Weighing more than you look

mes1119
mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
edited November 10 in Motivation and Support
Hey all,

I was wondering if there was anyone out there that has the problem of weighing larger than you look. Maybe it is just my body image, but at 5'3" and 138 pounds I am technically border line overweight. I am only a size 2 tho! I'm assuming it is just my high muscle composition but I wish I had a REAL TRUE way of measuring my body fat percentage.

Basically I was just looking for some support, and wondering if anyone out there has the same problem. I know it isn't a big deal but I'm sick of people (more importantly doctors) seeing my weight and thinking I'm "overweight" when in actuality I'm in pretty good shape and a small size. Is it possible that I just have a large body frame or something?

Thanks :)
Megan
«13

Replies

  • nutandbutter
    nutandbutter Posts: 447
    Dexa scan is the gold standard to measure bodyfat. Then hydrostatic, then bodpod. Calipers using 7 point skinfold done by a professional would be next. BIA/scales are least accurate. Realistically, with practice, people can get pretty good at estimating visually, although it's slightly more difficult with women than men (just the way we hold fat).

    http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

    This is a really good article about the subject. Pay special attention to the end where she shows the pictures comparing muscle mass to skinny fat.
  • mes1119
    mes1119 Posts: 1,082 Member
    Dexa scan is the gold standard to measure bodyfat. Then hydrostatic, then bodpod. Calipers using 7 point skinfold done by a professional would be next. BIA/scales are least accurate. Realistically, with practice, people can get pretty good at estimating visually, although it's slightly more difficult with women than men (just the way we hold fat).

    http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

    This is a really good article about the subject. Pay special attention to the end where she shows the pictures comparing muscle mass to skinny fat.

    Thank you! Very helpful. I ordered a caliper to test my body fat. My best friend and I are going to try to figure out how to use it :)
  • MUByM
    MUByM Posts: 208
    I kind of have the same problem except I am waaaaaaaaaay heavier than you. The problem with me is that I've seen many women that weigh less than me but look bigger than me. Ugh, it's frustrating because I don't understand why they are bigger than me but are lighter.
  • 67July
    67July Posts: 17
    Dido...i have a cousin that's about the same size as i am but she's about 30lbs lighter, go figure!!! :ohwell:
  • thesuperchunk
    thesuperchunk Posts: 33
    I'm the same. I'm borderline obese according to BMI which is pretty silly, as I'm not :). I have very strong muscular legs, always have, and I figure that's the main reason. Just another reason I mostly ignore the scale.
  • ginamaria724
    ginamaria724 Posts: 133
    A lot of people have said that I look like I weigh less than my actual weight. I really don't know though. I always thought they were just trying to be nice lol.
  • Showgirlbody
    Showgirlbody Posts: 402 Member
    That sucks if you apply for health insurance or something because they can reject you for a too high BMI. 138 is still in the normal range, but there are a lot of people I know who are very healthy and fit but weigh more than the chart says.
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
    That's really interesting to me because I'm an inch shorter than you are, and I'm 112 lbs, but size 2 is tight on me a lot of the time. I'm aiming to get down to 105 or so, at which point I should fit into a 2 comfortably. Many people would think you'd have to be an anorexic stick to weight 112 lbs, but I'm an example of how that's not always the case.
  • Fayve
    Fayve Posts: 406 Member
    I'm around 140 lbs at 5'1. Officially I'm overweight according to BMI, but my doctor was shocked when I said I wanted to lose some weight, haha.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    I work with someone like that. Our theory is her hourglass figure.
    She has wonderful proportions Busty small waist hippy lean legs. She complains about weight gain, but all we see is gorgeousness and more . she can still belt in her waist and look awesome.
  • btzisabel
    btzisabel Posts: 29 Member
    Every time someone finds out how much I weight they are like "no way, you're not that heavy" and that makes me feel awful, but I guess sometimes the scale is not the main thing here, i don' know...
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    That's really interesting to me because I'm an inch shorter than you are, and I'm 112 lbs, but size 2 is tight on me a lot of the time. I'm aiming to get down to 105 or so, at which point I should fit into a 2 comfortably. Many people would think you'd have to be an anorexic stick to weight 112 lbs, but I'm an example of how that's not always the case.
    [/quote


    I'm 112 and 5'3. No one ever tells me I look too thin. I have a very narrow frame- shoulders and hips so it seems right. My BMI is in the right zone and no doctor has ever had a concern. (Just some MFP'ers)!
  • MissVCI
    MissVCI Posts: 277 Member
    My BMI said I was obese to. I know I'm not thin, i have no desire to be skinny ( I love my curves) but I am no where close to obese either!

    I'm not sure if i'm technically obese still at 165lb at 5'4" but I know I was at 175.

    and it works the other way to the way to I have a skinny friend who BMI says she is underweight, but she is good meat on her bones, and looks healthy.

    So I learned to ignore the BMI
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    check out staci. on the left she is 131 lbs. she's 142 lbs on the right.

