Weight n' thangs

Re: Weight n' thangs

• flutteringinfl member

  

  April 2015

  BMI is so deceptive. It doesn't account for muscle vs. fat, which means very in-shape people can be considered overweight. I check my weight every once in awhile, and no matter how much I change my diet or exercise, it always seems to remain the same, hovering between 125-128. But I have been exercising a lot lately and I've noticed a change when I look in the mirror, and that matters to me more than the changes on the scale.

  

  
  

  
  

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• theartistformerlyknownas member

  

  April 2015

  Re: the scale, I find that my digital scale is very sensitive to slight variations in the floor - like if it is overlapping 2 floor tiles instead of resting on just one, it'll say a dramatically different weight.
  
  And we have about exactly the same body type. I prefer to be around 165, but now that I'm in the low 180s nobody seems to notice (besides the baby bump, but I lost weight in other places during the morning sickness phase so I haven't actually seen an increase on the scale yet, though I will soon). And the health insurance guy didn't flinch when I lied and told him 165 to get a better rate.

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• emmaaa mod

  

  April 2015

  I hate scales. Hate them. My good weight is about 145 or so. I am about 5'5" so that's normal to me. I probably weigh about 160ish right now. I want to lose weight but at the same time, I know I am healthy. 

  
  

  BMI, numbers on a scale, and the size of your clothing are all stupid numbers to make us feel like we need something to improve on. Whether you are 125 pounds or 225 pounds, you'r beautiful. I love hearing your story, Larry.

  
  

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• minttobemrsb member

  

  April 2015 edited April 2015

  larrygaga said:

  I recently gained about 15 pounds. An ass ton of stress=lots of takeout and no exercise. I got a new scale I registered for at my shower, and I am trying it out today. This thing says I weigh 200 pounds. My old scale says 183. My old scale has always given weights comparable to the doctors. The new thing is digital and I have heard that digital scales are inaccurate, as well as the specific one I registered for. 

  
  

  Anyway, I'm going to test it with my FI tonight and see what his looks like. Beyond that, it got me started thinking about weight again. I started my usual healthy diet and exercise routine that keeps me at a baseline at 165-170. I know I don't look as heavy as I truly am. I'm sorta tall, considered to have a "large" frame and muscular. I'm 5'7.  At my sickly skinny state in high school, I was around 150 pounds. 

  
  

  I hear in one ear that a good weight for women is 125. My much smaller and thinner sister exclaimed that a really huge person on TV looked to weigh almost 200 pounds!!! I kept quiet, but I wanted to be like "I weigh almost 200 pounds". I have been called on many occasions at work "skinny" (I think this is an exaggeration) and I have yet to have a doctor say anything but good things about my weight. 
  

  
  

  For the record, at my usual 165-170 I wear a size 10/12. Right now with 15 extra pounds I have a few size 14 pants but my tops still fit. I am considered in the lower overweight BMI range. We all know BMI is shit anyway!

  
  

  I don't really know what this post is about, except that I wanted to get all this off my chest and proclaim that numbers ain't shit. Numbers are for tracking progress, not health. You would never guess how much I actually weigh by looking at me. My FI thinks I weigh 145!!! LOL

  
  

  I'M FUCKING HEAVY AND I AM HAPPY

  Good for you! BMI is a crock of shit and I make sure to tell all of my clients that. When I was in undergrad, my teammate's BMI said she was borderline obese. Girl was a beast. Very toned and strong. She was in no way "overweight." 

  
  

  Also, how in the world could someone generalize what a good weight for women is. I've seen two women who weigh the exact same amount and one will look very thin and one look overweight. It all depends on your height, amount of muscle vs. fat, and how/where you carry it. 

  
  

  Don't track your health with a number. Go by how you look and how you FEEL!! Go you

  

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• Maggie0829 member

  

  April 2015

  Well 125 is only a good weight for a woman who is shorter and a smaller frame then you.  125 for you wouldn't be good, it would be incredibly skinny.

  
  

  In the end, if your doctor thinks you are of a healthy weight and has no concerns and you feel comfortable in your skin and are happy with yourself then that is really all that matters.  

