that, exactly - I don't think anyone should go by that crazy insane BMI chart.
  • mistawalka
    mistawalka Posts: 108 Member
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    That being said - it is TOTALLY inaccurate for my husband. It tells him that he is overweight even at his skinniest weight.


    Ditto here - my BMI suggests I be 58 to 79 Kilos, currently I'm back down to just over 80 so still overweight on the BMI scale but the mrs says I'm looking too skinny now.

    Interestingly enough I dug up an old medical assessment done at work back in 2003 through the local institute of sport and at the time my weight was 82 kilos, body fat (skinfold tested) was 15% and 'Ideal Weight' was listed as 83 kilos. I'm 5'10 (178cm) and not particularly large framed.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    I find myself in the weird position of being on the lower-middle side of a healthy BMI, but having a high-average BF%. I've got a slim frame, too. So even though I'm 5'7" and 135 pounds, I'm carrying a lot of fat in my tummy and thighs.

    I think that I look heavier than I am because my frame isn't meant to carry as much fat as it does. I've got friends with a more average frame, who weigh as much as I do (and are as tall as I am), who don't look as heavy.
  • ymachick
    ymachick Posts: 33 Member
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    Your profile picture exemplifies exactly what I mean about BMI 'miscalculations' .... you are a far cry from obese.
  • azmomof2
    azmomof2 Posts: 714 Member
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    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.

    Bump! For later that's interesting :tongue:
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
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    To other people, I don't look like I'm as heavy as I am. I never have. When I was thinner, I used to get shocked looks when I told people I was in size 6 jeans. They always thought I wore like a 2. Which is silly, because I'm not very tall, so you'd think I'd have the opposite problem. But apparently there's some kind of weird space-time vortex around me that makes people think I'm thinner and younger than I am. :laugh: Not that I'm complaining!

    In the mirror, I think I look exactly as heavy as I am right now. And I can't wait to be lighter. :)
  • steampunkgirl
    steampunkgirl Posts: 71
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    I don't think I look as heavy as I do but I know I definitly need to lose weight. I was talking to a friend the other day (who is thin) and commented that to go by the BMI I need to be about 135, my starting weight was 211. So I would need to lose 76 pounds! She looked shocked and said, " no way maybe 40 tops!!" Yea I wish. When I was in high school I was an athlete and weighed 145. My goal is to get to 145 no matter that technically 145 is just into the obese range. So like many people here I don't think The BMI takes into account body frame (hour glass, pear, etc... or for women breast size can have an effect too). So I made a goal that I know I was last healthy at and will go from there.
    But to answer your question no I don't think I look as heavy as I am but I do look heavy. lol
  • soccermum75
    soccermum75 Posts: 588 Member
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    My BMI says i'm obese at 5'4 and 178 lb but i talked to people around me and they say there is no way i am obese. The thing is i gain weight all over my body and not just in one specific area. Plus i think i am pretty good at hiding trouble spots with clothing... Until i look at some unflatterng pictures taken from the wrong angle. I don't even have the excuse of having big bones. Nope.
  • MomsDaily140
    MomsDaily140 Posts: 116
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    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:


    :laugh: That's FUNNY!
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
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    BMI is good as applying to the general public as a whole. When it comes to calculating YOUR personal fitness level its pretty much a load.

    That said I still feel too fat, despite my location on the range.
  • kjensen15
    kjensen15 Posts: 398 Member
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    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.

    My husband is overweight according to BMI as well... 6'3" and weighs 220 lbs. He has huge muscley shoulders, chest, and back and wears a 34 in pant. There is no way he is overweight. What's even worse is his employer does a biometric screening and BMI is one of the factors in it. Well, since according to BMI he is overweight he loses some of the points he needs to earn his full health bonus!
  • turntechBiologist
    turntechBiologist Posts: 374 Member
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    I told my cousin I was over 300lbs and she looked at me as if I was crazy :laugh:

    I asked her what her weight was and she's somewhat close to 300lbs, and she looks like she could be heavier than that o_o;
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    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'm the same way! I've looked at pictures of girls who are my height, weight, and jean size...and I think I look a lot thinner than they do - mainly because I have a medium frame & some muscle ... but I still know I have a long way to go!
  • taletreader
    taletreader Posts: 377 Member
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    I'm the same height as you are and most of the time think that 11 stone would be a good weight for me, no matter it's in the overweight BMI range. When I reach that range, I'll sure be focussing mostly on fitness, strength and waist circumference.

    Right now I'm 13.5 stone -- down from 16 -- and obviously still about 12 pounds into the obese range, so it's quite an in-between state. I vary between being quite pleased how I look now compared to before, and then I look at the amounts of "cushioning" I carry. A thin friend, who herself lost substantial weight a few years ago, was very surprised to hear I count as obese now, but then, she thought that I was only borderline obese before (HA!).

    In any event, it really really depends on your body type. I have very large breasts, and even if they shrink a little I'd be highly surprised if I ever ended up below a D cup. So the weight I carry there is not distributed over other parts of my body.

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