To think I am not overweight?

[orangegerbil]

According to BMI, I am overweight with a reading over 27. I am 5'3 and weigh almost 11 stone. I haven't weighed myself in years so I am a little shocked.

I could do with losing a bit around my tummy, but I am a size 10 so I can't be that bad surely? I do have quite a big chest but that can't be the only reason for my weight.

The NHS uses BMI calculators so I am slightly concerned about it as it must be a trusted way of measuring things. Is it possible to have a high BMI but not be overweight?

It depends a LOT on your shape!

If your breasts are that big and you have a sim waist then maybe you're not ''that overweight'' although with a BMI of 27 there will be suggestions you could/should lose a few pounds.

It was actually covid 19 that prompted me to get my BMI back down from 27 (which it had crept up to gradually over the years). I wasn't over eating massively either, just, ate too much bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, never met a carb that I didn't like.

But unlike you, never had a big bust, always quite up and down, so with a bmi of 27 I was (I am imagining) more barrel shapped than you!

Clothing sizes are arbitrary. On the high street I am anything between a 10 and a 14 and even when I shop in the same shop, my sizing dithers.

It’s hard to say as some people are heavier than they look. At a small height 5ft 3 (I’m the same height too). I wouldn’t fit in a size 10 weighing 11 stones it’s quite heavy for a small height.

I think we’ve become very good at being in denial about weight.

I’m 5’6” and was always very slim in my early 20s but slowly crept up to 12stone and could fit a size 12 (10 in m&s). I knew I wanted to be slimmer but was shocked when I measured BMI and waist circumference that I was in the high end of overweight. Everyone told me I was slim and fit, a combination of people being kind and a general rise in the sizes we are used to seeing. It doesn’t help.

Since losing two stone, I’m firmly in a healthy BMI and I have so much more energy and life. People say ‘if you’re happy with what you see, don’t worry’ but a BMI or waist measurement is telling you something about your health.

I’m a bit shorter at 5,1, weigh 11 stone 5 and my bmi is 30 and obese... I need to be less than 9 stone 7 to have a healthy bmi so I’d guess you need to be at least less than 10 stone to not be overweight (unless you’re very muscular).

11 stone at 5'3 is overweight, unless you're Dwayne Johnson levels of muscly. My mum was noticeably chubby at 10st at 5'3. I wouldn't worry about it if you're healthy/ fit/ eat well though.

M&S and Next have quite large sizes, and the shorter you are the smaller a healthy size is. Our perception of overweight has changed a lot as the average person gets larger.

I’m also a size 12

@Chesneyhawkes1

I'm 5ft 3" and have put a few lbs on over the last two months. I'm 8 st 10 now. I'm shocked you are a size 10 as I have some size 10 shorts that are only a bit too baggy on me.

I'm a similar weight to you and I'm also very surprised. I do wear an 8/10. But I would not expect to be able to weigh 2+ Stone more and wear a 10 still.

Healthy BMI is a "statistical" range for the "average" person and at your height the healthy range is from ca. 54 to 60 kg. That's the weight range with the least risk of getting a weight related and cost inducing illness. Everything above or below is considered 'risky'.

Absolutely nothing to do with clothes sizes.

I am at the upper end of my weight range - so my GP is happy. But sitting down in front of a mirror in my underwear, I can see that it is too heigh.

@CountFosco apologies, it's more like 10st8 i was in a hurry!

Also, I know someone who is very tall and over 20 stone who is very pleased to be able to wear a size 14/16 dress.

We all have a different idea of how clothes should fit. A measuring tape is a much more accurate indicator of size.

@Skyliner001 no way I could put on 2 stone and wear a 10. I'd be a 14 I reckon.

To fit back into my size 6 I'd have to drop back to 8 stone. I've got a small frame too. Skinny wrists etc. Strange how people carry weight differently isn't it.

@orangegerbil I think you are definitely overweight.

I am your height and weigh around 7 st 10.
My BMI is around 19.

I have slim legs and small boobs and my waist is 28. Used to be 24!

I'm in my 60s and have to work hard at not putting on fat around my middle.

I’m 5’2 and overweight at 9stone13/tipping 10 stone. I am a size 10 currently. A healthy weight for my height in my eyes is no more than 9stone5.

I doubt it’s a true size ten you are (sorry albeit sizing doesn’t matter). All shops differ.

I would go on BMI, if you’ve got a Fitbit/Apple Watch then resting heart rate to check fitness.

You may be a very different shape as that sounds overweight. I’m 5ft2 and I was a size 12 at 9st7. I’m now 8st 5 and a size 8-10. My jeans are a 10.

OP- my DH is your weight and is 5 11" tall. He's pretty muscly and fit.

Where is all your weight?

Hi OP. I'm that height and that weight. I'm a size 8 though. My waist is 27in but I DO train.

I was gifted a gorgeous vintage Monsoon dress recently - size 14. It's much smaller than a recently purchased new size 10 Monsoon dress! Just goes to show how sizes are much more generous.

I know we all carry weight differently - but I'm a size 10, weigh under 10 stone and am 5.8".

When I was at my heaviest (14 stone) I was a size 18. When I got down to 11 stone during my weight loss, I was a size 14.

Another one surprised that you're a 10 at your height/weight OP, but we all carry weight differently.

It must be all boobs op. I'm 5.3. 9st 10 and a 12-14, 26 BMI

Apparently bmi was invented in the 1830s.

Personally I think it's really quite inaccurate...people centuries ago were noticeably smaller in terms of height and stature. Ever been to a historical building and seen how small everything is? Yes, lots of people nowadays are overweight but if I lost enough weight to be at the lower end of my healthy bmi, I'd look skeletal and have to starve myself to get there. I had a healthy bmi in my late teens...I ate one meal a day to achieve it.

I'm 5ft 3, around 8 stone 5, BMI of 20 a 21 and size 8-10. . I started off with a BMI like yours and fought hard to lose this weight. I can see now I was completely in denial about how overweight I was

I'm 5ft 2 and 9stone 6. I used to be 11stone - it crept on without really noticing and at that weight I could wear anything from size 10-14 so I believe you when you say you fit into 10.
Sizes vary so much, next are very generous where as topshop and river island for example come up smaller.

It does sound like your bust could weigh a lot so you probably don't really look like your 11 stone.

If you are happy with how you look and you are healthy then don't worry

A lot of fat is 'visceral' ie internal, surrounding muscles, not visible - and this is the most dangerous type of fat

I'm 5ft 4" and 9st 8 which the BMI calculator puts at 22.8 and within the acceptable weight although a few pounds more than I like to be (used to be). I would be size 12 at the top and 10 at the bottom, I don't know how you can be size 10 at 11 stone although I make my own clothes so haven't worn a bought garment for a while.

I'm 27 on the bmi chart I am over weight for me I'm 5'7 and 12 '5stone but pregnant at the moment was 11.7 before pregnancy and was still over weight