  
  

  People are surprised when I tell them what I weigh because I distribute weight gain pretty evenly all over so when I do get a bit on the heavier side it isn't really that noticeable, accept to me.  I would prefer to be about 135, but at the moment I weight 155.  And I think my body would rather be around 145.  For me to be 135, it takes a lot of work and a drastic change in my diet.  Well I like food and spending a large amount of time exercising isn't what I want to do right now.

  
  

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• classicalandedgy member

  

  April 2015

  I'm glad you posted this...  I have been trying to learn to love my body as it is.  Currently I fluctuate between 160-170 wear a size 10/12 and am 5'6".  I always used to be between 125-135 and the change has been difficult to accept.  But, I do know that I am much happier now.  Trying so hard to maintain that 125-135 weight was a lot of fucking work and I really was not at my happiest.  So I am working really hard at loving myself just the way I am!

  

   

   

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• WinstonsGirl member

  

  April 2015

  We have a digital scale.  When I don't like what it says, I move it a few inches over and usually drop 3-5lbs.  

  
  

  As for 125lbs being an ideal weight, what a pile of shit.  What if you're 6', or 4'10"??  I'm 5'6" and went from about 150lbs to 130-ish at the moment.  "Healthy" (according to my Dr.) is between 120-160lbs.  Even when I was at 150lbs, she had no concerns as I have a lot of muscle.  

  
  

  If you're happy (and it sounds you are) and your Dr. has no concerns then you're golden

  
  

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• plainjane0415 member

  

  April 2015

  I too am a scale hater.  I wear an 8-10 in pants, I'm 5'5 and weigh between 150-155.  I don't weigh myself other than when I go for a physical, or to the gyno.  I hate seeing the variation of numbers and it really gets me upset, so I just don't do it.

  I have a large bone structure, and even in high school when I weighed 115, the smallest size I wore was a 6, and a medium in tops. 

  I read somewhere that my ideal weight is something like 125.  Well, when I weigh that much I look sick, and my head looks huge. 

  I'm happy with my weight now, and I know how to kind of keep it under wraps if my clothes start to fit a little tighter.  I've really learned to embrace my curves, and not feel bad about having them.  And as cliché as it sounds, people like the Kardashians/ Sofia Vergara/Christina Hendricks have helped me to kind of embrace my wide hips and big butt.  I feel like, well, they're out there doing their thing, and not really trying to get super skinny, I can be that way too. I know it isn't really good to compare yourself to celebs, but it does really make me feel better about my body.

  
  

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• redoryx member

  

  April 2015

  5'5" -- at my heaviest I weighed 311, got down to 175. Then life got in the way and I started gaining some of it back. I have been holding steady at around 235 for nearly a year now and while I know I'm heavier than I should be, for someone who spent her entire adult life either gaining or losing, being able to maintain is by far the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It's taken me a loooooooooooooong time, but I'm totally okay where I am and have no plans to change. 

  
  

  I also am training for my 3rd half marathon so clearly I'm not going to let a little extra weight get in the way of being a mother fucking bad ass. 

  

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• lovegood90 member

  

  April 2015 edited April 2015

  Good for you for not letting numbers get to you- honestly, numbers and BMI are such BS IMHO. I haven't weighed myself since I was like...15 I think!

  I just pay attention to how my clothes fit and make sure I'm getting enough exercise and eating well in moderation. I think that's the most important thing (though I'm not a health professional so what do I know).

  I can relate, though. All throughout university I was anywhere from a size 4-6. Then a year after graduation I realized I was more in the 6-8 range and a lot of my pants/dresses didn't really fit me. It really bummed me out. I guess that's what happens when you reach mid 20s and you rmetabolism slows down, and you realize you can't just go out drinking every weekend and eat crappy drunk food. Sigh!

  But for the past 6 months or so I've really made an effort to be at the gym every day and I really feel a difference in my strength, endurance and confidence. So I'm just gonna continue trying to focus on how I feel and screw the numbers!

  ETA: @plainjane0415, I love your point about the celebrities who have embraced their curves- I totally feel the same way!
  

  Formerly martha1818

  

  
  

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• sarawifenow member

  

  April 2015

  Girl I hear you! I just gained a fuckton of weight (20 pounds!). For me I can really feel the difference in my joints, so I know that it is time to lose some weight. Ugh...bring on the salads!

   

  BMI is total shit. I think that as long as someone feels good about themselves, is healthy, and doesn't have any underlying issues, then screw the number on the scale!

