Is my opinion on what is obese wrong?

[Thewheelweavesasthewheelwills]

This is me recently on a family day out at a big park which I was fit enough for.

I know I need to lose some weight and I have finally started to eat better. I got into a terrible habit of eating way too much chocolate when cluster feeding on the couch and didn't stop! I am now watching what I eat. I hate cal counting but I think I need to for a while to make myself accountable. I am aiming to lose about a stone.

Anyway, my app says I am obese. I would have said I was over weight yes but not obese. But I read on here a lot that we all have the wrong idea of what is overweight/ obese these days so maybe I was deluding myself?

YABU - you are obese, that is what it looks like
YANBU - you are not obese just a little fat

Picked it up on FB market place 😏

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. I agree that BMI is a crude tool but in fairness it's a starting point and I don't think it's wrong for me.

I just think over all I wanted to see if others thought I was a big ugly whale.

I've downloaded the couch to 5k and I'm going start today.

Normally I'd remind people that you cannot outrun your fork, but in your specific circumstances I think it's the right thing, no diet just healthy eating and increased exercise is perfect. Good luck OP. You do look good, definitely not hideous!

Clinically obese has a definition. It's not directly related to how much excess fat you're carrying, it defined by your BMI which is your density. Most people know muscle is denser than fat so you could have 2 people with the same BMI made up of very different proportions of fat to muscle. Despite people referring to being 'big boned' are skeletons don't vary that much height for height. What does vary is the amount of muscle and fat wrapped around them.
I have a high BMI so am officially obese however whilst acknowledging I'm overweight (ie carrying excess fat) it's wrapped around some pretty chunky muscles. Even when slim I'm 'heavy'. My guess is you're a mesomorph body type so you'll always be dense 😆
BMI isn't great for measuring health risk. It doesn't even give a good indication of what you look like. Forget your BMI. Half you height and aim to get close to that for a waist measurement.
It's worth baring in mind that with overweight being the norm it's unlikely your friends/colleagues would describe you as fat....but you are. You're also probably pretty average.....which is fat. We have got desensitised and think slim/healthy is now 'skinny'. Great that you're working on your health.

I'm obese and that is what it looks like.

People often look at me and say I'm not even overweight, as I'm tall! I mean its obviously bollocks and them being polite, but the point is you can easily be obese with just a slightly thickened waist and hip area.

I think there are a lot of what I'd call 'morbidly obese' people around who are skewing the idea of what it is.

I just think over all I wanted to see if others thought I was a big ugly whale.

Well, you know you're not. That's not what obese means.

Too many people get overly sensitive over things like this. You can’t really look or not look obese. Despite what many people on this thread clearly think, it’s not a subjective term, it’s factual and based on numbers.

I don’t think it’s helpful for people to be like ‘omg no way you don’t look obese’.

I second this.

Don't worry about labels like fat and obese, just eat sensibly and do as much exercise as you have time for. Just aim to be the best you can be at the moment, be happy, you look fine.
You can waste your life worrying about being overweight, it doesn't help, you end up eating chocolate to cheer yourself up! If you feel fit and have energy, just keep on going.

BMIs and labels don’t fit all people. It’s calculated on height/weight/age/gender and isn’t foolproof. When my husband was younger he was a rugby player - 6ft4, very muscly and not an ounce of fat on his body - but his BMI said he was obese! So take the label with a pinch of salt. If you are making better and healthier lifestyle choices for yourself already just keep focusing on that.

Your figure looks lovely I also think the NHS BMI calculator can be way off I definitely wouldn't look at you and think you were obese absolutely not xx

This.

I am surprised you're 13.5 stone. I am the same height and weight 12.5 stone and look very similar.

BMI is pants. I'm a size 10-12 and yet technically obese, BMI as a descriptor doesn't take muscle mass in to account.

Dress size is irrelevant. Obesity is not defined by dress size and dress size varies like crazy across brands.

Obese isn't as big as people tend to think it is.

So many people are overweight these days that it's become normalised, and our perception of what is big has changed. The word 'obese' tends to conjure up images of somebody who is absolutely enormous, but that's not accurate.

That's... not how this works. That's not how any of this works.

I do think we’ve become immune/ desensitised
I think you look maybe a little overweight but then
My 83 year old mum instantly said, of course she looks obese, in my day she’d have never been able to find clothes!

This is what happens when you equate fat with ugly.

I agree with this. I have been obese too and I was a size 12, didn't feel obese.

Well unless the weight and height measurements are wrong then yes you are obese.

However you have a lovely figure which is guess is down to a combination good genes and your consistent exercise over the years.

Make some healthy changes for the sake of being healthy and the physical results will follow.

I think I have always been on the heavy side. In the pink dress I'd guess I am bout 12 stone maybe a bit more I can't really remember. Still the high end of over weight. In this red dress I'd guess I am at least 10 stone which does put me at a healthy weight but the high end of it

Hi to anyone that knows me 😂

"Obese" is a medical descriptor. It's nothing to do with your photos or how you look. If your BMI is above 30 then that is the definition of obese.

In the red dress photo your boobs are smaller and arms much slimmer than in your other photos

This

A quarter of adults in the UK are obese so it can look normal as there are many like you. But it is a health risk and BMI is a good (but not perfect) guide