Im overweight now. I used to be 109kg, got down to normal range (78kg), then held it for five years. Then I got a series of injuries, I relied too much on exercise as a weight loss method.
Im getting there, but I do find it a lot harder without significant exercise as part of the mix.
Otara
I used to be underweight, but I’ve been gaining 1.5 kg per year for 6 years in a row now, and now I’m at 20.7 BMI (81 kg and 198 cm). At this rate I’ll be overweight in 10 years so ask again in 2020!
Being too thin wasn’t that much fun actually, especially during the winters here. Without any insulating fat temperatures below -20 C were absolute murder.
At 5’7’’, I’m 124 lbs, so me not so fat. A couple of years ago, I was about twenty pounds heavier, though. Still wasn’t fat, but I was not slender. I remember my size 8 pants would often be a tad too snug, but of course I was in denial about it. I was several pounds away from looking fat, IMHO, even if my BMI didn’t say so.
I was thin in grad school, but started “filling out” once I graduated. My first real job out of school was physically intensive, which you would think would have kept down the poundage. But I think I kind of exploited this fact a little and gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted, not realizing that I didn’t need all those calories. It was a psychological thing, I guess. Plus, I didn’t cook as often as I do now because I was often too tired to do much once I got home.
Then I added some more pounds once I moved to VA and became a sedentary cubicle rat.
But one day I decided that I wanted to get more active and I started walking to and from work. Seven miles every day, no ifs ands or buts. Even in the cold, heat, and the pouring rain. My diet didn’t change that much, but my waist line gradually did. I walk religiously now and I’m still losing weight. If I don’t walk after a couple of days of rest, I start feeling blah.
I feel a lot better about the way I look and don’t avert my eyes when I see my reflection (though I admit it wouldn’t hurt to gain a few pounds…but my appetite has been all messed up for some reason). It’s weird how carrying just a few extra pounds above your ideal weight can really affect the way you perceive yourself.
Just playing around with a BMI calculator, I determined that with my height, I could weigh between 118 and 159 and still be considered “normal”. That’s a huge spread, IMHO. I suppose if you’re closer to the upper end and you have a muscular build, you have to view your score more skeptically. But a person could be a size 0 or a size 12 and still be considered healthy. That seems more than fair enough, IMHO.
I’ll joint the “BMI is crap” group; I will freely admit I have extra fat to lose still (after already losing 24 pounds), but not nearly as much as the BMI charts think I have to lose. I was doing hard work this summer, and I muscled up what felt like instantly; I’ll never be a lightweight.
5’2", currently 115. Weighed 105 in High School. Have weighed as much as 122. I would like to lose ten pounds before my 25th class reunion. Not extremely worried, as I weighed 117 at the last one. Plus, I’m sure no one gives a rat’s ass but me. It just sucks because you’d think the one thing in life you could control would be your body. It feels shameful when you can’t.
I have no idea what my BMI is. I’m 5’3" and 120lbs. Lost about 43 lbs in the last 9 months and built muscle tone. Approaching 50 in a few years and I feel great. I’ll be glad to tell anyone how if you message me. No diet or gimmicks. I will NOT be gaining it back because it feels too damn good to be thin again and have more energy. Had I done it with some sort of “diet plan” the extra weight would most likely come back within months. It’s doable…for anyone who really wants it.
I agree that BMI doesn’t work for everyone, but for me it’s pretty much on-target. Anyhow, just over two years ago, I had crept up to the cusp of “obese” on the BMI scale @ 28.6. (Male, 5’11", 205 pounds at that point.) I never really felt that fat, nor did I think I particularly looked fat in pictures. After I realized I tipped 200 for the first time in my life, I decided to lose that weight, and did over the next few months. I dropped to 165 (23 BMI) and have, so far, kept it off for a year and a half. When people started telling me “Oh my God, you look good! You lost so much weight! What’s your secret? I almost didn’t recognize you! etc.” I realized that I must have been noticeably overweight, but just didn’t realize it because of the gradual weight creep. I could maybe use another 5, maximum 10 pounds off my tummy, but I’m pretty happy in the 160-170 range. Anything lower than 155 and I would start looking emaciated.
