Should I accept myself as I am?

[Jaygee61]

I am a size 10-12. I eat healthily, try to watch my portions, hardly any sugar, don't eat junk, alcohol at weekends only and then not much, exercise most days (cardio and strength), my health indicators (blood pressure, resting pulse, cholesterol, waist measurement) are all fine but I am half a stone over the maximum healthy weight for my height. BMI 26.2. I'm not embarrassed about how I look but would rather be 8-10 than 10-12. But every time I go for a general health check up I'm weighed and told to do all the things I'm already doing! I have an underactive thyroid which makes losing weight difficult. So should I just accept myself as I am and concentrate on staying the weight I am rather than trying to lose weight?

If you genuinely feel that you are overweight for your build then I think you need to push the doctor to refer you to a specialist for your thyroid. If it is just a matter of having more muscle or having a large frame for your height the BMI indicator can be a bit off. It would annoy me if the doctor kept harping on about my BMI when I was living in the healthy way you do especially as a 10-12 is tiny!!

Your angry / unwarranted response suggests you just wanted everyone to say "I'm sure you're beautiful, hun"

I agree with this, your previous posts state you aren't happy with your weight, you want people to convince you otherwise.
It may well be you need to change something. Maybe your form of exercise isn't quite hitting the spot. Maybe the things you eat are thought to be "ok" be aren't. Maybe you do need a new GP and look at meds.

If thyroid issues are slowing your metabolism, its easily conceivable that youre consuming too many calories so reduce further or up your calorie burning

I'd go back and talk with the GP about his thinking on your Medication dosage. Friend had the same issue years ago, ended up with a new doctor who agreed to give it a try and increased her dosage twice. Her weight came off slowly, her bloods remained the same and everyone was happy.

Also have a look at what exercise you are doing.. maybe by targeting the areas you would like to see a difference, 30 day shred is worth a try...

And maybe add in one day a week where you juice and eat raw vegetables...

But yes, try to be happy with a size 12... it is OK though perhaps look at mood and energy boosting foods (low carb, high protein) which might also help with what you seem to suggest is a sluggish thyroid.

i think we can easily waste a perfectly good life worrying about shit like this. Life doesnt have to be shit. It sounds like youve got a good balance and you should definitely stop obsessing about size and weight.

Ivymaud I've never seen an endocrinologist about my thyroid. It was diagnosed by the GP. I get an sceduled annual blood test to check my levels and that's it.

I'm sorry about my response to Whatshall but I do get a lot of snide insinuations online that I'm in denial about what I'm eating.

I have been able to lose weight in the past on Weight watchers but it was miserable, I lost less than a pound a week on average, sometimes nothing, and the weight came back anyway.

The BMI is flawed and a load of rubbish.

Everybody has different body structures and of course muscle weighs more than fat (BMI of course doesn’t distinguish between the 2).

BMI just calculates a weight against a height and this determines whether somebody is “healthy” weight. So toned, more muscular structures can be deemed overweight and thinner structures with a higher per cent body fat can be deemed a health (and even under weight)

Even scientists/dietitians argue that it just isn’t the most accurate system.

Never mind your weight and clothes size.

Are you happy with the way you look and feel?

I would suggest that you work on how you feel and accepting yourself rather than your weight. Better to be happy fit and strong than thin. The reason I say this is as you get older it becomes more or less impossible to conform to stereotypes of beauty as they are linked to age. Learning to be happy in your own skin is much more rewarding. Good luck!

I too suspect that you're eating more than you need, if you're doing 'everything right' and not losing weight

Actually it sounds like you’re eating exactly the right amount, OP, if your health markers are good and you are neither losing nor gaining weight.

Pretend for a minute that BMI didn’t exist. Are you happy with everything else?

TheStoic, I think I probably would be!

Then focus on changing your mindset, not your BMI. :-)

Oh goodness, if you're happy with your body other than the BMI, then certainly accept the way you are! I don't know what my BMI is nor do I care. I know when I feel and look healthy versus overweight, I don't go by BMI or even by weight.

It would annoy me if the doctor kept harping on about my BMI when I was living in the healthy way you do especially as a 10-12 is tiny!!

Tiny for who though?

Not necessarily someone who is 5ft 1". Besides, clothes sizes vary from shop to shop.

The Dr is 'harping on' because the OP's BMI has fallen into the overweight category. So of course they're going to talk about it, especially in relation to the thyroid problem.

As you know, your BMI is overweight so you probably will feel better within a healthy weight range. Though harder to achieve with your thyroid.

BMI is flawed and outdated. You say you do strength training, muscle is heavy. I personally can fit into smaller clothes than before with a higher BMI since I started weight training. It takes no account of body composition. We have a far to black and white view of this.

Having a BMI of between 20-25 does not magically make you happy and a pinnacle of health.

If you are happy with yourself that really is all that matters. If you're not then focus on that and if you do lose weight that's fine. Once thyroid issues are sorted out then it might happen without you trying. If not you''ll love yourself anyway.

Where is the proof that BMI is flawed?

Whilst BMI can be a useful tool for doctors, I don't think it's a perfect system. It doesn't take into account muscle for example. I'd say dress size is a better indicator overall. You're a 10-12 which is perfectly healthy (I am too but my BMI is lower, probably because I'm very tall). I would focus more on fitness and fun, and stop weighing yourself unless you find that your clothes are no longer fitting the same. The 'healthy' BMI range is a guide and varies from person to person. Like I say, I'm the same dress size, quite unfit but with a healthy BMI!

Tiny for who though?

That depends on height. I'd assume the op is rather short, if she's a ten to twelve and overweight. Everyone seems fixated on the half a stone, but that's just to bring her marginally into healthy weight territory,. The doctor is telling her to lose weight.

Dress size is another measurement on top of bmi, but needs to be contextualised with height.

Do you know what your actual thyroid results are though? Or does the GP just say within range but not tell you?

Also, dress size isn't an indicator. 10 - 12 is a 30inch waist, which is pushing the healthy limit, especially if short.

Also, dress size isn't an indicator. 10 - 12 is a 30inch waist, which is pushing the healthy limit, especially if short.

no it isn't, unless you are talking jean size, but then that's a whole different ball game & isn't a waist size at all