To think you can be fat and fit.

[Footloose80]

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.

Ok so she is about 9 pounds over the age adjusted healthy range.

Yes you can, just like you can be thin and unfit. Go and watch any parkrun on a Saturday morning and youll see plenty of overweight runners overtaking skinny runners. It can't be too good for you though or your joints.

@ZanyMobster she's about 5ft 6 I think. If you looked at her you would say sturdy rather than wobbly if that makes sense! But you wouldn't look at her and think she could run for 24hrs

Yes definitely. My dad was overweight for several years but always exercised regularly and was very fit. He lost the weight years ago though and kept it off, his health is much better for it.

You should both focus on health rather than fitness, although it should make it easier to lose the weight and get healthy when fit!

I watched a programme once which showed clinically obese people doing triathlons. And doing them well.

Anyway, you are probably much fitter than me. I am slim. Slim and unfit.

I think the real problem is that so many people are thin but unhealthy, and yes you can be fat and healthier than them.

Fitness is a difficult concept, it's already individual in terms of limits, being fit enough to run 5km in 30minutes will be much more attainable for some, and many people could do it when obese, but of course those people would be able to run 5km in 18 minutes if not obese. Whereas others, that 30minute 5km might require close to top fitness so you can't simply use performance measures.

Ive played rugby with many overweight team mates even to top level, they were muscular but also had a covering of fat. They were fit, could sprint, do long runs and play 80 mins often in very physical positions (front row etc) BUT the players who were overweight/obese couldn’t compete with lighter team mates in fitness testing runs etc. Strength would usually be fine.
I know many muscular,strong well built women who are overweight/obese according to bmi, but who would easily run 5k then train afterwards.
These are execptions though, and often when players lost weight their fitness testing scores improved.
Please keep encouraging your daughter to play a sport she enjoys, the benefits are priceless xxx

Ollivander84

I'm a size 14 and run ultramarathons, in fact I ran three last year, two 50k and a 100k and will probably run a 100 mile ultra this year. I certainly don't consider myself fat but I do consider myself fit, I ran a half marathon distance on very difficult terriain just the other day.

@Munchkingoat I'm not saying a size 14 is fat but if you go on the 1001 other weight threads, if you're over a size 10 then you're fat 🤷🏽‍♀️
I'm a size 16 myself but you can guarantee someone will say a size 14 isn't healthy and blah blah
I admire her a lot, mostly because I can't run so I support her with 3am texts when she does!

If your question is, can you be fat and participate perfectly well in athletic pursuits, then yes, of course, you can.

I’d consider myself fat. I have a bmi of 30. I’ve run 2 half marathons at this weight and used to regularly (pre-kids when I still had free time) bike 60 miles a day on the weekends. I did a cycling holiday and cycled 500 miles in 7 days. I’m perfectly fit (well, I’ve had another baby so I’m not that fit at the moment! but I mean I’m the same weight). I just enjoy cheese and wine.

@Ollivander84 - I think sometimes sturdy people can look fitter than skinny people. I guess that's when BMI is irrelevant and body fat % more important.

When I was at my fittest I weighed half a stone more than my normal slimest weight but all my measurements were smaller and I was a dress size smaller too.

I’m pretty fit and about a stone overweight. I do lots of exercise. But if I’m thinner I find exercise a lot easier even if I don’t do it often, which makes sense. Find it hard to stop eating loads though.

Oof wrong website for this thread op, have you not been here before? Fat people are the actual root of all evil, we cause war, plagues, spread disease and made the Tories happen. Even if you're slim you must be fat if you eat more than one Ryvita and half a glass of Slimfast.
Of course fat people can't be fit, there is nothing redeeming about fat people ever. Fatty hatred is often concealed on here as 'concern for their health'.

My BMI was grazing 30 a couple of weeks ago. I was starting to feel it although my lifts are good and I'm up to 90kg squats for volume I am really feeling it when running - its a lot slower and harder up the hills. I know that when I'm down to 27.5 BMI I will feel tons better.
So although I'm metabolically healthy there is a reason why >30 BMI is bad news if you are there for long, even for lean ripped mass monsters. There are no old massive muscle mountains in the same way that > 30 BMI makes you that much more likely to be sick - you are up against physics there.

So yes you can be fit with a high BMI (particularly if you are Neanderthal shaped like me) but not above 30 for long.

I think fat and fit are totally separate but I do believe as you age the fat part catches up with your overall health.

Yes you can. My SIL is really fit, gym walking swimming she is a size 16 and extremely fit.
I am fit enough and slim and she could beat me any day.

A guy at my work used to teach very aerobic classes before and after work and he was fat. He was very fit though. I also see lots of much fitter but fatter people than me at Parkrun on Saturdays. My sister is a bit overweight but plays very high level tennis against women half her age. She can run 5k in 20 minutes. Exercising doesn’t help her lose weight for some reason. So I think you can definitely be fit and fat.

Depends what you class as 'fat'. A stone or two over optimum weight is 'overweight' to me. 3+stone over I would class as 'fat'.

I'm fat and pretty fit compared to slimmer people I know who can't do 15 mile bike rides, swim 50 lengths, cross train on higher levels for 30 mins straight or lift weights but now I'm older my joints are (legs and back) suffering due to my weight which means I don't want to move as much.

I have a bmi of over 30 and 39% body fat but I only have a visceral fat reading of 7. That means the fat around my organs is low. I think I’m fat but healthy lol.

There clearly are people who are fat and fit. I go to fitness conventions and there is a significant proportion of fitness professionals who are noticibly over weight. At running events, there are people who run 5k, 10k, HM, marathons etc who again are clearly overweight.

It often isn't without consequence though although better than being as fat and unfit. You may have stronger cardiac muscle, but it is no insurance against the risks of conditions like type 2 diabetes. Excess weight makes the body work harder. More wear and tear on the joints. There comes a point where it is inhibiting the natural range of mobility and slowing people down. On any running forum, there will be posts from people who have experienced significant weight loss and find it gets much easier and their speeds improve.

Being thinner is not necessarily an indication of good health and there are skinny-fat people also at risk of health complications.

You can't outrun a bad diet, but being physically active at whatever size is much better than being sedentary.

so many variables and definitions of "fat" and "fit".
clothed, my sil and I look about the same size.

I'm struggling to do week 2 of Couch to 5K. she's a cross channel swimmer!!

I'm 20lbs over the upper limit recommended for my height. I can run a half marathon in under 2 hours at that weight. I still don't really think that I'm as healthy as I would be at 2 stone lighter.

Working on that..

I am 20kg overweight. I do 10,00 steps a day on my fitbit and go to the gym three times a week. People judge me and treat me as though I’m mentally subnormal, despite that facts that I have two university degrees and run my own business.

The reason I’m 20kg overweight is that my daughter developed anorexia, and at 20kg underweight she was on the point of death. Her treatment required six meals a day and billions of calories - and a feeling of being judged and unable to eat alone. So I supported her to get the 20kg back on, which involved me eating with her and stacking on the weight alongside her. I’d prefer not to be fat, but my daughter is alive, well, moving on with her life. She’s now in a size 6! I will tackle my weight, but in a low key and slow way so as not to trigger her. I’m starting this by slowly increasing my activity levels, and do feel better.

Not all fat people are lazy/greedy. Not all skinny people are healthy.

10,000 - 1000 would be a bit crap 😂

A DM at the school is a fitness instructor all week. She runs boot camp 2 nights per week, after her 40hours of classes in the ģym, she is tall probably 5.10 a size 14 to 16 with heavy legs but she's toned and very very fit.