# Happy, Healthy and Heavy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 15, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233 "2009-09-15T21:16:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/121 "2009-09-17T17:34:23Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > I trained for my last marathon specifically to lose weight. I was at my then-heaviest of 185. I’m a 5’8" woman with a 31-inch waist and large boobs and hips. Anyway, I did all the marathon training without adjusting my eating and lost a grand total of 4 pounds over 4 months of training. It was incredibly disheartening. But, after I had my son, I managed to lose 25 pounds over a 6-month time frame just by eating better and doing more moderate exercise. Go figure. Yes, but muscle is heavier than fat. Without a body composition analysis, you wouldn’t know that you’d lost 20 lbs of fat and gained 16 lbs of muscle. How did your clothing fit? ETA: I mean nothing slacious about that comment, merely, you carried the weight differently. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/122 "2009-09-17T17:34:34Z")
BTW: [Why exercise won’t make you thin](http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html). ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/123 "2009-09-17T17:38:53Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > So are there any thin people who say that the BMI charts are faulty and shouldn’t be used, or is it only those who are overweight? I think that when I was [175](http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t340/gurujulp/tahoesmile_crop.jpg), at 5’ 11", and my BMI was 24.4, I look too skinny. I think that now at [255](http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t340/gurujulp/Jesse2009crop.jpg) with a BMI of 35.6, I am well on the high end of obese and look it. I think I am best at about [210](http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t340/gurujulp/Jesse2004.jpg), which puts me at the top of overweight with a BMI of 29.3 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/124 "2009-09-17T17:43:40Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > BTW: [Why exercise won’t make you thin](http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html). That’s one thing I like about EA Sports’ Active for the Wii - it tells you how many calories you’re supposed to have burned after each exercise session. If I’m standing there panting and thinking, “I’ve been good, I deserve some ice cream,” and then see I’ve maybe burned 200 calories - well, that suddenly seems like not so good of an idea. I suspect the average person wildly overestimates how much calorie-burning their exercise does, and then ignores the true calorie content of their little “treats” for how good they’ve been. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/125 "2009-09-17T17:44:00Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Then I signed up with a gym, work out twice a week. Not really enough, but better than nothing. Now, I struggle all the time to keep the weight from creeping back up, and to keep up my interest in exercising. I\*\*'ll probably have to do that the rest of my life\*\*, which is mildly irritating (but much better than not being healthy). Congrats on your successes and YaY for pledging to take better care of yourself. I bolded for emphasis. This is the part that frustrates me because it _is_ a lifetime commitment. There is no “end game” when it comes to healthy habits. That is why many people who lose weight (with or without surgery) gain it back. They think they’ve reached their destination and they go right back to an unhealthy way of eating. My family is full of people who are heavy. I have never been overweight, but it isn’t some genetic lottery I’ve won to be that way. I am thin (and strong and healthy) because I exercise 7 days a week/365 days a year unless I am throwing up sick. I push myself with workouts and mix intense workouts with strength training. I’m also careful about what I eat. It’s true that because I workout a lot I can eat more or the occasional bad thing, but it’s not something I do all the time. And people _have_ to be kidding that they think people only comment on a thin person’s weight/body a few times in his/her **lifetime**. They are deluding themselves if they really believe that. It’s laughable. Although there will always be assholes, **most** folks would never DREAM to tell someone who is fat “Do you think you ought to eat that dessert?” but I can’t TELL you how many times someone has offered me some kind of sweets with a comment like “Now you eat this, you can certainly afford to” or “Don’t tell me you’re on a diet because you sure don’t need to be.” or something worse. Yes, I realize that a lot of these people think they’re being complementary, but it’s rude. I used to work with a woman who’d comment on what I ate EVERY.SINGLE.TIME we ate in front of one another. It didn’t seem to connect in her mind that the “rabbit food” she saw me eating each day was PART