To ask why I look like a sack of spuds at my weight

[Boiledpotatowitchbitch]

Been looking at before and after pictures on social media adverts for diets etc. (I know) The before photos look like me very out of shape etc but their weights are about 6 stone more and then the after photos are either the weight I am now or slightly less. So how come I look like 20 stone when I am 11stone 8 and how come the after photos are about that and I look nothing like that? I know everyone's different body shape heights etc but I am seriously all out of proportion. I 100% look like a sack of spuds I think larger women look amazing and thinner ones too but mostly carry their weight fairly evenly I just look like a melted cake with bulges everywhere I am 5 foot 5 was slim curvy. Measurement is 34f waist 32 hips 44 size 12-14 top 14-16 bottom but really 14 jeans too small and 16 trousers too big I know this isn't huge but I am just so lumpy and bumpy nothing looks nice at all.

Bmi is a wide range for a reason. Most people look best and are healthiest somewhere in the middle. I like mine to be less than 20 or I start to look heavy but i know others are fine being much heavier.

I'm 5 ft 8 so I don’t know the healthy weight range for 5 ft 5 but I do know that 11 st 8 is way too heavy.

I would have thought anywhere from roughly 8 and a half to 10 stone would be fine for most women of that height.

I just felt like the op asked a reasonable question and most of the posts are not going to help her. The reality is that she is significantly overweight, with a bmi of over 27, and that is what she should focus on if she really does wonder why she looks the way she does.

@Fireballxl5 she's overweight but no one here can tell the OP she's 2-3 stone over weight, BMI certainly doesn't.

@BloodAndFire you do not know the OP, you've said yourself you don't know the healthy range for her height, so where do you get off putting a 2-3 stone target on her?! Arrogance.

No, I agree.
Op is just about a stone overweight according to recommended weight.
However this healthy weight spans almost 2 stone.
I know myself that I looked a lot better pre kids and getting older and could carry being heavier.
Now I look better at the start of my healthy weight range so I aim for this.
Op needs to work partly on her weight and more on her tone probably.
But it’s totally up to op, she did sort of ask for advice though.

Whatever. Realistically a woman of 5 ft 5 is going to look like a sack of spuds if she weighs over 11 and a half stone. Realistically she would look and feel much better at 9 and a half.

But I'm not invested in her as I don't know her, and I'm not going to respond to or engage in personal insults.

All the faux flattery and ridiculous recommendations to stand up straight might be superficially flattering but they won't actually help her to address the thing that's bothering her.

Zzz

Perception is reality 99% of the time. If you look like a sack of spuds, you need to change your exercise and lose some weight. Posture and tailoring help but you are overweight and the camera adds 10lbs.

For me, the camera adds 20lbs. I’m just not photogenic. What I see in the mirror (it’s from ikea and I highly recommend getting one!) is vastly superior to what I see in pictures. I haven’t looked great in pictures in years. BMI wise I need to be in the normal range to look alright in a picture.

You dont know its "way too heavy", I am 5ft5 and 11 and a half stone and a size 10 do you clearly have no idea what you are on about

Top end is 10 stone and 10 lbs. We’re obviously talking about where it starts at the top not the bottom.

You dont know its "way too heavy", I am 5ft5 and 11 and a half stone and a size 10

How? Seriously, how? I get everyone is different etc etc but it's very rare to be overweight and still a genuine size 10 - even accounting for being extremely muscular.

I've always been very heavy, I was a gymnast as a child so built a lot of muscle from a young age, even when I was very small at size 8 I was barely in the healthy bmi range, that's why I think it's a shit indicator of whether someone is healthy. I am size 10 in tops and dresses and 12 in trousers and certainly dont see myself as overweight.

11 stone 8 at 5'5" with a slim frame is fat, no two ways about it. Somewhere in the 7-9 stone range is about right, though there's plenty of people that don't want to hear it. There's no mystery to the solution either, it just takes mental strength and commitment.

As for a bad back, carrying 3+ stone of surplus weight around will go a long way towards explaining that. Lift heavy weights, cut out sugar entirely and cut back carbs massively and it'll sort itself out. The cravings and constantly feeling awful takes a few weeks to get through but after that it gets easier (if you don't give up).

7 stone at my age for 5ft5 would put my bmi as 16.3 so please shut up unless you have a clue what you are talking about as saying stuff like that is downright dangerous. 11 and a half stone is 26.8 which is barely out of the healthy range. Someone who lifts weights as you suggest is likely to be on the top end of the bmi scale anyway due to.muscle. stop sticking the boot in and spreading nonsense.

I'm 5 foot 8 and just over 12 stones. I am trying to drop 1 and a half stone with calorie counting - 1500 a day, plus weights and some cardio. Worth a shot OP.

I’m 5’4” and weigh 9 stone - I know if I go up to 10 stone I don’t like the way I look….my clothes don’t feel right and I feel big. It must be very tall women who carry the weight differently that look like an “after” photo when they are 11 stone plus.

The comments about losing the weight may sound harsh, but ime it's true. I thought for years I was 'cursed' with a flabby belly that nothing would shift (and cellulite on my thighs) I was a size 10 (small waist, stretchy clothes, vanity sizing) so everybody told me I was 'slim', yet in reality I was in the OW BMI.
I lost 2 stone and am now low/mid healthy BMI. And like magic, no more flabby belly and no more cellulite. It was just fat. Not a special sort of fat that needed special measures, just the ordinary type that melted away once i was taking in the correct amount of calories for my age, size and activity levels, and adding in some brisk walks.

I'm 5'5" and about 10 and a half stone. There's no way I could fit into a size 10 of anything. I'm usually a 12 but sometimes need a 14 for jackets due to big boobs.
I do need to lose weight and I wouldn't take offence at anyone who says that- I know I do.

I can’t recommend lifting weights enough. It’s done more for my shape than years of cardio. You absolutely can do weights with back issues you just need to make sure you do it supervised by someone who knows what they’re doing and build up slowly.

im the same height as you and 3 stone lighter and I felt bulgy before I started weight training. My weight hasn’t changed but my body composition has and I am a lot more toned. I think I would look and feel overweight at your weight too.

The healthy range for 5’5 is 7 stone 13 to 10 stone 10. Op is under one stone overweight, not three. Don’t talk crap.