Let's go ahead and debunk the whole "I'm big boned" theory...

2

Replies

  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    RoseyDgirl wrote: »
    I think I may be big boned because I have a big head.

    I'm disturbed by this thought, because I had a blind date once with a man with a big head (he'd told me he'd lost a lot of weight, and his head seemed really large on his shoulders...)

    So, now that I'm losing inches, I wonder if my head will become to big for my shoulders. So, I hope I'm big boned and this won't happen.

    lol. This is my favorite comment. I too have a large dome. It must be genetic cause both my kids have heads in the 90th percentile.

  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
    OP......im kind curious.......is your original photo of the large person with the small skeleton, ...........male or female?

    hmm, strange photo for sure..........
  • RoseyDgirl
    RoseyDgirl Posts: 306 Member
    OH! I thought it was the view that came from the airline scanner...
  • RoseyDgirl
    RoseyDgirl Posts: 306 Member
    Is big boned the same as thick?
  • RoseyDgirl
    RoseyDgirl Posts: 306 Member
    but, I don't call myself thick, rather - well rounded. after all, the curves deserve an extra description.
  • meridianova
    meridianova Posts: 438 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    How wide your shoulders are is determined by your musculature, not your bones.

    uh, no, i'm pretty sure that's determined by the placement of your shoulder joints, how long your collarbone is, the width of your scapulae, etc. while you can build the muscles in your neck, upper back, shoulders, and upper arms, nothing is going to change how far apart your shoulder joints are... or the length of your legs, or the circumference of your rib cage.

    i use the terms "big boned" and "large framed" interchangeably. as per the NIH and BMI guidelines, i have a very large frame for a 5'3" girl. it makes a difference as to how much muscle my body is capable of carrying, and how low i'm willing to let my weight go.
    Anyone can be any size they want to be given the right diet and activity level and the skeleton plays absolutely no role in that process.

    bull. my bra band will never be less than a 38 because that's how big my ribcage is. even if i eliminated ALL the fat AND muscle from my waist, hips, butt, and thighs, and probably calves too, my hipbones are placed too wide to fit into a size 2. telling someone "you can be a size 2 if you work hard enough" is only perpetuating an unattainable societal stereotype and causing more people to hate their bodies.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/219938-how-to-know-your-body-frame/ as my last post made zero sense this link explains better :smile:

    There is such a thing as large frames, but this link is really not helpful. To determinate your frame, you have to check your wrist AND your elbow, and possibly other places too... The wrist itself doesn't mean a thing... you could just have a large or smaller wrist (and as you can get fat around your wrist, well... people can still use the 'big boned' excuse).
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  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I just want to add. I'm coming at this discussion as someone with a small frame. It's true that it's not the bones themselves that add or detract from the weight. But, a person with a smaller bone structure has less space in their body than a person with a large bone structure. The internal organs are smaller, there is less body mass. I have a 25 inch rib cage (at the widest point). I have a friend on here that has a 38 inch rib cage, and she is an inch shorter than me. We both have low bodyfat. So, of course a healthy weight for us is going to fall at different ends of the bmi chart. I just say this because it leads to many absurd arguments and statements when people can't comprehend how someone can be their same height, but healthy at a very different weight.
  • jennifurballs
    jennifurballs Posts: 247 Member
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    TheRoadDog wrote: »
    I'm just 18 inches too short for my weight.

    Basically under-boned.
    Eureka! You just gave me a word to describe my recent dry spell!
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    I have a fairly average size wrist, but I'm 6 feet tall and wear a size 14 wide shoe. *I'm also female*. I'm a size 10/12, but my shoulders don't fit into most women's clothing and my arms hang WAY below the cuffs.

    The test tells me I'm small boned.

    LMAO
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    RoseyDgirl wrote: »
    I think I may be big boned because I have a big head.

    I'm disturbed by this thought, because I had a blind date once with a man with a big head (he'd told me he'd lost a lot of weight, and his head seemed really large on his shoulders...)

    So, now that I'm losing inches, I wonder if my head will become to big for my shoulders. So, I hope I'm big boned and this won't happen.

    lol. This is my favorite comment. I too have a large dome. It must be genetic cause both my kids have heads in the 90th percentile.


    Lol it was pretty funny. I had to have a scan at 37 weeks with my third baby as they thought she was breech (luckily she wasn't) and when I looked at my notes after they said her head was on the 99th centile. I pretended I hadn't read that! Keeping that in mind, she was born 11 days late and I pushed her out and didn't even need stitches. What does that say about my pelvic bone structure? I'm fairly sure that not all 5'6 tall women can give birth naturally to 3 children and never need stitches.

