BMI V Waist Measurements

RebekahR

Several years ago I was on the slimming world diet and lost 2 1/2 stone. I dropped from 11st 11lb to 9st 5. I am 5ft 2 1/2. I have been reading on the eaist measurements and quite shocked toe measure and notice that there isn't treally much difference from then to now when measuring. I was 90cm then and am now 88cm. I dropped from a size 16 to a 12. And I am still a 12 now and haven't moved in regards to dress size or weight except for the odd 2lb on and off. Even though I am now in the healthy range do I need to diet again to get my waist size down? Or do I just need to do some exercises. I'm quite confused and scared now because I don't want to loose too much. How come my weight went down my waist measurement didnt really? What did I do wrong? Waist-to-Hip Ratio is 0.9

tara747

Have you always had quite a 'straight up and down' figure? Maybe your waist-hip ratio has always been around 0.9 iykwim. That said, 88cm (34.7in) is in the risky zone for health problems. Ask your doctor for advice.

Well done on the weight loss btw!

RebekahR

No i've normally had a tiny waste and a bigger tummy/thighs. Was a size 8 top 10 bottom.

tara747

RebekahR wrote: »

No i've normally had a tiny waste and a bigger tummy/thighs. Was a size 8 top 10 bottom.

And what weight were you then? Has the weight come off everywhere but your middle? That is unusual AFAIK, mention it to your doctor to see what they say. They should be able to put your mind at ease.

CompBunny

I struggle with this too. My BMI is 19.4 but last time I checked my waist to hip ratio was borderline unhealthy. It makes no sense to me whatsoever!

RebekahR

Back when I was tiny I was 7 1/12 to 8 stone!! The other extreme lol. Ok so i'm not the only mad one then lol. Guess I have to go back to the 7 stone skinny bag of bones. :-s

It must have come off the middle somehow for me to fit in a size 12 from 16. It;s just weird the tape measure doesn't reflect this. Even got out the instructions on exactly where my waist is incase I was measuring wrong.

Does stomach exercises etc really work?

jenniewb

RebekahR wrote: »

Back when I was tiny I was 7 1/12 to 8 stone!! The other extreme lol. Ok so i'm not the only mad one then lol. Guess I have to go back to the 7 stone skinny bag of bones. :-s

It must have come off the middle somehow for me to fit in a size 12 from 16. It;s just weird the tape measure doesn't reflect this. Even got out the instructions on exactly where my waist is incase I was measuring wrong.

Does stomach exercises etc really work?

No, if anything abdominal exercises like sit ups are more likely to add bulk as you would be building muscle.

The only real way to reduce body mass is through using more calories then you burn, diet related cuts are way better then exercise related additions as the body is very clever with how it manages to slow down in order to conserve calories, you may notice this if you eat very little all day and feel very tierd and essentially yow slow down. Same goes with exercise, you try to do more then your body is happy to do it simply becomes harder if not too hard to get as much benefit out of it as if you were eating enough. This means you'd have to work out alot harder then normal to get weight loss results if you were trying to lose weight through exercise alone/mainly.

It sounds like the weight may have come from other places- this could be a good thing: you could have lost it from places like your back, your thighs, even inside your body ie around your heart- places where its a danger to your health. Maybe it will redistribute in a few months and you will notice a difference. I was losing weight for about 5.5 months, was told I had lost a stone yet didn't see a difference until 5.5 months when I noticed a dress size- its not always obvious where the weight is lost from.

Also make sure you keep your nutrition up so your losing body fat and not just muscle: you need muscle to help you lose the body fat! A little at a time and it stays off longer, sounds like your on the right track. Don't be put off by measurements or what the scales say, go by how you feel physically and how confident you feel in your own skin.

RebekahR

How you know its fat your loosing and not muscle? Loosing mucle is concerning ...

the_cat

The truth is that neither can be 100% accurate as they are only going by an average and taking nothing about the person's shape,build etc into consideration

We have all heard the stories about 'obese' world class rugby players - so BMI can be wrong, clearly
It is just as true for waist measurements - it takes no account of individual body shapes - I would have a 'bad' ratio as I have a tomboy figure with little curve to my waist, despite being a size 8/10. I would look gaunt (but the same basic shape) if I lost more than a couple of pounds

Take a good but not overly critical look in the mirror..... if any bits that shouldn't wobble do, then try some exercise to see if that helps. Your weight does not suggest though that you are over according to your height but if the exercise doesn't make you feel right, then maybe a couple of pounds would do it

RebekahR

I can get a good hold of stomach fat so think I do have some way to go. And I am only just in the normal range so think I will go for another half a stone more and see how it looks then.

I hate dieting so much my boobs go before anything else and i'm next to flat chested at the best of times.

murphydog999

I had a client recently that had the same problem. She was slim, exercised every day, walked for miles, said she ate well, but had a band of fat around her waist that whatever she did would not shift; she was about 8lbs overweight.

I told her to change her type of exercise, exercise less (she was doing too much!), and eat more!! She was retaining fat because she wasn't eating enough and her body was struggling to cope with the deficit. We did 3x 30-40 minute circuit training-type classes instead of her walking 40 miles a week, she had a casual walk on a sunday and a game of tennis during the week. We tweaked her food intake, NO dieting, and 6 weeks later it was gone, as was the 8lbs

Unfortunately, as most of us know you cannot spot reduce, so - as another poster has said - just doing stomach exercises will not help. Without a proper dietary assessment I would suggest you maintain a healthy diet (no diet products with sugar or sweetener) NO dieting, and try some other methods of exercise, and keep it variable. One other suggestion - a bit of a long shot - is to eliminate dairy / wheat for 2-3 weeks, then slowly reintroduce and see how you feel and if it makes a difference to you.

Just another point, doing ab exercises will tone muscle, not build it. They aren't the be-all-and-end-all though, classes like Boxercise/martial arts/circuit training/pilates do the same thing. Hope that helps.