I am fat, AIBU?

[PeaFaceMcgee]

To show how ridiculous the BMI calculator is... My BMI is 19, yet look at the state of my body fat!

Sick of being told I don't need to lose weight as I'm 'skinny'.

AIBU to think that I am indeed too fat?

Anatidae - You are at odds with all the published research I have seen when you claim waist to hip ratio is meaningless below a certain body mass index.

In fact a lot of research seems to show that having a higher waist to hip ratio at normal BMI is actually more dangerous than being obese in terms of BMI.

www.nhs.uk/news/2015/11November/Pages/A-normal-body-mass-index-with-a-big-belly-deadlier-than-obesity.aspx

Obviously children with kwashiorkor aren't centrally obese and wouldn't be classified as such (I'm not sure whether central obesity and waist to hip ratios apply to children as a health measure in general), but equally obviously someone with kwashiorkor isn't healthy!

You are right that the OP isn't what anyone would call "fat" or "chubby", but she does have (borderline) abdominal obesity by the "objective definition" that is waist to hip ratio.

Obviously having said that, these measures are all statistical and we can't tell how much visceral fat she has from the photo, which is why I suggested she see her doctor for personal advice. A doctor should be able to tell the difference between someone who has abdominal obesity, kwashiorkor, an abdominal mass of some sort, bloating, free fluid etc. or any other reason for having a waist to hip ratio the correlates highly with poor health outcomes.

I have this much visceral fat! This is much less than it was a few weeks ago.

It's fat. It's been there years. It doesn't feel like a mass, or ascites, it doesn't come & go like bloating. It's the good old yellow stuff under your skin.

Oops - that should have read, it's obvious subcutaneous fat on palpation.

Visceral around me organs is unknown!

Peaface, I hope I didn't panic you by mentioning other causes of an enlarged abdomen. I was replying to anatidae more generally rather than specifically suggesting you had these things.

I doubt you have anything to really worry about, just slightly more abdominal fat than is statistically considered ideal, which you knew already when you started this thread.

This is increasingly something a lot of people have and is often related to lack of exercise and less than perfect diet choices (in general terms usually too much saturated fat, alcohol or processed carbohydrates).

It sounds like you are on the right track already reducing this and probably just have a couple of inches to go to optimise your health.

No panic caused! You've been so helpful user1491260401 - input like yours and other PPs was the reassurance I needed and I will focus on these last few inches and not worry about BMI.

So, just do it. Do some exercise and tone up.

BTW it is cardio that will help you lose the fat, weightlifting will increase your muscle mass and your basal metabolic rate (so will help you prevent gaining fat once it's lost). To get best results you need to do both, particularly as you need to gain muscle mass to sit at a healthy weight and not underweight. Muscle weighs more in mass than fat, so you'll look smaller but potentially weigh more. You'll be strong though, and your bones will thank you for it if you're already prone to injury.

Thanks Blue, makes sense - I've lost 7lbs in two weeks through easy-pace jogging, swimming and less calories, which I think may be a little fast... But will look to weights too following osteopath advice.