Anyone else overweight but athletic?

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rowerrunnercmt
rowerrunnercmt Posts: 40
in Introduce Yourself
Hello! I'm new to MFP, only been logging for 15 or so days :)
I'm 5'8" and 177 pounds, 39-31-42. I'm quite athletic (I'm a rower, and I work out 1-2 hours a day, 6 days a week), but technically overweight.
My goal weight is 160ish pounds, or when I feel like I'm at a healthy, sustainable weight.

People are surprised when I tell them my workout schedule, it's kind of funny. Also, people tell me that I look like I'm 160 pounds maybe.

Is anyone else on here overweight, but fit?

Replies

  • lauradee
    lauradee Posts: 21 Member
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    I run 3-4 days a week, do my elliptical 2-3 times a week and am still overweight. I need to lose about 30 lbs. but even as much as I workout I still have trouble shedding the weight. This year I have done about 8 5K's and 2 half marathons this year.
  • BackwoodsMom
    BackwoodsMom Posts: 227 Member
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    I also run 3-4 days/week and do strength training the other days. I have about 25 lbs to lose but had a friend amazed that I weighed 150 (I'm 5'4")!!! She thought I was much less. There are people I know who are not overweight but not fit at all.
  • TanyaDelAngel
    TanyaDelAngel Posts: 50 Member
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    I'm 5'2, 172 pounds and I work out every day High intensity training 4 times at week the rest is cardio and weight lifting, I have not been able to lose pounds like a normal person, but I have been shrinking :) so yeah I'm overweight but athletic.
  • emancipateurself
    emancipateurself Posts: 174 Member
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    I'm obese and athletic....I can stay on the stairmaster for 30 mins and not need a break.....I love sports, working out ect......it's just the way it is......I can't wait to see what I can do when I hit my goal
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
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    When I was in the 260's, I was still able to play tennis at a 4.0 level - very fast and close to un-beatable among my little group of middle age men.

    Everybody was surprised that a fat guy could move so well.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
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    Ouch - my post duplicated. Sorry...
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
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    I could do a split when I weighed over 350 lbs does that count.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I'm classified as obese, but I'm fit. Looks can be deceiving.
  • vmclach
    vmclach Posts: 670 Member
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    i was when i started. I was 160 and 5'8.5" at my high weight. I would tell my self i was not overweight because "it was all muscle"... not true. I now weight 133. lol :D

    starting measurments:

    bust: 40
    waist: 30
    hips: 40

    current:
    Bust: 34
    waist: 26
    hips: 35

    NOTE: i have a super small frame, and i now run cross country for my college. I just was carrying around a lot of extra weight, and it was limiting my athletic abilities :D
  • CurlyQTee
    CurlyQTee Posts: 62
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    Me. I'm trying to cut weight though. I pack on the muscle really easy.
  • kellyyjean
    kellyyjean Posts: 499 Member
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    I could do a split when I weighed over 350 lbs does that count.


