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AIBU?

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Original poster

Are some people really heavy or am I kidding myself?

295 replies

Ellessdee · 03/12/2022 13:07

I know I'm a bit overweight. I'm a solid size 12. I weighed myself and did my BMI out of curiosity and it's telling me I'm obese. Is BMI wildly inaccurate or am I in denial re my weight? I used to weight train and do have quite a bit of muscle but also a layer of fat on top! Anyway, trying to pose weight, just wondering if I should be worried!

OP posts:
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6
5128gap · 06/12/2022 17:29

Pascor · 06/12/2022 15:57

Lol. Where are you buying your clothes? Because I am 1.7m 74kg, (so taller and lighter than you) and a size 12 in a kind shop, 14 in others

If British sizes are putting you in an EIGHT, the place is even madder than I thought. I take it back, OP is a 12...in the magical Uk shops that mean a 12 is a 16 or more.

Show quote history

Its obvious from the picture the poster is lean and toned with no rolls of flesh to accommodate in her clothes.
This makes a huge difference. If you carry fat pockets on your thighs and hips, have back fat, are apple shaped with a big waist, then you probably need a larger size than someone like @pocketvenuss who could wear closer fitting clothes with no fat to dig into, or create an overhang. Lots of people can drop a dress size without weight loss if they work out, especially around the middle if you tighten the core and get your waist back into position.

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 19:11

@Pascor that's my point. You are a 12. Shorter and lighter than me. I am a size 8. My waist is 26 inches. I wear jeans in a 25 or 26. I am a small or xs in Zara and an 8 in Massimo Dutti. I also lift weights and have always weighed heavy. You seem to think because YOU are a certain weight and size then anyone else who deviates is lying. That's the whole point of this thread. BMI doesn't work for everyone.

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 19:17

@Pascor instead of just accepting that BMI just doesn't work for everyone, you choose to either discredit what people say they are or go down some weird 'crazy universe' talk. Isn't it just easier to acknowledge that yes, it does indeed look like some people weigh unusually heavy and others unusually light and that yes, as the original poster has asked, BMI just doesn't work for everyone. It's a blunt tool that works for most but there are people who are not body builders or rugby players who still weigh more or less than others.

Pascor · 06/12/2022 19:40

Sorry, but no. BMI does work for most people. Maths is more reliable that people and their perceptions. And I said I'm taller AND lighter than you, but you really think you're so dense that you are several sizes smaller? Sure ok, if you insist.

ReneBumsWombats · 06/12/2022 19:56

Pascor · 06/12/2022 19:40

Sorry, but no. BMI does work for most people. Maths is more reliable that people and their perceptions. And I said I'm taller AND lighter than you, but you really think you're so dense that you are several sizes smaller? Sure ok, if you insist.

Did you see her photo?

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 19:56

Pascor · 06/12/2022 19:40

Sorry, but no. BMI does work for most people. Maths is more reliable that people and their perceptions. And I said I'm taller AND lighter than you, but you really think you're so dense that you are several sizes smaller? Sure ok, if you insist.

See? Even with photographic proof you are unable to accept that BMI just doesn't always work. You just denying it doesn't actually make you right. You are just repeating that you are shorter and lighter but bigger without realising that it just proves my point. I am PROOF that BMI doesn't work. My photo shows clearly that I am slim. I am CLEARLY not a 14 which you are and yet you still won't accept what is in front of you.

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 19:58

@ReneBumsWombats I could photo my jeans and do a reverse striptease video of me getting into them but @Pascor will still just stutter 'but maths....but I'm bigger so you must be too' 🤣

ReneBumsWombats · 06/12/2022 20:02

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 19:58

@ReneBumsWombats I could photo my jeans and do a reverse striptease video of me getting into them but @Pascor will still just stutter 'but maths....but I'm bigger so you must be too' 🤣

Side point, but I've got total arm envy. I've been doing bicep and tricep curls and deltoid raises for years and I haven't got muscles like that.

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 20:15

@ReneBumsWombats aw thanks! I have been lifting weights for many years. I'm actually smaller than I have been due to travel and getting a few coughs and colds this year therefore training a little less consistently. I love chest and shoulder and back days. Hate leg day but I'm trying to build my glutes so hip thrusting away!!
I think an awful lot of it is genetics. I build muscle pretty easily for a woman.

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 20:18

@ReneBumsWombats out of interest, do you go heavy? Many women stick to low weight high reps. If you want to build visible muscle you need to lift heavy and constantly increase and drop the number of reps.

ReneBumsWombats · 06/12/2022 20:23

pocketvenuss · 06/12/2022 20:18

@ReneBumsWombats out of interest, do you go heavy? Many women stick to low weight high reps. If you want to build visible muscle you need to lift heavy and constantly increase and drop the number of reps.

I should probably go heavier than I do. Unfortunately, I don't build muscle very easily and I do tend to weight gain (and in my case, it is fat!). I'm still trying to lose the last of the lockdown weight. I'm back to my pre pandemic fitness level but I'm a dress size larger than I was.

lljkk · 06/12/2022 22:41

There's just no way BMI makes sense if you have reasonable muscle mass

What is "reasonable muscle mass". How would I know if I had it?

strivingtosucceed · 06/12/2022 23:08

Pascor · 06/12/2022 11:58

I wasn't commenting on ther bra size specifically, but on the size 10 and BMI of 32.....and if she's got that BMI, I'm pretty sure the numbers before the HH are not 30!

