to be miffed at India Knight for writing a weight loss book....

[jasper]

When she is clearly still overweight ? AND it's just a rehash of low carb?
AND it's called Pig to Twig. TWIG?????

Phew, there, I've said it.

I am prepared to be told I am a nasty piece of work.

(By the way I am overweight too)

Rookiemater referred to doing a 'ridiculous amount of exercise' - what do people think of as a 'ridiculous amount'? I'm interested to know how much we would think of as normal - twice a week for half an hour? an hour a day? and are we talking brisk walks or killer aerobics?

it's not a fantastic argument against prejudiced fattists is it?

how dumbed down do you want to go with your kiss my fat arse?

I can answer that one myself, after I have finished tittering at Quattrocento.

When I have been size 10-12 I was either training for a half marathon which involved running 3-4 times per week, with at least one long run of an hour and did 2 classes of Bodypump, oh and sometimes on Saturday for fun my friend and I would do spin strength followed by bodypum. I was probably exercising 6-8 hours per week.

ATM I actually still do a reasonable amount of exercise, I walk for at least half an hour per day at the weekend, I go swimming once a week and to Bodypump. I cycle to work but not right now because of the snow. I just don't seem to burn off calories that efficiently, plus I eat too much of the wrong types of food.

Sorry just one more thing, being a bit overweight I find it difficult to do the more vigorous type of activity that I used to do i.e. I went for a run at the weekend but having to haul around extra poundage made it really hard work.

Heard an interview with nutritionists on Radio 4 recently. They reduced all these debates about weight down to one simple thing, ie, "waist size".

They advised throwing away weighing scales and monitoring waistbands instead. If they are getting too tight, it's time to eat more healthily and exercise.

It's not exactly rocket science I suppose but I'm slightly horrified because I'm one of those unfortunates who put weight on in a really unflattering way ie despite being tall with long limbs have a great big new podge belly!

Apparently the fat you put on around your thighs and bum is fairly inert. But the fat around one's tum winds its way around your liver and internal organs and produces all sorts of chemicals which interfere with the way your body processes sugar and fat potentially leading to diabetes and high cholesterol. Scary stuff.

(Notes date 6 February in diary - start of Lent - start of new healthy eating and exercise regime.) Arrgghhhh ....

Anna, you wrote on another thread as well as this one that the healthy weight range according to the BMI is between 18 and 23. Everywhere I look it says up to 25 is a healthy weight. Where do you get your info from?

The latest UK research found at 18, i.e, lowest in the band you were least likely to get cancer and various other things (although another survey more comforting to the larger people said a stone overweight meant you lived longer... so go and buy the cream buns if you prefer that advice....)

The waist measurement test is a good one. The BMA and doctors are quite keen too on that one.

"The risk of heart disease and diabetes increases if your waist circumference is more than 35 inches (88 cm) for a woman and more than 40 inches (102 cm) for a man. You should strive for a waist size less than 31.5 inches if you are a woman and less than 37 inches if you are a man."

Ah just looked up 18 BMI for my height 5 foot 5 and that means I could be 8 stone and fine... just like that was it Louise Rednap who is normally 8 stone and went down to a very low weight briefly for a TV programme.

Appaently Mr Atkins was obese when he died. There may even be a tradition of overweight diet gurus.

Hi. I am trying to reach "Sophable" who posted on here - can anyone that knows here please let her know I am trying to find her to ask a question about cranial osteopathy? Thanks

Atkins wasn't obese when he died - some rather unscrupulous doctors issued details of his weight on death, which was increased largely due to massive water retention to do with his head injuries - his widow was incredibly distressed at the time by this nasty story and I'm sorry it's still got currency

stressed i'm here and it worked for ds when he didn't poo for 11 days!

the osteopath that I saw though has gone back to NZ

hope this helps!

Oi Soph! Are you coming Friday?????

I don't get a couple of points of this discussion - 5ft 5 and 8 and a half - 9 stone seems very light to me.

