Why do I weigh so much if I'm thin???

Question

I am almost 5"9 and my measurements are 36-26-38 (size 6 in dresses). I usually never weigh myself, but I got on a scale yesterday and I weigh 165 pounds!!! According to BMI calculators, that is close to borderline overweight for my height, but I am not fat! Also, I work out 2-3 times a week but not enough for me to be so muscular that it would all be muscle weight. How is this possible?

Sorry to disappoint, but I do not have big boobs. I do have big hips, however.

Answer 1

You are a size 6 and you are worried??? Especially with those measurements!!! You sound like you are in great shape - you are tall with curves, and you work out, so you are at the very least toned, even though not heavily muscled, so this is good. Keep on working out, and don't pay attention to scales and BMI calculators.

Answer 2

BMI calculators don't work well at all for two categories of people: those that are very fit and athletically trained and those who are morbidly obese. You fit in the first category. You have great measurements and a good dress size for your weight and height. If you want to determine your BMI more precisely you can order BMI calipers on line. They are not very expensive. You can also go to almost any fitness center for a free evaluation that will include a BMI caliper measurement and calculation. The most precise way of all is to measure the specific gravity of your entire body but that requires a submersion tank that is usually only available at universities or very high end fitness establishments that are involved in research.

Most girls your height and weight would kill to be size 6. Be happy! You may have a large frame (skeleton) that adds weight and you probably do have significant muscle mass that's very heavy. If I were guessing without having seen you I would guess that you are very strong and solid through your hips, thighs and calves. That's where the big muscles are and they are really much heavier than an equivalent amount of fat.

Answer 3

Just because you don't look muscular doesn't mean that your weight isn't due to muscle. Girls don't look muscular like guys do, so when you do have some built up mass, it's not as obvious
Muscle does weigh more than fat, so if you fit in a size 6 dress, are 5'9" tall and weigh 165, I would guess that you are perfectly healthy. And I sure wouldn't stress about it. If you like the way you look and feel, who cares what the scale says?

Answer 4

When I was in high school I was the exact same way. I am 5'9 and i weighed 160 - 170 lbs in high school. I have really long legs and had to wear hip huggers at a size 12, this was just as hip huggers were comming out . But my waist was a size 7 or 9 depending on style, my dress size was a 6. Even though you can't see it your weight is muscle. I was most active then and even though I weigh the same now, after two kids, it just isn't the same look. The girls on the runway are our height but they don't eat anything and are a size 1 or smaller. Some bodies are naturally like that but most of them like i said, just don't eat. Try not to weigh yourself, only look in the mirror. if you like what you see and and you are healthy don't bother with the weight index. NO one ever believed I weighed as much as i did. Even when I weighed 140 i think i looked better at 160. Don't worry, you normal

Answer 5

You probably have a low percentage of fat on your body, which means that even though you're not bulky, you are made up of mostly muscle, so some of it comes from that. The other side of it is, being 5'9", you're very tall, which probably means you have a large bone structure. Weight could come from this as well.

Don't worry about the number on the scale. According to those charts my husband would be fat too, but he's actually on the skinny side. You are thin, and sound like in great shape. Don't sweat the number thing and just enjoy being healthy and attractive.

Answer 6

Personally I would say you are not fat. You wear a size 6, which is amazing... And you workout so there is a bit of muscle weight there although you are not musclcular.

Remember that BMI is guide not a girdle. To me you actually just below borderline overweight. If you "wanted" to get mid way in the BMI scale loose 15 pounds and you would not be borderline either way.

but for my money, enjoy your life and your body the way it is!

Answer 7

I have the same problem, same height too, my BMI says I'm overweight but there's just no way. It's all down to your muscular and skeletal structure. You may have heard the phase "big bones". Muscle is heaver than fat and depending on how you're built, and what exercise you do, you may have more muscle than the average. Don't worry about BMI, at the end of the day it's based on the "average" human and the average woman isn't 5'9".

Answer 8

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Excuse me for saying so, but BMI calculators are a bunch of crap. Don't listen to what this one says. If you are 5'9", if your measurements really are what you say they are, and if you really are wearing a size 6, then you are by no means, and by no measure, fat in any way, shape, or form.

If you're working out 2-3 times a week, then you have SOME muscle on you, and as you know, muscle weighs more, so that's adding something. At 5'9" your skeleton alone accounts for a lot of your weight.

Bottom line, don't worry about it. When you say you don't normally weigh yourself, I'd say you're doing the right thing. Don't go by what the scale tells you, go by what your mirror tells you. You're healthy, you're thin, enjoy it!
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Answer 9

You've got an hour glass figure and above average height...that alone is probably going to be a big factor. While the BMI is a good guide...I don't think it can be fairly accurate in all situations. Perhaps more accurate to use those caliper things that actually 'pinch' your fat and take a measurement of it. And another thing...don't give all that much credit to the numbers on the scale. I avoid them myself.

Answer 10

If it's not fat thats weighing you down its obviously something else. You work out means some of it may be muscle mass. Because your athletic, your bone densisty would be thicker than someone who didnt work out, so that may be it as well. How long is your hair. Some people with longer and thicker hair usually have to add a pound or so. And clothes. Before you weigh yourself, did you take off all your clothes to get an accurate weigh?