    Screen-Shot-2011-07-21-at-92311-AM.jpg

    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    Yes higher percentages of muscle will make you weight more than you look. Women in my family tend to carry weight more like a man(more muscular) we often will weight more than people a lot bigger than us. We all have fairly medium to large frames as well(pretty tall women compared to averages). We all struggle with our weight. One aunt is thinner than the rest of us but also carries more than needed.


    It sounds like you need to stay away from the scale. Measure, stay fit and maybe try those reliable body fat tests. I think it sounds like you are at a good weight and size 2? really how could someone think that is big.
  • kaitlinjade
    kaitlinjade Posts: 1 Member
    I'm 5'8" and 180lbs. A lot of people never believe me when I tell them that. But I have D's, and broad shoulders and thick muscular legs, so I assume that's the reason.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    This is why body fat percentage is what you should be tracking, weight is irrelevant.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    It just goes to prove you cant judge anyone by just the stats.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    People assume I'm lighter than I am. I'm 5'8" I currently weigh 245, and I wear the same size jeans that I wore when I was 40 pounds lighter (though they are a smidge tighter now)

    I figure this is because I have a large frame (man hands and huge feet, etc) and a well-proportioned hourglass shape. Ultimately the number on the scale doesn't matter so much to me, so I'm not complaining that I look smaller than I am :)
  • cherryObebe
    cherryObebe Posts: 189
    I wish I had that "problem"! I didn't know it is even possible to be 5'3 and 138 lbs in a size 2. I am 5'3 and 141 lbs right now. I, however, sometimes wear a size 6 , and in other things an 8! I am very proportioned, but curvy with a full bust, 36D. I have been as low as 117, but still wore a 4!!! Where is your weight? If you had a large frame, I don't think you would wear a 2, but what do I know? People never believe me when I tell them my weight either, but I am far from a size 2! lol
  • skierxjes
    skierxjes Posts: 926 Member
    I was thinking about this earlier today. I look at pictures of myself and at pictures of others my height/weight and we, 99% of the time, look nothing alike. I've always been muscular. A few of my friends could not believe when I told them how much weight I had to lose. They didn't realize that I can look like I did and weigh that much.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    I'm wearing a Size 4 dress in my profile picture. Guess how much I weigh...

















    I'm going to guess that your guess is NOT going to be 165 pounds (but that is, indeed, how much I weigh)

    I'm 5'10" and have a low body fat % with a high lean body mass... it means so much more than the number on the scale.
  • lovinbeinold
    lovinbeinold Posts: 116
    I had a friend who was short, I forgot exactly 5' 3" or 5" 4". And that woman weighed over 180 pounds and did not look actually heavy. I think she must have had heavy bones. She looked about average. It always amazed me. If you are heatlhy and your size is nice, why worry about the numbers on the scale? They don't tell the whole story.
  • BarbWhite09
    BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
    I'm SO SO SO glad someone posted a topic about this! I always manage to look way smaller than I am...On one side it irritates me so much, on the other side I'm like YAY! I use mybodygallery.com to look at pictures of people with similar weights, heights, clothing sizes, but the ones at my GOAL weight, look the same size I did at my STARTING weight [5'3 170, 136.6 now] ....I'm always like WTF. Right now I'm working on building muscle, when I finally start to get some I figure I'm going to look even more below my actual weight [yay kinda!]
  • embersfallen
    embersfallen Posts: 534 Member
    love this thread... no one ever beleives me when I say my actually weight number either and how much I want to still lose. I also am running into the loose skin issue too... still have a fair chunk to go, but realizing it may not be quite as much as I have always thought... there was a girl in zumba the other day, only an inch or so thinner..but in talking about our weights, she was about 40 or 45 pounds LESS then me...but ...we wear about the same size? Our legs looked the same... my arms bigger and midsection a bit bigger...but not what you would think 40 or 45 pounds difference would be at al!!. ....then our zumba instructor, is my height, and 20 pounds above my initial * goal weight*...but she is very muscular... quite frankly, I will be THRILLED if I look close to that around her weight! Really encouraging...

    Found this calculator online...and the body fat percentage vs lean mass it gave was quite interesting... http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/

    It actually said my lean mass is MORE now then my original goal weight...so..these other things taken into consideration...will be interesting to see as I get closer... i think the MOST important thing is how you feel, how your clothes fit...and how healthy you are from exercise...
  • amandahust
    amandahust Posts: 15
    Thank you for the website its AMAZING, love it:)
  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
    Definitely have more to do your body composition, body fat vs lean muscle. Weight is just one component.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    Found this calculator online...and the body fat percentage vs lean mass it gave was quite interesting... http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/
    I wouldn't blindly trust that - especially not if you have a proportionately small waist. It says I am at 18.6%, and although the last time I averaged mine out (measurements, calipers, scale - took the average of the three) was 23% and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's a bit lower now since I've been doing lots of strength training, I highly doubt it has gone down 4.4% in the past month and a half.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    from my profile picture, what would you guess i weigh (3rd pic)??
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    You should go get your body composition tested
    http://www.cosmed.com/locator
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