Don't "Look Your Weight"?

webuiltthisnicky · January 2015

Has anyone else been told this?

I weigh myself at my mum's house at the moment because I don't have a set of scales at home yet. When I weighed my starting weight last week, I told her what it was (12st 6lbs). She didn't believe me at all and said something must be wrong with the scale. I was like, "Righto, mum", thinking she was just trying to make me feel better, and recorded 12st 6 as my weight. There's nothing wrong with her scale.

Then I was hanging around with my friend (whos' also trying to lose weight) on Saturday and I was telling her what my weight was at the moment and how much I wanted to lose, and she replied, "Um, no. My mum is around twelve and a half stone as well and she's like a size sixteen. AND she's taller than you (I'd be in about a twelve UK size).

Does anyone else have this? I know that weight is correct, I'm sure of it. And I know it's not muscle because I'm not toned. I'm not big boned because I have little kid wrists and tiny hands and narrow shoulders, so I doubt the weight is bones. This is also kind of annoying because when I choose diet options or decline something because I'm watching my calorie intake I always get the inevitable, "Oh don't be silly, you don't need to diet!". Um, I do. I'm overweight.

It's a stupid question, but can you have the same amount of fat as someone your weight but bigger-looking but it's just... more compacted or something? What's going on?

Sued0nim · January 2015

I don't look my weight, never have

Weight is a mixture of water (around 50%), LBM and fat - as a woman our fat proportions are higher than men's and we may aspire to a greater BF % (personally I'm currently 25.5% and quite happy here)

muscle is less dense than fat - so the more musculature you have, the heavier you'll weigh and the lighter you'll look
I grabbed a great shot off the internet (if you check my pictures) on how the look of the body does not equate to the weight on the scale

It depends on where you carry weight too - I am fortunate enough to be tall (5'8) and hourglass ... so my 168lbs (12 stones) is evenly distributed and a lot of it is muscle anyway

acmanna · January 2015

I think some people carry extra pounds better than others..meaning it isn't as noticeable on them and you might be that person. You know what goals that you'd like to achieve so don't let anyone talk you out of them. Just realize that what they are saying is that they think you are beautiful..take it as a compliment and keep on keepin on

amehh91 · January 2015

I am the same, my starting weight was approx 210lbs (5'6) and my mum and others didn't believe me. Now I have lost 40lbs everyone thinks I look like a UK 10 (I'm just getting into UK 14s), that I definitely don't look 170lbs and they are shocked when I say I still have another 30lbs to lose. I don't know if everyone is lying, used to seeing me fat so I look significantly slimmer or whether they genuinely believe I am a healthy weight now but I know I am at least 16lbs from healthy bmi so I am certainly not finished.

I just smile, say thank you and that I guess I'm lucky to hide my flab well

Sued0nim · January 2015

also tbh at 5'8 and 168lb, my BMI is still in the overweight category but I'm wearing UK 10-12 clothes (US 6-8)

at 210lbs (borderline obese) I was in a large UK 16 (US 12) but people would still tell me I didn't need to lose (because that's what you're supposed to do)

My issue is body dysmorphia - I look in the mirror and think 'you look alright' .. fine at this weight, not so fine at 210lbs

47Jacqueline · January 2015

Wow! No one has ever said this to me.

webuiltthisnicky · January 2015

acmanna wrote: »

I think some people carry extra pounds better than others..meaning it isn't as noticeable on them and you might be that person. You know what goals that you'd like to achieve so don't let anyone talk you out of them. Just realize that what they are saying is that they think you are beautiful..take it as a compliment and keep on keepin on

Haha, I usually do take it as a compliment. It's nice to know that even if the number on the scale is a bit much for my height, at least it isn't obvious to other people, but it does tempt me to relax the diet sometimes. However, I DO know I'm overweight, so I won't let that stop me from trying to get to a healthy weight for my own good.

rabbitjb wrote: »

I don't look my weight, never have

I grabbed a great shot off the internet (if you check my pictures) on how the look of the body does not equate to the weight on the scale

Hey that's really interesting. I'm not working out yet because gyms are expensive so I'm waiting for lighter nights to go to our local park. The park has free gym equipment! I guess when I start working out it might be better to use a tape measure than a scale.

Sued0nim · January 2015

if you wished you could easily start this programme of bodyweight exercises at home now

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

KarenJanine · January 2015

I'm tall and carry more weight than people think too. This is especially since I started lifting as I pretty much still weigh the same but my BF has decreased, so people assume I've lost weight.

