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Does your doctor comment on your weight?
Replies
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paperpudding wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »I think 10 kg is considered about the right amount to gain
Of course there are other factors influencing what is best for each person - but as a rough rule of thumb.
Really? That seems way too low to me - I have always heard 25 - 35 lbs is recommended amount for an average weight woman.
Yes really.
I did say 10 kg, not 10 lb.
Which is about 22 lb.
Slightly lower than your range but not way lower.
Yes I did the math.
Given that it is lower than the lowest end of the recommendation it is actually "way lower".
At any rate not sure what area of Australia you are in but this is from the Queensland Health Department:
Target weight gains during pregnancy:
Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m2) Recommended total weight gain range (kg)
<18.5 underweight 12.5 to 18
18.5 to 24.9 normal weight 11.5 to 16
25.0 to 29.9 overweight 7 to 11.5
≥ 30.0 obese 5 to 9
You'll notice that my comment mentioned "average weight" woman - and the range I gave is exactly what is recommended here. Maybe you see a lot of overweight women in your practice or something so for you "average weight" is overweight? What I meant was "normal weight" or not in the under or overweight BMI range. So for those women 10 kg is below the recommendations in your country for that group.3 -
No we see a range of size women.
Probably, like most of the population, more are overweight than not.
I guess the term 'way lower' is subjective .
Still seems slightly lower to me - but not going to hijack the thread on semantics.
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KeithBarrows wrote: »Late the the thread - answering the original question:
My cardiologist never talks about weight. Don't know about my new PCP as we won't meet until next month. Besides, what do 95% of docs KNOW about nutrition? Having several docs as friends I came to learn that nutrition is a single course during their undergrad days. One freaking course on nutrition! They! Do! Not! Know! Nutrition!
So I stumble on with my wife and we dig in to the research. <sigh/>
And the one course in nutrition the doctor gets as an undergrad is one more course than probably 98% of the population gets.
So if they know nothing, the vast majority of the general population is really screwed regarding their own knowledge.
P.S. I do think doctors as well as PAs, NPs, nurses, etc. should have more training in nutrition than they get.
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »P.S. I do think doctors as well as PAs, NPs, nurses, etc. should have more training in nutrition than they get.
I cannot agree more. Unfortunately, the general attitude is to rely on Nutritionists or fake it because "I am the doctor and I *should* know this." The insurance companies have not made it any easier for the doctors or the patients. Prevention is NOT a focus. There is no $$$ in it.
1 -
KeithBarrows wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »P.S. I do think doctors as well as PAs, NPs, nurses, etc. should have more training in nutrition than they get.
I cannot agree more. Unfortunately, the general attitude is to rely on Nutritionists or fake it because "I am the doctor and I *should* know this." The insurance companies have not made it any easier for the doctors or the patients. Prevention is NOT a focus. There is no $$$ in it.
Agree with lack of preventive medicine.
Personally I don't mind if a medical professional (or really anyone for that matter) says they don't know something and suggests I consult another professional, even better if they can refer me to the appropriate person.
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A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
4 -
KeithBarrows wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »P.S. I do think doctors as well as PAs, NPs, nurses, etc. should have more training in nutrition than they get.
I cannot agree more. Unfortunately, the general attitude is to rely on Nutritionists or fake it because "I am the doctor and I *should* know this." The insurance companies have not made it any easier for the doctors or the patients. Prevention is NOT a focus. There is no $$$ in it.
@KeithBarrows: I saw in your other thread that you were a Marine. I'm former USAF myself. Are you getting your health care through the VA? I am, and my doctor immediately referred me to a Registered Dietitian, presumably realizing she did not have the background to be of much use.0 -
@kshama2001 - No. While I served for 13 years too much of it was Reserve time so I ended up with zero VA coverage.3
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Doctors should tell pregnant women when they are gaining too quickly. No reason to get offended. I say this having recently been pregnant. My baby is 3 months old.
Why? Does it harm the baby somehow to gain weight quickly vs slowly?
