Tall Women?
 

Hi Everyone!

My name is Barb. (42 years old) I am a pretty confident person overall, in a wonderful marriage with a loving supportive wife/partner and we are co-raising our 4 children together, sort of a modern day Brady Bunch :smug: But even with being a self-employed small business owner, and my having confidence in other areas of my life (personality, intelligence, sense of humor, values) I still have little confidence with my body/body image. So, I am here, and willing to admit I am "trying yet again" to get in shape.
One of the problems is I am 5'10" and as my mother always said "built like a brick sh**house"..... I am not exactly sure what that means, but I can look in the mirror and get a pretty good idea. :moo: So, I have decided THIS time to try a new approach. I am calling it the "mirror" way. Which means I am NOT going to get on a scale, but I am going to ONLY look in the mirror and let the mirror tell me what areas still "need work".. not hard right now, as they ALL do LOL Has anyone else ever done this too?
Is there anyone ELSE out there that is 5'10" and has a large build?? I would love to hear what my "ideal" weight SHOULD be and how you felt at various weights. Right now I am roughly 230 and as blubbery as a butterball turkey. Because I am so tall I can carry it better but there is only so much a person can "hide" even with the height! I have the backend of two women and I now have changed what I call my stomach, to being called a "gut" if you know what I mean....
That's all for now... time to take the kiddies swimming!

Barb

Hi Barb I'm 5'10" to and feel like I have shoulders like a linebacker :D I just love being tall and always walk w/a strong stride w/my head held high. I was down to 185 about 2 years ago and comfortably fit into size 12/14. I have a pear shaped body and so I've always had to get bigger pants to accomodate my jiggly belly. I know I'll never be a size 0 so I'm shooting for what's right for me. When I was a size 14 my sister in law told me how "skinny" I was and that compliment was good enough for me! I think your idea to look in the mirror is a good one rather than obsessing over the numbers. I tried squeezing myself into some clothes yesterday that no longer fit and I put them aside so I can try them again in a few weeks and HOPEFULLY will get into them--I think that's no greater motivation!

Hey there!

I'm tall also at 5'11". I too have broad shoulders and with an hour glass shape I'll never look 'skinny', which is fine so long as I'm the best or near the best I can be.

Three years ago I was 177, size 10/12; I looked good, but there was still room for improvement, especially in 'summer' clothes. Never the less, it will be nice to see those numbers again.

I think for most people there is an absolute leeway of 10 or 15 pounds where we can still look and feel great.

Hi Barb,

I'm 5'10 as well. I always weigh much more than my smaller friends and even when I'm slim and the weight the doctors say I should be (which my skinny friends almost faint over!) i still wear bigger clothes than them. I think the thinnest I can ever be is a UK size 12/14.

I've been told I'm built like a sh** house too. Many times! It's said as a joke but I don't find it so funny any more, lol.

I may try the mirror thing too... I'll always be heavy so maybe the scales need to go!

Sooz

I think UK 12/14 is a US 10/12. Does anyone know??

I am 5'11". At my lowest weight (somewhere between 160-165) I was wearing 10's and 12's. I always thought I was "large-framed" and "big-boned" until I lost all that weight. They I realized I really wasn't large framed. I had small wrists and my shoulders were narrow without all the fat across my back. I distinctly remember having a difficult time keeping my purse from sliding off my shoulder when I carried it there.

I am 5'8 but Im taller than most girls I know. I too have broad shoulders. I remember a time when I was in 14's and everyone was always telling me how skinny I was. Im gonna try my best to get to that size again. Its not America's perfect size but its mine. I have LONG way to go.

I am almost 5'10" and also have a broader build. I felt my best around 160-155 when I dieted in college. Then I was probably a size 10 and looked pretty good and felt good in my clothes. In High School I took Diet Fuel and got down to 135 and people thought I had an eating disorder so thats a little too thin! I was a size 6 but when people start asking you on a daily basis if everything's ok, you've got a bit too far ;)

I'm 5'10" with a Medium frame and I think I look my best at around 155-160. I've always been an athlete, so I like the tall muscular look. I wasn't overweight most of my life, just the opposite, actually (lowest was 125). (My theory is: do you know what the difference between a wife and a girlfriend are? About 45 pounds! LOL!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Anyway, sorry, I digress....)