  

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• plainjane0415 member

  

  April 2015

  I love this thread. Scales suck!

  
  

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• climbingsingle member

  

  April 2015

  I honestly don't ever weigh myself because I've noticed that it leads to obsessive thoughts. So I just go by how I feel. 

  
  

  And good for you for not letting those numbers get to you. It IS just a number. Fuck that noise. 

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• redheadbride15 member

  

  April 2015 edited April 2015

  The "ideal weight" for women is grossly underestimated. I read a study once where they asked the participants to estimate the weight of a group of people of mixed gender. Uniformly, everyone UNDERESTIMATED the women's weights by 10-15lb and OVERESTIMATED the men's weights by about the same amount. One explanation that I read (though I'm not sure I entirely buy it) is that women are more likely to report their weight as lower than it actually is, so we go through life having an image in our brain of an "average-sized" woman weighing 125, when it fact she probably weighs more like 140.
  
  Weights (and BMIs too) are silly measurements. Percent body fat is a much better indicator. I'm 5'6" and weigh ~160, which puts me in the "overweight" category by BMI. However, my body fat is 27%, which is actually on the lower end of the healthy range for my age.
  
  ETF spelling
  

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• larrygaga member

  

  April 2015

  lolo883 I went parasailing in the yoop once and I debated lying because I was worried FI would judge me. Then I realized that if our weight is off balance I could slip out and fall to me death. I told the guy hooking us up the right number and he was like "Don't tease, I need a real number."

  
  

  And it's really stupid that lower weight=better rates. I'm signing up for FI's insurance when we get married and I will keep that in mind!

  
  

  emmaaa Thank you! I try to overshare because I think there are a lot of people here, including lurkers, that could relate and are afraid to say so.

  
  

  Maggie0829 I'm thinking you are an hourglass girl? I am, and we love to deceive. 

  
  

  redheadbride15 That is super interesting. 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• flutteringinfl member

  

  April 2015

  So I just got back from a wellness fair at work and got my health examined, and even the professionals said that BMI is basically useless. I'm close to being overweight, but all my other stats are great. It's hard not to pay attention to weight because that's the easiest thing for us to measure on a daily basis, but it really pays to take a look at other numbers too.

  

  
  

  
  

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• ashley8918 member

  

  April 2015

  Girl, I am super jealous of your body confidence and am really fucking proud of you, because I know you have been through some shit. I want to be like you when I grow up.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  I don't think that I have ever said out loud (or typed, haha) that I weigh 200 lbs because I am weirdly obsessed with the numbers and am super uncomfortable with it. Like, I have this irrational fear that someone is going to be like "Yeah, I can tell." or "That's what I would have guessed." But I have some real body issues in general.

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• Maggie0829 member

  

  April 2015

  @larrygaga - definitely an hour glass shape and I love every bit of it!

  
  

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• theartistformerlyknownas member

  

  April 2015

  Yeah when I was using the insurance co's online estimator if I used my real weight (which is considered "overweight" by BMI) the rate went up about $10/month. So I lied and the guy didn't check. Didn't end up working out ultimately because once they discovered I'd been prescribed antidepressants in the past, it went up $15/month! Stigmas to the left of me, stigmas to the right... I flew into an angry rage, called and canceled and pulled all my business from them (life, homeowners, and auto insurance plus checking and credit) for engaging in such shitty pricing activities and contributing to a negative stigma against mental health care. The adjuster actually told me "it's just like smoking, if you smoked in the past your date would be higher too." No, it's nothing like smoking. Nothing at all. My current health is not affected, I've proven that I'll seek treatment before that happens, AND the policy wouldn't cover in the case of suicide anyway so what the hell do they care?!
  
  Ugh sorry, still stabby over that. Suck it USAA.

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• tcnoble member

  

  April 2015

  I love this movement towards "I weigh xyz, and I LOVE IT".

  
  

  I'm 5'10" and vary between 200-230, depending on my commitment to healthy eating/exercise or lackthereof. Because I'm so tall and the way I'm built, I hold my weight well. It's a blessing and a curse. I have some days where I feel fat and wish I was motivated. But most days I'm like I LOVE MYSELF. 

  
  

  I've been in a weight gain slide since the wedding. It was like I watched what I ate for 18 months and now I don't care. I just have to rein myself in a bit! My favorite thing? Looking at my wedding pictures and not ONCE thinking "wow I look huge" just DAMN IM HOT. Even though I'm sure some people would be like wow her arms are massive.