I remember my doctor telling me the same thing (many years ago) when I gained 7 lbs one month. Made some snide comment about "eating too much ice cream" and how I'd just have a lot more to lose. But everyone I know who has been pregnant has been like that, big jumps in weight some months. I think I ended up gaining 32 lbs total, at 5' 10" and starting weight of 130. Sometimes doctors are just *kitten*.
(He also told me my 10 lb baby was going to be "average size" - I switched doctors for the next two.)
Yes. Rapid or excessive weight gain during pregnancy is associated with increased risks for macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, increased rate of c-section, and gestational diabetes among others. So yes, doctors SHOULD say something.
Oh and most pregnant women I know did not gain a ton of weight unless it was due to fluid/edema.4 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »KeithBarrows wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »Just popping by to say hello to a fellow Scadian.
Hello m'Lady (as I have no idea your rank - yet.) Lord Iohannes at your service. Once of An Tir, then the Outlands where I became the 2nd Squire to Sir Leifr, now residing in Trimaris (Shire of Sangre del Sol). But shhh! We never told anyone we were here since we moved in 3 years ago.
An Tir here. But my tiny shire in the middle of nowhere didn’t survive the pandemic, sad to report.
Fortunately my son and his wife now live in the thriving Barony of Baltha An Oir. So there are still events in our future.
In my years of medieval re-enactment I’ve been a Pied Piper, a herald - mostly field heraldry, which is great fun and lots of walking - but also book heraldry and illumination/scribe, and court herald on occasion. Many times an event autocrat, which is fun if you delegate properly
,
I’ve entered arts and science competitions, but mostly to ensure there were the minimum of three entries, so someone else had a chance to be a champion.
I spin, and weave, and sew. I can sing a ribald tune, or an inspirational filk, depending on the occasion. All thanks to my SCA participation.
Fun story, re your proper use of m’lady.
I have never taken the game (it is a game) so seriously that I thought pretend nobility were more important than pretend peasants (my persona is a peasant).
And so, on Thursday night, during 30 year,
No (kitten) there I was….
I had my then ten year old son with me. My husband had to work most of that week, so it was just the two of us, in a tiny tent.
I chose to set up very near a large group of portable toilets. That way my son would have a good geographic marker to find our tent should he ever get lost.
Anyhow…. Southern Washington State, Thursday evening in late April, 1998…
We’re sound asleep. Because we’re in the quiet camping section . Y’know. Where the families are camped.
Around 3 AM there is noise on the wide path outside the tent.
Lots of noise.
Lots and lots of drunken noise.
I peeked out of the tent, and saw a couple hundred people. All lined up for the porta-potties. They kept getting louder and louder.
Imagine a rave. Right outside your bedroom window. A medieval rave. Complete with hurdy gurdies and belled jesters.
After half an hour (yes. I timed it) I had had enough. I stuck my head outside the tent and screamed at the top of my lungs “SHUT UUUUUUP!!!!!!!” and then pulled my head back inside and went back to sleep, in the blissful silence.
Fast forward a decade. My son and I were at a black smithing class. SCA, of course. The instructor was a BIG DEAL, rather high up in An Tir’s Order of Precedence.
He began a story about how it really is all a game. And how, at 30 year, on Thursday night, it was the night the King and Queen of Drachenwald had finally arrived on site. So all the Kings and Queens, and every Baron and Baroness, and most Pelicans and other High Muckity Mucks were partying.
They decided to tour their world, such as it was. And they got drunker and drunker as they went along. Eventually forgetting there was a quiet section. Where children were sleeping. Mere yards away from the large collection of portable toilets.
When the “crazy woman” stuck her head out of her teeny tiny tent and told basically every pointy hat in the entire known world to “shut up” it was a hilarious, but necessary reminder.
I laughed so hard, and admitted it was me. And that they had woken up my son.
Had it not been a game? It would likely not have ended as a funny story the Barons and Pelicans tell each other over their camp fires.
😉
OK. That’s enough time off topic.
