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'???

Just seen your update about the weight you can deadlift etc... and it definitely sounds to me like you have far more muscle than the BMI charts make allowance for. As pp said whilst it's not true that muscle weighs more than fat it is correct that it is significantly denser, meaning that a small amount of muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat. A body composition machine would definitely help you identify that for certain and if that is the case then I don't think you have anything to worry about - you sound really fit and healthy to me!

I think you can definitely just "be heavier" - frame size and bone density, as well as muscle base.

I have the opposite problem: to be slim, I need to be ridiculously light for my height (as BMI would have it) as I have bird-like bones, and narrow shoulders and wrists etc. Also no muscle to speak of, and I'm all leg and no body which I think can be a tricky build BMI wise. When I was 20-25lbs heavier than I am now, I was only just getting to the point of needing size 10 clothing and my BMI was still mid-healthy, but I looked so terrible - my waist basically inverted, my body went out between the ribs and the hips! I looked heaps fatter than almost anyone else at my weight and height would have.

I'm 5'8", a size 10 on top and 12 on the bottom and I'm 12 stone which usually surprises people. Sometimes I think it's just the way certain people carry it. I know that 10 stone is supposed to be a healthy weight for me but the last time I was that small I looked really ill.

I'm around 5' 8 and 10 stone 8 and I consider myself a 12-14. It blows my mind that there's others here same height and weight who can fit in a 10 (no chance) and others several stone heavier who are the same dress size. It's ludicrous!

I am 5ft8 (and a half) weigh 12 stone and I am size 16?!

I should add I mean "no chance" for me, I don't doubt that they can!

Wow OP - a 5k in 20 mins?! That's fast!
(and even more impressive at your weight!)

I think that you're probably a bit more muscley than your friend.

Kennehora aren't you a delight?

I don't think 5ft8 and size 14 is overweight let alone obese. Maybe speak to your doctor rather than us lot on here as you'll get people like this shoving their opinions down your throat which might be totally inaccurate seeing how they've never seen you.

Just for the record I'm 5ft7 and when I exercised and lost weight for my wedding I went from 12st8 and a size 14 to a comfortable size 10 (with room) and was still nearly 11 stone. So it all depends on shape and build.

women thank you, I have moved into more strength training now but keep my hand in! PB earlier this year so I think my endurance is getting much better.
eggshell this is exactly what I mean.... it makes no sense!!!

I think where you store fat can make a huge difference to how people look at the same weight. I lost a lot of weight and regained it all but managed to put on quite a lot of weight before I started to look big again. Maybe because I was exercising. I am a couple of stone lighter than you 5ft 4 and a 14/16. I look overweight at the moment and need to lose weight, I will aim for a size 12 as 10 takes huge effort for me.

I am going to hunt down a body comp machine as my gym does not have hi tech equipment! I reckon i'll have a loads of fat on my arse !
Thank you all for your comments x

OP I suspect it's a combination of your build (you sound like a mesomorph) and the amount of muscle you have. If you're deadlifting twice your bodyweight, you're seriously strong. And if your abs show, then your body fat is pretty low. Which would all explain why you're 2 stone heavier than your same size friend.

I'm surprised you've never had body composition measurements taken. Most gym/fitness people I know are slightly obsessed with them. I think you should get measured as I'm sure it'll confirm you have a relatively high % of muscle and a low % of body fat. This is a lot more reliable than BMI calculations.

I'm 5'9 and do a lot of exercise, including weights at least 3 times a week. Compared to my peers I have always been heavier than them even when our body measurements are the same. Some of the pearl clutching on this thread about you being overweight is ridiculous. If all you look at is BMI, my gym is full of 'obese' people. 'Obese' people who are ripped and that people drool over when the guys take their tops off.

