Do you weigh more than you look

fitnessqueen91
fitnessqueen91 Posts: 166 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
I weigh 166 pounds or 75kg (I'm 5"7.5). I get told that I look like I weigh a lot less. People usually guess around 140 pounds. They're like no way when I tell them how much I weigh. I'm also a dress size UK 12 (US 8) and I can fit into some size 10's (or US 6's). How can you weigh so much but look slim? My BMI says I'm a couple of pounds overweight. I want to loose a bit more weight. I though 60kg would be a good weight, but at my lowest I was 140 pounds and people said I was skinny.

I weigh a lot for a girl as it is! I weigh nearly as much as some guys! I run a lot but I don't think I have much muscle. I was took a body fat % test with a fitness instructor; it put me as 29% which is in the normal range for a woman.
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Replies

  • Mrsmonas
    Mrsmonas Posts: 37 Member
    I feel like I look bigger than I actually am :( I'm 155 5'7 but feel like I look more 190. I have a terrible body image though
  • jnz17
    jnz17 Posts: 17 Member
    I also weigh way more than I look. I'm 5'4'' and I gained 30 lbs since last summer but even my own family always says I look the same as before. I went all the way from normal to the upper end of overweight, but I'll admit I basically look the same in most pictures.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I don't know. I've never asked people to guess my weight and no one has ever asked me how much I weigh.

    I'm an apple shape. I look more pregnant the more overweight I am. I have had someone ask when I was due. I don't think they were guessing my weight as less than it was. If my fat was more evenly distributed I suppose I wouldn't look as obviously overweight. I'm aiming for a healthy weight and reducing my waist size.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Most people I see these days are overweight. People are often surprised by my weight because they are not as used to seeing people of healthy weight. I'm 148 lbs, so a healthy weight but in the upper zone of healthy weight for my height.
  • fitnessqueen91
    fitnessqueen91 Posts: 166 Member
    Since people are mentioning body shapes; I'm an hourglass and my weight is evenly distributed however if I gain weight it mainly tends to go to my hips and boobs.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    I don't know. I've never asked people to guess my weight and no one has ever asked me how much I weigh.

    I'm an apple shape. I look more pregnant the more overweight I am. I have had someone ask when I was due. I don't think they were guessing my weight as less than it was. If my fat was more evenly distributed I suppose I wouldn't look as obviously overweight. I'm aiming for a healthy weight and reducing my waist size.

    I have the same body type. There are so many cute tops I admire but don't buy because I know I'd end up being asked the same thing if I wore them.
  • ElphabaWeasley
    ElphabaWeasley Posts: 47 Member
    I also think I look less than what I weigh. I mean don't get me wrong, I still look big, but not as big as I would think 5' 190 pounds would look. That was me at my heaviest. Now, I am down to 179, and to be honest, I don't feel like I look different, and my clothes don't fit looser or anything either (granted, I was probably very close to needing to go out and buy bigger clothes before I started losing weight). I think it depends on a lot of things and I definitely agree with other people saying that the people you ask may be underestimating, either consciously or unconsciously.
  • shortvixen09
    shortvixen09 Posts: 38 Member
    Yes. Maybe because I'm more on the curvy side. Either people forget that curves weight too or they're being nice. However I do have a lot of muscle.
  • JCsJourney
    JCsJourney Posts: 8 Member
    Im 6'2 265. People say i look like im in my 230s and are shocked when i tell em im 265
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Yeah people just say that. They don't know what any specific weight actually looks like. My brother is always guessing my weight is about 120 pounds when in reality at the time I was closer to 145.
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    If I guess someone's weight - and I have no idea why I would - I am definitely not saying what I ACTUALLY think they weigh! Better to "guess" low than to have them pissed when you're right or higher than their weight. You're just asking for trouble to tell the truth with that!

