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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think you can be fat and fit.

91 replies

Footloose80 · 15/01/2019 19:35

Now I know I am obese but I am working on it. I do loads of exercise including going to the gym with my 15 year old dd who is maybe a stone over the top end of her ideal weight. Portion sizes are the main issue for her. She plays a sport and is pretty active.
This weekend dd2 had a birthday party at a trampoline park. Dd1 participated and had a blast until she overheard someone saying "How can she do that? She is fat?"
This got me thinking as I also do Ultra Challenges. I am not fit enough to do the full ones yet but some those that do are various sizes.
So aibu to think you can be fat and fit.

OP posts:

PerverseConverse · 15/01/2019 19:37

Yes. Fat and fit was recently disproved. Cba finding the info though as watching the brexit vote.

halfwitpicker · 15/01/2019 19:38

Brexit vote? Uh?

paap1975 · 15/01/2019 19:38

Medical research shows there is not such thing as fat and fit. Please do something for your daughter before it's too late. A stone is a lot!

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 15/01/2019 19:39

Yes you can! I’ve seen the same women at the gym doing hardcore class after hardcore class and be overweight. I also look at marathon runners every year in the line up, they aren’t all super thin and toned.
You get overweight by eating too much, you pretty much have to under eat to lose weight, eating “normally” again usually doesn’t shift excess weight in my experience.

JazzyJelly · 15/01/2019 19:39

Sure. You wouldn't be as healthy as if you were fit and a healthy weight, but it's better than being fat and unfit.

Firesuit · 15/01/2019 19:39

A significant number of professional rugby players look like fat men. Including some who can sprint at lightning speeds over short distances. I'm sure the fat ones are as fit as the rest.

paap1975 · 15/01/2019 19:39

Just to be clear, I'm not talking of fat shaping, but rather of educating about healthy habits.

t1mum3 · 15/01/2019 19:40

You can be fat and fitter than an unfit thin person. Fat puts lots of strain on the body though.

EarringsandLipstick · 15/01/2019 19:41

Yes you can be ‘fat & fit’. But not fat & healthy. Being fat affects your health. But sounds like you are taking all the right steps & need to help your daughter do similar

Oysterbabe · 15/01/2019 19:41

I agree you can have a reasonable level of fitness but would still be healthier if thinner.

robininbrum · 15/01/2019 19:41

Hmmm, yeah I don't think you are necessary an unhealthy mess just coz you're 13 stone and 5 ft 3, OR very fit and healthy just coz you are 8 stone and 5 ft 7.

That said, I don't think being overweight/fat/obese is ever good sorry.

Most people look better when they're slimmer and fitter, and look better in clothes, and will usually be fitter and healthier than they would be 5 stone heavier.

I would never fatshame people at all, but I won't celebrate obesity either.

Even if you ARE kind of healthy at 4-5 stone overweight, think about how much more healthy you would be if you lost the weight.

JMO hope no-one is offended.

SpoonBlender · 15/01/2019 19:41

You can be fat and strong, but visceral fat (around the organs, not between the skin and the muscles) is very very bad for you in all circumstances so I would not consider anyone tubby to be fit. Even me, and I can get up Ben Nevis without much pain.

Original poster

Footloose80 · 15/01/2019 19:44

I am concentrating on making sure her meals are healthy with sensible portion sizes. She has switched to packed lunches as her school dinners weren't great. I am mainly concentrating on fitness though as this will help her sport.

OP posts:

Pachyderm1 · 15/01/2019 19:44

Yes, I think you can be. My best friend is probably a couple of stone overweight but she runs 5k three times a week and ran a half marathon last year.

Being overweight can have health implications regardless of your fitness, but I believe it’s possible to be overweight and still fit.

Firesuit · 15/01/2019 19:45

Fat and fit was recently disproved

This NHS web site has an article that appears to say you can be fat and fit. (Haven't read the whole article.)

www.nhs.uk/news/obesity/can-you-really-be-both-fat-and-fit/

Polarbearflavour · 15/01/2019 19:47

I work with the military and some of the older guys especially are overweight but they still do lots of phys and have to pass a fitness test every year. They are fitter than me!

Ollivander84 · 15/01/2019 19:48

My friend is a size 14 and runs ultras so yes

Spanglyprincess1 · 15/01/2019 19:48

It's massively more dangerous to be underweight than overweight by the same amount. BMI dosnt take into account body type and muscle mass, it is therefore not a reasonable way to measure health.
I used to (trying to get back to it post baby), swim everyday , run three times a week and kickboxing but was overweight. I'm thinner now bizarily post baby but far more unhealthy.

lastqueenofscotland · 15/01/2019 19:49

You can but it would still be ideal to be not overweight... there is a reason no woman who says 200lbs has ever won the London marathon

Original poster

Footloose80 · 15/01/2019 19:52

That is interesting. I am definately metabolic healthy based on my over 40s health check.
My weight has fluctuated slot over the years but on a downward trajectory right now.

OP posts:

ZanyMobster · 15/01/2019 19:54

I agree that you can be fat and fitter than an unfit skinny person but not really fit. My DS age 10 is overweight by about 9 or 10lb, he is visibly chubby but plays lots of sport (15ish hours a week quite high intensity) but he is not really fit compared to much skinnier peers. If he can shift the weight then I suspect he will be considerably fitter and stronger. He is working hard at it but has autism and ADHD and control and changing habits is tricky for him.

A stone over the top end of BMI is a lot over weight TBH, I look really heavy at the top end of mine so a stone over than is huge. Do you mean that or a stone over what she would like to be?

ZanyMobster · 15/01/2019 19:55

Ollivander84 - a size 14 on someone who is 5ft9 or 10 wouldn't be particulalrly fat so that really depends.

Hercules12 · 15/01/2019 19:59

I used to run 5k 3 times a week when I was 3 stone over weight. I stopped running for a year whilst I lost the weight through diet. I started running again recently and ran 3 k straight off and walked/ran the rest and still beat my best time from when I was overweight.
so doesn't prove I wasn't fit when over weight but the same me is much fitter with no exercise and healthy weight.

Original poster

Footloose80 · 15/01/2019 20:00

Tbh a stone is an estimate. She weighs a little bit more than I did when I was at the top of my BMI range as an adult. Obviously as a teenager I would expect her to be smaller. Will pop figures into BMI calculator.

OP posts:

Fluffyears · 15/01/2019 20:02

Yes my uncle took up running in his fifties after beating alcoholism. He ran several marathons and 10k’s despite being a couple of stone overweight (possibly in the obese category). I used to be very naturally skinny (5’9’’ size 8) and was very unfit...i’m Still unfit now i’m overweight.

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