to ask if size 14-16 at almost 5'8 is "fat"?

[CoolToned]

Is it?

Twl thats only 4 months after having a baby! You look great.

You look lovely in your dress, Twl.

If you are worried check nhs bmi calculator or see your Dr. If you aren't worried for health reasons and you are happy and feel well don't worry. End of message.

I'm fed up of people going on about over a size 10/12 whatever is fat
Maybe it is, maybe it isn't
Move, exercise, eat good food, keep up with health checks, laugh, is your BP good and your pulse rate...
I'm overweight but I'm also fit and healthy, the two aren't separate entities. I can chuck myself upside down on a pole, lift more than my own body weight and do an hours advanced spin class
My friend is a size 14 and regularly runs ultras and often 100 miles
We aren't all built the same, I seem to be some left over Amazonian with huge shoulders and massive quads and I'm built like a power lifter - no matter how much fat I carry or don't, I will never look like my petite bird framed friend

FFS dan, does it make you feel good about yourself to be an arse to people on the internet? Twl, you look fab.

Cool, it's hard to say, as it's so individual. I'm 5' 9'' and I look tubby at a size 12, because I carry any extra weight weirdly, so my face gets really fat, my upper arms get chunky, and my hips get huge. While my legs stay very skinny and my arse is nonexistent. I have a friend who is the same height and is stunning at a 14 - 16. Because her weight is evenly distributed, and she has amazing cheekbones and a lovely defined jaw line. If I put on any weight I lose all definition on my face, it just becomes a big wobble of fat .

The most important thing is, are you happy and healthy? If you're not, then address that, be it by losing weight or learning to be happier in yourself (sorry, that sounds really condescending, I don't mean it to be). If you do feel happy and healthy, then fuck what anyone else thinks.

You can't really go off dress sizes but for most people I'd say they'd be in the overweight range.

I'm obese at size 16.

Exactly, hollin. My friend is much, much fitter than me. She can do two back to back spinning classes, cycles 45 minutes each way to work, swims, runs, does loads of yoga. Eats really healthily. She's super fit. She's just built the way she's built. And she's gorgeous. I'm a size 10 but very unfit. I'd pass out halfway through one spinning class. I'm working on getting fitter, but my back is fucked and even standing for a while has me in agony. I'd rather be my friend tbh. Being skinny is definitely not the be all and end all. I'd much prefer to be fit and healthy. I'm only a 10 because I have a rapid metabolism and little appetite. That's not exactly a virtue or something to be proud of!

In my case it would be literally "fat" because I have a small frame despite being tall. I'm also not very muscle-y so anything above a size 10-12 is just extra body fat. But the healthy weight range at 5'8 and above is huge as there can be massive variation in body composition for a given dress size/weight.

I do think it depends where you carry it. At a 12-14 I'm pretty slim, but need a 14 to fit my boobs in.
At a 14/16 pre pregnancy I was a bit fat but not too bad.m, again more top heavy.

Since having DC, a 14/16 is carried more on my belly now so I definitely am now fat.

This is a site in which you put sizes in and can see other women of that size. It's useful for those of us who over or underestimate our size, but also to see the disparity (if we believe people are being truthful with sizing)

www.mybodygallery.com/

You can't go by dress size any more as there is so much vanity sizing around.

For reference I'm 5'6" size 16 and definitely fat.

BMI is the best measure but even that's not perfect as we're all so different. Dress size can be misleading as I know some bigger people who squeeze themselves into small sizes, and some smaller people who wear overly large baggy things - and both claim to be the same dress size!
Eat well, sleep well, avoid excess sugar and large portions, and exercise. That's all any of us can do. There is nothing saying you have to look a certain way, it's just sensible to be as healthy as you can.

That is a very useful website Mindsweeper, thank you. I have become an absolute boss at avoiding mirrors and photos. I know it's time to get serious about my health and how I want to be.

Dress size is bollocks. The main thing is how much visceral fat you have and is your weight adversely affecting your health.

Twl just my experience but perhaps try not to get too stressed about the weight until you stop breast feeding, unless you start getting bigger. I think hormones etc don't settle down properly until you stopped

At various points I was mainlining cakes to get through dc growth spurts and when I weaned I realised how much they were drinking (pints!) it would have been a much more stressful time to have been calorie counting whilst being so hungry

It would be for me. I'm 5ft8 and usually a 10, but a 12 (pushing a 14) after a few weeks of overindulging and I look terrible...but I think that's because I've put a stone on in a few months and it's gone on my hips/thighs in a way that means my jeans look terrible and I feel disproportionately lumpy.

If you're more evened out as a 14/16 then you probably look a lot better than I do!

I'm 5,7 and currently size 14, 6 months post partum. I was a size 16 and I'm gradually loosing the weight. I was a 14 before my baby and whilst it's quite evenly spread I would like to loose more weight (to get to a 12) to feel where I should be for my height. I don't feel fat as such, just slightly overweight for where I should be.

I think it very much depends on your frame and so on. I am 5'6" and a size 14 and my BMI is normal, I exercise regularly and my body fat is normal. But, I have broad shoulders and hips, boobs are 34G. I just can't fit into anything less than a 14 and never will. Buying suits, I often need a size 16 jacket if I want something that will do up.

Twl - you look gorgeous and not fat at all. And I would love to be able to wear a dress like that, it's lovely!

twl you are definitely not fat! Classic hour glass and you look amazing. Where is that dress from?

I don't know if it's "fat" but it's the wrong question.

Are you healthy with not too much body fat?

First up, 4 months after a baby is very, very soon, especially if you are breastfeeding.

Secondly, photos and BMI aside, if in a few months you are carrying excess fat around your middle then absolutely, you should lose that for the sake of your health. Enough studies have been done to show the risks of that definitely there.

I am a good size 14 and almost 5'8 and yes I feel fat and am overweight according to charts. I should lose a stone at least. I am 50 and everything seems to slow down a bit in terms of weight loss. I have a big tummy and my arse is bigger than it was.

twll you look stunning, not fat at all IMO!!!

I'm 5' 8" and I feel fat at Anything over a 10, although it's usually more about what kind of shape I'm in. When I gain weight it goes mostly round my middle and on my upper arms so I look gross, whereas when I'm slimmer I have a classic hourglass figure with 30GGs and a littler waist. I used to hover around a 12-14 and looking back yes, I was overweight. But then I have friends who gain weight differently and look much better at a 12-14 so it's all relative.

Currently 33 weeks pregnant and worrying about how I'll feel after I've had the baby, if it takes a while to lose the weight. But I realise that's irrational!

And twll I agree with pp, you look lovely!