The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[5littlemonkeys]

Hello:

My name is Angela and i am 35 yrs old.Yes i do have 5 little monkeys (kiddos)They are all 2 yrs apart and the love of my life....I am trying to figure out if Medifast is good for me.Both my doctors tell me i am overweight.I am 5 feet 8 inches and very muscular.I wera between a sz 6-8 in pants and my waist is 29 inches.I am very large busted about 36 DD or a little bigger.....I do weigh 168.I exercise alot ,well regularly,3-4 times per week on the elliptical.I ded weigh maybe 20 lbs less before my 5th child.I was maybe a sz 4.I am not small boned and come from a family of bigger women,meaning bones and height.Any advice would be appreciated....this looks like a very supposrtive group.I will add that i have tried and tried to lose 15-20 lbs with no luck at all.I dont eat a ton and try to be fairly healthy.Thanks so much................

[Karli]

Well, it doesn't seem that you are overweight from what you have described. I would think the best bet would be to get your BMI and go from there. That matters more than weight itself.

Cheers and welcome .

Karli

[5littlemonkeys]

Thanks.......I think that is a good idea.....where can someone to do that??

[DogMa]

Actually, if you're very muscular, the BMI charts won't really help much. Certainly if you're in a size 6-8 and you're that tall, you don't seem to be overweight and I'm surprised two doctors would say that you are.

I just looked at a bmi calculator online. It puts you at 25.5 (over 24.9 would be considered overweight, but again, those calculators do NOT account for extra muscle).

[Karli]

Well, this is not a place I am well-educated, but don't doctors have tools to use and not just calculators ? When I was in highschool, anyway, there was some kind of pincher thing that measured our fatty fat. It wasn't just a plugging of numbers in.

That's the extent of my thoughts on this matter.

Cheers,
Karli

[bikipatra]

Are you happy with your weight? Do you have a family history of weight-related illness such has heart disease, high blood pressure/cholesterol, stroke or diabetes? The only reason I ask is because such a family history might make doctors more likely to want you to closer to the bottom of the healthy weight range. If you don't have this type of family history and are happy with your weight and feel it poses no problems in your energy levels, health or mood, I do not think you need to lose weight.

[Mike]

This is of course coming from a non-doctor. Although your BMI is showing you as slightly overweight, if you are muscular this would account for that. I am not the doctors you went to, but could they be mistaking bosom size for fat?
I would see if you can have your body fat analyzed (lots of gyms have tools to this - calipers and other things).

Also, according to Dr. Anderson, the term "big boned" is a misnomer. Alot of people use this as a reason to be fat. He said that in researching bone size, it has been found that there is about a 5% difference in bone sizes of people. So, I can't use that as an excuse myself (and I can't use hypothyroidism either unfortunately )

Hope this helps.

[Karli]

I would see if you can have your body fat analyzed (lots of gyms have tools to this - calipers and other things).


Hope this helps.

Yeah, that's what I am talking about. Isn't that the same thing as BMI ? I don't know this stuff .

I don't care what people say, I look at the size of my collar bones compared to the size of some girls I see and mine look like elephant tusks compared to their little bird frame. Maybe that's just my perception of it... but maybe it's actually true

[DogMa]

Most of the gym doohickeys aren't reliable, either. Some use calipers, some use the handheld equivalent of a Tanita scale. The only REAL way to know is water immersion, from what I've read.

Of course, there's also the old "pinch an inch" test.

I still think there's no way you can be overweight if you're that tall and wear a size 6.

[my5angels]

I would like to be a little thinner...i do have alot of fatigue.....i think i will try medifast for 1 month and see what happens.If i dont lose weight after that i will accept i am where i need to be.The weight of 168 sounds VERY high to me.i mean when i think of it that way i think of a quite large person and i do truly wear a 6-8 in everything i wear.....so it is wierd......i will go ahead and order and see what happens......is it safe to keep exercising while on medifast?
Thanks again

[dede4wd]

Angela,
Regarding exercise, the quick start guide says if you're already exercising, continue but cut it in half for the first few weeks so your bod can get used to the program.

They say if you're not exercising already, to not start until you've been on for 3 or so weeks.

Glad to meet you!

I've also heard water immersion is the most accuratee. I got it done in college. Very not fun, but informative.

DeDe

[Mike]

Yes, coming from a "scientist", water immersion is the most accurate (until we invent some of those cool Star Trekkie gadgets - although we already have some of them )
Still, the other gadgets, if used by a trained professional, do a pretty good job of giving you a "ballpark" idea.
In MOHO its better than the BMI, which I think is good for the "average" person.

This is what is shown at the bottom of the BMI calculator on the TSFL site:
Please note: There are some limitations to the Body Mass index calculation, because it does not measure body composition. BMI overestimates body fat in persons who are very muscular and it can underestimate body fat in persons who have lost muscle mass (e.g. many elderly). People with more muscular builds may be classified as overweight according to BMI numbers even if they have a very healthy body fat percentage. A high BMI from increased muscle alone is not associated with health risks.

[Lucy]

I don't know if this will help the visual, I had a college buddy who joined the Navy where weight was an issue. He was a tri-athalete, as well as worked with weights, his body fat 4%, yeah he was buff......

Got in trouble because he could not get his weight under control! His BMI not acceptable. It took a slew of paperwork and a JAG to get him accepted as healthy , so yes immersion is the way

[Unca_Tim]

many competition body builders are considered obese by BMI alone.