This is a great story, thanks for this!1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »KeithBarrows wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »P.S. I do think doctors as well as PAs, NPs, nurses, etc. should have more training in nutrition than they get.
I cannot agree more. Unfortunately, the general attitude is to rely on Nutritionists or fake it because "I am the doctor and I *should* know this." The insurance companies have not made it any easier for the doctors or the patients. Prevention is NOT a focus. There is no $$$ in it.
Agree with lack of preventive medicine.
Personally I don't mind if a medical professional (or really anyone for that matter) says they don't know something and suggests I consult another professional, even better if they can refer me to the appropriate person.
So much yes! I would much rather a doctor admit they don't know the answer, refer me to another professional or even look up his/her resources during the appointment to try to find an answer. It shows humility and genuine concern for the patient, not just making up answer or trying to brush off the problem....or just prescribe medicine to treat symptoms without getting to the root of the cause when more investigation is warranted. Rant to follow.....
I actually had 2 totally different experiences with 2 doctors regarding the same problem. I've been having recurring mouth/tongue sores that are often accompanied by a sore throat and discolored tongue. They go away, but come back every 2 weeks or so, with the outbreaks worsening each time. I finally went to an ENT (who was on the younger side, btw) who was perplexed as I was and told me he really didn't know. He went to look up some answers and told me I should consult with my rheumatologist, but in a way that seemed like he genuinely cared. He did prescribe some medication which actually does seem to be helping, and told me numerous times to let me know how it goes. He actually also took out my stitches from a skin biopsy, because the dermatologist forgot to do it our appointment a few days prior! Went I went to my primary care doc, he just said "well we don't know what causes these things" and said "it's almost always viral." He also kept referring to them as canker sores, but they are clearly more than that. It was during my annual check-up, and I had a pretty bad outbreak at the time. During his checkup, he looked at my mouth for maybe 2 seconds and didn't say anything. This same doctor also told me it was fine that my B12 levels were almost 50% above the end of the normal range...that it's my supplements (not taking any) or I'm eating a lot of food with it (not really) and my body absorbs it well. The later is probably the complete opposite of what's happening, but sure, I'll "trust" you because you're my doctor
. Needless to say, I'm not going back to that doctor.
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The only time I’ve had a Dr comment on my weight, I had seen one Dr in my practice and needed to have some blood tests done. While I was there I asked him to note on my records my weight loss, I had lost 5 stone, he asked if I had planned the weight loss, which I had, and said he would note it on my records. Blood test results came back and I had a call from another Dr who told me the results were clear but commented it would he helpful if I lost some weight. I said “really” and asked what she thought my weight was. She replied with my weight which was my weight prior to my weight loss. I then told her my current weight and asked how much she thought I should lose. She then told me she actually thought I was slightly underweight.
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No, and I wish my doctor would have. A few years ago I suddenly started getting very sick and wasn't sure why. Visited my GP a few times who ran some tests and told me I was vitamin D deficient, but otherwise I seemed fine. It got so bad that I actually had to quit my job because I was so incredibly weak and was constantly dizzy. I ended up in the ER after I passed out and they did a bunch of scans, told me I PROBABLY had a brain tumor, and to call my doctor. More tests, scans, pokes, etc and nothing. They still don't know what's wrong with me. Due to not eating/being able to keep anything down I lost some weight and started feeling a little better. Cogs started moving in my head and I started purposely loosing weight, and once I was down about 30 pounds all of my symptoms went away. Every single one. I was "cured". I kept losing weight, and once I was down about 50 pounds my knees and back quit aching, and my chronic migraines lessened to a way more manageable once or twice a month instead of every day. Even my mental health improved. I knew at the time I was overweight, but it wasn't until I started losing weight that I realized how bad I had let it get. I wish that someone, anyone, would have told me that I was dangerously overweight and needed to take care of my health. I could have avoided a lot of pain and wouldn't have missed out on six months of my life.12
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A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
It seems that most heavier people in my own circles have this same misconception, that they do need to lose some weight but that they're just "built big" and that their ideal weight is only 20-30 lbs away when that goal would still leave them in the obese category.