  
  

  Yeah they're massive and strong so I can punch your jerk ass in the face.

  

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• amelisha member

  

  April 2015

  FI has to hide our scale. I get it back once a week only. Otherwise I lose my damn mind if I gain half a pound. I have a really hard time not obsessing so I make him be my willpower for me.

  
  

  I was always the same size until a few years ago when university/working in restaurants/partying too much caught up with me what felt like overnight and I gained more than 25 pounds from too much free food and too much drinking and not enough exercise. I was in denial about it for a while but then when I realized what size jeans I'd had to buy I got pretty strict with myself and dropped it plus some insurance, but now as I head towards 30 I'm finding I have to actually pay attention to it or I start gaining it back. So...the scale. But only once a week.

  
  

  I've never had a healthy mindset when it comes to my weight, though, and I think a lot of it is because I have a small bone structure and so I look rounder and softer than other people the same size and weight. Everything about me is round - from face to short chubby toes - and the only time I've ever felt comfortable with my weight was when my body fat percentage was so low I'd pretty much stopped getting my period. Which is awful, and it makes me pretty mad that I've been conditioned to think I only look good when I'm clearly a bit underweight.

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• princessofgenovia member

  

  April 2015

  Last time I weighed myself (a few weeks ago) it said I was 178, which sounds about around. I seem to hover right around 175, sometimes a few pounds heavier, sometimes a few pounds lighter. So per the handy dandy BMI calculator I googled for my BMI is 25.5 which puts me right in the overweight range.

  
  

  I feel healthy. I work out daily, eat a mostly balanced diet, stay active. I don't get sick that often, I don't winded walking up stairs, I like the way I look too. I'm 5'10 and I have a very hourglass figure, though a little more sand on top then on bottom, and my weight is distributed very evenly. 

  
  

  I've had to make peace with the fact that I am not a small woman. Nothing about me is small or dainty or delicate. That's not how I am. I'm not a gazelle, I'm a fucking rhino. And there ain't a damn thing wrong with it. Rhinos get cool horns. 

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• cupcait927 member

  

  April 2015

  @amelisha I feel the same way about myself - I feel that I only look good if I'm a little underweight because I was that way for so long. Now that I'm at a healthy weight for my height/frame (5'5", smaller frame), all I can see is the round face, the love handles, my chunkier thighs. I can't see myself as healthy and okay because I'm not used to it and it doesn't look okay to me. No matter how many times H tells me I'm beautiful and perfect, I can't see it for myself. I don't ever weigh myself because it just ends up upsetting me. I don't even look at my wedding pictures because to me, I look "too big". It's not healthy and it just ends up making me feel awful either way.

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• NowIamMrsKlein member

  

  April 2015 edited April 2015

  Friggen BMI shit.

  
  

  I am short. Like just under 5 feet tall short. A 'normal' weight for me according to BMI would be 100-110lbs.

  
  

  Which I haven't weighed since puberty and I actually don't think is physically possible for me to weigh. The thought of being 105ish pounds is terrifying for my body-type.
  
  At my heaviest I was 140. Which was pretty squishy on my frame. I've manage to get down to 129, and my goal is a healthy maintable 125. 

  
  

  Which is still pretty much considered overweight. 125lbs. Overweight. Like seriously, way to give a girl a complex BMI.

  
  

  
  

  I also have a thyroid problem which makes it really difficult to loose weight so the scale and I have a constant struggle. FI has made me promise to only weigh myself once a week and instead focus on how my clothes fit and how I feel. Because that damn scale was ruling my life.

  
  

  Gah. Rawr. It seriously bothers me how that damn thing can affect my mood on a day to day basis. It's gross.

  
  

  

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• jenna8984 member

  

  April 2015

  @larrygaga You're amazing and we love you!! And you know for damn sure what an accomplishment it is to be where you are now rather than be on an episode of intervention fighting the disorder. You fucking won, lady!

  In my teens and early 20's, I was always a runner and dieter and I'd say bordeline disorder. Always weighed 120 and had abs. When I met DH I was training for a half marathon and had never been so trim. Cut to now, I haven't worked out in 2 years, I don't diet, I weigh 145 (5'3)and had to buy all new clothes. I still have a hard time with it sometimes, wearing baggy shirts to cover the fact that my used to be abs now look 5 months pregnant. But DH claims he loves my body more now than ever so hopefully he's not lying lol.