DawnieB1977 · January 2015

I've always looked smaller than my weight. Years ago my BMI was around 23, so perfectly healthy, but I had people telling me I looked gaunt. Before my third pregnancy my BMI was 24.9 and I was a uk 10/12. A pound more and i'd probably have been overweight!

webuiltthisnicky · January 2015

rabbitjb wrote: »

if you wished you could easily start this programme of bodyweight exercises at home now

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

Perfect, thank you!

hanajbanana · January 2015

My family recently guesstimated my weight at around a stone and a half more than I actually am (I didn't correct them, just smiled and said "yeah, I think I'm around that"), and my trainer was visibly shocked at how heavy I was when I stepped on the gym scale at our first session... I used to swim for my town when I was younger, so I think that's helped my natural musculature (I'm definitely broad shouldered from growing up in the pool!) It's very nice when people tell me I look great and don't need to lose weight (I'm currently a UK 10 at the top end of the healthy BMI range for my height) but I still have areas I'd like to work on, and I'm loving working out too much to stop, so I'm still on my journey for a little while longer at least...

I'd take it as a compliment but the most important thing is how you feel and where you want to be... If people think you already look good where you are, they're going to think you look great when you reach your goal! Taking it slowly, being realistic and sensible with food and exercise and you'll be there in no time. Sounds like your coming from a good starting point :-)

cincysweetheart · January 2015

My family doesn't think I look my weight either. Same with most of my friends on here. I personally think we have become so accustomed to a society that is overweight that we have just stopped seeing it. Take it as a compliment and be grateful.

Gustavamom · January 2015

I had this too when I was a teenager I was 180lbs at 5'5" but wore a size 11, looked great was in incredible shape (because I did weight training as well as walked everywhere) even my Dr. weighed me on multiple scales because he has assumed I was about 20-30lbs less than I was.

blobby10 · January 2015

Apparently I look like ive lost at least a stone when I have lost nothing at all. However I started out at a UK 16 and am now a UK 12-14 so something must have shifted! I'm definitely stronger and more muscular/toned. At 5ft 9" I know I can carry the weight and as I've got older any excess settles around my middle which is easier to disguise! Would love the scales to shift downwards, just a little though!!

jessiemjporter · January 2015

I have this to.. i am 177lbs, (12st 9lbs) im 5'5 and a size 12.
my goal is to lose 40lbs. but i have already lost 30lbs and dropped 3 dress sizes, i dont know how i would look after 40lbs lost.

Liftng4Lis · January 2015

Everyone carries it differently. I actually weigh more, but am thinner than 4 months ago. YAY!

workout_ninja · January 2015

another thing Ive also found is people have no idea what healthy really looks like. This country has slowly been getting bigger so that has become the "norm". I was at a party a couple of months ago and there was a very slim girl there wearing a very figure hugging dress. She was small (naturally so i say) maybe a size 6-8 and everyone said she was "too thin" and anorexic looking. Just shows thin is not what people are used to seeing

LivingtheLeanDream · January 2015

Everyone does carry weight differently, I know I don't look my weight now, at 134lbs thats not light for someone of 5ft 2" but because I workout a lot/very active I am wearing smaller sizes (UK size 8/10) than I did at 120lbs.
If you're tall then you would look ok at 12st, you know yourself if you do need to lose a few pounds. Have you calculated your BMI, it just gives an indication of where you should be.

margojr4 · January 2015

I've also been told "wow! You don't weight 150??" I'm 5'8" w/20% body fat and according to my tailor, I'm a true size 6

You can search my photos and see a before and after of my weight/size. It was taken a few years ago - I actually weigh more now! haha

kristen6350 · January 2015

I'm 160, most people think I look about 145. I'm tall and evenly proportioned.

Iwishyouwell · January 2015

I never have (at least with clothes on). The very few people who I've told my high weight to were shocked.

It's because I gain weight all over, have pretty soft fat and always dressed to suit my size; I was the king at masking my weight as best I could. I wasn't ever one of these dudes, like my dad, with a huge, hard potbelly, wearing clothes that were ill fit and just made me look like a pregnant man. I also never had that sloppy-fat look some people get when they carry their bodies poorly. So the perception was that I was definitely big, but not morbidly obese (which I was at my largest). I've been told that I just had that football player look. Like someone who is just "big boned", who has a larger frame; it took me over a decade to realize that I actually don't have a large frame at all.

