To be surprised I'm overweight?

[overweightcat]

I don't know why but it's really knocked me for six.
I went on the NHS BMI calculator and found out I'm classed as overweight.

I'm 26 and weigh 74kg at 169cm height. Looking at it writing it down I realise it's quite a big number (weight) and before even going on the calculator I knew I'm carrying some extra weight and wanted to loose some to feel a bit better about myself but didn't realise I'm overweight.

I don't hate my current body, my stomach isn't flat but not huge, I've got some stretch marks and a bit of looser skin from 2 pregnancies, my thighs and arms are a bit bigger but I didn't think it was excessive, I've got a good bum and ok boobs all things considered and I'm curvy(ish).
I'm also quite strong and I know some of it will be muscle but definitely not all I'm not silly enough to think that.

AIBU to be really surprised I'm classed as overweight?

For some reason it's really shocked me and I'm feeling very self conscious since finding out.

BMI is rubbish. The F** it diet Book has a lot of info and references on it. Read the book!

I'm 5 ft 8 and 10 stone 12, classed as 'normal' (just did my BMI). It said anything under 11 stone 11 is normal. Would say you only have a few pounds to lose to have a 'normal' BMI. Try not to worry. I have cut down to one big meal a day and snacks now as am barely moving in the day and if I eat 3 meals I know I will end up putting on alot as am just not moving.

I hate the BMI

I’ve lost 3.5 stone over the last year, I feel healthy and strong thanks to strength training. However, I’m still overweight according the my BMI.

That in itself doesn’t bother me, but to be in the “healthy bracket” it suggests that I lose more weight, anything from 1-3 stones. If I lost anymore weight I would look gaunt in the face. I take it with a pinch of salt

173cm and 74kg over here, and I think I look over a healthy weight. I’m pretty muscular from exercise, but I have far too much belly fat to be healthy, and a bit of flab spread around. It’s not to do with confidence, I think I’m simply above a weight which should be labelled as healthy or ideal. There’s no reason to be upset or depressed over having weight creep up, but now is the time for small changes. I’ve slowly improved my diet and increased my exercise and I feel better, I’ve lost 5kg very slowly.

Hi OP
I’m 170cm and 71kg and when I look in the mirror I think “I could definitely do with losing 2kg”
If you’re overweight it’s only mildly so. A lot of my DPs family are 4 stone + overweight which is huge in comparison.
If you’re body is strong and healthy and you feel good about it then what’s the worry.
If you want to lose weight then I wouldn’t lose any more than a stone.

I really understand the creep. I’ve gone from 55kg to 75kg rather easily!!!

It depends where you put weight on, if it's all over then it's easier for it to creep up on you. If that entire 2 stone was on your stomach it would probably be more obvious.

I'm not much lighter but quite considerably shorter and really need to do something about it because I know it will only get harder as I get older.

Just lose 2.5 - 3 stone and you'll look and feel better. Don't rush it. Take until the end of the year.

Seriously taking her to 8.5 to 9 stone? What rubbish my 15 year old is a size 6/8 is 169cm and weighs 8.5 stone - she's tiny and I don't expect her to be that weight or size when she's 26.

11.5 stone for a 5ft 5inch woman isn't obese or fat it is mildly overweight in medical terms and that measurement is a blunt instrument. Op If you want to lose 7lb to get yourself below 25 BMI then go for it, but your previous satisfaction with your body will be of way more benefit to you in terms of happiness and mental health than worrying for the sake of 1 point in the BMI scale.

That is pretty heavy for 5’6 ish.

You could lose a stone and be in the healthy weight category and you’d feel and look a lot better.

Fucks sake if she loses 3 stone she'll need a bloody zimmer frame she would be like a skeleton! There's always one on mn isn't there, who thinks if you are anything over a size 10 you're a whale and should immediately stop eating anything but slices of apple and the odd lettuce leaf.

I am about your height. When I was 30 i moved in with a boyfriend, bought a car, ate a lot of takeaways and home baking and went to the gym less. I'd noticed my clothes were tight. I weighed myself and found I was about your weight.

I wasnt a massive size - I was a large 14. I remember being quite thrown and it shook my self image. These things sneak up on you.

As others have said. This is a small amount of weight to lose and you have had two pregnancies and probably little time for you.

Its an opportunity to make some tweaks to your lifestyle - eve with corona - do some dancing round the living room with the kids and do some cooking together.

I know what you mean. I'm the same height nearly (170cm) and I weighed 11st 4lb for years. Technically yes, it's only a size 12 and many would say it's not overweight etc but I definitely looked overweight or "a bit chubby". Double chin, chunky arms, a bit of a spare tyre etc. I think some people carry it differently but for me you could see it just didn't suit my frame which is (I know it sounds odd) naturally willowy/slender (or should be).