    I definitely think we all have different bone structures. Obviously if you're fat, you're fat, no matter what size your bone structure is, but some people have wider shoulders, wider hips, bigger legs etc. You can be the same height and dress size as someone else, but weigh different amounts.
  • elenathegreat
    elenathegreat Posts: 3,988 Member
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    TheRoadDog wrote: »
    I'm just 18 inches too short for my weight.

    Basically under-boned.

    Heh...under-boned. ;)
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I'm large framed but have small wrists and long figures. Those little calculators don't work for everyone.
  • jade2112
    jade2112 Posts: 272 Member
    I don't believe the excuses people use for being fat. I know how a person gets fat because I've done it more than once.

    Speaking of bones... I saw a gal in work the other day that was just huge. She had actually found a pair of zip up jeans to fit. I should say she found a pair she could stuff herself into. They left nothing to the imagination.

    She was so fat her legs bowed out to the side when she walked. (The jeans were skin tight down to her ankles.) Made me wonder how the bones of us fat people don't snap under our weight.

  • emmabanks87
    emmabanks87 Posts: 86 Member
    We all have different shaped bodies....bones, muscles and the way we carry weight. Im a typical pear shape and have massive hips but I do not use this as an excuse! I may I have to work harder than others but I dont have to accept my big fat hips! Its easier to say 'I can't' rather than 'I can and I will, now watch me go' :)
  • 50sFit
    50sFit Posts: 712 Member
    Self delusion is rampant among those who make excuses as opposed to making a way.
    The "big boned" rationalization is nothing new, and nobody is fooled except the person in the mirror.
  • Beckilovespizza
    Beckilovespizza Posts: 334 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/219938-how-to-know-your-body-frame/ as my last post made zero sense this link explains better :smile:

    There is such a thing as large frames, but this link is really not helpful. To determinate your frame, you have to check your wrist AND your elbow, and possibly other places too... The wrist itself doesn't mean a thing... you could just have a large or smaller wrist (and as you can get fat around your wrist, well... people can still use the 'big boned' excuse).

    Yes, in the link (a little further down the page) it says about the elbow measurements too. I know it's not 100% accurate but it's a guide.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Frame size is measured more by the rib cage and shoulders, not wrists.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
    how do you explain dinosaur bones. Bones can be different shapes and sizes. A whale or a cow, or a pig can have different sizes. A cow and a average weight person would not have the same bones.

    dinosaurbonex.jpg

    Uh... what? Not sure if joking or really stretching here. I don't think you can compare dinosaurs or whales to people. While human bones might vary in size, I believe they still stay within certain parameters.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    No, you're not. You're fat.

    /reality

    9AhHv6p.jpg

    I'd rather just ignore your whole thread, and call bulls***. :disagree:
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
    I'm under no illusions, I know I'm fat. But I also know that my shoulders are abnormally wide. None of the rest of me (though being an F cup at 18 is maybe a little odd) is 'big boned', but I carry weight in my belly and legs, not my shoulders. Yet when I stand against other 5'7 girls, my shoulders look huge! Even wider than some men I know. They've always been that way, so much that I've been mistaken for a boy when I was a kid. I'll probably look a bit odd once I lose weight, but at least I'll be healthier.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    parkscs wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    You are aware that it possible for people to have different bone structure, right? One picture proves nothing.

    My DH has 42" shoulders. His wrists, even at 190 pounds, are so large I cannot get my hand around them. He is one of those people where the BMI calculator will never be right, because he's also only 5'7". I have wide shoulders for a woman, and he makes me look small.

    Bone structure (width) is different than bone size.. Big bone refers to having big bones. And generally the people who suggest they are big bone tend to have high body fat percentages. Now if someone is 190 lbs @ 5'7 and 10% body fat, i would suggest they have a lot of muscle, but if they are 25% body fat, it's a different story.

    Come on now, that's just nitpicking at semantics. People saying they're "big boned" are essentially saying they are large framed. Oftentimes they're wrong and just overfat, but that doesn't mean that they're actually claiming to have heavier, thicker bones. And muscle mass has little to do with being large framed or otherwise - you can be twiggy with a large framed or have a small frame yet carry a lot of muscle mass.


    Semantics matter... at least to me they do. But I will note, I have never hear a person who is considered "skinny" suggest they are big boned. I have heard big hips or big shoulders, but never big boned.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    parkscs wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    You are aware that it possible for people to have different bone structure, right? One picture proves nothing.

    My DH has 42" shoulders. His wrists, even at 190 pounds, are so large I cannot get my hand around them. He is one of those people where the BMI calculator will never be right, because he's also only 5'7". I have wide shoulders for a woman, and he makes me look small.