I am at the higher end of the healthy weight scale for my height right now but when I've been at the lower end, I look positively emaciated and everyone tells me that I've "gone too far" and "need to eat more, exercise less". Some of us are just not built to be tiny, fine-boned little things that would blow away in the wind. Maybe I'm biased but strong is the new sexy.

apparently waist to hip ratio is a good indicator of health. Sounds like yours is probably good but I would think mine is terrible right now. www.diabetes.co.uk/waist-to-hip-ratio-calculator.html

Assuming her measurements really are the same (waist, bust, hips, arms, thighs etc and you are the same height, then I suppose it is possible for some people to weigh more than others despite being the same size they look like they do.

What I think is more likely is that you may have proportionately more muscle than your friend which will make some difference but you are also likely to be someone who puts on weight evenly around your body rather than all on one or two places like some people more than. You are probably slightly bigger than her all over but it is not much on any one place so it seems you are the same size

Btw the most accurate body comp measurements are done with calipers. Old school but effective. Machines tend to be relatively less accurate as there are so many variables (such as how hydrated you are etc).

My gym has a more expensive (£30k!) version of this body composition analyser but results with calipers have been just as good - and aren't affected by me drinking an extra glass of water!

originfitness.com/inbody-570-body-composition-analyser

Size 14 is on the large size. Good grief.

5k in 20 mins wow, I wish I could run that fast!

It does sound over weight to me, but then I'm 5'7 and 8st 10lb. I eat healthy, but don't diet per se, eat cakes, choc, etc but in moderation. But I'm a runner, training 5-6x per week and averaging 50 miles. I'm a size 8, even at my heaviest post Uni I was 11 and a half stone and I wore a size 10/12.

Yes, I am one of those ‘heavy’ people even when slim. I remember a shock in my twenties when it transpired that a colleague of mine who was clearly and undeniably fat (whilst I was slim) not only wore the same size 14, but she also weighed 2st less! It is all b**cks.

What matters is one’s fat to muscle ratio. Little muscle and lots of fat = very bad health wise even if at normal weight. Conversely, good muscle mass in relation to fat means better health markers even in the ‘overweight’ BMI range. Indeed, it was proven that the healthiest BMI appears to be in the ‘overweight’ section on the chart.

Take your measurements rather than weighing yourself - apparently, it's more accurate. I read the other day that women's waists should be no more than 80cm - mine is 85cm, and I know I need to be cutting back on processed carbs and sugar, so am going to do this. What you eat is more important than exercise.

I'm not seeing how you're not overweight or obese to be honest.

I was the same, didn't realise how big I was until I lost the weight and looked back at photos and clothes.

If you go on My Body Gallery it's really useful to put your measurements in and see

I can't see your photo so you could be pure muscle BUT when I was 13.5 stone and same height as you I was at the gym most days. I said I was average size and that my body was heavy. I then joined slimming world and lost 3 stone and looking back at photos I was all tummy but had grown so slowly I couldn't see it and everyone agreed with me about 'being average' as they were too polite! I went to the gym but did the 'lazy' bike and walked on treadmill then treated myself with food! Nothing wrong with being size 14 at all anyway! I'm a size 12 now at 5'8 and 11 stone and I wouldn't say I'm any happier than I was when I was 13.5 stone, just a bit healthier.

A healthy weight means that you will look thin. You are supposed to be thin. I weigh 12st 6lb and am 5'7" and upper limit of healthy weight for me is 11st 5lb, so I'm a stone overweight. But the lower healthy weight limit is 8st 6lb. I look slim at the moment although I am carrying some belly weight. I'm size 14-16. If I weighed 8st 6lb I would be emaciated and look as if I had an eating disorder. But technically I would still be a healthy weight

I am 5ft 5in. Size 16 atm and 13.8.5 stone. Which is obese.

However, even at 11st I look ill, my face collapses in, my boobs shrivel and I have no arse. My ideal weight for me is 11st 4lbs. Am a size 12. Look well but not fat, but not ill either.

Individual weight is just that individual. And while BMI helps, I don't think it's the set in stone guide people think. Have just rejoined SW and set my target to 11st 7lbs. Which is still in the overweight category but what is comfortable for me and maintainable and doesn't have me looking ill.

I've got some body composition scales and I've got no idea how accurate they are or what the ratios are supposed to be. They say I'm 26% fat and 40% muscle but I've no idea if that's normal or not.