This is the problem, so many people are deluded about size. They think BMI is inaccurate because they don't see themselves as overweight or obese, but they are whether they see it or not. They ramble about dress sizes, lie about sizing.....it's all delusion.

I can assure you i'm not deluded about my size, my bra size differs depending on the brand/style but I'm usually a 32HH or 34H(H).

My waist is small (though I have a tummy) so if I buy a dress or top thats a 12 in something stretchy, I can look like i'm swimming in it. For more structured garments i'd definitely wear a 12. There are also some things I absolutely can't wear even up to a 16 because the shape doesn't work with my boobs.

I'm also an athlete who regularly competes in a team sport at amateur level that requires me to be strong enough to lift 50kg+ of weight during competitions. 💁

strivingtosucceed · 06/12/2022 23:14

LolaSmiles · 06/12/2022 11:36

Pascor
If someone uses the Boob or Bust approach rather than the high street M&S approach, the likelihood is they'll have a better fitting bra with a smaller band size and a bigger cup size. A lot of women are wearing a much too big back size and M&S/high street shops are terrible for fitting women in poorly fitting sister sizes.

Someone who is a size 10 could be a 30HH, but boobs in that size would only be around 4-5lbs (approximately 2lbs I breast I believe) so whilst it might tip the BMI into the obese category, they aren't big enough to argue against BMI as a perfectly reasonable measure for most typical people as even with 4-5lbs taken off a BMI of 32 wouldn't go down substantially enough to be in the healthy range.

The issue is i'm quite short, busty & muscly due to gym/my sport. To top it off i'm black. I can very much accept i'm overweight, but probably not obese.

Jenasaurus · 07/12/2022 22:06

This article says the average weight of a woman is 11 stone, and it also shows the dress size and body shape and how much it differs, not all related to height

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2071870/The-average-weight-British-woman-comes-shapes.html

Jenasaurus · 07/12/2022 22:08

All of these women weight 11 stone but even though you would expect a difference in dress size with height, 2 of them are the same dress size

Are some people really heavy or am I kidding myself?
lljkk · 07/12/2022 22:25

Only the 6'1" one doesn't look overweight to me.

I was wondering if any of the "My BMI is high but I'm not fat" people have done the body fat % calculator. What did it say for you, Do you think it's correct?

BeanieTeen · 08/12/2022 10:00

People only seem to question their BMI if it rudely tells them they are overweight when they think they are not. That says a lot in itself surely?

ReneBumsWombats · 08/12/2022 12:13

BeanieTeen · 08/12/2022 10:00

People only seem to question their BMI if it rudely tells them they are overweight when they think they are not. That says a lot in itself surely?

Well of course. Why would you question it if it says you're healthy?

Chesneyhawkes1 · 08/12/2022 13:54

@lljkk I agree. The 6ft one looks fine. The others all look overweight

RottingAutumnApples · 08/12/2022 14:03

Quite a while ago, the shops all seemed to change their sizing, so that what was a size 14 is now a 12. I know this is true because I keep my clothes forever so I have old size 10s from stores that fit perfectly whereas I now have to buy a size 8 from that store.

Quincythequince · 08/12/2022 14:14

SoonToBeSwedeyMummy · 03/12/2022 13:11

BMI is ridiculously inaccurate. It does not take into account muscle mass, activity levels, genetics, ethnicity, age, fat distribution.

It's a very blunt tool for something that's very individual.

It's not unusual for athletes in peak condition to be told they're obese or women with small frames being told they are overweight and need to lose a few pounds which would make them skeletal.

So in short, pay no heed to it.

No medical or health professional ever told an athlete in peak condition, that they were obese and to lose weight based on BMI

LolaSmiles · 08/12/2022 14:14

lljkk
That body fat calculator confirms what I suspected: that whilst my BMI is the middle of the healthy range, for my frame I'm carrying slightly more body fat than I'd like to be (24%). Their ideal weight calculator suggests I should lose a kilo or two to be at an ideal weight.

Like you, I think most of those women look overweight other than the tallest two models.

5128gap · 08/12/2022 14:27

lljkk · 07/12/2022 22:25

Only the 6'1" one doesn't look overweight to me.

I was wondering if any of the "My BMI is high but I'm not fat" people have done the body fat % calculator. What did it say for you, Do you think it's correct?

Not for me it isn't. Apparantly I'm in the athlete category and need to gain 6lbs of fat! I'm mid healthy BMI and a slim but squashy 53 year old who's only excercise is a brisk walk a day.

pocketvenuss · 08/12/2022 17:28

@lljkk @Chesneyhawkes1 you'll probably find the one next to the tallest one is actually the one with the healthiest waist to hip ratio though and this ratio is more import along with actual waist size. The tallest one appears to hold a fair bit of excess fat around her middle. She appears slimmer because she gas such thin legs. The one next to her is very slim through the upper and mid sections and holds her fat in her hips and thighs. That's the least concerning place to hold fat.