    :happy: I would say so! Hey, terrific job on your weight loss...amazing!
  • ingfit
    ingfit Posts: 180 Member
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    Yes, I am 5'7" and 176 but have been down near 140 at my lowest adult weight. I could easily run a 5 K in 30 mins or less and can do endless jumping jacks, jump rope, etc. I have strong legs, shoulders and back. Even my abs are strong, but I'm overweight and carry most of my weight in my core area and arms. People often wonder why I'm trying to lose weight because they think I weigh around 150 or so. When I was down at 140 they thought I was too "skinny" and weighed a lot less. My goal is to really get back down to 140 because I know how much more power I will have without the extra ..... baggage!
  • chazbo35
    chazbo35 Posts: 79 Member
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    I think it once was said that even Arnold Schwarzenegger was even classified as obese in his prime. Now if you were to take just his weight factor into it, Im sure that would have been correct. Obviously the guy lifted houses and surely didnt fit the typical mold as we would call someone obese and not fit. What exactly was his level of conditioning, I have no clue. Although you would think of all that time spent in the gym, he surely would be. I said all that to say, Im sure that there are those out there that dont fit the typical mold of what we could call an athlete, or someone who just plain dont look the part. I recently read about and watched this years Ironman Triathalon Wold Championships that was shown just yesterday on TV. If your a frequent watcher of The Biggest Loser, you would have recognized Tara Costa who was season 7 winner of the show. Did you happen to see what shape she looked in? She in no way resembled that girl who won the show. It looked like she did put back on some of that weight. But it was very intersting to see that she finished the race under the cutoff time of 17 hours with a time of about 13hrs56min. Let me just add that she swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles and oh yeah, she ran a full marathon of 26 miles. I would say she fits the overweight but extremely athletic person.Ohh and btw, she is considered an Ironman for beating the 17 hour time limit!
  • InfamousQ
    InfamousQ Posts: 266 Member
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    I feel I am I need to lose 30 pounds..but I can run for days and life weights climb jump crawl and anything else the Army wants me to do......
  • Elisirmon
    Elisirmon Posts: 273 Member
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    It has alot to do with thyroid and harmone production. I have always worked out hardcore 6 to 7 times a week over an hour each time but I can 't lose the inch of fat around hips waist and thighs finally after 12 years I went to doctor and she said my adrenals were shot and my thyroid only works half the time and my body is fighting to keep the weight on, if you have a similar story you might go have your doctor check your glands.
  • withervein
    withervein Posts: 224 Member
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    I was a rower for years, and my schedule doesn't allow it now. I'm 5'8" as well and the last time I was near a scale, I was 186. If you go by BMI, yeah, I'm overweight. I however have gone from a size 16 to a 12 and I maybe sorta might be able to do a 10 in a few months. I do kickboxing for an hour 2-3 times a week, weight train and jog. My belly, legs and shoulders all have some definition, so I consider myself pretty fit, even if the math says I'm not.

    I have a goal weight of 175, but I'm not in any rush to get there. The lowest I recall weighing since high school is 168, and that was near the end of my senior year when I got to compete in the American Scholastic Rowing Championships, probably the fittest I have ever been.

    I can jog a mile, I can toss around the 50 pound bags of dog food, I can do all the rounds at my kickboxing class I need to do and I'm getting faster footwork every week.

    I'm fit for what I need to do and I'm perfectly happy not owning a scale. The proof is in pants size.
  • GTOgirl1969
    GTOgirl1969 Posts: 2,527 Member
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    !'m 5' 7 1/2", and about 190 lbs. ( I can't believe I just typed that :embarassed: ). However, I can run a mile in 8 minutes, do fifty pushups, and I do Turbo Jam 6 days a week along with strength training. I can outrun my kids and skate circles around the teenagers at my local rink, so I think I'm doing OK :)
  • rowerrunnercmt
    rowerrunnercmt Posts: 40
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    I was a rower for years, and my schedule doesn't allow it now. I'm 5'8" as well and the last time I was near a scale, I was 186. If you go by BMI, yeah, I'm overweight. I however have gone from a size 16 to a 12 and I maybe sorta might be able to do a 10 in a few months. I do kickboxing for an hour 2-3 times a week, weight train and jog. My belly, legs and shoulders all have some definition, so I consider myself pretty fit, even if the math says I'm not.

    I have a goal weight of 175, but I'm not in any rush to get there. The lowest I recall weighing since high school is 168, and that was near the end of my senior year when I got to compete in the American Scholastic Rowing Championships, probably the fittest I have ever been.

    I can jog a mile, I can toss around the 50 pound bags of dog food, I can do all the rounds at my kickboxing class I need to do and I'm getting faster footwork every week.

    I'm fit for what I need to do and I'm perfectly happy not owning a scale. The proof is in pants size.

    I totally agree with the pants size thing. At the moment I'm usually a US size 12. The lowest I've been at this height is 142 (though that was in the middle of disordered eating).

    I'm happy with my weight, but I know I could be a lot better of a rower if I had less body fat. I can run 8 miles, I can cycle 25, I can swim for an hour, and of course I can row. However, I don't think I look athletic--I'm definitely soft & curvy!

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