Question:
How can I wear such little sizes and still weigh so much? Is most of the excess weig
I am very perplexed. I am thrilled with my weight loss and according to all the charts I still need to lose 40# but I am currently wearing size 10's and a few 8's. Could my bones and muscle really weigh that much or does my excess skin on my stomach weigh 10-20#?? I am only 5'2" and my saggy belly and boobs are really getting to me! — janice J. (posted on March 15, 2002)
March 14, 2002
Hi Janice, are you my twin? LOL I am also 5'2". I weigh 130.5 pounds
(trying to get to 130 and that last 1/2 won't give!) and wear a comfortable
8. Do you know what your percent body fat is? I have increased lean body
mass because I used to lift weights. Add to that the extra muscle and bone
your body builds just lugging that excess weight around and the charts (and
even BMI) may not apply to you. I set my goals based on percent body fat
with my starting percentage as 54%, my upper goal as 27%, and bottom goal
as 22%. I am now at 24% body fat. Forget the charts, I don't care if I lose
another pound (just want to get rid of that 1/2 so I can join the century
club! LOL). I am well within the healthy range and was at 27% BF when my
BMI and weight still showed as overweight. Try www.zoneperfect.com. They
have a body fat calculator that needs only a waist and hip measurement.
That may put your mind at ease. BTW, I also had a problem with my saggy
boobs and belly but I think I am getting used to them finally. They don't
seem to bother me like they did. Hope this helps!
— ctyst
March 14, 2002
The excess skin you have could weight 10 pounds or more. I have seen
people post that they have had that much removed.
— garw
March 15, 2002
I know how you feel, although I wish I could get to a size 8. I started at
390 pounds (BMI69?) and now fluctuate between 240-248 (MBI42).I haven't
lost pounds in months now, but I've lost inches. In fact, I'm down 9 1/2
inches in 2 months! I've gone from a size 32/34 to a 22/24. As you exercise
and gain muscle mass, remember that muscle weighs more than fat. So you
might lose fat but not pounds. Keep exercising and toning, and use your
clothes and measurements as your gage, not the scale. Also, the sagging
skin does weigh something, but who knows how much? A plastic surgeon told
me I could be holding as much as 30 pounds of flab on my tummy alone (let's
not talk about the legs). At some point, when I win the Lottery, I plan to
go that route, but it won't be for another year.
— Aurele K.
March 15, 2002
I agree that there is a change. When I weighed 130 lbs before, I wore a
size 12. Now at 132 lbs, I am wearing sizes 4-6. I'm not complaining
either, it's wonderful!!
— Janie C.
March 15, 2002
Hi, you have probably a lot less fat on you then before. A pound of muscle
and a pound of fat weigh exactly the same, but fat is denser and looks
larger. Now that you've gotten down to a healthy weight, you have lean
muscle mass instead of fat and that is why, although you weigh about the
same as before , you look leaner. Also I was told that from being obese our
bones and muscles, although you couldn't see them before haha, become very
dense and muscular from carrying all the weight around. That has something
to do with it.
— Carey N.
March 15, 2002
I now wear between a 14 and a 16. Well, in December I found a bunch of the
clothes I wore 20 years ago. These items were also 14s and 16s. Let me tell
you - they would be considered fours and sixes now. Sizes have definitely
been adjusted.
— Julie S.
March 15, 2002
Janice, take a look at some of the pics on this site. These people (some)
are saying that they still weigh 180 or so but look to be somewhere around
140! They look terrific and still are considered "not at goal
yet". I got to goal and below and am definately too thin. At 130 and
5'4 I was in a size 6. When I was younger I was 120 and in a size 12. I'm
sure it has something to do with the muscle and bones being denser now. I
am at 110 and look about 90 which is NOT good but that's where i'm at now
due to some problems with gaining. Just get to where YOU feel comfortable
and happy and forget the scale now.
— Barbara H.
March 16, 2002
Hi! Congrats on your success, first of all!
Secondly .. I don't know if you excercise a lot, or not, but muscle weighs
4x as much as fat, so if you are heavier, but smaller, the increase of
muscle mass in the place of fat could be the culprit!
— blank first name B.
March 17, 2002
I see someone else already said this, but muscle does not weigh more than
fat. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh a pound. However a
pound of muscle takes up considerably less room than a pound of fat. I
also have to agree with the person who said sizes have changed. I am
absolutely certain that what was a size 16 twenty years ago is now a 10 or
os.
— garw
March 17, 2002
Gar: I agree with you about a sixteen of old being a ten per dy. But when
they say muscle weighs more than fat, they are talking per square inch.
— faybay
March 22, 2002
What weighs more? a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks? I am still
laughing (with you, not at you). a pound of fat has aprox. 5 times more
mass (cubic inches) than a pound of muscle. Therefore, a piece of muscle
that is 1 inch cubed is compared to a piece of fat that weighs the same,
that piece of fat would be 5 inches cubed. Some gyms have actual one pound
fake peices of fat and muscle, for comparison. And, yes I am a jerk so
:-PPpbbbbbtttttt!!!
— Andrew R.
January 25, 2003
I'd be willing to bet your excess skin is the culprit of the weight. It is
quite possible that it is 10-20 lbs worth hanging around. I am having the
same issues!
— Avien L.
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