I don't look my weight??

mandascooby
mandascooby Posts: 9
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey, I'm brand new to this site, so bear with me. :laugh:

So, I'm only 20, 5'4" and I weigh 200 pounds. :blushing: I wear a size 14 pants, and range from a medium to a 2x in shirts. I know I need to lose weight and I feel self conscious that people can see every last one of those 200 pounds; except, no one believes that I weigh what I do. When they finally get me to give in and tell them how much I weigh (usually when I'm whining about how fat I feel), they say, "no, you can't weight that! You're lying." If I were gonna lie about my weight would I make myself heavier? :huh:

My mom, grandma, dad, and three of my best girl friends all estimate that I weigh between 165 and 175 pounds. I wish! I really do weigh 200 pounds it's not in my head. I've weighed on both our bathroom scales, one at a thrift store and Wii fit, and all of them say I'm somewhere between 197 and 203 pounds. So why don't I "look" it? Do I "hold my weight well"? Is it the old "muscle weighs more than fat" thing? Or are people lying to me to make me feel better about my body image? What do you think? HONESTLY.

PS I've lost almost almost an inch since starting this site a few days ago! I haven't lost any pounds, though, but I'm super excited for my new life. :happy:

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Replies

  • Jacole18
    Jacole18 Posts: 716 Member
    I don't think I look like my weight either. Some of us just carry it a little better than others.
    ps....congrats on your inches loss! :)
  • Play_outside
    Play_outside Posts: 528 Member
    I think it depends on how people carry their weight, posture, and how they dress. No one ever believes that I am as heavy as I am either-you can see that I am obviously overweight, but wouldn't know by how much. However, I can certainly feel it, especially as I turned 30 this year and my fitness level is almost the worst it's been in my adult life. So, regardless of how I look-I want to feel better! Same as you I'm sure.
  • mandascooby
    mandascooby Posts: 9
    Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I don't know why that picture is so huge. o.O I tried resizing it.
  • heybrit
    heybrit Posts: 140
    Nobody believes that I weigh as much as I do either. Though I am taller and have a wide frame (a man frame imo) and thus I guess carry it well? Also, I don't wear tight clothes. But people always assume I'm lying or exaggerating as well. Oh well, I don't have to convince anybody of anything. :)
  • hstallings13
    hstallings13 Posts: 306
    muscle take up less room than fat, so if you are more muscle than fat you'll be heavier than you look. I've always had that problem...espically when I was in sports in HS. I was always 10-15 lbs heavier than other girls that wore the same size as me. That is why inches and size is often a better judge than weight.
  • Akjenn89
    Akjenn89 Posts: 265 Member
    It all really depends on your body type and how you're built. Luckily for you, you seem to distribute your weight all over rather than just having one problem spot like a lot of people do. I can see both arguments, but that's only because I happen to be built like you and am about 190 lb in a size 12. Would i at first guess you at 200 lb? No. But once you tell me that, it doesn't surprise me either (again only because of my own body shape).
  • RoanneRed
    RoanneRed Posts: 429 Member
    Maybe they don't perceive their own weight/size accurately and compare you to themselves.
  • Jesung
    Jesung Posts: 236 Member
    In my experience, people guessed 130 and up to 150. My profile picture is from back then. Any guesses on how much I weigh(ed)? :)
    I am 5'11 by the way. It's not fair if you don't know how tall I am.
  • mandascooby
    mandascooby Posts: 9
    That's a distinct possibility, RoanneRed, I know that I don't see myself accurately a lot of the time. Then I go back and look at pictures and I'm like, "Wow, I was skinnier than I thought I was."
  • mandascooby
    mandascooby Posts: 9
    I have no idea. I'll be honest, I don't know much about how guys carry weight.
  • Nikki582
    Nikki582 Posts: 561 Member
    I don't either. I've told a few people my number and they've gone "WHAT?! Where do you put it??" As if I'd lie about that :laugh:
  • crabbyvirgo
    crabbyvirgo Posts: 13
    I think we are built the same way. Because of your age, everything is firmer and gravity hasn't hit yet. I also look smaller than I weigh, but the older I get, that has changed. Since I've been exercising regularly, I have lost inches even while struggling to lose actual pounds. But at least it's something. Keep trying. My mom always told me it's harder to lose it once you hit 30 and I never really tried much before then, but at 41, my whole metabolism has changed and hormones are a factor as well as stress and sleep issues. It is hard!
  • sheepysaccount
    sheepysaccount Posts: 608 Member
    O.O You really don't look 200 pounds. I suppose a lot of it is proportions. My extra weight is all over the place: butt, thighs, cheeks, belly, boobs. My friend on the other hand wieghs more, but her extra weight is so that her figure is still hourglass shaped, womanly. I cannot understand it, but it's just the way it is.
  • Jesung
    Jesung Posts: 236 Member
    I have no idea. I'll be honest, I don't know much about how guys carry weight.
    165 :P
    Most of that is in my legs though. I was really surprised when a friend guessed that I weighed 135. Didn't know I looked that light!
  • Elmaunie
    Elmaunie Posts: 78 Member
    I'm the same as you. It's kind of annoying when you're worried about what the scales say and yet everyone around you is saying "15 stone? Surely not!" etc etc. We're just built to a slightly larger scale. I do hate my man-shoulders but once I'm back down to a size 12 I shall be showing them off at every opportunity :laugh:
  • Scarlettdawn764
    Scarlettdawn764 Posts: 856 Member
    I've gotten the old "Oh...you don't look like you need to lose anymore weight! You are so skinny!" Not understanding that according to my height I am not at my ideal weight, no matter how I appear.
  • chocoholicandbaby
    chocoholicandbaby Posts: 75 Member
    I think your body shape has a large influence on this! You have "shape" - that is you have a defined waist. I'm similar to you and people I know who weigh less than me often look bigger because of where they are holding weight.
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    yep people are shocked that I started @ the weight I say I am. in my profile is a pic of my @ my heaviest. no one believes me but I confimed it with 3 different scales.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    Body composition definitely plays a role, like was said before. I remember when I started the Power 90 program back in 2007...I was a size 14 and I weighed 149 pounds. But now, if you look at my ticker, I still weigh 149 pounds. But I am wearing a size 8. I have a very small frame, though, and my goal is to get in to a size 2. I have no idea what I will weigh when I get there, that's why my goal is not a number on the scale.
  • mandascooby
    mandascooby Posts: 9
    I was a size 14 and I weighed 149 pounds. But now, if you look at my ticker, I still weigh 149 pounds. But I am wearing a size 8. I have a very small frame, though, and my goal is to get in to a size 2. I have no idea what I will weigh when I get there, that's why my goal is not a number on the scale.

