Don't "Look Your Weight"?

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Replies

  • kandeye
    kandeye Posts: 216 Member
    People have always underestimated my weight, even at my slimmest. I have always been on the muscular side so I am guessing that's why.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    britishbroccoli wrote: »
    Recent studies have shown that parents can't even tell that their school children are overweight.

    I grapple with that one. Self delusion is more understandable, but I can't fathom how some parents are so blind that they can't see the excess fat bulging off their kids' bodies.
    britishbroccoli wrote: »
    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.

    Right. Even for those of us who legitimately carried our weight "well", it's almost shocking how visually deceptive fat is. I never cease to be amazed at how visually different human beings look when crossing from fat to normal, or lean, levels. You really don't know how much fat, even just an extra 20-30 lbs, distorts your appearance until it's gone.
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
    I've always been heavier than I look. I'm short and pretty dense (muscular). Example: when I was in college I consistently weighed 10lbs more than my roommate, who was the exact same height and clothing size as me. More recently, I was shocked to discover that someone I know who is very large -- several inches taller than me and a size 28 -- weighs 20lbs less than I did when I was a size 18. For my height (5'3"), the "ideal weight" range is from 100lbs to 140lbs, a huge difference! I know the charts aren't accurate for everyone, but they're based on public health data and they're an average.

    Goes to show the number on the scale can be deceptive.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I have to say, to my English eye, a lot of American football players look overweight ...almost Sumo like

    That's because some American football players are overweight.

    Like sumo wrestlers, some of the larger players have an extraordinary amount of muscle, but also a lot of fat right along with it (though not to typical sumo proportions).
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    Okay, here's the thing about fat and sports.

    Sometimes fat/weight is positively DESIRABLE for a particular sport. It might be an advantage for certain forms of performance. It might keep you from DYING. <cough>Marathon Swimming</cough>

    The health/body fat percentage correlation simply is not the one to one ratio that we think it is, either.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    jumblejups wrote: »
    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.

    Yes. But when your eyes are opened it becomes damn near impossible to unlearn what you have learned. I've come pretty good at guessing people's weight, even the well carriers, if I know their height. You no longer walk around thinking of obesity as the massive, mobility challenged people oft associated with the word.

    I can spot obesity in most people from a mile away. And in being able to I can see how normalized it's become. Our idea of obese, and definitely "just" overweight, is wildly skewed in the US (and quite a few other places). Spending time in other countries shocks you out of that pretty quickly though.
  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
    it also depends on the size of your b00bs. my friend was very very large breasted and she and i weighed about the same, but she looks much much heavier than i did b/c i have small breasts. everyone is proportioned differently.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    NoelFigart1 wrote: »
    Okay, here's the thing about fat and sports.

    Sometimes fat/weight is positively DESIRABLE for a particular sport. It might be an advantage for certain forms of performance. It might keep you from DYING. <cough>Marathon Swimming</cough>

    The health/body fat percentage correlation simply is not the one to one ratio that we think it is, either.

    Of course. Fat/muscle ratio can vary from sport to sport, as well it should.

    But for the overwhelming majority of sports, particularly at the professional level, high body fat levels are unnecessary and rare. The larger athletes might be medically overweight or obese according to BMI, but as outliers that's coming mostly from lean mass, not body fat.
  • Ooci
    Ooci Posts: 247 Member
    People are always looking at me funny when I say I have 14 lb to go. And they can't ever believe my weight. I'm pretty slim everywhere except for my lower tum. I'm 36 inches around the hip and 39 inches around the lower belly. Yet 28 inches around the waist. I disguise the lower belly, and everyone thinks I'm mad to diet - but I know I have to.
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    People.say I look skinnier than I actually am. BTW I think I want to move to England so I can start using stones as a measurement, I think that's so cool. Or maybe when people ask me how much I weigh, I tell them in stones to confuse them lol. How much does a stone weigh BTW?
  • dbienz
    dbienz Posts: 188 Member
    People literally gasp when I tell them how much I weigh... At first it upset me. Why does the scale say so much? But now I know better. I have an athletic build which I love; strong thighs, big butt, I am a volleyball player! I also know how to dress for my body and size. I don't wear things that show off my areas of improvement, I show off the parts of my body I am proud of. This I guess has tricked my friends and family and made me look "skinnier" than I am. That being said, the scale is right but it is not the end all measurement of fitness and health. There are so many other ways we can reach our goals (for me its running half marathon, maxing my squats at 200 lb, and lowering my body fat percentage).

    Its your body, no one knows it better than you :D
  • Robbnva
    Robbnva Posts: 590 Member
    dbienz wrote: »
    People literally gasp when I tell them how much I weigh... At first it upset me. Why does the scale say so much? But now I know better. I have an athletic build which I love; strong thighs, big butt, I am a volleyball player! I also know how to dress for my body and size. I don't wear things that show off my areas of improvement, I show off the parts of my body I am proud of. This I guess has tricked my friends and family and made me look "skinnier" than I am. That being said, the scale is right but it is not the end all measurement of fitness and health. There are so many other ways we can reach our goals (for me its running half marathon, maxing my squats at 200 lb, and lowering my body fat percentage).

    Its your body, no one knows it better than you :D
    Love your hat, go seahwaks
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Body fat percentage makes a huge difference. Most people are not used to seeing people with a lot of lean body mass either.

  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    No, I don't think anyone has ever said this to me, but then again, I don't generally go around announcing my weight, nor, generally, do people come up to me to guess my weight.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    Yes, all the time when I was overweight. It depends on how you carry your weight and how you dress yourself. This is especially true with women, I've noticed.
  • techgal128
    techgal128 Posts: 719 Member
    I think body type has something to do with it as well. I have the straight body type (some people call it "carrot") so my weight is evenly distributed. If you hold your weight in your stomach or hips, then it might be more obvious.
  • allanakern
    allanakern Posts: 245 Member
    people never believed I was over 120, however at my highest I was at 139 and now am at 127 - granted I know I have a bit of muscle now, I still know how to wear clothes that are more flattering, therefore most people just think I'm crazy when I say I'm cutting fat. but I know what I want and how I look
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    Robbnva wrote: »
    People.say I look skinnier than I actually am. BTW I think I want to move to England so I can start using stones as a measurement, I think that's so cool. Or maybe when people ask me how much I weigh, I tell them in stones to confuse them lol. How much does a stone weigh BTW?

    I think 14 lbs.?
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    LAWoman72 wrote: »
    Robbnva wrote: »
    People.say I look skinnier than I actually am. BTW I think I want to move to England so I can start using stones as a measurement, I think that's so cool. Or maybe when people ask me how much I weigh, I tell them in stones to confuse them lol. How much does a stone weigh BTW?

    I think 14 lbs.?

    Yes it's 14lbs ☺
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