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.

[StrangeLookingParasite]

But just to be clear, it's fine for whatsherface to make offensive remarks, but not for me to respond to them.

[toffeeboffin]

Am I an idiot or what?

Where are the pictures?

[Aeroflotgirl]

Nancy I do t think so, people do have different body types, some are tall and thin, whilst some are more rounded, just because you are curvey, does not mean you are fat. I have wide hips and a big chest, I am never going to aspire to the model boyish That is not my body type. Yes I need to loose a couple of stone, but I am not going to develop an eating disorders with it.

[Knittedfrog]

I can't see any pics.

[Aeroflotgirl]

I do hate it when curvey is used to describe a clearly obese body, that is not what curvey is. I disagree Nancy, there are different body types

[TheEmmaDilemma]

OP, to be blunt, in the blue dress (which is the only pic I can see) you do look a little bit big on tummy, arms, thighs.

But no more than I am, and I'm not overweight. Just on the larger side of a good BMI and at 5' 2" every pound shows.

I think you could stand to lose a little and tone up. But that's my goal too.

But I wouldn't be unconfident with your figure, as I'm not.

[Nancy91]

Aeroflotgirl, no, the morph thing has definitely been debunked. people can be different shapes but we aren't all a set body type with no way of changing it. If you wanted to be thin it would be possible. Nobody asked you to develop an eating disorder.

[ILoveMyMini]

Toffee I can't pics either

[Aeroflotgirl]

Yes I could be thin nancy, but I will always have my wide hips and thick set thighs. Even when I was 7.5 stone, that is where I carried my weight and no diet will change that. I do believe people have different body types, to say everybody has the same shape is quite wrong.

[Nancy91]

What are thick set thighs? Also, I literally said "people can be different shapes" - read my post.

[StrangeLookingParasite]

People also have different frame sizes, even within the same family. My sister's wrists are half as wide again as mine. I have met people who have wrists 2/3 the size of mine. It is going to make a difference, as is the fact that I build muscle very very easily.
I have always said I come from a long line of very tough, hardy peasants, with super-conservative metabolisms. We were the people who didn't just survive famines, we kept having children during them. Consequently, all our diseases are disease of affluence. When you have a system that can hoe turnips all day on one bowl of gruel (an example, not intended to be taken literally), the current environment makes us fatties. But as well, we are built very solidly - I look at models with their funny flat ribcages, and know I would never look like that even if I starved myself to the point of death.
But refusing to acknowledge these differences does mean you can tell people off for being fat, which is very satisfying for some people.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Chunky thighs Nancy, not long and lean. I have always been like that,even at 7.5 stone. I have been lunging, squatting, mountain climbing, for years, but they are still the same.

[isupposeitsverynice]

See, I've got a friend who makes this claim about her "thunder thighs" (her words not mine) and how all the women in her family are afflicted, she's always been like that, nothing will ever change it. None of it's true, she used to be really slim, and when she does sometimes diet you can see her start to lose the weight from the thighs quite quickly. She won't have it though, adamant that nothing will ever change her legs. Which is fine, her body, her choice, all that. But I do get annoyed hearing about it. If you have a calorie deficit you will lose weight and it will go from the legs eventually. No amount of exercise will thin a person without the calorie deficit. If a person is content eith their weight and appearance that's great and I am genuinely pleased for them. But for my friend she's clearly not or she wouldn't go on about it all the time. Plus she uses me as a basis for comparison and says I'm skinny. I'm not even close but if she can believe that she can believe she's average. It's quite frustrating. Sorry aeto that might seem like it's aimed directly at you and it's genuinely not, your comment just sparked the thought process.

[SleepFreeZone]

I had a friend at college who would become extremely thin and bony on her upper body and yet her lower half never changed. It was so frustrating for her as he face ended up really gaunt at times. So I do think we can store lots of our fat on our arse and thighs and while eventually you will of course make those parts smaller, you might end up looking fucking terrible everywhere else.

[PollyPerky]

The easiest way to end this argument over 'big build' and ancestors who lived on turnips (?) is to buy yourself some 'fat scales'. Or some calipers. Weigh yourself and see how much % of fat, muscle and bone you have. Women should aim for around 25% fat- ( less 22% i s better.)

Or- something I read recently, based on new research - measure your abdomen when lying on the floor.

Put a tape measure across your tummy at belly button level (metal tape measure)
Put a ruler on the floor ( vertical) alongside your hips.
Measure where the two rulers / tape intersect.

For a woman to be healthy, her abdo at belly button level should be no more than 17.5cms from the floor.

Do not lower your back onto the floor- lie with a natural curve to your spine.

[Nancy91]

Aeroflot, what you're talking about is the fact that you aren't as tall and / or have a higher body fat percentage than these people with "long lean" legs.

isupposeitsverynice is bang on with her post, and I second the idea of using calipers as posted above but not scales that read body fat as they are so inaccurate.

[high5sportsnutrition]

Aeroflotgirl you sound very strong and fit but those very exercises (squats, mountain climbing etc) probably actually give you quite chunky thighs. I have horses and horse women do generally become big of thigh !

[Aeroflotgirl]

Well I've always had the thunder thighs, whether I weighed 7.5 stone and now at 11.5 stone. Of course they were smaller when I weighed less, but none the less, I used to be a triangle shape up top, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist and larger legs at the bottom. Since i have taken up regular exercise a few years ago, and watch what I eat, they have slimmed and I can wear shorts and designer jeans. Though I still need to loose weight, say 1.5 stone would be good.

[MissBax]

I can't see any pics sorry, but I'm 5'6 and at 10 stone I feel fat. That's at the high end of "normal" for that height. I was my healthiest and best body shape at 9 stone for that height so yes you must certainly be overweight. Thankfully you've not got a great deal to lose and recognise that you should :) good luck! X

[FagAshMIL]

Interesting polly

Doing your lying down intersecting tape measurement I'm at 20.5cm. I weigh approx 73 kg (5 ft 7) which is technically about a kg over the top end of my healthy weight band. I do feel a bit overweight but not massively.

I too have thunder thighs and whilst I agree that they were smaller when I weighed much less 20 years ago they were always proportionally 'big' compared with the rest of my body so trousers would always gape at the waist if they fitted the thigh area and too tight across that area if the waist was right.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Oh right high5 they probably do, I also do kickboxing, cycling, and want to take up Zumba too.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Missbax you must be of a much smaller frame than me. My colleague is 5'6 as am I. She is 9 stone and slim but not skinny. I am slim but not skinny at 10.10 ish.

[isupposeitsverynice]

Aero you must have legs of steel can I ask, I've always fancied the idea of kick boxing, but I'm such a wuss - do you get hurt, doing it?

[Aeroflotgirl]

Sorry isuppose the Dojo I go to is lovely, its not about hurting people, but about practising a skill, the force will come when you perfect that skill. You respect one another, if you don't want your partner to hit the pads hard just tell them. For kickboxing you have to be physically fit as it is all encompassing, your using your whole body for an hour. Go for it, in time your fitness will improve. I am hoping to work through the gradings. It certainly helps your confidence. I love it! When I don't go, I get a bit fidgety . I need to loose my blooming jelly belly.

[BusterGonad]

Pictures????