    I'm gonna second this. People are sensitive about their weight. I never comment on people's weights or guess what they weigh unless they really ask. Even then, I'd likely shoot low just not to offend someone.
  • atiral
    atiral Posts: 43 Member
    I think my body shape makes me look smaller. I am a rectangle.
  • fitnessqueen91
    fitnessqueen91 Posts: 166 Member
    I never ask people to guess my weight; if it randomly comes up and people are talking about weight I'll say. Guessing weight is quite hard actually. Celebrity magazines always guess celebrities weights and they'll be ones that are overweight and they'll guess their weight to be 150 pounds or less but I look thinner than them but weigh more.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    No one believes me when I tell them I'm 150 pounds and size 11 (U.S.) in jeans. I'm 5'9".
  • Guns_N_Buns
    Guns_N_Buns Posts: 1,899 Member
    Maybe because you don't voluntarily discuss the topic of weight with people that would be like "damn, I thought you weighed WAYYYY MORE".
  • SkinnyFatBGone
    SkinnyFatBGone Posts: 59 Member
    edited June 2016
    Asher_Ethan wrote: »
    No one believes me when I tell them I'm 150 pounds and size 11 (U.S.) in jeans. I'm 5'9".

    Almost the same. I'm 153 pounds and size 9 (U.S) in jeans. I'm 5'9 or 5'10.

    You look great though. My stomach is no where near as flat as yours. I wonder why I wear a smaller size jean than you. You definitely look thinner than me, based on your picture.
  • SkinnyFatBGone
    SkinnyFatBGone Posts: 59 Member
    True. I've been a size 9 for 15 years and I've gained like 30 pounds in that time frame. I really just want o be a size 5.
  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
    People underestimate my weight at about 75 lbs ummm no lol. They're probably just being sarcastic though
  • heatherheyns
    heatherheyns Posts: 144 Member
    Do people underestimate my weight? Yes., But I'd guess it was mostly out of politeness. I also feel like I don't look as heavy as I am, but that is because I don't like my weight. I think it is easy to fool ourselves by doing that. I've always said ad felt that I carried weight well, so it was okay I was obese. Ive leaned to stop lying to myself and stop listening to others lie to me.
  • boomboom70
    boomboom70 Posts: 13 Member
    Honestly, people are just being polite.

    If I was asked to guess the age or weight of someone (why would you ask by the way?!) I'd go 3 years younger and 15lbs lower!
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I am heavy for my size but I have a lot of lean mass (athletic past). And I have had people the same height and 30lbs lighter be a bigger dress size than I am, so in that sense yes people are surprised. But if you don't have that context guessing weights is pointless and meaningless because of the fact lean mass and body shape makes such a difference.
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    edited June 2016
    boomboom70 wrote: »
    Honestly, people are just being polite.

    If I was asked to guess the age or weight of someone (why would you ask by the way?!) I'd go 3 years younger and 15lbs lower!

    This! I think the only way you'll get an honest answer is if you ask an 8 year old! Young kids have no filter! Go ask one of them! Lol!
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Idk. I never ask people to guess my weight.
  • sunflowerhippi
    sunflowerhippi Posts: 1,099 Member
    There was a thread on here a few years back where people guess weight by avatar photo. Some people were much better at guessing then other and this is a site full of people who are very interested in body weight. So imagine for the normal person how hard that is.

    Now on that, I love the guess my weight game at arcades because typically they are off by 20lbs or more for me. I wear a size 12/14 little kids for tops, and 11 juniors/8 women for pants at 150lbs.
  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
    jennifer_417 wrote: »
    I'm gonna guess people underestimate out of politeness... That and people are generally clueless about how certain weights should "look."

    Not necessarily - since I've lost my weight and am down to 113lbs people, including my doctor, say I look like I'm underweight and guess around 100lbs. I think my muscle mass brings the number up so I fall within the healthy range. I don't think they're being polite, and the way some people say it they are outright rude.

    I think that many people have no aptitude at guessing weight, and so they under estimate. I also suspect that as society has grown progressively more over weight we have become desensitized and have forgotten what healthy ranges look like. As I was a teen in the anorexic 90's I have learned that my perceptions are skewed as well, and generally think that some healthy weight ranges look slightly over weight to me because the underweight trend was popular when I was a teen and I have never been able to shake that mindset or aesthetic preference, which is challenging in my own weightloss journey as I still want to get back down to 105lbs, which puts me squarely in the underweight category for my age and height.

    OP you mentioned there is no way you could tell someone your weight - I think that's sad. We really need to move away from being shamed by numbers - 166lbs is nothing to be ashamed of. I think allowing ourselves to feel shame just perpetuates weight judgment in society in general, and I really wish we could all move away from that as its not helpful to anyone.
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