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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think you can still look overweight with a lowish bmi?

96 replies

Shopkinshurtlikelego · 10/05/2019 22:12

My bmi is just under 19 (5ft 6 and 8 stone) and I still don’t look slim. I don’t look fat but I don’t look slim.
Dh says I don’t need to lose anymore weight but I think I probably still need to tone up.
I think bmi is a very blunt tool isn’t it?

OP posts:
Bringbackthestripes · 10/05/2019 23:33

So NO BMI isnt a ‘blunt tool’as you said in your op. 5ft 4” solid muscle rugby players would be classed as morbidly obese, tiny people with a Pot belly who are slim everywhere else could be classed as low BMI.
I would suggest you go and see your GP, they will be able to look at you as a Whole and discuss your lifestyle, order bloods if necessary.

Capara · 10/05/2019 23:35

Op, these are real danger signs for anorexia which is usually triggered by weight loss.
How much do you eat in a day? How would feel if you put on, say, half a stone? Would that really upset you?

DGV · 10/05/2019 23:35

@titchy where did I say it was normal?

chippingalong · 10/05/2019 23:37

I'm sorry @DGV I was being flippant (and unhelpful - you're right). These conversations do genuinely kind of exhaust me because I don't like to think of so many women out there torturing themselves with calorie intakes and BMIs etc. (I wish we could all let ourselves go a bit more - hence the misjudged pizza comment!) But I guess that's the way of the world. FWIW OP, I am sure you look very slim - I can't imagine otherwise.

Tavannach · 10/05/2019 23:57

I'm 5'6" and 8.5 stone.
I am slim. So, given that you're half a stone lighter than me, you are definitely slim, if not a little underweight.

DGV · 11/05/2019 06:04

@chippingalong Brew

Teateaandmoretea · 11/05/2019 07:25

You are at very high risk and you should contact your GP if your waist is:
102cm (40ins) or more for men
88cm (34ins) or more for women”

There would be some very overworked doctors surgeries if too many followed that advice at once.....

OP you must be tiny, it is as simple as that. Rather than concentrating on weight why not concentrate now on improving your strength and just gaining a bit of weight that way?

Ihatehashtags · 11/05/2019 07:40

Yes I think so. Sometimes people who have a funny body shape, I’ll defined neck look overweight

Rezie · 11/05/2019 07:50

This could all be in your head which can really become problematic.

Also your built will determine how you look despite your weight. People with large hips and broad shoulders will appear bigger even if they don't height that much. But then again some skinny people are "skinny fat" where they appear very skinny but their fat % is the same as obese people.

nickyXjayno · 11/05/2019 08:05

Bmi is a load of crap. My husband is classed as obese. He's 6ft 1 and 16 stone but Bmi says he should lose 2 stone!
He's quite muscular and a runner. Very strong and built guy. Think rugby player sort of look.
I am 8.5 stone and 5ft 1 and I also carry a lot of muscle in my legs being a runner and my Bmi states I need to lose a stone as I'm going near the over weight category.
I'm a size 6 to 8!
Everyone has different body types and if your body type is to have skinny legs and arms but carry weight around middle then you won't feel very slim, my friend has this body type and she hates it.
Being skinny isn't everything. As long as I'm generally fit and I look slim I'm happy. But I definitely have more of an athletic figure than a skinny one. I love my food and exercise too much to be skinny lol

Bestfootforward1 · 11/05/2019 08:07

Wow that is very slim. I think you should work on your confidence and self image rather than your weight.

proudwelshmaiden · 11/05/2019 08:13

BMI can be a blunt tool, but at your weight and height you are heading towards being underweight. You may still have "wobbly bits", when I'm at my skinniest I still don't have a model like figure as I just don't have that body shape. Your perception of what it means to be overweight is very off. If it's a real problem, I'd seek some CBT which could really helpThanks

Bestfootforward1 · 11/05/2019 08:15

Omg i cant believe the amount of people on here suggesting that yes, the OP might look a bit chunky. Seriously?? No way.