of the reason I am thin and the chili cheese fries, cheeseburger, leftover pizza, etc etc she ate every day might be why she wasn’t. To get back to BMI: no, it isn’t going to work for everyone. People who are especially short or tall or muscular are going to be outside of the BMI ranges. I would guess that for most people, it’s a good INDICATOR. Not THE answer, but one tool in the fitness arsenal. To pretend it’s useless because it doesn’t take into consideration every single instance is so stupid. It’s a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/126 "2009-09-17T17:54:41Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > I’m also careful about what I eat. It’s true that because I workout a lot I can eat more or the occasional bad thing, but it’s not something I do all the time. And people _have_ to be kidding that they think people only comment on a thin person’s weight/body a few times in his/her **lifetime**. They are deluding themselves if they really believe that. It’s laughable. Absolutely! I have been on both sides of the scale, and the comments are just as hurtful whether you are overweight, or at a healthy weight (I was heavy, but I looked lean). Accusations of bulimia and such were not uncommon, and usually gave me a wish to murder. > [@](#): > > To get back to BMI: no, it isn’t going to work for everyone. People who are especially short or tall or muscular are going to be outside of the BMI ranges. I would guess that for most people, it’s a good INDICATOR. Which is pretty much what I’ve said. It’s a good indicator for average people. For us, the not-so-average, is not very useful. Unfortunately some lazy doctors just look at your weight and sends you home to lose (or gain) weight, regardless of whether you \*actually \*have any weight to lose or not. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/127 "2009-09-17T17:55:27Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > I think that when I was [175](http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t340/gurujulp/tahoesmile_crop.jpg), at 5’ 11", and my BMI was 24.4, I look too skinny. > [@Mighty Girl](#): > > I couldn’t lose those 20 lbs. because when I starved myself to try it I felt like crap, couldn’t run worth a shit and looked like a prison camp survivor, and I only lost 10 of those!. I’m not really sure what you two are talking about. In both of those photos you look like normal healthy adults with the proper amount of fat. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/128 "2009-09-17T18:12:27Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I’m not really sure what you two are talking about. In both of those photos you look like normal healthy adults with the proper amount of fat. Maybe it’s a matter of taste, but I didn’t look “well”, and most people I knew agreed. If it helps explain it, I have a very round face, and your typical latin body. My eyes bulged, and my cheekbones became too prominent, and the bones in my hips stuck out. But most importantly, I felt like hell, and very weak. I would guess that my body was just “eating up” my muscles in the process of losing those 10 lbs. It absolutely _did not_ make me healthier. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/129 "2009-09-17T18:33:15Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > I think you got exactly backwards. > > The number only tells you the relationship between the height and weight of a person, regardless of body composition (muscle, water, fat, bones, etc.). You can find a fat, can’t-lift-the-ass-off-a-chair person with the exact same BMI of bodybuilder-Arnold. Which is why a lot of us think it’s a very lose indicator of health. > > Body fat percentage is a much better measure, but harder to determine using your average household instruments. 🙂 BMI is a guide for the typical person. The typical person is not a 6 day a week bodybuilder. You can’t discount BMI because Arnold doesn’t fit the scale. And if you’re right, it’s easy to prove your point. Figure out your BMI and then get your body fat tested. See if the percentage difference between ideal fat and current fat matches the difference between ideal BMI and your BMI. People always say things like “BMI is a crock. My BMI is 30 and I look fine.” But I’ve never heard anyone say “BMI is a crock. I’m a sedate woman with a BMI of 30 and my body fat is 18%.” The BMI-is-a-crock argument would carry more weight if people would back it up with real numbers. