Looking less than what you weigh?
nataliecg926
Posts: 82 Member
Does anyone else feel like they look less than what they weigh? I know people say weight is just a number and doesn't have to mean "all that" but I weighed myself recently and I am 274 lbs at 5'5 and I don't feel like I weigh THAT much. I thought I was 250 lbs and someone said that I looked like I weighed less and turns out I actually weigh MORE. I tell people my goal is to lose 125 pounds and they look at me like I'm crazy..anybody else experience this?
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Replies
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My family always says that I don't look fat, when in fact I am obese. I just always think they're trying to be nice.9
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The prevalence of obesity has warped many of our views on what is a healthy weight vs overweight vs obese. Most people are also terrible at judging size. We tell people to weigh their peanut butter. A person is a lot bigger than 2T of peanut butter. The variation between what we think people weigh and what they actually weigh is bound to be off by quite a lot, numbers-wise.32
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The prevalence of obesity has warped many of our views on what is a healthy weight vs overweight vs obese. Most people are also terrible at judging size. We tell people to weigh their peanut butter. A person is a lot bigger than 2T of peanut butter. The variation between what we think people weigh and what they actually weigh is bound to be off by quite a lot, numbers-wise.
This. I used to think I looked lighter than I weighed until I saw a picture of myself.
The people around me used to not think I was "that fat" until I lost weight.
We all have very, very skewed perceptions.19 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I was 173lbs here i
was a US size 10 uk 12 and I looked a lot lighter than 173lbs but I exercised a lot
I find that when I just do weightloss no exercise I look bigger than when using exercise as toning etc
I will be honest. You look your weight there. It's not an insult, you wear it well, but we all have distorted images of what such a number is supposed to look like when your picture is the reality.
I believe I'm a good bit older than you and I can remember how tiny people used to be when I was a little kid.
We have, as a society, embraced a larger norm.
Agreed. And a us 10 is a UK 145 -
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Yes, but I attribute it largely to my height and my proportions. I'm 5'9" and people are floored when I say that I'm over 200 pounds. I carry my weight pretty evenly, so i'm not obviously larger in one spot than another.
I do agree with posters above that our perception of what is overweight is pretty distorted by the people around us, and the fact that so many people are overweight.2 -
I probably do look my weight, just have a skewed idea of what weight actually looks like because everyone always underestimates I think1
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The prevalence of obesity has warped many of our views on what is a healthy weight vs overweight vs obese. Most people are also terrible at judging size. We tell people to weigh their peanut butter. A person is a lot bigger than 2T of peanut butter. The variation between what we think people weigh and what they actually weigh is bound to be off by quite a lot, numbers-wise.
Yeah, pretty much this...
I didn't used to think I looked like I weighed 220 Lbs when I weighed 220 Lbs...I look at old pictures now, and it's pretty obvious. I did carry it well, but yeah...I look at those old pictures and I look 220 Lbs.6 -
People have no idea what different weights look like. I'd never try to guess someone's weight unless they were pretty close to my height and build (and even then I wouldn't say anything). So I guess I'd never ask someone if they thought I looked a particular weight or expect them to be able to answer in a meaningful way.
Curious, OP, what difference it makes. Are you worried about goal weight? If so I'd say it's premature.0 -
Everyone carries their weight differently. I know people who are close to my height and weigh 100+ lbs less than me and I wear a smaller size then them.4
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I guess I'm just daunted by how far my journey is when previously I didn't think I had this far to go, although I mostly just want to get under 200 and go from there1
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lulalacroix wrote: »My family always says that I don't look fat, when in fact I am obese. I just always think they're trying to be nice.
Same here. I'm 4'11 and 148. I'm obese because of my height and small frame. I should be somewhere around 94-115 lbs is what they say on here. Everyone tells me I don't look that overweight.0 -
It can be a lot easier to just focus on smaller goals. Once you get there you can decide to keep going or not, depending on how you look and feel. I'd been 120-125 before so knew that was my goal in the back of my head, but I still mostly focused on getting to 199 and then losing to 179, 149, officially not overweight, stuff like that. Because no matter what I knew I'd feel better at 149 than 210, even if technically that wasn't yet not overweight or my final goal.5
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A lot of people are shocked if I tell them my actual weight. Most of it is a combination of how I carry my weight (I always seem to stay proportional at any weight and gain/lose all over, not in one spot) and being able to wear clothes that make me look slimmer because of those proportions.1
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nataliecg926 wrote: »I guess I'm just daunted by how far my journey is when previously I didn't think I had this far to go, although I mostly just want to get under 200 and go from there
Dont make goals based solely on the number on the scale. Stick with your goal of 200 and re-evaluate when you get there. I am more focused on getting to a certain size then I am a certain weight. The scale is not good at gauging how big you are. Remember Dwayne Johnson is obese based on the scale.2 -
nataliecg926 wrote: »I guess I'm just daunted by how far my journey is when previously I didn't think I had this far to go, although I mostly just want to get under 200 and go from there
Dont make goals based solely on the number on the scale. Stick with your goal of 200 and re-evaluate when you get there. I am more focused on getting to a certain size then I am a certain weight. The scale is not good at gauging how big you are. Remember Dwayne Johnson is obese based on the scale.
I don't think OP has quite as much muscle as dwayne Johnson...12 -
I'm 5'10" and was 123kg at my heaviest. That's fat. But I was also active, horse-riding and whatnot, and I have a big solid frame and I didn't look that fat, even looking back at pictures. Funny thing though, I'm 86kg now and I don't see any difference in the mirror.0
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I thought I had 40-50lbs to lose. I lost that and adjusted it down another 20-30. I might yet adjust it down again. I do think I'm a little smaller than others my weight but I was an athlete (gymnast for 9 years, then dance college for over 2 years) so probably have more lean mass than someone without my background. But truly I won't know until I get to the aesthetic I'm after what weight I "should" be!1
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TavistockToad wrote: »nataliecg926 wrote: »I guess I'm just daunted by how far my journey is when previously I didn't think I had this far to go, although I mostly just want to get under 200 and go from there
Dont make goals based solely on the number on the scale. Stick with your goal of 200 and re-evaluate when you get there. I am more focused on getting to a certain size then I am a certain weight. The scale is not good at gauging how big you are. Remember Dwayne Johnson is obese based on the scale.
I don't think OP has quite as much muscle as dwayne Johnson...
lol I never said I was muscular0 -
I always thought I didn't look my weight until I realised I actually just didn't have any idea what any weight actually looked.11
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