Edit: I sadly think this is a symptom of skewed perception due to the average size of the general population. When average is overweight, overweight seems "right."8 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
It seems that most heavier people in my own circles have this same misconception, that they do need to lose some weight but that they're just "built big" and that their ideal weight is only 20-30 lbs away when that goal would still leave them in the obese category.
Edit: I sadly think this is a symptom of skewed perception due to the average size of the general population. When average is overweight, overweight seems "right."
I think some of it's that it's perception from the population being largely overweight, but I also think it's that we only see the fat in the most obvious places on ourselves. Even at obese (barely) I could not quite grasp how much I had to lose. I always carried most of my weight VISUALLY in my torso - breasts, back, stomach, and upper thighs. So when I thought 'lose' I'd look at those bits and go 'There's not X amount of pounds there'.
Well, no, but I had viceral fat and my even comparatively twiggy arms and legs and face and fingers all had fat they lost. So my 'There's not 50-60lbs of fat in my stomach' was accurate -- especially since I didn't expect to lose cup sizes - but the thought that there wasn't fat other places that needed to go was NOT.2 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
It seems that most heavier people in my own circles have this same misconception, that they do need to lose some weight but that they're just "built big" and that their ideal weight is only 20-30 lbs away when that goal would still leave them in the obese category.
Edit: I sadly think this is a symptom of skewed perception due to the average size of the general population. When average is overweight, overweight seems "right."
The SO is a very tall man who, in his younger years, was a skinny twig who could eat mountains of junk food and never gain weight, so he just kept eating that way. Fast forward to middle age and his doctor just informed him he is pre-diabetic and has him trying a low carb diet.
He started out at close to 260lbs. I think he's around 230 now and says he only wants to lose 10 more. I have no idea why 220 is the magic number but that's his goal. BMI for his height says normal weight is 180 to 220 and I'm not sure parking yourself on the uppermost threshold of normal is the best way to avoid diabetes. Too easy for that to creep up again.1 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
It seems that most heavier people in my own circles have this same misconception, that they do need to lose some weight but that they're just "built big" and that their ideal weight is only 20-30 lbs away when that goal would still leave them in the obese category.
Edit: I sadly think this is a symptom of skewed perception due to the average size of the general population. When average is overweight, overweight seems "right."
The SO is a very tall man who, in his younger years, was a skinny twig who could eat mountains of junk food and never gain weight, so he just kept eating that way. Fast forward to middle age and his doctor just informed him he is pre-diabetic and has him trying a low carb diet.
He started out at close to 260lbs. I think he's around 230 now and says he only wants to lose 10 more. I have no idea why 220 is the magic number but that's his goal. BMI for his height says normal weight is 180 to 220 and I'm not sure parking yourself on the uppermost threshold of normal is the best way to avoid diabetes. Too easy for that to creep up again.
When I had “the talk” with my doctor she gave me a goal weight that’s a half pound into the upper range of not-obese for my height also.
My theory is that doctors want to give the patient something attainable, and still within a statistically healthy range.
The psychological impact of being told you need to lose (for example) 45 vs 80 pounds might be enough for someone with thin bones like myself to just give up in the beginning. Most of us know how long it takes to successfully go from morbidly obese to a healthy BMI. And if someone is working the program and they get to an almost healthy BMI there’s very likely other opportunities in between that first conversation and the subsequent doctor chats to adjust the goal downwards a bit. .5 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
It seems that most heavier people in my own circles have this same misconception, that they do need to lose some weight but that they're just "built big" and that their ideal weight is only 20-30 lbs away when that goal would still leave them in the obese category.
Edit: I sadly think this is a symptom of skewed perception due to the average size of the general population. When average is overweight, overweight seems "right."
The SO is a very tall man who, in his younger years, was a skinny twig who could eat mountains of junk food and never gain weight, so he just kept eating that way. Fast forward to middle age and his doctor just informed him he is pre-diabetic and has him trying a low carb diet.
