Overweight but not fat?

tinkerbell9997
tinkerbell9997 Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
I am 4'11 and 140 pounds. People tell me I am lucky I don't look fat. I look on those weight,height, age charts and I am overweight. I am confused because I want to lose 20 pounds but people say that is too much to lose. In reality that would be a normal weight (120)

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    tinkerbell9997 wrote: »
    I am 4'11 and 140 pounds. People tell me I am lucky I don't look fat. I look on those weight,height, age charts and I am overweight. I am confused because I want to lose 20 pounds but people say that is too much to lose. In reality that would be a normal weight (120)

    forget people.

    10 stone at 4ft 11 is overweight, sorry but its true.

    if you want to lose 20lbs, do it. end of.
  • grannynot
    grannynot Posts: 146 Member
    There's a hundred ways to look at "fat". Some people distribute it pretty evenly over their bodies, so they don't generally "look fat". Also, you probably carry yourself so that you don't "walk fat". You can be active and bubbly and bouncy, so you don't "act fat". You can be muscular, which will tilt your BMI toward "heavy", even if you're not. You can have heavier friends who wish they were as "thin" as you.

    The bottom line: it's up to you. Do your clothes fit nicely? Can you run a ways and not be winded? Do you have healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels? If any of those answers are no - then welcome to the club ;-)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Only you live in your skin. Are you comfortable in it? What size clothing are you wearing? That's usually a pretty easy way to tell if you need to lose weight. Although sizes can vary widely, I'm sure you own enough articles to get a good average size.

    At 5'3.5" and large framed I hit 140 a few years ago and was definitely looking a bit chubby. Unless you are also large framed and very muscular at 4.5" shorter I can't imagine that you really wouldn't benefit from losing 20 pounds regardless of what people are telling you. 120 pounds at your height is by no means thin; it's still technically "overweight." That's not to say that it isn't a good goal for you but don't let people fool you into thinking it's too low of a goal.

    Sometimes you have to be skeptical of people's motives when they give you that type of advice and it goes completely contrary to what you believe to be true.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Who are these people? If you listen and do what other people said or advise you to do, then you wouldn't be you! Do what you feel comfortably with and leave those people out of your business. And lastly 120 at your height is totally not unreasonable.

  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited August 2016
    120 pounds sounds like a very reasonable weight for 4'11. Maybe these people are thinking that you're considering some extreme or fad diet - which you certainly don't need. If you already look "not overweight" then you want to lose weight gently. Half a pound a week is likely a good goal for you (certainly no more than 1 pound/week).
  • organizedrxhck
    organizedrxhck Posts: 24 Member
    I totally forgot about my snack and I ate a little more than I should at dinner. Lesson learned!!

  • organizedrxhck
    organizedrxhck Posts: 24 Member
    I'm trying to lose weight but my bmi tells me I should be about 13 pounds lighter then my goal. I want tight muscle ladies forget the number on the scale.
    Be happy eat clean and workout
  • ohsosweet26
    ohsosweet26 Posts: 45 Member
    It's all about how you feel about yourself. I am 4'10, currently weighing 124 lbs and my starting weight was 135lbs. Just like you, people have been telling me that I'm not fat, but the thing is, I want to lose some extra weight because I know I can look 100 times better. I'm doing this for myself, not for other people, and you should too! If you are comfortable and happy with your current weight, then that's the end of story :):)
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    What is your body fat percentage? If it's 23 or lower, you definitely aren't fat. Depending on your age, up to about 30% could be considered ideal.
  • AnabolicMind2011
    AnabolicMind2011 Posts: 211 Member
    Sometimes people say things like that to be nice.

Categories