I must have been huge at 6’0", 263 because I’m down to 193 and I still qualify as “overweight” according the BMI, last I looked. I’ve been plateauing recently, snacking a little bit, not working out quite as religiously as I had been, but I still stay focussed when people at work tell me how great I look. I’m surprised by how easy it’s been–it’s been a lot of work, but I think my attitude changed, and that made “a lot of work” = “kinda fun.” It’s like a game I play, where I try to trick my fat self into losing a few more pounds, “Let’s see if we can’t put off lunch for another hour today,” or “Betcha if I go running after work, I can take off two more pounds by Friday,” like that.
Right now I’m probably a good 20-30 pounds over my “usual” weight, which is about 10-15 pounds heavier than my supposed “ideal” weight, but I don’t buy it. I don’t think those measurements take my muscle mass into account, which can be considerable when I’m fit.
Your wedding pictures are gorgeous. 
Love the dress. One way or another, I had lost a big chunk of that excess weight in the months leading up to my wedding this year, so mine look pretty good as well. Unfortunately, I’ve put a lot of that weight back on since coming to Scotland, mostly due to inactivity plus new and exciting biscuits. I’m looking for an active job that will help me keep fit, because I don’t like myself like this either. And I remember how good I felt after that weight came off.
Most people say I don’t look fat at all, but they didn’t see me when I was 21 and working in a cabinet factory. I was freakin ripped! Now I’m 33, have manboobs and a gut so I say I’m fat.
I used to be thin, in fact I was underweight most of my life. And then my metabolism shifted (middle age spread, is it?) and now I’m at the upper limit of the BMI. To look at me, you wouldn’t guess that, which is why I don’t think BMI is a particularly accurate guide for anything.
Having said that, I am of unattractive proportions, limb length:torso etc, and have a terrible taste in clothing, so I look pear shaped and ungainly even when I’m not.
AMEN! I may be fat, but I disagreed with the “morbidly obese” label my doctor put on my record based on nothing more than weight and height.
I don’t have much faith in BMI as a reliable measurement but the medical profession seems happy to swear by it. I’ve been dieting for a couple of years, reached my target weight last December and I’m still within a couple of lbs either side of that weight. So I answered “no, I’m within my BMI range”.
What I really need is to do more exercise but I haven’t quite got round to fitting that into my schedule yet. Going out and having fun with my friends is far more enjoyable than pounding away in the gym.
My BMI is 19. I’m 5’1 and 44kg- ish.
At my thinnest I’ve been 42 kg, at my fattest (when not pregnant) I’ve been 48kg.
I’m happy where I am in terms of weight, but would love to exercise more and get a bit more tone.
That, however is pure vanity, not necessity.
My BMI is 19.7 ( 5’7” and 126lbs) so I’m in the normal range but would like to be a bit more toned because I spy a beer belly in the making.
BMI of 20.4, but I don’t exercise so there is not a lot of muscle. Looks like flab.
I have lost so much weight in the last year that my doctor told me “I want you to start eating more”
I asked how often he got to say that to his patients.
and he replied “Not often.”
I haven’t planned to lose weight but my appetite is just gone.
Sometimes before bed i have to remind myself that I haven’t eaten yet today.
I’m right on the edge between normal and overweight. BMI of 25.0.
I feel out of shape, though, so in terms of health, yeah, I need to move more, and losing a few pounds wouldn’t hurt. I call myself “squishy” most of the time.
I envy people who can eat one meal a day and gain weight. I eat all day and I don’t gain an ounce. And even though I’m not getting fat, I’m probably depositing tons of gnarly shit straight into my aorta. I must have a tapeworm or something. I’m going to call him Tapey.
A 3 Stooges memory:
STOOGE A: Give me a piece of burnt toast and a rotten egg.
STOOGE B: Burnt toast and a rotten egg?!
STOOGE A: Yeah! I got a tapeworm and that’s good enough for 'im!
stooge smilies:
:eek::smack::dubious: