Is a size 14 big?

[fattytoadboy]

Just that really. Been somewhere between a size 12-14 for the past 20 years. Even when I lost two stone I still fit into my size 12 clothes. Now I’m about 12 stone at 5,7 and a solid 14.

I definitely feel better around the 10.5 stone mark. I’m really struggling to lose weight. Sometimes I look at myself and can see a roll around my belly or feel like my face looks bloated and neither of these things make me happy or confident.

Equally when I’m dressed well I think I look ok. I know it’s totally subjective but in your opinion is a size 14 what you’d consider large? I don’t think I look obscenely overweight but I definitely would look and feel better with a few stone off.

Wrong. People can be anorexic without being underweight - it’s called atypical anorexia.

State not weight is what is important with anorexia.

Lots of people seem to be overlooking people’s build- even at the same height. Some women are broader in frame, so they will be heavier than another of the same height. And it’s perfectly possible to be a size 14 or 16 and be a healthy weight, not at all fat. I know several women who are. They are often (but not always) very athletic, rugby and hockey players and the like.

Myself, I maintained my size for years without effort, which made me feel it was the right size for me to be. I’m bigger now and trying to lose by reducing portion sizes and not eating any chocolate or anything. It sucks to be frank! But it also sucks to be the size I am, because although I’m physically very fit I don’t feel right at this size. Isn’t that the most important thing?

Dawn French was a size 12 when she got married, and in an interview with her I read, she said she had never been so unhappy as when she was dieting to get there. Her body has been the same sort of size and shape the rest of the time and so it seems that’s the right size for her.

People carrying extra weight like to ask whether they’re fat, but don’t usually like to be told that they are. They like to hear they’re average and that most people are that size so it’s nothing to worry about and get quite offended when that doesn’t happen. This is demonstrated in previous comments.

at a size 12/14 weighing almost 11 stone I looked and felt quite fat. I’m only 5ft3.5 and don’t really carry weight well. If you’re very tall you can carry a size 14 and not be over weight, 5ft7 probably isn’t tall enough for that though.

a size 14 is overweight for most people but it’s below the U.K. average. Most people in the U.K. are overweight and so wouldn’t see someone at your size to be that big. But you are over weight and that’s that. Up to you whether or not you care enough to do something about it.

I lost about 2.5 stone, started running and going to the gym in earnest so toned up and now feel so much better in my skin. an obese friend started to tell me I was too skinny and looked ridiculously scrawny (I don’t). Somehow in the U.K. it’s become ok to tell people they’re too thin and make it into a negative comment but the other way round it’s found to be really offensive. Interesting mindset really.

Yes my periods stopped for 6 months, I couldn’t sit down long as my pelvis stuck out into chairs, same in bed couldn’t sleep comfortably, hair grew excessively on my arms, cold 24/7. I looked like a lollipop. I asked drs why my weight wasn’t low and why I was still a size 10 when people can be size 4s and they said I have a large frame so weight hangs off me and bmi doesn’t apply. 11.5 is the absolute lowest I will go now and even then I start looking too thin.

If you're going to fling shit about you should expect to get some headed your way. The OP is clearly struggling a bit with body confidence and you come on spouting all your shite. Get back in your cave if you don't like it!

So do you think the previous poster who posted a picture of herself at 12 stone is fat then? Because I think you’d be the only one who thought that.

This 👆🏻.
OP said, I definitely feel better around the 10.5 stone mark
That’s it in a nutshell.

I did say that. And it’s true.

I suppose it depends on your definition of ‘fat’. I don’t think anyone walking down the street would look at me and think bloody hell she’s fat. But when im looking at myself closely or trying to find things that I feel confident wearing I do think I could benefit from losing a bit.

What has @McSilkson said that's so awful?

I agree, nobody dares ever say anything about anyone's weight, it's not helping anyone which is obvious as the population is getting bigger.

Thanks!
maybe I’m built weird, I’ve also been 20 stone and while I was obviously obese, I still had thin wrists people could put their fingers around and a jawline, cheekbones etc
That poster should try and avoid making blanket statements and stating them as fact. The truth is we are all built differently

I disagree re the BMI - 12-14 is not big at all. It's possible to be slightly overweight and a size 14 but you might just be busty or a gym body

Hi. Yes, I'm same height as you and dropped to 8 stone 10 due to illness and I was incredibly slender but ironically still had c/d cup chest!

I’m also 5’7”. I’m around 75kg and mostly a size 12. I have a Renpho scale, and 48kgs of that is muscle mass because I’m in the gym 4/5 days a week either lifting weights or spinning. That is on the very high end of muscle for a woman of my age.
I’m not fat and it’s entirely possible that someone of my height and weight, or heavier, isn’t either.

I absolutely agree with you.
We're blind in the UK to sizes I think as it's so normal to see fat people eveywhere (nb I'm fat).

I spent a lot of time in South Korea, and it was really eye opening. They’re extremely weight conscious, and typically if you’re above 55kg you’re considered to be big.

While I do think that’s on the extreme end, I believe that the “body positivity” movement in the West is so damaging and unhealthy. I think it’s causing the majority to lose sight of what is actually a healthy weight because we’re overexposed to fat and overweight people to the point that it seems normal

I I understand everybody carries weight differently. I’m 5’4 and feel comfortable about 9st, wearing size 6-8. If I was a size 14, I would look and feel obese. That’s not me saying anyone who wears a size 14 is obese, by the way. I don’t carry weight well, and I would honestly feel horrific and that I’d let myself go.

Regardless of numbers, most of us have a weight that we feel best at. I do, and nobody’s reassuring words will make me feel otherwise.

It’s also worth remembering that Asian people and women in particular are generally shorter and with a smaller build than other races, including Northern Europeans. It’s just not possible to compare with a 5’7” woman who will have a different bone structure completely. When I have been to East Asia, yes they have harsh standards on themselves but they also worship white celebrities like Taylor Swift whose body type doesn’t fit their ideal at all.
I think it only becomes relevant if your weight is detrimental to your health. Again ethnicity comes into play here because Asian people often suffer health issues even at a fairly low BMI and don’t tend to carry weight well. Someone who is tall with a broad frame will generally not be unhealthy even if they are a few kilos overweight. It’s different if they are obese and their weight is putting pressure on joints and affecting organs but being mildly overweight is not really a huge deal. In later life a bit of extra weight can offer protection from osteoporosis and help if someone gets seriously ill.

I'm size 14 and obese.

And yeah we should not be emulating South Korea with its obsession with fairly extreme cosmetic surgery. Not a healthy society for women, psychologically.

Bone size has no correlation to body fat though. Only the dimensions of your build.
they could be taller, wider hipped etc, but can still have a similar body fat % than someone with a smaller set skeleton.

Yes it’s not comparable at all, their frames are tiny, even most of the men have smaller skeletons than British women.

My mum is very thin at a 14, I am very overweight at a 14.
It’s all about your height and frame.

Very thin? Or slim / slender?

I didn't say I was offended. It's an irritatingly ubiquitous cliché on weight threads around Mumsnet, that's why the eyeroll.

Yeah the world is getting fatter but people are living longer than they did in times when weights were on average lower. Additionally, at times when obesity was very rare, about half of all adults in this country were smokers. I know which is more harmful out of smoking and being a few kilos overweight. Smoking also suppresses appetite so low body weight wasn’t always because people were super healthy and ate well and exercised.