I'm only 5 ft tall and when I was 9 stone 3 I was a size 10 and very slim/slight - when I briefly dropped to 8 and a half stone I looked dreadful - really can't see how I would look remotely healthy if I was four inches taller and weighed as little as this.

For me at only 5ft tall, 10stone is my perfect weight, a size 14 - I look great at that and can find clothes to fit well.

Xenia - on the waist circumference thing - surely waist circumferences vary hugely during life?

My mother and I have identical body types (and height), but she is 29 years older than me. She actually weighs slightly less than me, as she has lost muscle mass, especially in her legs. She's very slim and fit, for 70. But her waist is much larger than mine - and mine, same weight for weight, was quite a bit less 20 years ago. So how does the waist measurement index account for that.

Laurie, are you made of lead?

I am 5' 1". And a healthy weight for me would be in the 8 stone range. (sadly I'm more than that, but not hugely more)

waist circumference is an indicator of fat stored around the vital organs which is why it's important.

Body shape does vary wildly and affect 'ideal' weights - I'm 5 7 1/2 and at 9 stone was v v v skinny (wide shoulders and hips, large norks, big hands and feet). At 10 stone I'm a 10/12 and fine. At 9 stone I was a 10 and bony.

My mother is a completely different shape (apple) and looks best at a size 14/16 - she's gone down to a 12 before now and a) it's yo yo dieting which is a v bad plan and b) she looked awful.

I am sure someone my height 5 foot 5 is fine from a lowest of 8 stone (which I think is about 18. something BMI) up to about 10 stone which is BMI 23 and I am sure anyone a stone heavier is not likely to have health issues over it. So I suppose I am saying for that height 8 stone to 10 or 11 is fine. But between 8/9 is the healthier end of the normal weight for that height. Anything under 18 BMI is dangerously underweight and not advisable. But what annoys me is people saying girls of 8 or 8 and a half stone are anorexic. They're not, they're normal weight for that height, it's just the rest of the country has gone obese so normality is not recognised any more.

Anna, I am sure you are right about where weight is and age but for most people the doctors here think that the waist measurement is a good easy way to tell in the surgery who is too heavy particularly all these grotesquely fat middle age men with the awful beer bellies who look as if they're pregnant.

I hope it's better written than the column she used to write about her relationship!

Xenia - completely agree that some people seem to have lost all sight of what a normal-weight, healthy body looks like - and probably, therefore, of what it feels like to live in a healthy, fully-functioning body.

I think that the person who said that they would be filled with self-loathing at a size 16 was being particularly honest. All studies show that most women have a horrible self-image, and the age that girls start their antagonistic relationship with the scales/mirror is getting shockingly lower.

I think that BMI, size, weight are difficult to use as a measure of health. I'm only 5'2" and if I hit over 100 pounds (about 7 stone 2, i think), I look chubby. I'm oriental and small boned so carrying any extra weight really shows. A person who was my same height and larger boned would look skinny at 100 pounds.

The health issues with skinny vs fat aren't absolute. There was a recent study showing that the morbidity/mortality of being skinny was higher than those who were chubby (not obese, just heavier than the ideal BMI).

My brother works with people with eating disorders as a psychiatrist. Many very skinny anorexics as he and all of us know think they're fat. What always surprises me is beautiful women who think they are ugly. It's weird. What causes that mind set? I've always quite liked how I looked unless I'd put on too much weight. On the whole I quite like the overall package even at age 46 so what makes one person like that and another not? Is it because I don't watch TV? Is it the self esteem my parents gave me as they brought me up? Is it just that I don't look too bad anyway?

awwwww....xenia....show us a pic of you....if you do i will...temporarily of course.

Don't want to breach my confidentiality. There are a few on my web site but I don't want to disclose that.

You must all buy a book just out written by a family member about eating disorders although for men so I doubt mumsnet is the right place to post that......

www.amazon.co.uk/Invisible-Man-Self-help-Disorders-Compulsive/dp/1583911502

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