    Bone structure (width) is different than bone size.. Big bone refers to having big bones. And generally the people who suggest they are big bone tend to have high body fat percentages. Now if someone is 190 lbs @ 5'7 and 10% body fat, i would suggest they have a lot of muscle, but if they are 25% body fat, it's a different story.

    Come on now, that's just nitpicking at semantics. People saying they're "big boned" are essentially saying they are large framed. Oftentimes they're wrong and just overfat, but that doesn't mean that they're actually claiming to have heavier, thicker bones. And muscle mass has little to do with being large framed or otherwise - you can be twiggy with a large framed or have a small frame yet carry a lot of muscle mass.


    Semantics matter... at least to me they do. But I will note, I have never hear a person who is considered "skinny" suggest they are big boned. I have heard big hips or big shoulders, but never big boned.

    I've been both very small and very big but I have never referred to myself as big boned. However, I do have a wide ribcage. Even when I was a size 2 and a B cup, blouses pulled across my chest, not because of my breasts but because of my shoulders and back being wider than "normal."

    That wrist test makes me laugh because when I was that small, my fingers overlapped, at my biggest they didn't meet. Now that I have lost almost 30 pounds, they meet again. That would be wrist fat, not bone size. :laugh:
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    TheRoadDog wrote: »
    I'm just 18 inches too short for my weight.

    Basically under-boned.

    That's what she said.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    lorib642 wrote: »
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/219938-how-to-know-your-body-frame/ as my last post made zero sense this link explains better :smile:

    Hmm I always thought I had a small frame, but by that test I have a large one. And, I'm fat

    Yeah, the test doesn't work on us fatties when we're fat to the point that we've even accumulated fat on our wrists. I'm definitely small/medium frame but according to the test, I'm large frame due to fat deposits on my wrists.
  • rainbowblu
    rainbowblu Posts: 119 Member
    RoseyDgirl wrote: »
    Is big boned the same as thick?

    No,"Thick" is like Beyoncé before she got extra small or Kim K now. They are curvy with a defined waist and not flabby looking-like toned, but a little chunky. Or a man who is slightly overweight, but plays some type of sport so he may look fat, yet firm...I wouldn't mind being Thick lol!

  • BramageOMG
    BramageOMG Posts: 319 Member
    Big Boned = Fat * like * Nice Personality = Ugly Its just a nicer way to say it.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    So, I'm not even going to bother reading all the previous comments.

    I can tell you, I got mad when I saw this pretty fast.

    When someone says they are big boned, THEY DON'T LITERALLY MEAN THEY HAVE HUGE BONES BIGGER THAN NORMAL... They really don't.

    They mean that their structure, and frame are set differently.

    My whole life, people have said I was 'big boned'. Not once, did they mean my bones are abnormal and I'm the hulk. No.

    It meant, my shoulders are broader, and wider, than most girls in my age group.
    My hips are also wider apart.
    In general, MY HEAD is also just larger..

    You're going to tell me, EACH PERSON has the same structre, and just more/less muscle/fat? No. That's not how it works.

    At my smallest, where my hip bones showed greatly, I was in a size 7 jeans. I was 13. Most other 13 year olds wore a size 4 at most, and had the same body look, but actually healthier, than I did.. So YES, bodies are different, and screw everyone who is trying to tear people down, for ACTUALLY having a different shape..

    You're the reason people have eating disorders and distorted body images!

    Really_seriously_WHAT.gif

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    parkscs wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    You are aware that it possible for people to have different bone structure, right? One picture proves nothing.

    My DH has 42" shoulders. His wrists, even at 190 pounds, are so large I cannot get my hand around them. He is one of those people where the BMI calculator will never be right, because he's also only 5'7". I have wide shoulders for a woman, and he makes me look small.

    Bone structure (width) is different than bone size.. Big bone refers to having big bones. And generally the people who suggest they are big bone tend to have high body fat percentages. Now if someone is 190 lbs @ 5'7 and 10% body fat, i would suggest they have a lot of muscle, but if they are 25% body fat, it's a different story.

    Come on now, that's just nitpicking at semantics. People saying they're "big boned" are essentially saying they are large framed. Oftentimes they're wrong and just overfat, but that doesn't mean that they're actually claiming to have heavier, thicker bones. And muscle mass has little to do with being large framed or otherwise - you can be twiggy with a large framed or have a small frame yet carry a lot of muscle mass.


    Semantics matter... at least to me they do. But I will note, I have never hear a person who is considered "skinny" suggest they are big boned. I have heard big hips or big shoulders, but never big boned.

    I agree Semantics do matter ...

    I have to say though I am a larged framed woman...I accept it...doesn't mean I am looking for an excuse to stay fat...esp since I am not fat...

    those measurments tho...it's a lot like BMI...it doesn't fit all...

    When I do it on all points it gives me large frame...elbow/wrist/feet etc.