                                                                   

  
  

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• littlepep member

  

  April 2015

  I used to have an eating disorder so I was really sensitive about weight. In the last few years though, I have completely quit weighing myself. I have never been happier. It's just not worth the stress and anxiety. 

  
  

  I'm pretty short (5'3") so my ideal weight is about 125-130. Lately I've been heavier though because I haven't been exercising or eating well. No idea what I weigh because like I said, I quit doing that. Mostly my issue right now is that my clothes aren't all fitting me at the moment so my goal is to fit back into my clothes not to lose weight. 

  

  
  

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• badbnagdway member

  

  April 2015

  @larrygaga don't stress about the numbers if you feel good. 

  
  

  I am about 5'6" but I look taller than that. I have weighed as little as 125 (but I was sick) and as much as 172. Right now I weigh about 165, which is a little more than I'm happy with. At about 153 I am usually feeling and looking really good and pretty slender. I also think people assume I weigh a lot less than I do. I don't go around announcing my weight but when I do tell female friends they seem genuinely shocked about it. 

  
  

  I think we have been tricked into believing that women should weigh what you said, around 125, and anything over that is huge. That's a bunch of rubbish. If you are active and feel good it doesn't matter what you weigh. 

  
  

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• kvruns member

  

  April 2015

  I'm definitely in the category of weighing more than it looks like I do.  I work out and run a lot so I've always felt like I carried my weight ok. Until these past oh 6 months when I've gained 5-10 pounds (Christmas, vacation, and stress) and now feel like everything looks awful since I gain around the spare tire area.  I'm a little afraid my dress isn't going to fit in 6 weeks but I guess I will find out!

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• amelisha member

  

  April 2015

  cupcait927 said:

  @amelisha I feel the same way about myself - I feel that I only look good if I'm a little underweight because I was that way for so long. Now that I'm at a healthy weight for my height/frame (5'5", smaller frame), all I can see is the round face, the love handles, my chunkier thighs. I can't see myself as healthy and okay because I'm not used to it and it doesn't look okay to me. No matter how many times H tells me I'm beautiful and perfect, I can't see it for myself. I don't ever weigh myself because it just ends up upsetting me. I don't even look at my wedding pictures because to me, I look "too big". It's not healthy and it just ends up making me feel awful either way.

  This exactly (and I'm 5'4", so I feel like it's a lot easier to look chunky than for tall women.) I'm currently maintaining about five pounds lower than I normally can (my body doesn't like it much and I am hungry pretty much all the time) because my wedding is next month and I'm terrified of hating all my photos and feeling like all I see is fat arms. I know I probably will hate my photos, regardless. I would love it if a switch would flip and I'd suddenly not hate every bit of extra fat on me, and FI gets a little annoyed with me sometimes because he doesn't understand why HIM thinking I look good is not good enough for me, but it's not, you know? 

  
  

  I'm not and never have been overweight by BMI standards but that fact doesn't make me feel any better about the way the waistband of my pants sits or how chunky my thighs look in a bikini (thanks, skiing!) or my big gross chest. And I can never talk about it with anyone in real life because of that - being considered "thin" means I get zero sympathy from my friends about how much I hate the way I look. 

  
  

  
  

  
  

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• Blergbot member

  

  April 2015

  I don't own a scale and it's awesome. However, I've been to the OB a lot lately, so I know that I weigh 159. I'm 5'4" and right now I wear a size 10.

  
  

  In college I was a size 4/6 and in my late twenties I was a size 8. Then, when I was 30, I was put on a supplemental antidepressant (I've been on regular antidepressants since I was 12). I gained 30 pounds, but I'd never been happier in my life. I decided that I'd rather be heavy and happy. I met H and we weighed about the same (170ish). 

  
  

  I actually lost 10 pounds during pregnancy (results not typical), and I'm pretty happy with my weight right now. I had to break down and buy some new clothes, because I don't fit in my size 12s anymore, but my hold on to hope, size 8 clothes don't fit, either. I'm the fittest I've ever been, too. I will hopefully be getting back to Pilates in a few weeks, as soon as my PT okays it. 

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