Which is why I don't tell people I know personally what my goal weight is. It sounds too shockingly low. Because I am one who is perceived to carry my weight well, most people have no idea just how much fat I have on my body, and how low I need to go to really lean out the way I want.

Docbanana2002 · January 2015

I get this a lot, too. Part of it is that I have a larger frame, hourglass shape, and carry some weight in my limbs (muscular calves, thighs, arms) so I look okay at a higher weight.

I also think the social norm is to keep weight secret and it results in people having little understanding of what a given weight looks like on different people. A shorter person, less muscular person, or someone who carries weight in places that make them look heavier might be shocked about how much weight a different body type can carry.

leggup · January 2015

Fewer and fewer people regularly weigh themselves these days & are in deep denial about their own weights. I've noticed that people don't really recognize what overweight/normal looks like any more. Recent studies have shown that parents can't even tell that their school children are overweight.

I'm 5'11. I thought I carried my weight well, until I lost the weight. Now I look at the old photos and I'm horrified with how I looked. I thought I was hiding my weight, but you could even see it in my face.

People are really bad at guessing weight. People are even worse at guessing sizes. Tall people of normal weight will always size a little larger than shorter people. I was a normal BMI and a US size 14 for a while.

NoelFigart1 · January 2015

Yes, I am consistently judged to weigh less than I actually do, no matter what my weight.

I am the most fortunate of women in terms of weight gain pattern as well as ability to put on muscle mass. I attribute this in part to genetics and in part to the fact that we heated our home with wood when I was a child, so we did a great deal of manual labor when I was a youngster.

I also think that @Docbanana2002‌ has a real point. We don't get a great deal of honest data about what certain heights and weights look like. Though there is this interesting chart: Photographic Height/Weight Chart

katherine_startrek_fan · January 2015

I've had a similar experience on here, where I can consistantly wear sizes that are smaller than others of similar height and weight.

There's a lot to be said for body shape and where we carry the extra weight.

Sued0nim · January 2015

I have to say, to my English eye, a lot of American football players look overweight ...almost Sumo like

ncwingnut71 · January 2015

I've been told this. People tell me "There is NO WAY you have that much to lose". I am very proportionate.

seltzermint555 · January 2015

I agree with the point that many (most?) people really do not know what overweight, obese, morbidly obese looks like. At all. I used to be morbidly obese and I guarantee that 99% of my friends/family would be like "No you were not...that's like people on Mart Carts in the store with bellies hanging over both sides". People have this belief that morbidly obese people are in that category and if you're fitting into a compact car and walking several miles a week for exercise, you are just overweight. Wrong.

When I was at my heaviest I do think I looked like I weighed as much as I did. But honestly during the years I was around 260 lb (for a very long time) I think I could have "passed" for weighing 210-220. At 5'8" with pretty long limbs, dainty hands/feet, and no double chin, I did look somewhat proportioned despite very large bust, hips and belly...kind of like a dress dummy for plus size clothes, and because of that I felt "lucky" and pretty happy with myself. Even at the doctor's office they would express surprise I was as heavy as I was, and it happened enough times that I believe I looked a bit smaller...I don't think 10 different nurses/techs were flattering me.

Need2Exerc1se · January 2015

The very few people who know my weight are usually surprised it's so high (including my doctor when I switched recently). I do wear a smaller size than my friends that weigh less than me and I have quite a bit of muscle under my fat so I guess maybe I do. I suppose being pear/hourglass helps as well. My husband likes to annoy me by calling me a brawny farm girl. $:\$

jumblejups · January 2015

I agree with the idea that we don't always have a realistic idea of what overweight or obese look like. In terms of BMI when I started on MFP I was obese and a UK14. No muscle and 5'4". But, I am an hourglass and have always dressed in flattering styles, so people regularly underestimated my weight. Even in my late teens - at my slimmest and fittest, UK10 - whilst healthy I was at the upper end of my BMI and people always guessed I was at least a stone lighter. I had some muscle then, but not lots.

Likewise I haven't really had realistic ideas about my size. At my slimmest I kept thinking I was fat, and at my heaviest although I knew I was heavy I didn't expect to be obese and didn't truly appreciate my size until I looked at photos. Like upthread, you hear obese and think of a very large size, people who need help with mobility, for instance. My look is not the common portrayal of obesity, but maybe it should be.

Don't "Look Your Weight"?

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