Two stone overweight! I thought I was a healthy weight (pics included)

[user1493797837]

I'm 5ft6 and should be 11 stone. 10 stone to be slim.

I've never weighed myself.

I stepped on the scales at the doctors today and it says I'm 12st 11lbs!!!!

That's almost two stone overweight.

I am very physically active and have a high protein diet.

I have a podgy tummy from loose skin and weak muscles but my arms and legs are fairly toned I thought.

I'm quite shocked and I've decided to diet to get within a normal healthy range.

I've included a picture. How overweight do you think I look? Do you think the scales could be wrong?

Clothes wise I'm a size 12 but on the odd occasion I'm a 14.

Never a 10 or 16 though.

I think you look mildly overweight (which is probably normal now). You also look lovely.

But I guess you do look a little overweight? (sorry!)

Although, it is difficult to say in that picture (posture etc).

I loose weight really easily when I eat less carbs/sugar in general...

Well, to be perfectly frank, I think you look like you may be a little overweight. However, when I put your figures into a BMI calculator I get 28.8. My BMI is 26.1 and I think I look bigger than you. I don't get nearly as much exercise and so that may explain the difference as you're presumably much more toned than me. But I'd try another scales for peace of mind.

(Or maybe my scales are broken!)

I think you look overweight - You are the same height as I am so I think I can guess better than if you were a different height. Your boobs and tum have weight on them.

You also have extra on your arms, bum etc.
Nothing too bad but I'd have guessed 12. - 13 stones (a definite guess as it's just one photo)

The walking and being toned doesn't mean anything really. It's great for general health but doesn't mean anything for weight - my friend is 16 stone and walks 7-10 miles a day plus she does fitness classes. It's good that she is 'fit' but her being so overweight is still very very unhealthy.

I think Your actual weight and BMI etc is a good indicator as to whether you need to lose weight - I know that a lot of MNers disagree. 🤷🏻‍♀️

BTW I use MyFitnessPal to lose weight and think it's the bees knees

I'm the same height as you and 9st7lb, but I don't look much different! You look like you have quite a strong body and muscles do weight more than fat. You should measure your waist size and look online at what it should be because that is a better indicator of health than weight on its own. You definitely don't look overweight but probably most of us would be healthier a stone lighter. You look good though.

I do think you look a bit thick around the middle, tbh. I am the same height as you and was that weight at 30+ weeks pregnant. Between 9 and 10 stone feels right for my frame. At 11 stone post partum I definitely felt chunky.

I wouldn't worry too much about the weight side - I'm 12 stone, 5 ft 10, and less than 20% body fat as I'm halfway through a PT qualification...it's literally muscle. If you're as active as you said, look at other tools - waist measurement etc- as BMI is really a blunt tool.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat; that's a myth. 1lb or 1kg of muscle weighs exactly the same as 1lb or 1kg of fat, or sinew, or bone, or brain etc.

As said above, waistline is what matters, not your 'weight' (strictly speaking should be mass)

I bought a Fitbit and a set of scales that measure fat as a percentage of total body mass and have dropped 3 inches of blubber from my waist in 2017. I aim to eat around 250 calories fewer, per day, when measured against calories burnt according to Fitbit. That has equated to about a stone and a half.

Your clothing at the docs would have been about half a stone (unless you stripped off for the scales)

Tanita BC731 are pretty good and

Have you had a baby? That kind of tummy shape is quite common if you have/had a diastasis recti and the deep core muscles (transverse abdominals) haven't properly recovered. Pilates (with head ON the ground when doing the prone exercises, not lifted to start with) is very good for it.

Other than that it's probably boobs. The BMI calculations mostly come from data gathered half a century ago and average breast size has increased since then. Boobs weigh a lot!

You look just fine to me. A little more weight on your tum than some but I certainly wouldn't look at you and call you fat. If you feel fit and healthy I really wouldn't worry about it. Muscle is heavier than fat so if you have good strong arms and legs that could be pushing the scales up too!

I don't think you look hugely overweight just maybe in need of a few pounds off.
I do think these days with many people overweight we think you have to be huge to be overweight and that isn't the case, people have forgotten what over weight looks like.

I think the bmi calculator is a good tool to indicate you need to lose weight.

You look the same shape as me, I am 2 stone overweight but a bit shorter than you but I wear a 14 these days. No one has ever insinuated I was remotely overweight, but I am quite a muscular shape too, strong legs and arms just a bit belly flabby these days.

You do look pretty overweight to me, I'm afraid - but in quite a sturdy way rather than a flabby way. Like someone who's done sport in the past but doesn't any longer.

You do look overweight to me but you are wearing very baggy clothes so ..... I am wondering if you had given us a better picture with well fitting clothes then we would probably be saying something differently .

I think the best test is to see yourself in your undies :)
Going against the grain here because unless you are super muscly (equivalent of an athlete or professional rugby player for example) then BMI is a reasonable measurement.

At 5 6" your waist should be no more than 33 inches. (half your height in inches.)

Do you have really muscly legs or arms? Broad shoulders?

Everyone is a different build My DD is super fit, is one inch taller than you and weighs just around 8 st. Just to compare!

TBH you don't look fat but it can be deceiving- you are wearing baggy clothes. For a woman of 5 6 " to weight almost 13 st (take off 5lbs for clothes) is a lot. I know a very athletic built man who weighs that, at 5 10".

I also think you look overweight OP. I'm also 12 stone and I'm 5.6...I definitely look overweight in my eyes. All my weight is on my thighs and hips.

According to BMI calculators my BIL is obese. There's not an ounce of fat on him, it's all muscle, he cycles everywhere and has done lots of serious endurance cycling recently. He doesn't look big or bulky. Ditch the scales. By all means lose a bit if you need to but don't get obsessed by the weight. FWIW I'm bang in the middle of healthy weight range for my height and still have quite a tummy (not helped by 3 cs!)

I think you look fat but tbh if you're happy with the way you look then surely that's what counts and not a bunch of random internet strangers.

FWIW and I'll be horribly honest - I'm 2" taller than you, 10 1/2 st and I'm a size 12 - I'm not sure where you get your clothes from but from the looks of your jeans, they are too small with the amount of overhang you are getting from your stomach, even at a bad angle. You are not "fat" overall but you are definitely carrying excess and if I were you, and I have been, I would do something about it now rather than wait til I'm properly fat at which point it gets difficult to do anything about it.

I agree that for most people BMI is a more than adequate rough guide. It's impossible to tell from a picture really but so many people are overweight that there's a good chance you are. It's not a moral failing or character judgement against you. I think a surprising amount of chub can be fitted in around the belly and hips before you start to think hang on a minute - I'm pretty sure I carry the best part of a stone in excess weight around my tummy-to-thigh sort of area and I'm only five foot tall. I don't think most people would look at me and think I was fat but those with a keen eye would spot I am overweight, I suspect. I thought waists were supposed to be under 30" to reduce diabetes risk or something similar? Where has the half of your height measurement come from, does anyone know?

I am like you in that I am very muscular, so weigh more on the scales than I appear to carry irl. I have really large feet and hands, so assume I am 'big boned'. I too am a size 12 and just an inch taller. If I lose weight, people tell me I look too thin/I'll. If I get to a 14, I 'feel' overweight.

Hard to tell from your picture, but if you lost two stone, and stayed muscular, I think you'd look gaunt.

*ill

What's your waist measurement? To be a modern 12, it should be 30 inches. Fat around the middle is the highest risk for health problems such as diabetes.

I am a similar build and lost 2 stone to get down to 10st 8lbs bmi 22. I'd forgotten what having a waist was like.

RedSand 5lbs for clothing?? What are you wearing, a suit of armour?!

Clothing (even jeans and a jumper) does NOT weigh 5 pounds.

And stop all this bollocks about "muscle weighs more than fat" - a kilo of muscle weighs the same as a kilo of fat, but a kilo of muscle looks better and will make you appear more strong and toned. BMI is a fairly blunt tool but it is generally about right, especially when taken in conjunction with waist measurement.

OP you seem to be carrying a bit of extra weight especially around your neck and middle. It wouldn't hurt to check your weight on another set of scales but I imagine the doctors scales are accurate - they have to be calibrated regularly.

I have a very small waist. But I have wide hips and shoulders.