8.5 stone and I still don’t feel thin?

[Mymygivemeafry]

Been eating more healthily and walking a lot and now weigh 8 1/2 stone (I am also quite short) but still don’t feel thin- still have wobbly and blobby patches.

Is anyone else the same? What did you do?

You are half my weight. Half

Tatiana if you'd rtft you'd see that I've posted the bmi range for 5'3 at least once

I have read the thread, I’ve looked at the BMI posts. OP is in the mid range for her height, thus her weight ‘is not that little’ as I first said. It’s about average.

That might explain why she doesn’t feel thin as she’s not superthin for her height. Altho - as per my post I think it’s more an issue of not being toned.

If she were 7.5 stone and she didn’t feel thin, there may be an issue.

Oh I see.

Your repeating back to me info I'd given ages upthread gave me the wrong impression. That and you seemed to be taking about the op, while my comments about mean spirited posts had been in response to stuff said to a woman who was not the op.

It was a bit confusing.

Thin to me means stick-like. Furry toe’s pic looks slim but not stick-like. To me slim is the ideal and therefore she looks ideal.

I suspect people could be offended to hear that 8.5st at 5’3” is only “normal” or mid range because 65% of adults are overweight and therefore outside of their BMI. So when you’re in the 35% who is within their BMI, especially if you make an effort and sacrifices to be slim, it may stick in the throat to be called normal or mid range.

So 8.5st and 5’3” is actually a lot slimmer than the current norm. Perhaps in the 60s it would’ve been considered mid range (slim but “expected”) because most people were slim. However, furry toe is in the minority nowadays, significantly slimmer than average.

"Feeling" thin, is obviously different to actually being thin based on your BMI. It's not offensive to advise someone based on their BMI they are not thin but normal for their height.

Being a normal weight is probably a good thing not too thin and not overweight.

The last time I was weighed I was 7stone 2 but I don't feel thin as I'm only 4"11. I feel normal and could probably tone up a little more. I have never checked my BMI and never weight myself at home, I base everything in how my clothes fit and how I feel.

If I feel a bit more wobbly than normal I do exercise that concentrates on that area

People are so weird about fat and thin. I am 5ft 3 and have been anywhere between 9.5 stone and 14.5 stone as an adult. I'd feel incredibly skinny at 8.5 stone as I'm not used to it. At 10 stone i was at the top end of bmi but very toned and firm as i exercised a lot. But during and after dieting i was more obsessive about my weight and how i looked and never felt satisfied. I am more content with my body now at 13 stone than i was at 9.5. Just do what works for you as long as you stay healthy.

You are slim ! Just need to shift exercise into toning and muscle building
Get a yoga mat from TK max and start there !!

I get it OP. I'm 9 stone at the moment and still feel like a chunky monkey

I've stupidly always listened to people commenting on my looks & weight.

At 10 stone a man said 'your arse is too fat' but looking at old photos of me dancing in Ibiza at that weight I was nice & curvy but definitely not fat.
At 9 stone in a bikini in Mallorca I was positively thin but still felt I was fat as one of my flatmates told me that if she was a size 12 like me she'd kill herself.
At 7 stone 12lbs in a mini skirt I was told by my colleagues that my 'legs were like sticks' & I was recovering from an eating disorder but I Still felt fat.

Now I'm 12 stone but I feel happy because I've lost 2 stone & my weight is slowly reducing.

I'm not thin at all but my legs are nicely toned thanks to the gym & I look good in my clothes & feel attractive.
I think that being strong & fit & toned is important, being stick thin not so. My aim is to get fit & continue to eat healthily & hopefully I will get to the right weight for me.

OP I can't see you but you can rest assured that your bmi means you're thin.

However you can get your body fat % & visceral fat checked at the local gym.
If these are too high you can lift weights to burn this type of fat, convert it to muscle & tone up your body.
But apart from cutting out any crap (if you don't do this already) you really won't need to actually go on a diet - you Will need to eat enough to get the energy to lift.

"Feeling" thin, is obviously different to actually being thin based on your BMI. It's not offensive to advise someone based on their BMI they are not thin but normal for their height

You can’t know that. Especially on numbers only, without actually meeting that person.

At the bottom end of normal BMI I am thin. In fact it took an ED to get me there, it is not a weight I can reach unless I restrict to below 800 cals per day, plus a lot of intensive exercise.

Not famine or concentration camp victim thin, but definitely thin. I had a 24 inch waist and 34 inch hips.

Thin is subjective anyway.

People also carry weight differently. I met someone at a dance class who I would have sworn was 9.5 st, same as me. Was utterly, utterly gobsmacked to find out she was 12st. I’d spent 6m beside her in front of mirrors and we looked the same size.