He started out at close to 260lbs. I think he's around 230 now and says he only wants to lose 10 more. I have no idea why 220 is the magic number but that's his goal. BMI for his height says normal weight is 180 to 220 and I'm not sure parking yourself on the uppermost threshold of normal is the best way to avoid diabetes. Too easy for that to creep up again.
If he’s like my husband he may be afraid of looking scrawny. My husband also went from a twig to a shlubby guy and thinks he looks better at a heavier weight - which is honestly true - but he looks even better at an appropriate weight with some muscle added back.
Also, lifting heavy is excellent at improving insulin resistance. Maybe you can persuade your husband to trade fat for muscle?0 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »KeithBarrows wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »Just popping by to say hello to a fellow Scadian.
Hello m'Lady (as I have no idea your rank - yet.) Lord Iohannes at your service. Once of An Tir, then the Outlands where I became the 2nd Squire to Sir Leifr, now residing in Trimaris (Shire of Sangre del Sol). But shhh! We never told anyone we were here since we moved in 3 years ago.
An Tir here. But my tiny shire in the middle of nowhere didn’t survive the pandemic, sad to report.
Fortunately my son and his wife now live in the thriving Barony of Baltha An Oir. So there are still events in our future.
In my years of medieval re-enactment I’ve been a Pied Piper, a herald - mostly field heraldry, which is great fun and lots of walking - but also book heraldry and illumination/scribe, and court herald on occasion. Many times an event autocrat, which is fun if you delegate properly,
I’ve entered arts and science competitions, but mostly to ensure there were the minimum of three entries, so someone else had a chance to be a champion.
I spin, and weave, and sew. I can sing a ribald tune, or an inspirational filk, depending on the occasion. All thanks to my SCA participation.
Fun story, re your proper use of m’lady.
I have never taken the game (it is a game) so seriously that I thought pretend nobility were more important than pretend peasants (my persona is a peasant).
And so, on Thursday night, during 30 year,
No (kitten) there I was….
I had my then ten year old son with me. My husband had to work most of that week, so it was just the two of us, in a tiny tent.
I chose to set up very near a large group of portable toilets. That way my son would have a good geographic marker to find our tent should he ever get lost.
Anyhow…. Southern Washington State, Thursday evening in late April, 1998…
We’re sound asleep. Because we’re in the quiet camping section . Y’know. Where the families are camped.
Around 3 AM there is noise on the wide path outside the tent.
Lots of noise.
Lots and lots of drunken noise.
I peeked out of the tent, and saw a couple hundred people. All lined up for the porta-potties. They kept getting louder and louder.
Imagine a rave. Right outside your bedroom window. A medieval rave. Complete with hurdy gurdies and belled jesters.
After half an hour (yes. I timed it) I had had enough. I stuck my head outside the tent and screamed at the top of my lungs “SHUT UUUUUUP!!!!!!!” and then pulled my head back inside and went back to sleep, in the blissful silence.
Fast forward a decade. My son and I were at a black smithing class. SCA, of course. The instructor was a BIG DEAL, rather high up in An Tir’s Order of Precedence.
He began a story about how it really is all a game. And how, at 30 year, on Thursday night, it was the night the King and Queen of Drachenwald had finally arrived on site. So all the Kings and Queens, and every Baron and Baroness, and most Pelicans and other High Muckity Mucks were partying.
They decided to tour their world, such as it was. And they got drunker and drunker as they went along. Eventually forgetting there was a quiet section. Where children were sleeping. Mere yards away from the large collection of portable toilets.
When the “crazy woman” stuck her head out of her teeny tiny tent and told basically every pointy hat in the entire known world to “shut up” it was a hilarious, but necessary reminder.
I laughed so hard, and admitted it was me. And that they had woken up my son.
Had it not been a game? It would likely not have ended as a funny story the Barons and Pelicans tell each other over their camp fires.
😉
OK. That’s enough time off topic.
