To think I shouldn't be THIS heavy??

[Lotsofsausage]

So to start, I know I am no supermodel. Fairly tall at 5'8, size 14, smaller waist, medium bust. Fairly curvy arse/ thighs but toned. I am fit and strong and exercise 4-5x per week, including strength training.

Now I know measurements and photos are a better gauge than the scales, and muscle is meant to weigh more than fat (but I thought that was bullshit).....I am 14.5 stone! I have a friend with the same body measurements as me and same height and she is TWO STONE lighter.
Can some people just be 'heavy'???

Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, as you suspect, but it occupies a smaller volume. So the same space can contain, say, 1 stone of fat, but would fit 1.5 stone of muscle. (Numbers not accurate).

Some people are just heavy. As long as you're fit and your BMI and other important measurements like waist size are healthy, don't worry about the scales.

14.5 st at 5ft8 and a size 14 sounds normal. I was a comfortable 16 (h&m 16! Which is saying something!) at 5ft6 and 14.5 stone. I don't have a big bust either (non at all infact).

Size 14 wouldn’t necessarily be ‘on the larger size’ at that height would it? I say that as someone whose 5’2 a size 10 and eight stone. OP is only 2 sizes bigger and a lot taller.

I’m the same height and dress size as you and I’m 13.5 stone. I’ve always been heavier than my peers of a similar size and while I don’t kid myself that it’s all muscle (there’s definitely lots of fat on my tummy!) I’m definitely more muscular than average. My thighs and calves look like Arnie’s

Muscle is more dense than fat so if most of your ‘bulk’ comes from muscle then you’ll definitely weigh more than a friend of the same size with less muscle and more fat.

That said, I remember having a similar ‘I can’t that heavy!’ moment in my twenties (I think I even posted a similar thread on a forum I used at the time). And then I had to admit to myself that while I was techinically still wearing size 10 clothes, they were getting a bit tight and I had, indeed, put on about a stone. When you’re quite tall, and depending on where you typically gain weight on your body, it’s possible to put on quite a bit of weight before you’re necessarily forced to wear the next size up. Not saying that’s what’s happened to you, just an observation from my experience!

Yes I am on the heavier side even when much skinnier. I'm just built solidly. I'm 5ft6 and size 14 and about 13st atm. But I can never get to beyond 11.5st even when at my skinniest. I'm always mortified when friends say they're like 9st and how terrible it is to be 10st or above!

It's very true that it can take a lot to put you up a size. I'm 5'8 and lost 3 stone last year, and only went from a size 24 to a 22.

But I can never get to beyond 11.5st even when at my skinniest. I'm always mortified when friends say they're like 9st and how terrible it is to be 10st or above!

Same, Snipples. The lightest I’ve been as an adult is 10 stone and that was totally unsustainable (the end of a year of dieting) and I was doing no strength training at all. I look tiny and weedy in photos from back then! But I had a friend at the time who was taller than me and not noticeably much skinnier, and 9.5 stone was her ‘uh oh I better start watching what I eat’ weight!

11.5 is the ideal for me, I’ve come to realise, even though that puts me right at the top of a ‘healthy’ BMI.

It all depends how much you are eating. Do you track calories? Is there anywhere you could cut back a bit? Evening ditching a 100 calorie thing like an extra biscuit could make a big difference over a year.

Your shape and height sound similar to me and I weigh a good 2 stone less than you, but my upper body is a light build - my shoulders and wrists are narrow/fine. So if your upper body is in proportion to your lower and your arms are as strong as your legs, could this be where your 'extra' weight is?

I’m 5’7 and weigh about 11.5 stone and I am overweight for my height according to Bmi. Saying that some people are heavier than others but I would say 14.5 stone at 5’8 is quite big. I’d be very overweight at that weight.

Have you any idea what your body fat percentage is? - calipers, visible flab, body fat scales, online calculators can all give an idea and keeping your fat levels within a healthy range is what's important, not a number on a scale, which is a poor measure of a healthy body for a lot of people.

I'm 5ft 9" and hover between 12st 8 and 13 stones. I work out 5 days a week plus cycling at weekends however outside of exercising I'm very sedentary. I 'should' weigh around 11 or 11 1/2 stone for my height.

