Question:
Has your doctor told you that you had a dense body?

I have been seeing the same doctor for sometime now. He has told me several times that I have a "dense" body. Whenever I get on the scale in his office, he is shocked by how high it is, saying he thought it would have been much lower. I have also had various other medical staff say this same thing to me. I also don't wear the typical size for someone my weight (smaller), but my fat mass is over 50%...my question is, if I am so "dense," how will this affect my goal weight? My husband is very concerned because I am 5'7" and when I was 16, I weighed 175 and looked almost anorexic (you could see all my bones)...does this mean I will never get to goal, or should I adjust that goal? Will this "dense" status go away with the fat? Thanks, I'm totally confused.    — Erinn D. (posted on September 23, 2003)


September 23, 2003
I have always been that way people, Dr's, nurses etc. are always shocked at what I weigh ....I have girlfriends that are 25 to 30 lighter than me and the same height but look very different than me... I had people say you don't look big enough for WLS ... just consider yourself lucky....when I was 14 I weighed 162 and wore a 7/8 all my other girlfriends wore that size at 120-130lbs ....it's just a fortunate body type!!!! you probably will not want to go all the way to goal weight ....
   — E. V.

September 23, 2003
Most people guess my weight at 20 pounds less then what I weigh (thankfully!!). We've carried so much excess weight on our body for so long, it's made our bones dense meaning we LOOK smaller then what we really are. This actually is a good thing. I'd rather look smaller then larger!!
   — Patty H.

September 23, 2003
I have the same problem. I am 5'8". My recommended weight is 159, however I do not want to drop past 175. My Doc agrees. Why? At 175 I was overweight but looked healthy and I looked very skinny as shown in old photo's. At 165 (I was there once, 25 yrs ago) people thought I looked "sickly". I am 207 now and I am down to a "slim" 16. People think I am a smaller size than I really wear. I don't mind being dense (my doc call it "solid").
   — M B.

September 23, 2003
Don't worry about a goal "weight" and concentrate on a goal "size". This is much more realistic if you've been MO for awhile as we do tend to be "dense" with higher muscle mass and heavier bones (or so I've heard). I'm way smaller at 155 pounds than I was when I was young. People guess that I weight at least 20 - 25 pounds less than I really do. I was just talking to friend last week who was dieting and asked how much I weighed. I ended up being the same weight/height as she was, but she wore a 12 or 14 and I wear an 8.
   — mom2jtx3

September 23, 2003
Same here. When I went to the surgeon, he said, "In order to qualify for this surgery, you must be at least 100 lbs over weight" and then just sat there. I told him that I was definitely 100 lbs. overweight and he said, "The scales will decide that." and asked me to get on the scale. When the number reached 252, he was shocked! He said he would have never believed it. I'm 65 lbs. lighter and feeling great!
   — [Deactivated Member]

September 23, 2003
Funny you should post this question. I was just at the doctor today and the nurse proceeded to get ready to weigh me. She took a look at me walking in, and set the scale weight to the 150 block. Well, I knew I wasn't there yet, but when she had to move the weight to 172 lbs. she said "I never would have guessed you were that weight!" I said "thank you for the compliment, it does help being tall (I'm 5'9" so most people think I'm lighter than I am). I also think I have dense muscles and bones. So, anyway, I just thought I'd post what happened to me today. It was the nicest thing I've had happen in a while because I'm not at my personal goal weight and get down on myself about that, but obviously people think I look good at the weight/size I am :0) Hugs!
   — michelle T.

September 23, 2003
I guess I'm kind of in your boat. I, too, am 5'7" and always have people guess me 'lighter' than I really am...even my primary doctor who originally said that I would probably never see under 185, then 175. Finally at 175 (six months post op), he said, that I would probably see 130-135 by the time this was all over and that I would more than likely end up quite thin...and hopefully bounce back 10-15 pounds. I guess your just going to have to see how it goes and make adjustments along the way. I will tell you this though, that at age 15/16 I weighed 160 and lost down to 150 and thought I was 'thin' then. Now at 161, all I can see is fat, fat, fat...so, you might change your mind down the road. Good luck!
   — eaamc

September 23, 2003
I wasn't told I had a dense body...but my surgeon did say I had a virgin abdomen...and I said "Could you say it again and maybe whisper it this time? Its been so long since I had a virgin ANYTHING:)"
   — kathy B.

September 24, 2003
I have the same problem. I was told if I got below 175-180 I would look anorexic. I am 5'6' and right now am at about 185-190. I am in a size 10/12. I can feel my bones. My husband says I am too boney. Right now my bmi says I am about 30. Which says I am obese still. Which of course is depressing. But I was told not to pay attention to the bmi by my dr. because of my frame. I was told I definitly don't look what I weigh. I look much smaller.
   — christine M.




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