Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with weight and bmi

Why do I think I have the body I had 5 years ago?

lizjohn — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 10:48:42 -0800

Am I suffering from some sort of body dysmorphia? Or do I just have a slow-so-adjust sense of self? (yanmd/t/p) I am female, 25 and 5'3". My BMI is in the Obese Class II. However, I do not think of myself as a very obese person. I live a somewhat active life, I bike to school and work (apx. 5 miles a day), mainly work on my feet and go to the gym when I have time. My cholesterol, heart rate and blood pressure are all in the healthy ranges. I wear a size 16 and can shop at "regular" stores. I realize there has been a lot of size inflation Yet, I recently found out that Roseanne Barr was approximately my weight, at her heaviest! I don't think I look anything like Roseanne! On one hand, I know I need to lose weight. Definitely, 100%. On the other hand, I don't think the situation is as dire as the numbers seem. I feel like I should be more worried about myself.

Some history: My freshman year of high school I was around 160lb. By learning about eating better and joining a gym with my best friend, I was able to leave for college around 115lb. Even at being at my "ideal" weight for my height, it took me a long time to adjust to thinking that I could wear tank-tops, bikinis, or dare to wear short shorts. Before trying on clothes, I would be apprehensive that they would be unflattering, but then be pleasantly surprised when I could pull it off.

I maintained the weight loss for a few years, but eventually after a combination of unmedicated depression, laziness and being busy with work and school; I gained the weight back...and more. Now, however, I go to buy clothes and am not(!) pleasantly surprised when I try on a cute sundress. When I think of a mental picture of myself, I think curvy, perhaps like Joan Harris. In actuality, I'm probably more rubenesque than that.

So, half of this question is: Is this some form of body dysmorphia? Two days ago I was talking to my husband about my lagging sense of self, and he said he had never experienced a sense of not knowing ones true size (body wise, not clothes wise). I had been thinking all along that this was a common thing.

The other half of the question is: how can I motivate myself to lose weight without destroying the my otherwise high self-esteem? Earlier when I wrote "I feel like I should be more worried about myself", I almost wrote "I feel like I should be more disgusted with myself"

tl:dr: When I was skinny, it took me a while to stop thinking of myself as fat. Now that I'm fat again, I still think like I'm a thinner person. In some ways I wish I thought of myself as I am, so I would be more motivated to lose weight.

(not to already babysit the comments, can we please not discuss issues such as BMI being just one measure of a person, or that the scale is just a number, or about the actual mechanics of losing weight? I am aware of these issues, and would like help on body image, please :) )

Calories in and calories burned: is there a trick?

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:54:20 -0800

If it's as easy as move more and eat less, why aren't I losing weight? So the internet finally got to me. Seeing so many posts about how overweight people are that way by choice finally sent me spiralling. In the past I've tried to stick to various exercise regimes. Did freeweights, bought an expensive trampoline, subscribed to a weekly (organic) vegetable box and vowed to make every meal with the healthiest and purest ingredients possible. I cut sugar out of my diet. I cut alcohol. I cut anything sweet. Chose only low-fat milk and then no dairy at all. Cut out red meat. Started cutting out meat entirely. I thought I was doing everything right.

After three months and only losing 12 pounds, I got discouraged. I decided to read up on the internet again and get some advice. But all I found were more posts calling people who looked like me and weighed as much as I do lazy, ugly, worthless. Especially women. I was convinced that I had to be sabotaging myself somehow.

That's when I decided to stop eating. Not entirely. In the beginning I was eating only dinner. Then I started cutting the portion I gave myself at that meal in half. After two weeks and no progress, I decided to eat one portion of fruit and one of vegetable instead of any meals. Usually it's some broccoli and an apple. I partner this with a 45 minute walk every day.

I've been doing this for two months. I haven't gained that 12 pounds back, but the scale hasn't gone ANY lower. I feel depressed and broken. I'm always tired. I feel like I'm destined to be overweight and worthless forever. What am I doing wrong? I know I should consult my doctor, but I feel worse about my weight when I visit him than any other time. I weigh 288 (5'8'') and I get lectured about my BMI and interrogated about my lifestyle constantly.

I'm not looking for medical advice, but maybe some information on what I'm doing wrong. If it's as easy as calories in and calories burned, I should have lost something by now.
Are there any other ways to approach this?

(This is anonymous as it's pretty soul-baring and personal. Plus my username would be forever attached to my obesity.)

Ideal body stats and how fast to attain them

edbyford — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:17:34 -0800

I'm going to make 2011 the year I keep my New Year's resolution to lose weight. Can you help me figure out a realistic target/loss rate? Hello all,
I’ve ‘tried’ many times to lose weight over the last few years; every time I seem to find an excuse – work, the weather, a holiday – to stop. I’m making next year the year I stick to my New Year’s resolutions. I’m also going to set up a StickK account to give me a major financial incentive to reach my goals.