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/130 "2009-09-17T18:35:19Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > This [is](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2592/3807322746_aa13d1bdab.jpg) [me](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3806534943_8ec68bd734.jpg)(blue dress) 15 to 20 lbs. overweight according to charts. > > I am 5’ 2(ish)". I am supposed to weight no more than 118-120 lbs. I was 140 in those pictures. See my arms in the blue dress? That’s muscle. I lifted and ran 5K 6 days a week. > > The point I am trying to make is that some of us are outliers, and it pisses me off enormously to have been judged by my weight by the medical establishment, even if the doctor who told me to lose 20 lbs. when I was 140 couldn’t catch me if he ran after me. \*Some \*doctors are lazy, and just spout whatever the chart says without asking much beyond that. I couldn’t lose those 20 lbs. because when I starved myself to try it I felt like crap, couldn’t run worth a shit and [looked like a prison camp survivor](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2489/3814138358_0ff94c30ba.jpg), and I only lost 10 of those!. > > Right now I am 20 lbs. over that weight (I am losing them), but even now I am in perfect health. I don’t fool myself into thinking that I am healthy \*because \*I am overweight, I am healthy because, \*despite \*being overweight, I was active even before I started losing weight, I have little stress, and have a great diet. I am also sure my running will improve enormously from not having to carry the extra weight. I’m not mentioning anything about fitness/running, but you most emphatically _do not_ look like a “prison camp survivor” in that picture. You also do not look fat in the other pictures, but to say you look like you’re starved and emaciated in that last picture is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/131 "2009-09-17T18:40:28Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Maybe it’s a matter of taste, but I didn’t look “well”, and most people I knew agreed. If it helps explain it, I have a very round face, and your typical latin body. My eyes bulged, and my cheekbones became too prominent, and the bones in my hips stuck out. > > But most importantly, I felt like hell, and very weak. I would guess that my body was just “eating up” my muscles in the process of losing those 10 lbs. It absolutely _did not_ make me healthier. :shrug: If you say so. By the way, at 5’2" your “normal” weight range according to BMI is 101-136. In that picture you were 130, well within the normal range. In the other pictures you say you are 140, slightly overweight which seems about right. In the picture of you as a self described “prison camp survivor” you look normal to me. I see no bulging eyes nor prominent cheekbones. And yeah, you’re bones in your hips should stick out and you should be able to make out ribs. That’s what normal weight looks like. I have to say even sven pretty much nailed it here. I’ve seen a 270+ pound man say he might have 30 pounds to lose, and two healthy looking people describe themselves as abnormally skinny. The notion of what a healthy weight body looks like is completely gone. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/132 "2009-09-17T18:41:02Z")
> [@gurujulp](#): > > I think that when I was [175](http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t340/gurujulp/tahoesmile_crop.jpg), at 5’ 11", and my BMI was 24.4, I look too skinny. > > I think that now at [255](http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t340/gurujulp/Jesse2009crop.jpg) with a BMI of 35.6, I am well on the high end of obese and look it. > > I think I am best at about [210](http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t340/gurujulp/Jesse2004.jpg), which puts me at the top of overweight with a BMI of 29.3 Again, saying as a fat chick, you look healthiest to me at 175. 210 it shows you have extra fat (not saying “you look fat”, but that you do have some extra fat). There’s way too many fat people in this country, meaning that because so many people (like me!) are fat/overweight, so many people think that overweight is what you’re supposed to be and that a proper weight is far too thin. No, it’s because you’re used to seeing people with too much fat on them (like me!). ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/133 "2009-09-17T19:11:03Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I have to say even sven pretty much nailed it here. I’ve seen a 270+ pound man say he might have 30 pounds to lose, and two healthy looking people describe themselves as abnormally skinny. The notion of what a healthy weight body looks like is completely gone. Well. You tell me if I appear 270…or particularly overweight: [http://www.millertwinracing.com/pudgy.jpg](http://www.millertwinracing.com/pudgy.jpg) 6’5" hides a LOT of mass. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/134 "2009-09-17T19:16:04Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Well. You tell me if I appear 270…or particularly overweight: > > [http://www.millertwinracing.com/pudgy.jpg](http://www.millertwinracing.com/pudgy.jpg) > > 6’5" hides a LOT of mass. Yeah, I’d say so. It’s tough to tell with the loose fitting shirt, but you appear to have a significant spare tire and a heavy bottom half. What size waist are you? ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/135 "2009-09-17T19:17:33Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Maybe it’s a matter of taste, but I didn’t look “well”, and most people I knew agreed. If it helps explain it, I have a very round face, and your typical latin body. My eyes bulged, and my cheekbones became too prominent, and the bones in my hips stuck out. > > But most importantly, I felt like hell, and very weak. I would guess that my body was just “eating up” my muscles in the process of losing those 10 lbs. It absolutely _did not_ make me healthier. That may very well be, that you didn’t feel well, but you most certainly did _not_ look like a prison camp survivor. You looked perfectly healthy to me. Now if you didn’t feel healthy, I think that’s far more important. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/136 "2009-09-17T19:31:38Z")
