In the last 3 months I have lost 40 pounds. All through diet and exercise; no sickness involved.
I am 6’0" tall and weighed 250. I now weigh 210. I have had several people I know in the last week tell me that I have now lost plenty of weight and am possibly getting too thin.
How could I be too thin at this weight? All of the charts say I should weigh about 180 and at the most 190. That would give me another 20 pounds to go. Is it a case that these people are so used to seeing me at a higher weight and aren’t used to a thinner me? Or is it possible for someone who has been overweight for a while to find a new “ideal weight” at a higher number?
Don’t listen to those people. Do you feel good? Does your doctor say you are healthy? Those are the important things. Others may simply, as you surmised, be used to seeing you at a higher weight, or they might just be jealous.
But isn’t it true that the charts don’t always take everything into account? That is, there’s more to body type than just height/weight. Some people look worse at different weights.
I just mentioned something along these lines in another thread, but I really think people are losing sight of what is a “normal weight” and what isn’t. Especially here in the US, people think of someone who is overweight to be a normal size. Look at how many times you read (especially when it comes to women) about clothing for “real women” or something like that.
People you know were used to you looking a certain way. Now that you’ve lost a considerable amount of weight they see a different you. It’s not what they are used to. I can’t see how you’d be too thin at 210 pounds and six feet tall. I think I’d just reassure them that you’re feeling better and changing your habits and then shrug it off.
First, congrats on your loss and keep at it! You are not “too thin” and yes, one of two things is happening (or possibly both).
People are just surprised to see you so much skinnier
People see you looking much slimmer and are now threatened; previously you may have been the “fat friend” that they mentally compared themselves to just so they could feel better about themselves. Now you’re undermining that role, and in the process may be making them feel insecure about themselves.
I lost a lot of weight a few years ago. At the point that I was still significantly overweight, people would say with concern, “You’re not going to lose any more, are you?” There was no jealousy or sabotage intended (although I know some people play those games.) They were just very used to seeing me at a much higher weight, and by comparison I looked “thin” to them now. It’s the people who are closest to you – and you yourself – who have the most distorted view of your size, in both directions.
Get your body fat levels measured. 10-15% is normal for men(lower values tend to be seen mostly in athletes, sometimes in the 5-8% range). Use the numbers to your advantage.
BMI doesn’t account for differences in frame size or muscle mass. That’s why after a proper body-fat measurement I’ve been told I have lean body mass around 190. So with reasonably healthy 15% body fat that’d put me at 218 or so. I’m 6’0, so a BMI indicator would tell me that’s at the upper end of overweight.
…we don’t need to discuss where I actually am. :smack:
When using that site, those in the US need to make sure they’re converting inches to CM. If you use the inches on the wrist circumference you’ll get a “large frame” every time since they have it measured in feet and inches. I’ve never seen someone with a four foot wrist and that’s the smallest size they have for ladies.
I think I’d use the US Library of Medicine’s measurements found here.
It would be nice to see a beautiful doper female, especially after getting more in shape. But in a not-so flirty sense, I am curious to see just what your friends think is too thin for you.
This is a very common situation for people who lose significant amounts of weight. I’ve lost a bunch recently, and there isn’t a week that goes by that someone doesn’t ask me when I’m going to stop and caution me about getting too thin. Amazingly, I’ve had women who are 6 sizes smaller than I am give me the “You’d better be careful, you’re getting too thin” warning.
You are not too thin. You just look relatively thinner because you used to be heavier. Don’t let the chatterers get to you. Oh, and beware of something else – yesterday I made the mistake of telling someone about my daily eating habits and got the whole, “Oh my god, that’s a starvation diet! You’re not getting enough nutrients” speech. I guarantee you that I am a long way from starving, and my diet is perfectly healthy. People just like to judge.
Congratulations on your weight loss, and keep doing what’s right for you.
I’ve actually had the opposite happen to me when I lost a lot of weight. For some reason, I’ve always seemed to retain a significant amount of fat in my face even with the rest of my body is extremely thin. Several years ago, I had gone from 195 lbs to 130 lbs (I’m 5’10") and had almost no fat anywhere on my abs or chest while each of my ribs was clearly visible. However, as long as I was wearing semi-baggy clothes, a lot of people didn’t even notice that I’d lost any weight at all since all they could really see was my face. Nobody ever expressed any concern no matter how much weight I had lost (unless they saw me naked).
Of course, with the fullness in my face, most people guess my age at about 23 (I’m actually 33), which is nice in a way, but I’d much rather look 33 and have a thinner face.
You can control you weight but you can’t control WHERE your weight accumulates.
Most men can put it all in their gut. We’ve all seen the skinny dude that looks like he’s pregnant.
On the other hand I’ve known a people (A lot of them are Puerto Rican) they tend to store their fat evenly. So they can be overweight, but because it’s in their face, their butt, their stomach, their legs, it’s all proportional, so they look good.
You can LOOK too thin, if you lose the weight from your face, but it’s still on your gut.
Did you wear something that accentuates your new frame, or get a haircut? Chances are people didn’t notice the subtle shift but something made them notice you. And really, I imagine most think the ‘You’re too thin!’ comment is the highest compliment possible.
That’s a fucked up chart. First, it has wrist circumference in FEET, not INCHES, and secondly, if I look at the foot vs. inches thing as a typo, at 5’1" and 6" wrist, it has me listed as a large frame. That couldn’t be further off the mark.
6’0, 195 dood checking in. I’d totally love to lose another 15 pounds or so, partially because then I could say "woot woot 100 pounds lost!) Actually, if you just wanted to put me under the knife and get rid of all this saggy skin all over my body that’d be cool too.
But in a not-so flirty sense, I am curious to see just what your friends think is too thin for you.