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.

[user1493797837]

I'm 27.

I am a 12 on top.

I have issues as my waist is small but I have wide hips so I can't wear skirts as what will fit around my waist will be several inches too big for my waist.

I'm definitely not a size 16 though. Size 16 looks too big.

Trousers im sometimes a 14 but generally I am a 12.

[user1493797837]

I'm off to weigh myself again just to check the scales were right. 13 does seem high.

I am off to boots at 11 so will check on those scales they have there.

[Archduke]

Op you are probably in the "normal weight range" in terms of how you look compared with the bulk of the population (pun intended).

But as pp have said we have a warped view of a healthy body these days as we are mostly too fat, and you look like you could lose a stone or 2 to be at your optimum healthy weight for your height or build.

BTW I think you are pretty bloody fab to be open to a load of internet judginess for you

[moggle]

Sorry but to everyone saying 'a kilo of muscle weighs the same as a kiilo of fat'... yes of course it does ... but the point of the "muscle weighs more than fat" relates to the volume. A kilo of muscle takes up less space than a kilo of fat. So two people who have the same volume - roughly, look similar, same height and same measurements - can hit noticeably different weights on the scales if one has much more muscle than the other. The more muscly person will weigh more than the other person and hence have higher BMI.
OP you look like me. I am shorter (5'4") but knocking on the door of 10 stone and I know I need to lose a bit. Yes my belly is pouchy due to having a child but equally I know that if I lost half a stone it would look a bit better. My arms, thighs, bum, belly - everything is just slightly larger than it used to be. I go by how my clothes feel and right now everything is a little tight and I'm only wearing loose fitting tops to try and disguise my muffin top. At this weight it's not about more exercise for me it's about cutting out sugar and carbs just like you have said. I know that a couple of weeks on my fitness pal will pull me into line and I'll lose just a few pounds but feel better but I can't quite be arsed at the moment...

[Goldfishjane]

you look fine.

honestly I think this happens to people a lot. I weight train so the doc has been a bit "??" when I've got on the scales because she thought I was very small. Well I am, but a lot of it muscle.

honestly you look fine and you're half a foot taller than me so you will get away with a lot more too!

[Flashinthepan]

If your weight/size/shape etc doesn't bother you from a visual perspective, you need to know how much fat you are carrying in relation to bone, muscle etc from a health point of view. Once you know this, you can decide whether you need or want to make changes to your weight/body composition for health reasons or not.

[Aeroflotgirl]

No you don't look fat at all, you look fine. Actually there are flaws with BMI, I would just ignore it. Eat healthy, keep active and you can't go far wrong. Actually I am 5ft 2 and weigh nearly 12 stone, I think I look fine, do kickboxing, walking and cycling, and try to eat healthy with the odd treat.

[shaggedthruahedgebackwards]

It's hard to judge from the photo as you are wearing loose clothes and as the photo isn't full length I'm struggling to get a good perspective on it

I would weigh myself on another set of scales before embarking on a diet

[Jackiebrambles]

Haven't read the whole thread yet but I am 5 foot 6 and I weigh 10 stone, give or take a pound or two. I look slim-ish. But would look properly slim if I lost half a stone I reckon.

I think you carry your weight very well on that pic!

[Aeroflotgirl]

This is me

[Aeroflotgirl]

I just can't shift my tummy, however much crunches and ab exercises I do.

[user1493759849]

You look OK to me OP. It depends how you FEEL though.

At 5 ft 3 and 13 stone, I feel fat/am fat! But I was 14 and a half a year ago, so I feel better.

I am not sure I take these weight charts very seriously tbh. When I am 11 stone I feel great, and think I look great. At 11 stone, I'm a size 14, I look decent, I look healthy, and I feel good, but the 'charts' say I am FAT. Yet at 11 stone, I am happy and don't look fat. (I don't think so anyway!)

So it really is about how you feel. 12 stone odd at 5 ft 5 is not THAT big tbh.

[user1493759849]

You look good Aeroflot girl.

[loobyloo1234]

Hey OP. I think you look fine - and if you are happy with yourself, that should be all that matters

You are certainly not 'unhealthy' yet, but if you recognise that you may be more overweight than what you thought, and want to do something about it, good for you

I'm a bit [shocked] at so many mean comments tbh but thats MN for you I guess

[Nancy91]

I do think you look pudgy and you need to lose around 2 stone. Also that dress is too small. It's not muscle that is making you weigh that much as some previous posters have said, you would look very different if it was. That's my objective opinion which is what I think you were looking for. You're very brave for posting photos on here, I couldn't do it!

[InglouriousBasterd]

With the second picture I would agree that you probably need to look at your diet and make some changes. But definitely not an ogre 😂

[JanetBrown2015]

The NHS thinks someone of 5 foot 6 would be in the middle of a healthy weight at 9 stone 7. I would aim for that if I were you.

[toofarfromcivilisation]

I'm 5'8 & 9 stone 7. I still think I'm fat because I have a 52 year old baggy tummy. No exercises are going to pull that in! I'd apparently look better if I put on a stone according to my mother & to some extent husband but I'd rather not.
If you're not happy lose weight, if you are stay the same!

[SwimmingMom]

OP - I could've written your post a couple of months back - am 5ft 7in & got to 13 stone without realising how out of shape (not necessarily fat) I looked. Doing a LCHF diet and lost a stone in 2 months. Another stone to go! At our height a stone is easily hidden away but there are many flabby and out of shape bits which we need to watch out for.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Thanks so much User, I was feeling really bad about how I look. One of my friends(male) on seeing pictures of me on a night out, told me that I look like I am having another baby, and should stick to the salads.

[Aeroflotgirl]

user149 you look lovely, that blue dress is gorgeous on you, don't get hung up on diets and loosing weight, just eat sensibly, and keep reasonably fit. As I said it has been said that the BMI calculators are not reliable. I am nearly 12 stone, but size 16 is far too big. Mabey its vanity sizing, 40 years ago, I would be a size 18.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Its funny how women are under such scrutiny, and to be the perfect shape etc, but men don't have such pressure. There is no pressure for men to be beach body ready, or have a beach body, they seem more comfortable in their skin, than women. That article in the papers about Kim Kardisan's bottom, attracted lots of critiscism, I don't think Jack Nicolson, or Tom Cruise on the beach with their fat bits on show, would attract the same media attention as female celebrities.

[Cringiest]

I think focusing on what you look like, how confident you feel and how much exercise is a mistake in some ways. The main thing people need to think about is how much fat they are carrying around and at 12-13 stone you will be carrying around way too much. The fat can be inside your body surrounding your organs, it may not effect your looks or how you feel but it's there and it's not healthy.
BTW I am constantly slightly overweight myself so I'm not judging. I love keeping fit but I love my food too. 😂

[Aeroflotgirl]

Cringiest even thin people of the right weight and under can have visceral fat surrounding their organs.

[Cringiest]

Cringiest even thin people of the right weight and under can have visceral fat surrounding their organs

I know that but obviously fatter people tend to have a lot more. My point was that the thing people should be concerned about is health (not 'fitness' IYSWIM). rather than what they look like, what clothes they wear, what size they ate or whether they feel confident.