42 waist, 34 inseam, And it’s the only recent photo I have. I’m usually behind the camera. Significant? Ouch! I’ve pretty well resigned myself to being happy with it, so long as I can do a good 60 minutes of sustained exercise. I like being in shape. I hate dieting. And the exercise has a direct correlation to my cholesterol (which was, last I checked, lovely at 110 total and 70 HDL) ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/137 "2009-09-17T19:40:05Z")
Maybe Nicole can lift 80-lb bales of hay and I can’t. However, I can break the bale into blocks, and I can lift those. I guarantee you that horse would rather have me on its back, though. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/138 "2009-09-17T19:40:42Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Well. You tell me if I appear 270…or particularly overweight: > > [http://www.millertwinracing.com/pudgy.jpg](http://www.millertwinracing.com/pudgy.jpg) > > 6’5" hides a LOT of mass. Yes it does. However, I’m 6’5" and I look pretty darn overweight at 240-245. Nobody would ever refer to me as fat, but the closer I get to 190 or 200, the better off I am. I agree with **SWB** when she says skinny people get a lot of comments. I was extremely skinny for most of my life, and my wife is always pretty thin. I would submit that thin people receive way more rude comments than overweight folks do, simply b/c it’s not nearly as taboo to comment on someone’s lack of mass. It can get pretty darn rude. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/139 "2009-09-17T19:44:56Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > 42 waist, 34 inseam, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is a really big waist. It’s what I wore when I was 70 pounds overweight. I will say that you are lucky enough to carry it well. It looks like you have pretty broad shoulders and a pretty solid muscle foundation. That helps a lot. The difference between what you have now and a “normal” weight is that your torso would V down significantly. I have a similar body type, and when I was 6’1" 265 I wore a 42, and now that I am 6’1" 215 I wear a 36. If you went from 275-280 (my estimation) to 230-240 you would do the same. Judging by your build I don’t see you getting down to a “normal” weight without reducing muscle mass. Which really isn’t all that huge of a deal. The height/weight ratio isn’t a straight line. Once you get towards the extremes it changes and the BMI is less accurate. > [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Significant? Ouch! I’ve pretty well resigned myself to being happy with it, so long as I can do a good 60 minutes of sustained exercise. I like being in shape. I hate dieting. And the exercise has a direct correlation to my cholesterol (which was, last I checked, lovely at 110 total and 70 HDL) ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233/140 "2009-09-17T19:53:13Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that is a really big waist. It’s what I wore when I was 70 pounds overweight. I will say that you are lucky enough to carry it well. It looks like you have pretty broad shoulders and a pretty solid muscle foundation. That helps a lot. The difference between what you have now and a “normal” weight is that your torso would V down significantly. I have a similar body type, and when I was 6’1" 265 I wore a 42, and now that I am 6’1" 215 I wear a 36. If you went from 275-280 (my estimation) to 230-240 you would do the same. > > Judging by your build I don’t see you getting down to a “normal” weight without reducing muscle mass. Which really isn’t all that huge of a deal. The height/weight ratio isn’t a straight line. Once you get towards the extremes it changes and the BMI is less accurate. Bear all the news you think you should, but 42" at 6’5" is sitting on my hip bones. My paunch is above it. If I lost the weight, it wouldn’t appreciably shrink my waist size. It’s damnear impossible to buy jeans. Everything they have ends at 42x30, maybe 42x32. Nobody expect you to be 42" around and tall. I wear 42x34, but only in certain brands. I’ve also shrunk a bit from when I needed a 36" inseam. (grumble: folks are gonna make me go pull out a camera…now I’ll NEVER get to run for president.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-healthy-and-heavy/510233.md?page=8)