I would feel very heavy if I was your weight but I have small bones (small wrists and feet but wide shoulders)

If you are happy with your size and feel fit and toned then ignore the weight. If you aren't happy then think about what you are eating and whether the exercise you are doing is burning as many calories as you think.

I've always had this, I'm 5'9" and a 14-16 so not exactly slim, but have always weighed much more than seems to go with my body shape. I'm not super-athletic but I am quite strong and big-boned (big hands, feet, knees, wide hips etc). I'm not sure how much I weigh at the moment as I don't have scales, but it will be over 14 stone. But GPs midwives etc have always said I look a healthy weight and then been shocked to find I weigh a couple of stone more than they thought.

Muscle does weigh more than fat, for the same volume - which is the same thing as density - so if you are the same physical size but have more muscle, you'll be heavier. Also muscles are the tissue that make up the biggest proportion of your body so that can have a big effect. But I wonder if it's also possible to have heavy bones or something.

I would say that sounds accurate for your height and clothing size.

I'm 5ft 8 too and at just under 12st 6lbs I'm in a size 14 or 16, depending on the cut. Certain size 14 stuff in my wardrobe won't fit until I get under 12st.

I hit 13st 8lbs after Christmas and had to buy a set of size 16 work clothes because my 14s were just so tight and uncomfortable. I'd imagine I'd be up to about a size 18 if I was at 14 and a half stone.

Hoping to get back to size 12 (about 11st for me) by the end of the year.

My Niece is 5’3”, size 12 and is 13.5 stone because of the amount of muscle she has in her legs and bum. She is a weight lifter and her thighs are huge but her waist is tiny. Muscle definitely weighs more than fat for the same volume.

Are you maybe quite a big build in terms of bones and carry quite a lot of muscle? Build makes a big difference.

I’m really tall but have a very slim build. BMI calculators tell me I’m slightly underweight, but this is my natural weight I’ve been all my life. My DH who plays rugby and is quite muscley comes out borderline overweight despite having no fat on him at all.

Size 14 is meaningless. You'd be better off going by measurements - bust and hips at fullest point, natural waist. I am a standard 12 on the size charts, but most modern 12s are too big

It must be the muscle. I'm lighter than you, the same height and size 18. And definitely fat, right now. I also excersise regularly.

I do think some people can weigh heavy for their size. I have a friend who's the same height as me (5' 6") and we have both fluctuated in weight/size over the years. At the same dress size, I always weigh a full stone heavier than her (eg I'm currently about 10st 8lbs and on the bigger side of a size 10; she would need to be about 9st 8lbs to get into my clothes). She's an apple shape and I'm a pear. I have skinny wrists and ankles but am quite muscular, whereas she has much bigger hands and wrists.

I'm almost 5ft 11" and illness/depression saw my weight rocket to around 17 stone. Now I'm back down to 12 stones 5lbs but I want to lose more as that puts me just instead the healthy BMI bracket. I'd like to be somewhere in the middle of that.

I managed to lose all that weight just by walking the dog for an hour a day (I sit down the rest of the time at a desk) and I have also been on steroids for 10 years.

I did have to cut down drastically on all the food I was putting away though.

As to clothing sizes, I don't go by them. I have all sorts of sizes in my wardrobe. They have no meaning any more. I wear a lot of Long Tall Sally 8-10 (XS). I wasn't a Size 8/10 when I had a BMI of 19 many moons ago. I believe vanity sizing does exist, so it's not a marker of size like it used to be.

All that said, you may look perfect at your weight/build. We can't really tell without a photo.

I always find this so strange.

I'm 5'4 and wear size 8 clothes. Not vanity sizing. I also wear teen clothes age 13-14.

I currently weigh 10 stone 8.

I was exactly the same size when I weighed 9 stone 8 last year.

I exercise 5 times a week so I'm aware I'm more muscular than I was last year but it blows my mind!

Weight to size ratio fascinates me. I’m 5’7” and at 14.5 stone I was a size 20-22 (and that was not my highest weight or size). Now at a smidge under 11 stone I’m still a generous 12 and in some shops a 14.