Do you think I'm chubby?

[Butterflytat]

I've lost a wee bit of weight recently (I think - I no longer weigh myself). Haven't gone down a size but my muffin top is definitely disappearing. Anyway, I'm 5'8" and wear a size 14 top and bottom - sometimes a 12 in a top. Yesterday I went out and thought I was looking ok but when I caught sight of myself in a bathroom mirror I just thought I looked so fat. I am quite in proportion - was always pear shaped but boobs have caught up with the hips now. I never used to put weight on round the middle but have for the last few years . I just feel like a fat pie!

We can't tell you if you look chubby - people can be the same height and weight and look very different. And it shouldn't matter if we think you look chubby - what matters is that you want to feel good about how you look.

What we can do is give you some tips on how to achieve that.

My top tip would be to watch Queer Eye (it's on Netflix) and see how much of a difference it makes when people get good haircuts and choose clothes that fit them nicely, without changing their underlying shape at all. (it's mainly men but it's still heartening to see how big the difference can be)

If your shape has changed in the past few years then a lot of your clothes might technically "fit" but not look as good as they used to.
You might want to think about making different choices regarding what shapes you choose - different waistlines, different lengths, different places where things are loose or skimming, that kind of thing.

When you go into a shop and see something you like, pick it up in a couple of sizes and try both on, even if the first one does up and seems "fine". Don't stress about what the number says, pick the one that makes you look good.

@user17890 I think clothes can MAKE or BREAK you when you're small! You're quite tall though

What blogs are you following? I knwo what colours suit me but I've started to wear very simple clothes in the belief that I'm making myself look taller ha I avoid patterns and I've become quite unadventurous. Same old ''tricks'' - shoes with a bit of a heel, dark trousers, tops that don't contrast too much with the dark trousers. I also don't wear patterns or big jewellery so the whole effect is probably blink and you'll miss it.

@trills, I am delighted there's another season of QE on netflix.

Im the same although 5"9 and currently on a diet as I feel fat and a 14. I have a large frame fingers dont touch when wrapping round my wrist even at my slimmest. Bmi is a load of bullshit it doesnt take into account frame size or muscle mass.

You may not be skinny, but surely you're not chubby if you're a 12-14 at your height? If I were a 12 at 5'2", I'd be getting a bit too solid for my liking but I still wouldn't be properly fat (in my own opinion, of course, it's hard to argue with someone who insists that we should all have thigh gaps and prominent clavicles in our fifties - I'm not referring to any comment on this thread, but I have come across people like this both on and off MN!). It's so hard when you get older (not that I know how old you are!). I'm 55, and my fighting weight is 8st3 but it takes an awful lot of food denial and walking to keep me there. I'm 8st10 at the moment and I'd love to drop a bit but it's really not shifting.
I recently tore a calf muscle and was on crutches for a couple of weeks, a month before I could walk properly again. For a while there, I was actually focused on enjoying the idea that all my limbs work rather than worrying about what size they are. Sadly, I've now gone back to worrying about my weight and have stopped appreciating my mobility.

I'm the same height and wear a 12-14. People have often been surprised that I'm not a 10-12. I wouldn't think you'd be chubby.

ShesABelter As explained above, BMI DOES take account of frame size and muscle mass, and that's why there's a range of about three stone within which someone can be a healthy weight at the same height.

If it didn't, then the range of ideal weight would be much smaller - as indeed it was in earlier guidance. I have a book from the 1970s in which the healthy weight range for my height (5 ft 8) is given as 8 st 13 to 9 st 13.

It was only with the advent of BMI and taking those things into account that they massively increased the range in which someone could be considered healthy.

If i gained two stone i would look and feel extremely overweight, however I'd still be theoretically OK by BMI. Someone with a larger frame might feel OK at that weight.

BMI 100% does take account of frame size and muscle mass and is a perfectly good guide for the 99% of the population who are not Olympic weightlifters or rowers.

How old are you?
What's your BMI?
Have you done the NHS String test? .....measure your height, cut string to height, fold in half and wrap around your natural waist line ....if the string doesn't meet around your middle then your need to loose some.
I'm in process of losing a lot of weight since April I'm a stone down. The thing to watch or worry about is the fat within your organs that you don't see in the mirror. I've noticed some ladies use big boobs as a bit of an excuse for being heavy but really the string test sorts this out.

I don't think your dh will ever stick up for you, and if you leave he will not follow. Now put yourself and your baby first, she sounds utterly poisonous.