    Wow, that's pretty interesting. Thanks for the info. Congrats at getting to a size 8! :bigsmile:
  • msiamjan
    msiamjan Posts: 326 Member
    I agree that it has a lot to do with how one "carries" weight. Also how much muscle you have--and the density of your bones can also have an impact. Dense bones will weigh more--but are definitely a good thing. Good luck on your journey!
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
    I don't think I look my weight either...I remember watched the Last 10 Pounds Boot camp and there was a woman on there...she was about 2 inches taller, measurements almost exactly the same as mine (maybe one inch difference in her overall body) but she was 20 pounds LIGHTER at the beginning of the show...and her body looked a bit chubbier than mine...

    Now that is a show of how two bodies can be similar but so different.


    I'm 5 feet and 140 pounds right now. I doubt anybody could tell that though. I don't look overweight. I have a bit of chub but I think it's because I have a medium frame and I have a lot of muscle so that does make me heavier. There's a lot of 5 feet women on here saying their goal is 100 or 110...well I think I'd be skin and bones if I was that weight...I think the lowest I can go and still be muscular and healthy would be 120 at the very least but perfect weight I think is around 130 or 125..
  • monetsf
    monetsf Posts: 14 Member
    When someone says oh wow you don't look that weight, one shouldn't be surprised. Do you really expect them to say say "yeah I can see that you look such and such weight". I personally can't look at someone and guess their weight, if I did I would work at the carnival. Its a matter of being polite and let's face it, it's not a happy topic and often times your friends don't want to be the ones to confirm with the scale is saying and thus be the messenger.

    I am sorry if I am harsh, but this is why I go by the numbers, bmi and fat percentage as really you can't depend on others to tell you what science should. I also use these numbers so I don't get lulled into a false sense of thin-security and lose my motivation.

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • KelJohnson
    KelJohnson Posts: 10
    Mandascooby - my own DR re-weighed me twice because she thought I couldn't weigh what her scale said...which is great...BUT....I know I have 40-60 lbs to lose.

    I'm also on the shorter side (5'5") and weigh about 206.

    Boot camp is really the only way I have lost inches and gotten leaner. I injured my ankle and am hoping to be cleared to go back soon.

    Good luck to you!
    Kelly
  • lindzmt22
    lindzmt22 Posts: 335
    I have pretty much the same stats and no one believes me either!!! I think I'm just proportionate...which I am VERY thankful for.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    When I first told my ex bf I wanted to lose 30-40 pounds, he thought it was ridiculous and that I only had like maybe 10 pounds to lose... And he has seen me naked, so he should know :P And when I first weighed in with my personal trainer , I was a rounding error away from obesity, and he even said he never would have guessed that.

    That said, I do think people would lie. The same people that said I was pretty at 172 tell me how much better I look 15+ pounds lighter. Every time I hear how much better I look now, I cringe that I didn't respect myself enough to get healthy a long time ago
  • killerqueen17
    killerqueen17 Posts: 536 Member
    To the OP, I have a friend who is almost identical height/weight as you, and you do look a lot smaller than her. My guess is you carry more weight on your legs/butt, wheras she has a lot in the middle. You may be more muscular as well, and/or have a denser bone structure! Good luck with everything :)
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    I'm 2" taller than you and wore size 14 pants when I weighed 180 lb and carried nearly all of the excess on my mid and upper torso. I had NO discernible waist - none at all - but I've always had slim, shapely legs. The fat goes where it goes.
  • maura5880
    maura5880 Posts: 346 Member
    Even my doctor couldn't believe that I weight as much as I do! I think I carry it kinda well because I am really proportioned, and also I never seem to gain in my face. But, that doesn't change the # on the scale!
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    You look great, but I totally understand where you're coming from with the whole "no one understands how big I am..."

    I look in the mirror, and I feel and look good, but I'm 5'2" and 160 on a skinny day. My coworkers tell me I'm not fat, but my doctor says that I need to lose weight if I don't want to get diabetes down the road.

    I think I'm kind of like you. I carry my weight well. I have fat stored in all the right places, and while I have some lovely lady lumps, I need to shed about 30-40lbs to be a healthy weight.

    To be honest, I'll probably drop this enormous amount of weight, and hardly anyone will notice. I think maybe two or three people at work will say anything, and maybe my husband, but the rest of the world won't see it or care.

    I think unless you're morbidly obese, no one thinks you're fat anymore. So much of the population is overweight or obese, that we just don't see it anymore. It's "normal" even though it's unhealthy.

    Even though you look fabulous, 200lbs at 5'4" is still a lot, and if you want to lose some of it, I'll be right there with you.
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