No questions, just venting frustration .. maybe other women can relate ... page 2

[sbhikes]

I totally feel for you. I am 47, 5'3" and 133. No matter what I do, I'm 133lbs. I can sometimes even wear a size 2 if they cut the thighs big enough. I recently bought some size 4s and they hang on me just as badly as all my outgrown size 6s. Even worse. There's been some size inflation over the past couple of years. And that's over and above the HUGE size inflation since when I was a teen and was 108lbs and could barely squeeze into a size 6.

When I was 17 I weighed 125. I had a boyfriend pick me up to throw me into a lake once (we were having fun) and he staggered after he picked me up and said, woah, you are way heavier than you look!

I found this chart online on how to determine your frame size. Calculating body frame size: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia Image I'm right at the borderline of medium and large, my wrist is exactly 6.5". I do believe that not only do people have bigger bones, but if you've been doing paleo or primal long enough, your big bones are going to be way denser. Plus any muscle you have is probably denser, too.

Still, when I look in the mirror in my exercise class and see myself next to all these little young things I see a huge knees and ankles, huge flabby upper arms, a wide waist and godzilla's thighs. Sometimes I just sigh and think who the hell gives a shit. I could probably choke all these little fragile waifs with these thighs and then go hike up a mountain and choke a few men along the way as well. I've decided to learn how to lift weights and make everything bigger. I want to be the same damn size but all muscle. That'll show 'em. That'll show me.

[InSearchOfAbs]

Annlee -
The DEXA scan sounds interesting, because I have always wondered about my bone density! I feel like I have "heavier" bones than normal, though no way to substantiate that. Do you think it is more accurate than the hydrostatic/water dunk weighing?

Absofreakinglutely.

Can't get more precise than a DEXA.

And, the cool thing about it, is that it goes by BODY PART.

So you can say "holy shit, my left arm has 30% more fat than my right arm!"

Or whatever....

Your ob/gyn should be able to hook you up with a place, since they always want to
check for bone density.

They'll say you're too young for it, as mine did (I'm 44) but I'm glad I demanded it
because I found out I had osteopenia in my right hip.

Runs in the family. Lucky me!

So find out if your ob/gyn can hook you up...


Julie

[Sandra in BC]

Can it really be that my bones just "weigh more"? I always thought that was a load of crap my mom fed me, but when I see other women with similar bodies to mine that weigh 130 I have to wonder.

Anyone else out there feel like they weigh much more than they should? I never thought I'd be a size 6 at 156 pounds, but I am and sometimes - a size 4. That just seems so weird.

If/when I ever get back near 156 (and I don't have a scale so we may never know for sure), I will probably be a size 8 or 10. Feel better now? Go ahead and compare yourself to me and feel superior if that helps you sleep at night. Doesn't bother me one bit.

Maybe those 130lb bitches are lying.

Ditch the scale.

[sakura_girl]

Wow, I am jealous. I am 5'4", 150-160lbs and am size 10. Be glad you carry it well

(FYI my deadlift is 265 so it's not because I'm flabby from weak-ass training)

Edit: Whoops, Sandra in BC got to me before this XD

[Sunnivara]

I think women's brains are messed up because of cultural pressure and Hollywood brain-washing. I have thought I was fat my whole life. In my 20's I even resorted to amphetamines to lose weight. I did lose weight. And I kept losing .... and kept losing. I got so skinny friends and family started accusing me of being anorexic. But I still thought I was fat. I was certain! It was MY body, after all! I knew! But many years later, after all that had passed, a friend showed me a picture of myself back then and I nearly gagged. I looked sickly, like a starving Ethiopian! My shoulder and collar bones stuck out like spikes. You could count my ribs! I couldn't believe that was me, and that I used to think I was fat then!
But even in my emaciated state I weighed 145lbs. I'm just not one of those women who can ever get to the "ideal" weight. The scale is useless for me.
I'm not nearly as thin now. I need to lose, definitely. But I know, from that past experience, that I'm probably not as bad as I think I am. I avoid the scale like the plague. I go more by how my clothes fit and how good I feel. That's really what matters, isn't it?

[magnolia1973]

You are a size 6 at 23% body fat. You sound healthy and attractive.

Weight means nothing. Would you rather be a skinny fat 125 and a size 6?

[gempdx44]

Long time lurker, first time poster here as your post is the first to truly inspire me to register and respond.

My measurements match yours in that I am female, 5'5", and also go between a size 4 and 6, but my weight is 116 and BF hovers right around 14% . I have to tell you that keeping it at 116 is actually quite difficult for me as I have lost over 100lb since going primal and it seems like my body just keeps wanting to lose, even with getting all the cals I need or can eat. I know, I shouldn't complain. But at some point I did start to because I see myself getting closer to being considered "underweight"....even though I feel great!

Long story short, if your goal was to get into a size 4 and you've accomplished it, that's what matters. I'd say being able to do that at what is considered normal weight and BF (or even a little above) for our height is something I wish I could do!

Hi nuprimal - Welcome, and thanks for responding! 116 pounds at 5'4"? See, I don't understand how I can have 40 pounds on you and be this size. Although I think perhaps a size 6 in United States is bigger than elsewhere.


I just did calculations and at 23% bodyfat, I have 120 pounds of lean mass. Perhaps I am just big-boned with muscle and never fit into what seems "normal" for a 5'4" woman?

[gempdx44]

I found this chart online on how to determine your frame size. Calculating body frame size: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia Image I'm right at the borderline of medium and large, my wrist is exactly 6.5". I do believe that not only do people have bigger bones, but if you've been doing paleo or primal long enough, your big bones are going to be way denser. Plus any muscle you have is probably denser, too.

Oh wow, thanks for that - I never accounted for the fact that I might have a large frame! I j just measured my wrist and it is 6.25" - right on the border of large also for a woman my height. I just measred my waist and it's 29", which I believe was a size 8 back in the day, but now when I go into a store size 8's are huge on me.

[gempdx44]

If/when I ever get back near 156 (and I don't have a scale so we may never know for sure), I will probably be a size 8 or 10. Feel better now? Go ahead and compare yourself to me and feel superior if that helps you sleep at night. Doesn't bother me one bit.

LOL, thank you for letting me feel superior.

[Miscellangela]

You know, you could just actually be big-boned. It sounds like an excuse, but it's really possible. My chiro was amazed when he showed me my x-rays! He said my bones were huge, and just for comparison's sake, he held up an x-ray of another client who was a big, burly man - my bones made this guy look like a little old lady. And i'm 5'4", and you wouldn't think i had an abnormally large frame to look at me. But i'll take my big, thick strong bones over a lower number on the scale any day! Especially now that i'm lifting heavy...