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Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Original poster

I had a medical today and I was s bit shocked..

89 replies

crazydoglady6867 · 04/09/2018 18:55

I know I am fat but during a medical today I was told I was obese, well now I am sad, can I put some pictures on to see if I look obese and ask is BMI really all that?!!!

OP posts:
fortyandfrumpy · 04/09/2018 21:18

You look similar to me and I'm obese. But close to overweight. I'm currently losing weight and flipping over into the overweight catergory is my first milestone!

HavelockVetinari · 04/09/2018 21:21

@IfNotNowThenWhen1 just because it's said often doesn't make it a bullshit cliché. Burying your head in the sand helps no-one.

OrchidInTheSun · 04/09/2018 21:25

www.reddit.com/r/fatlogic/comments/37nb08/these_women_are_all_70_kg_fixed/

I think this is a really interesting photo of what the same weight looks like on different women.

Verbena87 · 04/09/2018 21:27

BMI is pretty flawed. For animals the guideline I’ve seen is...

Can’t see ribcage = too fat
Can see where ribcage ends = grand
Can see individual ribs = too thin.

I think if a medical professional has advised weight loss, I’d go for it. Chances are that improving your diet and exercise will give you a load more energy and make you feel great, regardless of BMI.

Kemer2018 · 04/09/2018 21:31

Same as me, you store around the middle. I know I'm obese but I'm not well enough mentally to sort it. I doubt I'll ever be slim again tbh.
Hope you can find your way x

AndromedaPerseus · 04/09/2018 21:53

Unfortunately you seem to store most of your fat in the middle. Visceral fat is the most dangerous type of fat because it’s metabolically active sending growth factors and hormones around the body which can lead to cancers, heart inflammation and strokes. BMI unless you are an elite athlete is a reasonable guide to the amount of body fat you have and if your BMI is over 30 then you are carrying too much fat. For the sake of your health you should try to lose weight

CountFosco · 04/09/2018 22:03

Quick tip. Take measurements of your bust, waist and hips as you go along your weightloss journey. I found the inches I lost more convincing than the pounds. Particularly as you lose lots before anyone notices!

LemonysSnicket · 04/09/2018 22:04

Obese isn't as big as people think...

LemonysSnicket · 04/09/2018 22:05

Yes, to me you look obese. I think obese is around a size 16 and above.
Also your weight is mostly around your belly - having thinner legs tricks people into thinking they're not as large as they are but actually this is the most dangerous way to carry weight.

LemonysSnicket · 04/09/2018 22:06

I'm glad everything else has checked out well x

Aridane · 04/09/2018 22:08

Ah, so at 31 BMI you’ve just tipped into obese,territory

abbey44 · 04/09/2018 22:16

Last August I was just like that picture, and like you OP, was shocked to the core to realise I was obese and not just overweight (I knew I needed to lose a bit but hadn't actually put a figure on it). On 1st September I started low-carbing, and promised myself I'd stick with it and see how it went. Now, a year later, I'm four and a half stones lighter, my BMI has gone from 32 to 23 and I can't tell you how much better I feel, from the inside out. Sometimes it needs a shock to focus your mind, but change is possible. Good luck.

IfNotNowThenWhen1 · 04/09/2018 22:27

Can’t see ribcage = too fat
Can see where ribcage ends = grand
Can see individual ribs = too thin.

I think with humans the rib thing greatly depends on your body shape. At my fighting weight ( not too fat not too thin) and can see my individual ribs when I raise my arms but I still have a bum and thighs. For other people they are the sort of shape where if you could see their ribcage they would have legs like spindles.

RandomMess · 04/09/2018 22:32

When your 5' talk you can be a much smaller dress size than 16 and be obese!!!

delphguelph · 05/09/2018 02:03

Yes you look a bit heavy tbh

Losing a stone will do you a world of good.

Good luck 🤞

CountFosco · 05/09/2018 05:36

When your 5' talk you can be a much smaller dress size than 16 and be obese!!!

I'd hazard a guess that a typical size 12 would do it if picked for an apple shape.

And lets face it, if you are an apple you are overweight. I bet most people would slim down to an hourglass or pear at a healthy weight with a healthy waist:hip ratio.