Luckily, there are healthy ranges for different frames. Maybe check on-line and see where you come up. I've seen 20 lb differences before in some of the ranges at one time.

Good Luck! And don't give up!

Hi Everyone!

Thank you! You have all confirmed what I thought, that my goal of "around" 160 pounds would be about right. I sure do hate it that I love food SO much. I should have been born in the south (of the USA) as I have a love of fried chicken, good "home-cooking" with lots of meat and potatoes, and overall "stick to the ribs" type filling meals. It seems ALL the food that I am NOT supposed to have for being healthy is what I love, and all the food that doesn't fill me up and isn't that satisfying is what I am supposed to have. I can only stand so many cans of asparagus before I want to dive into some BBQ Wings. Also, no one else here is overweight, so my partner can eat anything she wants and still has a great figure. It's maddening! Okay ranting over with....
Xena> That was cool about the purse, but I don't ever carry one, so that won't be a problem. I do however look forward to SEEING my collar bone again! At least for now, I do believe I really AM big boned, my hands and feet are huge, and nothing on me is "petite". But, I will keep everyone posted as to what is underneath all this insulation, and I will also try to find a way to post a picture soon too.
Sooz> It's still amazing to me that I can "talk" to people from all over the world. I will fight everything in me not to pummel with you with questions about ways of living over there that may differ from my own!
Oh and BaileysMomma: YOU have Dunkin Donuts down there in KY, we have not ONE in Indiana, so up until this last week I would have envied you, now I am grateful we have none near!! So YUMMY!!

Thank you all again!! I am learning a lot here from ALL of you! I spent a few days reading old posts from this site, and even printed out several quotes and now have them taped to the wall above my desk for inspiration.

Barb

Thankfully I dont have a DD near me. LOL.

Well, I'm not tall by any means, but I still wanted to say welcome and that we're glad you've joined us! I think your mirror method should be a good judge of whether you're making progress. The scale can fluctuate so much that it often makes us more frustrated than not!

Good luck!

Kara

hi
 

hi, I'm NOT tall! But I can still understand where you'e coming from. I don't think many of us have a very good body image. And, I think scales should be outlawed! For some of us, even the mirror don't tell us the truth! It's hard to see ourselves as we really are. I find that if I see a picture of myself I get the best indication of how I look. And I use my clothes to see how I am losing.

All of us have eating problems or we wouldn't be here! We all love food. And I AM from the South, and you know we fry everything, even dessert! and the vegetables are cooked into mush, loaded with grease, and delecious!!! You just have to find things that you do enjoy that are low fat/calorie.

Welcome! Im almost 5'9, like 5'8.5 because Im taller than my bf and hes 5'8 lol :D I too love food, and I now call it a GUT and not a stomach lol >_> I would love to get it back to a stomach, and then maybe someday a tummy! :lol:
I weigh 195 pounds but no one believes me when I tell them that.. I can hide it pretty well but I still feel like crap and I think I look horrible in pictures! Good luck!

I'm 5'9", and I'd like to be in the 160's again.... the goal in my ticker would put me there. Really, I'd like to be in the 140's, to come close to the weight on my work ID... but, hey, that was twelve years and two kids ago! I figure once I make it to the 60's I see how I feel then.

I'm 5ft 7ins, but in my generation, it aint so tall....I'm one of the shortest out of my friends!

My body image sucks anyway, and I admire any woman who carries herself with confidence...get out there and inspire us all, you sound like you have a great approach.

emily
xxx

HI I'm 5 10 also and its so strange becasue I weigh 165 and I were size 14 or 16 US....when your tall people always say..your not fat...but the mirror doesnt lie to me when I see my big buda belley and a big ***. overall my body is thin only on the mid secrtion i do have a problem. that is why I started to diet...the first time in my life. I do also see the difference on pictures...my face looks big. does any of you have trobles losing the few extra pounds...does it take longer than other smaller women? cheers