Meridies here, many years past. Great story!1 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
It seems that most heavier people in my own circles have this same misconception, that they do need to lose some weight but that they're just "built big" and that their ideal weight is only 20-30 lbs away when that goal would still leave them in the obese category.
Edit: I sadly think this is a symptom of skewed perception due to the average size of the general population. When average is overweight, overweight seems "right."
The SO is a very tall man who, in his younger years, was a skinny twig who could eat mountains of junk food and never gain weight, so he just kept eating that way. Fast forward to middle age and his doctor just informed him he is pre-diabetic and has him trying a low carb diet.
He started out at close to 260lbs. I think he's around 230 now and says he only wants to lose 10 more. I have no idea why 220 is the magic number but that's his goal. BMI for his height says normal weight is 180 to 220 and I'm not sure parking yourself on the uppermost threshold of normal is the best way to avoid diabetes. Too easy for that to creep up again.
If he’s like my husband he may be afraid of looking scrawny. My husband also went from a twig to a shlubby guy and thinks he looks better at a heavier weight - which is honestly true - but he looks even better at an appropriate weight with some muscle added back.
Also, lifting heavy is excellent at improving insulin resistance. Maybe you can persuade your husband to trade fat for muscle?
His arms and legs have stayed very thin, all the extra weight went to his abdomen and he started having back issues. Which sort of semi-motivated him to lose weight, but not to the extent of giving up his junk food habit, Not even the prospect of having to increase his pants size (it's very difficult for him to find clothing!) really prompted any change,
I've lifted for 5 or so years now and he's never had any interest, plus he's concerned about his back even though I did say that strengthening his core could help that. Deliberate exercise is not his thing, although I can usually get him to come out on hikes with me. He was given a very nice treadmill and used it for maybe a week.0 -
Moved...0 -
A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
Eh, people misinterpret or misreport what their doctor says all the time. I can totally see the doctor saying try to lose to at least 200 as an attainable goal and the truth is (a) it would be a healthier weight and a huge improvement, even if they just maintained there, and (b) very often once you start losing weight you adjust the goal weight once you are there and see you could still lose more/it wasn't the end of the world to be dieting/you aren't as skinny as you assumed at the weight.
I never get why people get so focused on what the goal weight is or should be. Mine was 120-125 because I had been that weight as an adult and liked how I looked at it, but if I'd started with 140 (just into my healthy weight range) or even 170 (not obese), it wouldn't have made my process much different.
Also, if my doctor had said "if you would just lose enough to get out of the obese range it would probably help with health risk factors," that wouldn't have been untrue.9 -
Yeah, my initial goal was 'not overweight'. It came down more after that.
Actually my initial goal was 'stop gaining'. then 'out of obese' then 'not overweight' - which would have been 149. My actual weight where I actually maintain is about 125-132. Most of the HEALTH benefit happened in getting into a normal BMI range though. I would LOOK best at 120. I couldn't maintain that though and know it so I'm not doing it.7 -
A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
Eh, people misinterpret or misreport what their doctor says all the time. I can totally see the doctor saying try to lose to at least 200 as an attainable goal and the truth is (a) it would be a healthier weight and a huge improvement, even if they just maintained there, and (b) very often once you start losing weight you adjust the goal weight once you are there and see you could still lose more/it wasn't the end of the world to be dieting/you aren't as skinny as you assumed at the weight.
I never get why people get so focused on what the goal weight is or should be. Mine was 120-125 because I had been that weight as an adult and liked how I looked at it, but if I'd started with 140 (just into my healthy weight range) or even 170 (not obese), it wouldn't have made my process much different.
Also, if my doctor had said "if you would just lose enough to get out of the obese range it would probably help with health risk factors," that wouldn't have been untrue.
Very true, especially the first part. Patients often claim medical providers said something completely different than what was actually said.5 -
A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
Eh, people misinterpret or misreport what their doctor says all the time. I can totally see the doctor saying try to lose to at least 200 as an attainable goal and the truth is (a) it would be a healthier weight and a huge improvement, even if they just maintained there, and (b) very often once you start losing weight you adjust the goal weight once you are there and see you could still lose more/it wasn't the end of the world to be dieting/you aren't as skinny as you assumed at the weight.
