Puzzled why I’m so big at my weight?

[Ranunculi]

I’m 5ft 6ins and my starting weight was 11.5st. My tummy was so big I struggled to bend over and if my DC wanted to sit on my lap I had to move my tummy out of the way. I’m now 10.5st and my tummy is only slightly smaller.

Looking at other people’s weight loss journeys for motivation, many women are my height (or less) and are perfectly slim even though they weigh as much as my starting weight. I’m puzzled how they weigh the same as me, yet they’re slim while I’m big?

We all carry weight differently. Yours is probably more on your tummy than anywhere else. Do you have slim arms and legs?

I am 10st and have chunky arms and legs, but a flat tummy. I would love lovely slim legs

Are these people you know in real life? Photos can make people look very different.

I agree that people carry weight differently. Mine often goes on my stomach first and comes off it last.

My friend is a stone lighter than me and is a size 12, where as I am an 18! Mother Nature is a dick sometimes!

A lot is to do with your build. I’m 5’8 but have a small build (tiny wrists etc) and I’ve got a friend who is my height, weighs a stone more than me but looks slimmer because she has a larger build so at the same weight she has ‘less fat’.

It’s down to shape.

I’m an Apple and have had to get to the lowest end of my BMI for my tummy to finally go because that’s where I carry my weight. Legs/arms/face/chest were slim, even at a stone heavier than I am now.

Well done on losing over a stone already!

I am 5ft 6 and down from 10 st 3 to 9st over lockdown.
My waist measurement is still larger than the NHS recommends for women.
My mum and grandma were the same - very slim until the menopause, then any weight gathers onto the tummy and middle regions.

You are doing great! As pp have said it is just where you are carrying the weight due to your build.

Interesting... I’m around 2 stone heavier than you, the same height and have a fairly flat stomach. We all carry weight differently. Most of mine is on my boobs and arse.

Well done on the weight loss!

Sounds like you are Apple shape. I am the same, all belly! Even now at 8st 3lb I have a round stomach.

I think some people are good at dressing for their shape. I've not perfected the art, but realised I need to stop buying things that hang off my boobs as it makes me look bigger. Also my legs below kne e are slim, so I should show them off. I think some women maybe bigger than you think because t he clothes they wear disguise it (and not in a big tent kinda way)

Same I'm all belly and booobs. I've toned a bit since doing couch to 5 k but still have away to go and after two c sections I doubt it will ever be perfect again.

My hips are a size ten but my waist a 12 and my boobs a 14. Actually I'm a upside down triangle

Do you have slim arms and legs?
My arms and lower legs are like sticks. I need an XS size in bracelets. But my tummy is enormous and my thighs are heavy too. Before I had DC I weighed 9.5st and my tummy still rested on my thighs. One particular weight loss blogger I follow is my current weight and height but has a 26in waist. I have a 34in waist even though I’m not any heavier!

Fat takes up a lot more space than muscle so is it worth trying to look my toned with exercise. I know that when I exercise and build more muscle it might not affect my weight for a while but it changes my shape

Your tummy isn't enormous if you have a 34 inch waist op.

Your tummy isn't enormous if you have a 34 inch waist op
Actually it is. I look pregnant. Every time I see a doctor they assume I’m six months along and are puzzled why there’s nothing on my record.

Have any of these Doctors ever considered looking into why you look six months pregnant when you aren't ? @Ranunculi

Could you have a medical condition causing this?

34in waist is a size 18. It isn’t small.

If you look very pregnant, I’d have that looked at re possible ovarian cyst.

Since I hit peri menopause Ive morphed into humpty dumpty!
I never used to carry weight on my tummy until now , it's down right depressing

Do you do any abdominal and pelvic floor exercises? I did a lot of these and tbey do make a difference.
I'm an apple shape as well, and I've found I have to exercise a lot to keep in reasonable shape.

Could you have a medical condition causing this?
Not that I know of. I’ve always been this shape. My mum has photos of me at two years old with tiny sticklike arms and legs and this huge tummy. Like when you see photos of malnourished children with Kwashiorkor disease - that’s what I looked like. My tummy is a big roll of fat, it’s not a cyst or anything. I’m slim everywhere else.

Has anyone actually felt your abdomen though?

I had a c section so I presume they’d know if there was something wrong? I was examined throughout my pregnancy as most people are.

@tiredanddangerous

Your tummy isn't enormous if you have a 34 inch waist op.

er.....a 34 inch waist is pretty large tbh. Anyone who thinks it is not has lost sight of what is healthy