Somewhereoverthesanddune · 05/09/2018 05:51

I'm an apple. Obese at the moment (similar to the OP, working on it) but when I was a size 8 (and referred to as 'skinny') I was still an apple and still carried all my weight on stomach and chest - I'm not suddenly going to grow hips by losing weight!

EmmaGrundyForPM · 05/09/2018 05:52

I had a BMI of 31 so I was obese. I knew I was overweight but hearing a nurse tell.me that I was clinically obese was a shock. However it spurred me into losing weight and my BMI is currently 23.

So Yes, OP I would say those pictures look like you could be obese. But you are taking steps to address that, and hopefully will get to a healthy weight before long

fedupandnogin · 05/09/2018 06:15

I am the same height and shape as you (and age). I know I need to lose a bit of weight. It's much harder at this age but I've started dieting this week. I know I'll feel better about myself and better in my clothes if I lose a bit. It's hard though. I'll join you in this.

PostNotInHaste · 05/09/2018 06:49

I would look at you now and know you were most likely to be medically obese and if I had to take a guess I would have gone for about 3 stone loss to get you to around the top of your healthy BMI range.

But that’s only after spending hours of reading the success stories on My Fitness Pal and seeing people who have lost stacks and then say they have 21lbs to go and thinking where from. Then see the final picture when they are at target and think ah ok, can see it now. As a result I’m more able to judge normal, overweight and obese now. I absolutely wasn’t before though and failed to notice that I had tipped into the morbidly obese category.

I’ve noticed people get very twitchy about the word obese. I’ve always used it as a medical term and used it about myself when I was and a friend of mine would get quite upset and tell me not to say that about myself and that I wasn’t.

Well done for taking it on the chin and cracking on with sorting it.

Original poster
crazydoglady6867 · 05/09/2018 07:07

I am so glad I have done this post, I remember going to the doctors about a year ago and in a letter to the hospital the nurse wrote “this is a lady of average size” I do think as most PP’s have said we are all becoming accustomed to bigger people and accepting of heavier bodies as the norm. But what hope do we have if the NHS are describing an obese Middle Aged lady as average!! I am so motivated this morning and up early to walk a longer way to work as a starter. I don’t think anyone has been rude or horrid and I am going to save those pictures and do them again in 3 months to see how I am getting on. Thanks MNetters for your opinions.

OP posts:
Verbena87 · 05/09/2018 07:16

Good luck OP. You sound really positive and pragmatic, I think you’re going to do brilliantly.

PostNotInHaste · 05/09/2018 07:20

Well done, agree you sound positive and pragmatic. I found keeping record of measurements helped.for those times when the scales stick but you lose inches.

LiquoriceWheel · 05/09/2018 08:58

Hi OP just want to wish you well.

I had a similar experience to some posters on here. Earlier this year I realised that I was obese and I was shocked that I was in denial about something that should be so obvious. I really thought I was only a 'bit' overweight but it was much more than that, unfortunately.

I've been slowly changing my diet and getting into exercise and I've noticed a big change in just four months. Sorry for cliche but just take it day by day. Don't have moments when you say you'll start 'on monday, next month, etc' just start now. If you feel like you've 'fallen off the wagon' just accept it and move on from that moment (no oh I 'failed' i'll start again next week)

Sorry if the above is obvious and simple but it has helped me stay on track and positive. I'm at the point where I enjoy exercise!!!!!!!!! Honestly NEVER thought I would get to this point. I thought my 'bigness' was permanent. It's not!

WickedGoodDoge · 05/09/2018 11:51

Good luck-you sound as though your head is in the right place which is what makes all the difference for me. My lightbulb moment was when two years ago I had an emergency gall bladder removal. Afterwards the consultant told me it was likely that I would gain weight and I thought, “fuck that!” I’d been weighed in hospital and was horrified when I got home and plugged it into a BMI chart.

My advice would be to take it slow. It took me just under a year to lose just over three stone (though as mentioned before, have gained a stone back which was completely and utterly preventable and I’m now tackling again!).I decided that so long as the scales were moving downwards, I didn’t care how long it would take.

Come join one of the weight loss threads!