Hi I am 5 ' 8" which is pretty tall for a women, and I am big boned. When I was a teenager and pretty much starving myself to be " skinny and like everyone else", I went down to 240 lbs for one month, I looked pale, and tired, and bony. That is why I like the 160's , I have some curves and have always looked healthy at that weight.
cheryl

Hi....I'm 5'9"+. First of all thanks AriesBarb for starting the topic. I have gotten down to 177 which is about a 12. I would like to loose 10 more. I am not trying to be "skinny", just healthy for my height. I would be happy being in anywhere in the 160's. It seems that is a popular weight category for our height. I'm glad to know I'm not way off base with that weight range. I am obsessed with the scale. I try not to get on it but I can't help it. I get frustrated if the weight stays the same or doesn't go down. Anyone else feel this way? If I see a change on the scale I feel motivated to continue with this plan.

I'm almost 5'11" and I do have a large frame. I have size 11½W "fred flintstone feet" and hands to match. The lowest weight I've ever been at this height was 155, and was probably a size 12 at that weight. My goal weight right now is 170. I haven't been told that I'm built like a brick sh!thouse, but I did go on a date recently and the man commented on how amazingly strong my hands are. Was that a compliment? I'm not sure.

I'm just now coming to recognize and appreciate my body for what it is. Instead of pretending I'm not huge (even if I'm thin, I'm still large), I'm recognizing it and trying to embrace or maybe even celebrate it. Roller derby, anyone? :lifter:

One of the odd things about being this tall is that I can gain and lose 10 pounds and nobody notices. Even at 260, I don't look as round and soft as my shorter peers of the same weight.

Oh, and I tend to be hourglass in shape.

Hi, Im new. I have birthed 11 children...now ages 6 to 30 and I have 6 stepchildren ages 7 to 17. I am 5' 7 1/2'. I dont know if that's considered tall or not. I have read the posts and just agree with what everyone is saying. I weigh 180 or so and no one believes that. BUT I FEEL IT> I went thru a divorce 4 years ago and lost down to around 140 (without trying) or maybe I weighed even a little more than that. But, anyway, I had no idea I was losing so much weight and everybody was asking me "are you sick?"....LOL....I loved looking that skinny but obviously I didnt really look good. And, from what everyone was saying I thought that when I weighed I would weigh like 117 or so...lol...but I was somewhere in the 140"s. I was shocked...because being "skinny" in my mind is weighing 117!!!! I dont have scales and dont weigh hardly ever. Anyway, I am here because I have never "dieted" in all these years. My top weight,not including pregnancies, has probably been 185-190. In the last few weeks when I try to be conscious of what and how I am eating, in order to lose a few pounds, ALL I THINK ABOUT IS FOOD...either what I CAN eat or what I CANT eat!!!LOL My husband's work is taking all the employees to Destin at the end of Aug. I would SO love to look good in a bathing suit and just look good to meet these 300+ people for the first time!!!! You know how that is!!!! I'm looking forward to making friends here too. I live in Birmingham, Alabama........Anyway......for what its worth...theres my "two-cents-worth"!!!! lol

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Hey there Tall Chicks!
I'm 5'10.5" (And yes, the .5" matter because I used to be 5'11" but between back injuries and all this excess weight, I've lost a half an inch!)
I know what you mean about having big (size 11) feet. My hands are "large" but also look refined, so it's great because I can carry off some HUGE rings. It makes a lot of girls jealous.
I have to admit, being tall makes it easier for me to "carry execess weight" without too many people noticing except me. It took 10 years for it to creep on and it bothered me the whole time (from 165-168 to 240something). The negative part about that now is that people also don't notice as the weight comes off. I've fluctuated 20pounds due to surgery in the past 6 months and no one noticed. Oh well.
For me, I seem to look "best" at 155. I weighed 145 as a 20 something and people said I needed to gain weight. (I still have a very candid photo of me in a bikini at that weight. Dang I looked good...despite my poor body image at the time.) But seriously, a range of 128 to 175 seems to look good on gals our size. (Sorry, but 130 looks too skinny to me, but I've seen a couple of swimmers my height who did fine at 130).
Growing up I had a problem with my "football" shoulders, but now they seem just fine to balance my hips...and this size bra would NOT look good on really small shoulders. So they work for my body.
I know this sounds weird, but I wish my head was bigger. So often when I look in the mirror I feel like some shrunken headed woman - big body, tiny little head. It just doesn't look proportioned to me.
I'd love to continue a "tall" thread, if anyone else is interested.
Cammie

Cammie, I'm totally interested in a "tall" thread. :)

That is a downfall, that people don't notice a loss right away. On the upside, it's easy for me to drop larger amounts of weight more quickly than my shorter peers. Unfortunately losing 50 pounds on me probably looks more like losing 30 pounds on someone with a smaller stature. The numbers sound dramatic, though, don't they!