10st looks good on me. It's not skinny, it's not thin, I don't look bony but the extra bits (double chin, arms etc) have gone. (If I wanted to look properly slim I'd be 9s -9st 4 but that it hard to get to and even harder to maintain).

I made a big effort to watch what I ate, basically cut down on the snacking and junk food, had smaller dinner portions etc. I don't find 10st too hard to maintain.

The advice is that we all try to be at the lower end of the average/ healthy end of the BMI.

So above 25 is overweight.

Ideally, according to our height and build, we should aim for somewhere between 18.5 and 25. Perhaps in the middle for a medium build person? So BMI of around 21- 22.

My BMI is 19. I have a small build and am 5 3". My weight is around 2kgs more than when I was 21, (now mid 60s) but I know I've lost muscle on my thighs, and gained fat around my middle which I am trying to shift.

You only need to lose 3kg to be a healthy weight. Take it really slowly, do some simple diet swaps (e.g. wholemeal pasta instead of white pasta) and you'll lose it in a really sustainable way.

If OP is heavily set, she might only need to lose half/3 quarters of a stone to be a healthy weight. If she is of a slight build, she could need to lose a couple of stone. Hard to know without seeing.
I weigh nearly 10 stone, but if I asked people they’d say I looked 9 stone. I have got an enormous bonce and fat ankles tho. As I say, it all depends on your build.

I'm similar and wear a size 10, maybe a 12 in bottoms at the moment, but also an 8 in some things, but classed as overweight. The nurse looked at me and said "I'd never have thought you weighed that much"! I do have a fair amount of muscle but definitely have some fat to loose that's crept on over the last couple of years (less exercise & more wine!)

@awkwardbuttons I think it's doing people a disservice to say 'you only need to lose X to be a healthy weight'.

The medical advice is to be at the l ower end of healthy.

It's a bit like telling people it's fine to drive at 39mph or 29mph in a 40 or 30mph limit, when in fact it's still possibly dangerous to do that speed.

You don't have to achieve half a kilo short of the maximum to be healthy!

It's not a case of phew, BMI 24.9, that's great.

BMI is rubbish
No it isn't, it's a very useful guide for the vast majority of the population, especially women. There's no need to read any 'diet books' to know that.
OP personally I would take this as a wake up call and lose a bit of weight before it gets any worse. It's very easy to gradually move from overweight to obese without really noticing. I'm speaking from personal experience here.

Just lose 2.5 - 3 stone and you'll look and feel better. Don't rush it. Take until the end of the year.

I hope this is a mistake and you actually meant kg. Otherwise you’re talking about losing nearly 20kg

I think it is partly because we normalise being overweight. I am a size 14-16 and I am classed as obese. I know I am overweight but I never considered myself as obese and I never really consider the health implications. I am an average build when you look at the rest of society.

It sounds like you’re between 5-10lbs overweight so not a huge amount. To be in the middle of the healthy range you should probably look at losing about a stone.

Our perception on what is a healthy weight has become a bit skewed. I know I’m over weight, currently the biggest I have ever been at 13 stone due to inactivity (I have RA). It took me a while to realise as although I can see what I look like, I am surrounded by people who are bigger than me which means I didn’t see it as quickly as I should have done.
It’s the same with children, a lot of parents can’t see when their kids are overweight as we don’t have a clear perception! It doesn’t help that clothing sizes differ drastically- for example, a size 10 is not a standard size across all brands, which means that clothing too can be hard to gauge if you have put on weight.

The main thing is is that you now know where you fall and can therefore plan a bit better in terms of weight loss. I would first analyse what you are eating as I think a lot of people don’t really account for additional calories they are consuming - a couple of sweets here, extra potato at dinner etc. Maybe write down everything you are eating (regardless of how little some foods might be) and check that your diet is actually healthy and start from there

How can you know you are a lot heavier than you used to be but be surprised you're overweight?

I also disagree with the ‘BMI is rubbish’ brigade - usually pushed by those who don’t like what their BMI is telling them. Unless you’re incredibly tall and incredibly muscular - and I’m talking Vladimir Klitschko or Dwayne Johnson kind of tall and muscular - it’s a pretty good indicator of how much you should weigh for your height. I could lose around 6kg or gain about 10 and still be considered in the healthy bracket so it’s hardly constricting either.

Fucks sake if she loses 3 stone she'll need a bloody zimmer frame she would be like a skeleton!

Don't be bloody ridiculous! I'm the same height and more than 3 stone lighter and don't remotely resemble a skeleton.