Wenttoseainasieve · 11/05/2019 08:19

I'm 5"8 and 8.5 stones or thereabouts. I'm a size 8 and i am certainly very slim, as you must be too. However having had a baby not very long ago and not having time to exercise, I'm 'skinny fat' ie not very toned. I've restarted doing weight exercises and I already look more toned. Also important as thin women are more at risk of osteoporosis which weight bearing exercise can help prevent!

LizziesTwin · 11/05/2019 08:21

Photo is not me but 20s DD. She is about the weight & height you say you are OP. She is v toned and exercises regularly so not saggy but she eats a lot of healthy food. She is v slight.

To think you can still look overweight with a lowish bmi?
TheNavigator · 11/05/2019 08:26

I am 8.5 stone and 5ft 1 and I also carry a lot of muscle in my legs being a runner and my Bmi states I need to lose a stone as I'm going near the over weight category.

Sorry, but that is nonsense, according to the NHS BMI a healthy weight range for your height is 6st 14lb - 9st 6lb, so you are nowhere near the overweight category - you could gain over a stone and still be a healthy weight. BMI is a broadly correct measure for most of the population and is gives a broad range of healthy.

OP, you are very slim, I weigh the same as you at 5 foot 1 and I am considered a teeny, wee thing. Your DH is right, you really do not need to lose more weight and you will not look overweight. Please relax and enjoy your lovely slim body.

ContinuityError · 11/05/2019 09:09

I am 8.5 stone and 5ft 1 and I also carry a lot of muscle in my legs being a runner and my Bmi states I need to lose a stone as I'm going near the over weight category

Rubbish. Your BMI is 22.5. You could put on a stone before approaching the overweight category.

schoolsoutforever · 11/05/2019 09:10

I am exactly the same height as you and have been 8 stone in the past, at which point I fitted into a size zero gap jeans. Ie very slim. I have also (a very long time ago) been anorexic and weighted under five stone. I still had a bit of a belly (probably water retention or something as I barely ate at all at the time). The point is that you are very slim at your height and weight and either you should try some specific exercises or learn to love your own shape (and maybe put on half a stone? I always looked best about 8stone 10 I'd say). Good luck and be careful of worrying too much about specific body parts; I'm sure you look lovely.

whatsthecraic91 · 11/05/2019 09:13

BMI is unfair to short people I am 5ft 3 and 10st 5 and my BMI is 26 and that is classed as overweight! I am in no way fat I am a size 10.

saywhatwhatnow · 11/05/2019 09:15

You can't be anything other than slim really. You may be confusing toned and slim though. I'm slim but not very toned, can't really blame it on the baby as he's 1 now but it's definitely changed my body.

Ihatehashtags · 11/05/2019 09:18

@Lizziestwin she is tiny. OP if you are anything like this I’d view you as underweight

Ces6 · 11/05/2019 09:20

I think it's possible but not probably the case when bmi is so low. Mine is 23 but I am flatchested (bmi doesn't really take that into account) with a big stomach and thighs!

CecilyP · 11/05/2019 09:27

Bmi is a load of crap....I am 8.5 stone and 5ft 1 and I also carry a lot of muscle in my legs being a runner and my Bmi states I need to lose a stone as I'm going near the over weight category. I'm a size 6 to 8!

Except it doesn't! It states that a healthy weight for a woman your height is 6.14 to 9.6 stone, so you're pretty much bang in the middle.

Original poster
Shopkinshurtlikelego · 11/05/2019 09:29

Gosh Lizziestwin she is super tiny!
Im twice as big as her 😂 no thigh gap...
Maybe it’s the having had two kids. It’s made me fat slim.

OP posts:
CecilyP · 11/05/2019 09:39

Yes you can definitely look a bit plump at the higher end of a healthy BMI, but as OP's weight is below the start of of the healthy range, I can't see how she could look anything other than very slim. Even with a small frame and very little muscle it is hard to imagine where this flab is supposed to be.