I CHOOSE to Remain Overweight - Am I Wrong?
By Angel
@Angelee_27 (3460)
United States
December 22, 2016 10:43am CST
I am assuming you're all thinking "why on earth would anyone CHOOSE to be overweight!?". Well, I'll explain...
According to my doctor, charts, and BMI calculators I am obese and my ideal/normal weight for my height should be between 68lbs. and 84lbs.
I am a 23 year old young adult, not a child (although I am very short at 4'7"). I feel that 68-84lbs. is an absurd weight for any adult and I don't see how it could even be healthy. I would look sick!
I am currently 150lbs. I am including a photo of myself for you all to view. I don't feel like I look that big and certainly don't think I would look right if I were to lose about 80lbs. I would be almost nothing! I do agree that I could stand to lose some weight, but not that much! Perhaps 40lbs. would be a good amount to lose.
So, basically, I am refusing to get down to what would be considered an ideal/normal weight. I am choosing to stay overweight.
What are your thoughts on this? Am I wrong for choosing to remain overweight rather than losing about 80lbs. so that I weigh the ideal/normal 68lbs?
10 people like this
12 responses
@yukimori (10148)
• United States
22 Dec 16
Your doctor should know that BMI isn't a very reliable way to determine whether or not a person is overweight. It doesn't take into consideration the fact that muscle weighs more than fat, so people who are extremely athletic with a very low percentage of body fat could be considered overweight based on the chart even when they're healthy overall.
3 people like this
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
22 Dec 16
I have heard this from others, but my doctor never mentioned anything like that. He basically just said I was considered obese according to his charts and I need to lose the weight because it's not good for me.
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
22 Dec 16
@yukimori Yes, it's pretty sad that there are doctor's out there like that. Maybe they are no longer happy with their career, or maybe they just don't care and are in it soley for the money.
@yukimori (10148)
• United States
22 Dec 16
@Angelee_27 Sounds like a guy who just does everything by rote and doesn't consider the patient in front of him as a whole. 
@akalinus (43372)
• United States
22 Dec 16
You are young now but will feel it when you get older. The older you get, the harder it is to lose. I was way overweight and felt so much better when I lost a lot and kept it off. Why not start with losing ten pounds and see if that makes you feel good enough to continue?
1 person likes this
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
22 Dec 16
I am not opposed to losing weight, I just don't feel that I should get down to 68-84lbs. which is considered my ideal/normal weight. I feel that is way too much and I would look sick. I think 40lbs. max is what I need to lose.
1 person likes this
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
23 Dec 16
@akalinus Don't you think 68lbs. for a grown woman is too low? Especially considering how I look currently, I would be a skeleton!
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
22 Dec 16
You don't look fat to me! You look curvy and healthy. Numbers often don't correspond to health. I'm supposed to weigh 124-136 but I feel healthy and look good when I'm around 150. Anything under that and people ask me if I'm ill. I am overweight right now and will start losing after the first of the year--it's silly to start weight loss now with all the food around.
You know your body better than anyone so you do what makes you healthy!
1 person likes this
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
22 Dec 16
Thank you, I really appreciate the kind words. I don't think I look fat either, and certainly not obese. However, I do want to lose SOME weight... but 68-84lbs. for an adult just seems extreme, that is about what a 7 or 8 year old is suposed to weigh!
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45645)
• Philippines
23 Dec 16
i think my shorter friends are around 90 to 100 pounds. if you don't really each much, maybe it's something else, like your thyroid?
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
23 Dec 16
90 to 100lbs for a shorter person like myself sounds a lot more reasonable than 68lbs. I just can't see myself 68lbs. because I would look like a skeleton. As you can see by my photo, I don't look huge, perhaps chubby, but I certainly think losing 80lbs. would be way too much.
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
23 Dec 16
those charts are way wrong, I don't understand why they don't fix them. 80 pounds would make you look anorexic. I think you should do what makes you feel good.
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
23 Dec 16
I agree, it made me feel awful to see that I am considered "obese" according to these charts and that I should be 68-84lbs. to be "normal". It doesn't seem right and it's not a realistic goal to meet. I feel like I am making the best choice for my body.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
24 Dec 16
@Angelee_27 that's all that matter, society today is too stuck on looks. Looks mean absolutely nothing, it's who you are that matters.
@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
22 Dec 16
All that matters is you are happy the way you are..if it is so then stay as you are..
Don't bother about the world
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
22 Dec 16
Thank you for the kind words, I agree that we should all do what makes us happy and what we think is best for ourselves.
1 person likes this
@pumpkinjam (8770)
• United Kingdom
3 Jan 17
Forgive me if this comes out insulting, it's not meant to. You look great and yes, losing half your bodyweight, you probably would look gaunt and unhealthy. You could (and this is where I'm trying really hard not to sound mean because you do look great as you are) lose a few lbs and still look good. I weight about 84lbs (possibly a little more now since Christmas!) and I'm happy with that but I am taller than you.
If you're happy and healthy the way you are, then that's your choose and it's not wrong to make that choice.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
23 Dec 16
if your happy with yourself,tell them to stuff it.
i wouldn't conform to anyone else's ideal..and the weight range they mentioned sounds ridiculous.
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
23 Dec 16
Thank you, I am glad I am not the only one that thinks that 68-84lbs. for a grown woman is ridiculous.
1 person likes this
@jhechorain (1198)
• Susanville, California
22 Dec 16
From the picture you look healthy. 80 pounds is nothing you are right and I think the doctor is not taking into account that you are healthy as you are now. Perhaps a little weight can be lost but not that much.
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
22 Dec 16
Yes, I think a maximum weight loss goal would be about 40lbs. That would put me around 110lbs. which I think sounds healthy for a 23 year old woman. I have been told that I carry my weight well, so losing 40lbs. should do it. I don't want to be a skeleton! 
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
22 Dec 16
From the photo you certainly do not look overweight and I would never, if I was you, refer to myself with that word.
@Angelee_27 (3460)
• United States
22 Dec 16
I don't think I look "obese" however, I do think I need to lose SOME weight. Like I said, about 40lbs. max. I would like to get rid of my double chin, belly, and inner thigh fat... but i don't want to look sick or anorexic, which I feel is how I would look at 68-84lbs.
@shaynas (5487)
• India
26 Dec 16
I feel weight is an over hyped topic these days. Who ever you see, trying to loose or gain some. We should rather focus on being fit than what the weighing scale shows. You will chose what s best for you, don't worry :)
@Tricia53 (90)
• Bellevue, Nebraska
28 Dec 16
I can understand what you are saying however there are some issues that go with your height that your doctor may be concerned about. My daughter being your same height is 110 lbs and is over weight. The problem is that she has low bone density which means that with extra weight her bones could break. She also has problems with her lungs and at times her heart racing. All of these things are due to the extra weight and her other conditions. So honestly it isn't always just about the number on the scale but other factors that come along with short stature. Hope that helps.
