So this is what overweight looks like?

[OrangeLavenders]

I'm quite surprised. Checked the scales a few weeks back and I weighed 12 stone. Visited my GP for something else recently who confirmed that yes, I was quite bit over BMI of healthy range.

I've lost 7 pounds in just over 10 days. Nothing ridiculous. Just normal eating with no snacks and counting calories.

I just thought overweight looked a lot bigger than this? Scary how in 2020 we actually have a warped idea of what's a healthy weight and what isn't. I thought I looked perfectly fine but the reith is different.

Anyone else think a lot of us think what we might see as 'fine' is actually an overweight person?

I'm not a self conscious person so feel free to tell me I do in fact look clearly overweight! It doesn't bother me as I'm happily changing things. Although I'm sour about not having many luxuries anymore treat wise

That sounds like a very sensible approach Carter, and I hope it works for you. and good luck with it.

@Heygirlheyboy

And the vanity sizing also an issue. As I said at 9.5st I was in overweight bmi range but still I size 8 Next and M&S tops thar weren't even nearly tight.. Trousers on the other hand..

How tall are you?

You must have been about 5ft?

I'm obese, having bariatric surgery next week and my waist is 29 inches

I honestly can’t imagine this can be right. You must be an extraordinary hourglass! I’d love to see a picture (but admit this is completely inappropriate nosiness so fully expect you to tell me to mind my own business).

Or be not been 😬

Shedthoad

Yes short !

I also fit in size 6/8 bottoms while being BMI 30

Hi Op, I'm the same height and weight as you with a similar figure. I should really be losing two stone and know I'll feel much better for it. I do t think I look dreadful or anything but I am absolutely heavier than I should be.

Tableflowerss 5ft 2.

9.5 stone is not in the overweight range at 5’2”

Sorry I must have been a few pounds above, not much tho, it was only a few weeks ago.

No worries, I only know because I’m 5’2” and trying to get into the healthy range! It’s a slog 😩

Some people are very small framed.

My auntie had an amazing figure in her youth - an 18 inch waist. But boobs and bum too, they used to liken her to Jayne Mansfield (50s pin up) She only weighed about 7-7.5 stone, as she was barely 5ft. In later life weighing 12st she was classed as obese, but still had a tiny waist.

Keep at it Carlotta. The tdee calculator is a good start. I've knocked a stone off since Christmas and I'm still at it, not easy for us shorties! Join us on Aspiring August weight loss thread if you feel like company.

You’ve got a lovely figure.

I have a really solid body and a large bone structure so I can also get away with carrying a few extra pounds. I am currently the same weight as you OP but I am nearly four inches taller. I don’t think it’s necessarily the case that we’ve lost sight of what overweight looks like because i think the thing with you is that you don’t look like most 5’3” women who are 12 stone. I don’t think you would have been considered fat 30 years ago either. You’re lucky! Better to be heavy but look lighter than the other way around.

I went up to 14 and a half stone without looking very visibly flabby. I want to get down to between 11 and 11 and a half stone. Lots of people would find that far too heavy but for me it’s a good weight and I feel healthy at that weight. I am still about 5 kilos overweight but I have lots of muscle, little visceral fat and a good level of fitness. I have a 29 inch waist (but I’m not having bariatric surgery 😂) which is a waist to height ratio of 0.44 so perfectly healthy.

You weigh a over a stone more than me and are 3 inches shorter than me but look far slimmer than me. Do you have dense bones.

Like others have said I think you have a lovely figure. It’s also worth noting that some evidence suggests a BMI of overweight i.e. 25 to 30 doesn’t necessarily increase health risks. Having a large waist measurement does however, and your waist looks slim.

It’s all about what makes you happy. I used to look in the mirror and think I was slim and then I realised the photographs that I wasn’t but I allegedly have a healthy BMI (there is some argument that for those of us who are very short BMI needs to be altered). Now I’ve seen what I really look like I won’t be happy until I lose a bit of weight and tone up.

I’m taller than you but have a similar looking figure. And agree that overweight is deceptive these days due to there being so many large people around.

I’ve been losing weight and I’m nearly down to healthy bmi. 2lb or so to lose.

I was watching a programme about weight loss with DP the other day. They have a group of people on there trying to lose weight and his comment was “but they’re not even that big”. - they’re all obese!

I think it’s because we see programmes like My 600 lb Life where people are super morbidly obese that we think this is what obesity is. Obese people often look pretty normal and I did too when I was obese. After losing a substantial amount I now realise that I was kidding myself a bit.

Are you referring to the Michael Mosley programme by the way? Because I also thought that most of the people on there looked pretty normal 😂

I'm similar to you op. I'm overweight according to my BMI. I do see I could lose some weight because before having dd I was 10kg lighter, and I'm going for it right now. I think you still look great though and can't have that much to lose.
We can do it together if you want!

You've got a good figure and it won't take too much to get back to a healthy weight. It's good that you're doing something about it now. I wish I had rather than ignoring it and letting my weight creep up.

I never cease to be amazed at how different people are for same weight. But also time of life makes a massive difference. Right now I'm just in healthy BMI at a bit less than 5'7".

I'm 11st 1 (70.2kg) and on the way down again after a lockdown bounce . I'm 38-33-39 and technically a 16 and in my 50s. Note modern 16... and old '90s 18-20 thanks to the waist which is pretty much exactly 50% height right now. Oh and I run. So not unfit.

When I was in my early 30s and largely sedentary, I went on a diet and still have the WW records. When I was 11st 2 I was 36-29-39 which is a modern 12, but an old '90s 14-16.

Difference? Post-menopause shape change, post-baby shape change.

Doesn't matter what I do, I can't get my waist below 30" any more. Even at 9st 6 and with a PT doing targetted core with me! (~BMI 21) I have a feeling that I have more fat proportionally than I used to, hence bigger for same weight, since it weighs less than muscle. At that weight I'm an easy 12.

But on this thread are people who are a size 12 now at two stone heavier and shorter than me! So who knows?

@Shedtheload I’m not sure if you were asking me or someone else but yes it was the Michael Mosley programme we were watching. I think all of them are obese apart from 1 who is overweight. I agree that they didn’t look that big but it goes to show how warped our view of it has become!

You look great too Catbear. As someone said upthread, it’s not clear that an overweight BMI is actually unhealthy, especially if you are not BAME. Also, I didn’t realise this but prior to the 90s the BMI cut off for healthy weight was actually 27 and then it was arbitrarily changed. It doesn’t actually matter what people used to look like in the 50s because they lived a very different life to ours (in terms of their activity levels) and most people tended to be smaller and shorter than they are today. Also, many of the photos we see from that time are of celebrities who were slimmer than the rest of the population. My grandma was alive in the 50s and would have been classed as average these days and she was average then. If you look at magazines from the 90s, skinny models were everywhere yet there was a raging obesity epidemic elsewhere. People looking back to that era might mistakenly think that the magazines represent what people were like then but it wouldn’t be accurate.

@PerfectionistProcrastinator thought it was that one! Yeah it does show that mild obesity doesn’t mean that you’re confined to your bed or in need of outsize clothing but it can still be very unhealthy.