I never get why people get so focused on what the goal weight is or should be. Mine was 120-125 because I had been that weight as an adult and liked how I looked at it, but if I'd started with 140 (just into my healthy weight range) or even 170 (not obese), it wouldn't have made my process much different.
Also, if my doctor had said "if you would just lose enough to get out of the obese range it would probably help with health risk factors," that wouldn't have been untrue.
No he bragged about his healthy weight being 200 because his doctor said so. He really believes at 200lbs he's not going to have another pound to lose.
It's possible that he misinterpreted what his doctor said, I can't verify that.
Another coworker of mine is 5'5 230lbs and he says his healthy weight is 160, even though it's clearly overweight for someone 5'5. It is common with dudes 3 -
A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
Just for reference this guy is a couple inches taller at 5'9" and a bit heavier than your co-worker's goal of 200 pounds at 208. If the co-worker gets to 200 and and looks like this he's probably okay. If not, he still has some work to do.
6 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »A coworker of mine is 5'7 260lbs, her doctor told him that his healthy weight is 200. We're talking about a dude who doesn't workout.
I don't know if she said that to give him a reasonable goal or she really thinks 200lbs is his healthy weight. Maybe she doesn't think he can lose the weight. Who knows.
Now the guy thinks he is large framed and that 200 is what he should shoot for.
Just an anecdote.
Just for reference this guy is a couple inches taller at 5'9" and a bit heavier than your co-worker's goal of 200 pounds at 208. If the co-worker gets to 200 and and looks like this he's probably okay. If not, he still has some work to do.
I said he doesn't workout. And 200lbs lean at 5'9 is incredibly hard to achieve without certain substances.1 -
I'm not making this up. Long story short, I did finally get my knee replaced after getting my BMI down.
When I was close to my heaviest weight I asked my doctor to give me a referral to an orthopedic. My knee was getting worse. She said, "No Orthopedic Surgeon will touch that knee till you shut that PIE HOLE in your Face!" I have had some other times when her bedside manner was too much on the negative side.
That was the last time I saw her. I switched doctors and that doctor explained it to me that the reason you need your BMI down prior to surgery is the fact there's more complications from from knee replacement surgery. When your BMI is higher there's a greater chance of a pulmonary embolism.
The point is you don't need to shame me. I know I need to lose weight for long term health, but if this doctor had taken the time to explain to me the complications of surgery I would like to think that maybe I would have taken her advice better. I don't know. It's so easy to gain weight. I like my sweets. What finally got me on track was being a breast cancer survivor. After radiation treatment I finally decided enough was enough. Get my BMI down and get that weight off. I have to also add the pandemic really helped me. I never had so much time on my hands, and fewer distractions to finally get my weight off.12 -
Last year my doc told me my sleep apnea may improve if I wasn't fat.2
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They didn't suggest weight loss, it was the opposite. As I was growing up, doctors commented on my weight all the time. Even when I went to see the school nurse for things like a skinned knee they couldn't shut up about my size. I was refused treatment for a simple ear infection at a pediatrics practice and told I couldn't come back until I "admit to starving myself."
I was shamed constantly by doctors who surprisingly didn't have any concept of what a healthy child weighs because I was always solidly in the healthy range. When I became a teen I got just as many "talking-to's" by doctors and other medical staff about my assumed eating disorder, but then it was also me being told that I'm lying about my debilitating pain that was being caused by endometriosis. (I didn't know I had it at the time).
I wouldn't say I was ever offended, but it made me incredibly frustrated and hurt my already low self-esteem. (Which isn't low any more, btw)
I've been extremely averse to doctors for a good portion of my life and I have a hard time trusting them even now. I am vigilant about taking care of my body partly so that I can avoid medical professionals. I wish I had encountered one like yours back then.9
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