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Does your doctor comment on your weight?
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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.
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
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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.
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.
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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 -
No, my doctor never mentioned how much weight I had gained over the years. Now, being diagnosed as diabetic, it makes me angry. When my annual A1C results were 8.5, she said unfortunately now you will always be diabetic. Then followed up with would you like to lose weight? It would have been good to know before I passed the point of no return. I would rather you hurt my little feelings and save my life! So I jumped right on the path and have lost 47 pounds in less than 8 months, my A1C is 5.6, I exercise every day and haven't felt this well in 7 years. And best of all, no diabetes meds; cut my blood pressure meds in half and may end up off them altogether. So yes, doctors should say something about weight!13
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myfurturelooksgood wrote: »No, my doctor never mentioned how much weight I had gained over the years. Now, being diagnosed as diabetic, it makes me angry. When my annual A1C results were 8.5, she said unfortunately now you will always be diabetic. Then followed up with would you like to lose weight? It would have been good to know before I passed the point of no return. I would rather you hurt my little feelings and save my life! So I jumped right on the path and have lost 47 pounds in less than 8 months, my A1C is 5.6, I exercise every day and haven't felt this well in 7 years. And best of all, no diabetes meds; cut my blood pressure meds in half and may end up off them altogether. So yes, doctors should say something about weight!
I can't believe that any doctor told you that you would always be diabetic. That is just untrue. In fact the research shows that MOST diabetics will no longer be diabetic if they can get into the desirable weight range and stay there. I have known many who have seen dramatic improvements with weight lost and improved diet even if they remain above "optimal" weight.
I do think there is a bit of a quandry about whether to try weight loss first or whether/when to start the meds right away and then see if you can wean off once weight loss is achieved or sustained.
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myfurturelooksgood wrote: »No, my doctor never mentioned how much weight I had gained over the years. Now, being diagnosed as diabetic, it makes me angry. When my annual A1C results were 8.5, she said unfortunately now you will always be diabetic. Then followed up with would you like to lose weight? It would have been good to know before I passed the point of no return. I would rather you hurt my little feelings and save my life! So I jumped right on the path and have lost 47 pounds in less than 8 months, my A1C is 5.6, I exercise every day and haven't felt this well in 7 years. And best of all, no diabetes meds; cut my blood pressure meds in half and may end up off them altogether. So yes, doctors should say something about weight!
I can't believe that any doctor told you that you would always be diabetic. That is just untrue. In fact the research shows that MOST diabetics will no longer be diabetic if they can get into the desirable weight range and stay there. I have known many who have seen dramatic improvements with weight lost and improved diet even if they remain above "optimal" weight.
I do think there is a bit of a quandry about whether to try weight loss first or whether/when to start the meds right away and then see if you can wean off once weight loss is achieved or sustained.
This isn’t valid. Many diabetics can achieve normal blood glucose range with diet weight loss, but they will never recover the ability to consume large amounts of carbs without a blood sugar spike. The initial insulin response which keeps sugar level is usually gone and stays gone.4 -
Yes exactly.
Unless it is gestational diabetes - yes you are always going to be diabetic.
You can sometimes lose weight such that you need less or no medication and can control your blood sugar levels on diet alone - but that isnt becoming non diabetic.
It is becoming diet control only.2 -
By no means am I am overly knowledgeable about this, but I do believe that if you have/had gestational diabetes, you have a higher probability of developing T2 diabetes later in life. Meaning, although you may no longer have diabetes following the birth, you will need to be aware of needed behaviors/monitoring to ensure it does not come back.0
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My doctors have not brought it up but when I ask if it would help they have all said a resounding “yes”. I know they run a business so I’m okay that I have to ask to get an answer but they should tell everyone these things regardless of what the reaction would be if they have an illness, disease or physical complications that could be made better or resolved by losing weight. As long as they say it respectfully, it’s not personal, it’s their job to help you get better.3
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I often thought about this. I have been as low as 103 and as high as 205 as an adult and never had a medical professional say anything to me ever.2
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My gp’s (primary care doctors) have commented on my weight loss and asked how I’ve accomplished it and maintain it knowing I’m not able to exercise. They never had any comments or possible solutions when I broached my medical conditions and the subsequent weight gain it all causes.1
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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.
That's an elite level physique. The number of 5' 7" dudes walking around at 200 lbs and a healthy body fat % is extraordinarily low.1 -
I am not obese but overweight BMI 26ish. The only doctor who commented on it was just being a lazy and quite frankly bad doctor. She didn't want to deal with me because it was the end of the day and she obviously wanted to go home so tried to fob me off by blaming my symptoms on my weight. I ended up having surgery to fix my complaint that was something that was completely unrelated to weight. I wasn't offended I was cranky at receiving substandard care. As it was public health I had to make an official complaint to get seen by another specialist who listened to my symptoms, actually answered my questions then suggested a real treatment plan.6
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