I am the same height and size as you and yes we are slightly on the larger size. I am also overweight.
But - I am fit, strong and work out at least 3 times per week. So I look ok at that size. I am relatively toned. If I felt unhealthy and were a flabby size 14 then I would want to do something about it.

It's all in the clothes and how you hold yourself. Go through your wardrobe and start being ruthless with what actually looks good. You'll soon stop feeling bad.

These are both me. One looks shit, the other i was very happy with. I recommend photographing yourself in the clothes too.

I'm classified as a healthy weight for my height according to BMI. Indeed according to BMI I could carry another stone

However the rolls of fat around my tummy are saying it ain't so. Realistically for my frame (slender/skinny in a natural state) I need to lose another 2 stone

blimey yes I am overweight in the new BMI which is amazing really, I am very healthy, don't have big portions, walk everywhere due to not having a car. I am very mindful of all of it.

Actually that string test posted above has it right. That's really useful - thank you for posting.

Clearly using string is a bit bonkers - a tape measure works just as well - and around the tummy section I am a whopping 37" which if it should be half my height then it should be 35" or less.

Might do that string test later! I hope I don't fail it!

oh wait, if my waist is 29'' and I'm 61 inches tall then I pass the string test but won't get cocky as I fail the new bmi test

More walking. Less........... beer on a hot summer evening after work [sigh]

I’m a bit confused - how could I possibly tell if you’re chubby without seeing you?

As a pp said, its also partly down to how you carry yourself. I have to remind myself to stand tall and not slouch. I look a whole size bigger if I don't throw my shoulders back and engage my core.

Op I'm exactly the same height and proportions as you and I'm feel overweight ATM although I haven't had much sleep and eating crap lately.
I find some weeks even though I must weigh exactly the same I feel better about the way I look if I've been exercising and generally looking after myself. Wearing the right clothes for your shape helps too I think. Sometimes it must be down to hormones and mental state? I would love to be 2 stone lighter though definitely.

Dunno. The string test gives me up to 34.4 inches around my waist. I was a fairly large size 18 with that size waist, definitely over weight, despite scraping through that particular test... Everyone carries weight differently, I don't think any of the tests can be accurate for everyone.

It's not worth getting your colours done if you are approaching Peri-Menopause. You'll find what suits changes and you may have to change your hair, of condition/volume etc.

"No one who is size 12 is a hippo"

You can carry excess body fat at any size. Whatever is on your body, is more around your organs. You should look at yourself naked. Decide if you want to be different and then what you are prepared to do. What you wear can make a huge difference.

Ideally every Woman going into Peri-Menopause should do weights, to protect your bone density and retain muscle. This will benefit your mobility as you get older. Lift the heaviest weights that you can, for not very long. You are looking at 30 minutes a day for a full body workout.

Like wise, nutrition really makes a difference post Menopause (were I am at). You might find that to lesson the symptoms of the Menopause you cut out dairy/sugar/caffeine anyway.

If you throw in HIIT, at least three times a week, then you'll find it makes a difference.

Some of it you've got to expect, or work out every day. But I think the focus should be on building the foundation for your aging body to still be active and pain free.

Size 14 is chubby, yes.

But clothes sizing is really weird, in some shops I’m a 14 in certain clothes, most shops I’m 10-12 and in Primark I fit a size 4 the other day which I clearly am not!

So it’s impossible to say without seeing you. Maybe post a headless shot? With just a clothed size and height it’s impossible to give any accurate response surely?

The average woman in the UK is now a size 16, but the average woman in the UK is overweight. So you may look ‘normal’ but that doesn’t mean you’re not chubby (sorry just using your own word, I feel like it’s more insulting than just saying fat!).

I'm similar proportions to the op - 5f8, and wear 14 on top, 12 bottoms. I am at top of healthy bmi but my waist 28.5, compared to chest at 40. (Stupid 30j boobs). But apparent the maximum a reduction can remove is c 3-4lbs per breast so even if I had one, I'd only lose half a stone or so and still be around 11st. I just need to eat less!

Not sure you can have a blanket statement like "size 14 is chubby" given people can look very different at the same size, due to height, proportions, and body shape. The pic attached is a size 14 that looks far from chubby - obviously is pretty tall and not necessarily representative of every 14 but just illustrates that a size does not necessary dictate what you look like - basically you can't judge unless you can see the person!

Not that it should matter as long as you are healthy