The problem is – what should my goals be? I plan to go running, do some bodyweight exercises, and some light dumbbell work – this may mean I bulk up, so should I aim to reduce body fat, rather than weight?

My vital stats currently: 22 year old male, 182 cm (~6 foot), 95 kg (~210 lbs), BMI of ~29, 21.1% body fat and 78.9% lean mass. What should I be aiming for? And what is a sensible rate at which to change? (I don't want to set myself a silly target and then lose money unnecessarily.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Ed

P.S. I am otherwise healthy and have been medically approved for dieting and exercise.

Picking a healthy weight after extreme weight loss

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:08:16 -0800

How do I know if I'm at a healthy weight, given some complications? Background: I'm a woman in my mid-30s. I'm about 5'5. Due to chronic illness, I gained a huge amount of weight in my 20s. About 6 years ago, I weighed 235 lbs. Over the course of a year, I lost about 50 lbs through moderate exercise and a pretty restrictive (but safe) diet. I then went on to have two children, the second by C-section. In the past year, through weight training, increased activity and breastfeeding, I dropped to 160 lbs. For three months, my weight has fluctuated from 158 to 162, from week to week, in spite of me eating 1600-1800 calories while breastfeeding a toddler 2-3 times a day and exercising a fair amount, including weight training.

Recently, a close friend took me aside and said that she did not think I needed to continue dieting. This friend is a doctor. She said she is concerned that I have become dysmorphic.

I pointed out that my BMI is a bit more than 26 and that my waist is 33" and that all the online calculators say I still have a lot of body fat and a poor hip/waist ratio. I noted that I also have a small frame and that I thought it was reasonable to drop to 135 lbs.

My friend, who is a doctor, said that she feels I am dysmorphic because I have been dieting. She also said that she does not think I understand what two children, a C-section, and extreme weight loss would make my stomach look like. She said that she thinks my stomach fat is not fat but instead excess skin. She also said that I have extremely muscular legs and that I should consider that I'm still breastfeeding and have a 34J bust. She said that I may also have increased bone density from carrying extra weight for several years. For these reasons, she feels my BMI and waist measurement are not "right".

My personal trainer said before that I have legs that most of her clients would have worked years to get -- if at all. She said there is not an ounce of fat on them. I am now into size 6 pants, although I have a serious muffin top. And I'm in a 34J bra, so I'm pretty trim around the chest.

My friend, the doctor, said that continued dieting could have long term implications for my health and that she doesn't think it's a good idea. She said my body will probably hang on to 10 or 15 lbs till I stop breastfeeding and that she thus thinks I'm already at a healthy weight. My personal trainer has said before that most of her clients hang on to 10 or 15 lbs till they stop breastfeeding.

Is there some way to tell if all this is true? I would have thought I should be aiming for 135 lbs. I will go see my own doctor, but I suspect she's either going to think about the BMI and measurements or else she's going to agree with my doctor friend, since she isn't a specialist in weight loss.

Is there any standard for figuring out if your BMI and waist measurement are thrown off by a history of obesity? Thanks.

Help me find bathroom scale that measures body fat.

ernie — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 07:40:45 -0800

Help me pick a bathroom scale - with decent BODYFAT SENSOR. Lost url of a review from about a year ago that had good info on common models. The googles do nothing for that particular review, however I keep thinking I saw this review on Slate.com (but try as I might I can't find it). It included about 10 different models, ranging from about $29 to $150 and the 'best' one was somewhere in the middle.

I guess I don't HAVE to have find this review in particular, but I liked the style & objectivity of it. These types of scales have the metal pads that measure the resistance in your bare feet and then automagically calculate your body fat. I know this isn't the most accurate way determining body fat, but I'm not interesting dunking myself in a vat or whipping out calipers every Sunday.

So again, I'm looking for something fairly precise (consistent and repeatable) more than accurate. It doesnt have to have fancy multi-user memories or bar graphs ( but I'd love it if it did).

on the review - it was in the same style as one they had sea salt and ergonomic chairs, where at the conclusion the author lists them in ascending order of awesomeness with some mini conclusions on each model, and some arbitrary scoring system. usually these reviews involve a group of the author's friends.

How to deal with criticism of your body

Deep Dish — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 00:37:19 -0800

So I am about to join a gym. In most ways, I am a rational human being - but this membership comes with fitness evaluation and body composition test and if I have someone tell me that I am a big, fat, pudding of a man I am going to be posting an "ask metafilter" thread about how to hide a body. How do I handle this is a constructive manner? I'm not a total loss, I look okay and have been in exercise programs in the last few years but job demands took their toll on my exericise routines. I know the numbers aren't going to crunch well and my BMI is fairly high. I think I understand my situation well enough, and I am not really in the mood to play nerds vs jocks especially when I have every intention of conducting some lifestyle reforms.

Bottom line is this could yield some good information but I think I am also going to take the criticism badly. In most other ways, I am logical and rational, but how do I take this as advice and not as shameful and insulting?