I don’t like these threads as people judge people’s size and declare them fat or thin based on numbers and comparison to themselves. It doesn't work like that.

Stop focusing on a number on the scales, or your wobbly bits and focus on what your body can do for you. Can you run, can you swim, can you lift weights, can you ride a bike..? Start using your body to move and set yourself goals based on strength, stamina or speed. You’ll soon find you look better as a side effect, regardless of what your weight does.

OP, my DD (and i used to) lift weights. My DD then took up Mauythai and she did a few classes in the gym.

You need, strengthening/body toning exercises.

You could buy a kettle bell that has different weights and do a workout at home. Resistance bands also help.

Im 5 foot 3 and 9 stone. ive been told im skinny. Here is proof i am not

I'm 5'5 and weigh 11st 3. You don't all need to pile on and tell me I'm overweight because I know. I'm in the process of getting from 12st 4 to 10st 7 which will be a healthy BMI and look ok. I'm naturally large framed and look ill if I lose too much weight.

Nice work to lose the first stone and not far to go, good luck!

I know it's hard but it's worth it. I had never been heavier before kids and I just didn't feel like me. Had perinatal depression and anxiety, was drinking etc. It was the worst time of my life tbh. But, these things are rectifiable. Keep at it :)

@Siameasy and @TatianaLarina - very helpful perspectives thank you and great to know you think it sounds slim/normal even if not ‘thin’.

In terms of what friends/family/acquaintances say, thankfully they don’t comment on my weight often, but have said occasionally in passing ‘oh but you’re so slim/tiny you don’t need to worry about those biscuits etc.’

Miriam, skinny to me means underweight. You look great.

Threads like this are grim. So many women deeply uncomfortable in their own skin. This Twitter thread goes some way to explain why. twitter.com/volewriter/status/1162431095780139010?s=20

We're indoctrinated from childhood on that we need to be slim to be attractive. As umpteen threads on MN testify, many parents do a lot of damage to their daughters' self-esteem by constantly criticising their bodies and eating habits.

FWIW, I'm 5'5" and not much under 12 stone. I'm in my late 50s and in many ways fitter than I've been for decades because I take more regular exercise. It's not easy to shift weight after the menopause. I'd like to, for the sake of my knees, but my main focus is to keep active, supple and reasonably strong. My appearance is the least important thing.

Comments like 'If I was a size 12 I'd kill myself' are not far short of criminal.

It depends so much on height & build. At 5ft10 with narrow shoulders & frame I was definitely too thin at 805stine & looked ill (legs like sticks, spine clearly visible) . I looked best & still very slim, at 9.5 to 10.

I'm 8.5st and 5'5", technically underweight. Due to an injury at Christmas followed by general laziness I've lost all the muscle definition in my arms and my superficial abs have turned to jelly. I feel wobbly and flabby even though really I'm not. Toning up makes loads of difference to how you feel i think.

Shape is important tho. I’m an Apple. If I had Kelly Brook’s shape I would happily carry more weight. However I put all my weight on on the torso. It not only looks unsightly it’s impractical to dress (always used to be between sizes as thick waisted but small hipped) and unhealthy. I have a choice-look like a potato balanced on two matchsticks or look like a teenage boy😂

I weigh the same, and I’m 5’9. This is what I weighed at 15 but I don’t “feel” thin anymore because regardless of what the scale says I’m squishier and jigglier due to birthing three babies.

@MiriamPearDrops you have a lovely figure. Great outfit!
I am the same weight and height as OP. People say that I’m ‘skinny’ and ‘thin’. My answer is that I’m not at all - I’m just quite a small person overall. Small people have wobbly bits too

I’m 7st 12lbs and 5ft 5 but I still don’t think I look thin.
I’m starting to realise I will never think i look thin.

You’re in the underweight category rewild. Can I gently suggest that your problem might not be your weight but how you are seeing yourself?

"Shape is important tho. I’m an Apple. If I had Kelly Brook’s shape I would happily carry more weight. However I put all my weight on on the torso. It not only looks unsightly it’s impractical to dress (always used to be between sizes as thick waisted but small hipped) and unhealthy. I have a choice-look like a potato balanced on two matchsticks or look like a teenage boy😂"

Ha ha. I have a thick waist as well and it's been quite interesting reading all he MN threads where people are shorter than me, weight more, but are a smaller dress size and it turns out it's because they're hourglass. Things are much harder when you have a thick waist.
With a large waist, you also become at risk of diabetes while still being very firmly within the healthy BMI so dieting for us is not just a vanity thing, we are actually unhealthy at a lower weight than others.
My other issue is my face, if I left myself be medium size n the body I get a really fat face and neck :(