I have a small head, too. It used to bother me, but then I heard that supermodels have smaller head-to-height ratio, too. See? I'm like a supermodel. Ha. I suppose my head looks even smaller when I carry extra weight.

The upside of being a TALL woman is that if you're obese or overweight, people really don't seem to notice it as much - at least not with the two overweight but tall women I know. No one thinks of them as fat because they're TALL. haha.

I'm not tall, but I am on the higher end of the "average height" bracket. I'm about 5'6 3/4" - 5'7" in the morning, but 5'6" and some change any other time. I'm actually taller than a good portion of my friends. The way I see it, is that anyone more than an inch taller than me is tall and anyone more than an inch shorter than me is short ;)

Ah, the tall chicks thread!

I'm 5' 11" when I'm perky but get down pretty close to 5' 10" when I'm tired, so I've just listed myself as 5' 10.5". LOL I'm fairly small-framed but have a HUGE, planetoid-sized head, orangutan arms and hands (and boobs!), and size 11 boat feet.

I love being tall! If someone starts up a regular Amazon thread or challenges, be sure to holler about it here so I know. I'm getting lost in all of the different rooms. :dizzy:

i'm 5'11''. i thought i was big boned until i lost weight and found that i'm actually not that big. my wrists look tiny! especially in comparison to my "man hands". lol. i can't wear bangle bracelets because i can't get them back off. (i had a really scary moment in a department store once.) i also have big feet - 10 1/2 W.

i got down to 145 in my 20s and that was way too low. my bones were sticking out. 163 is a comfortable weight for me. i can eat a reasonable amount and not struggle. and i think i look good... with my clothes on anyway. i may eventually lose a bit more, but i wouldn't go under 155. i generally wear a size 10 at this weight.


Kristin

Hi everyone, another linebacker here. I'm 6 feet tall and have huge shoulders. I realize that I'll never be skinny, and I've made peace with that. Right now I'm in a 16 (at 257) - but I'll be happy once I'm PERMANENTLY on the "normal" folks side of the store and not shopping on the big girl's side. I'd be super happy to be a 12 or even a 10!

ETA: I have big feet to go along with it...I wear a size 12 shoe.

Hi, I'm 5'10 and currently weigh 152 wanting to be about 145ish. When was in highschool I got up to my highest weight of 197 and lost 65lbs by swimming/running and eating right. When I was 197 I thought I'd always be big no matter what, but once I started getting into my lower weights I realized I was actually pretty small. Now in highschool my lowest was 132 and I don't ever want to be that skinny, but I'd like to be 145 again, just to fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Although after two kids I sometimes wonder if it's possible to get down to my pre-pregnancy size, I am only 24 though, so maybe it's possible. The last 10lbs is always the hardest to lose. I like being tall most of them time, but there are times when I see those skinnly little petite girl and want to be like them...then I'll see a beautiful tall woman and think how happy I am to be tall. Women are beautiful no matter what. Oh, plus my husband is my height so I can't wear heels anymore, that kinda bothers me sometimes, but I love him so I have up the high heels for him I guess.

Hey, me again...I just read Cammies reply and saw she said she wished she had a bigger head. I noticed when I had extra weight on me my head looked small too...so weird, but as I've lost weight my head looks very proportional. Also, being tall really helped when I was pregnant because I didn't get really huge, like sticking out there huge, it all stayed pretty compact even though I gained 60 lbs with both pregnancies, all my weight was evenly distributed which was nice!

Oh gosh, I have a big head so I can just imagine what it'll look like when I lose weight! Ha ha ha, I think a lot of it has to do with my big hair. I have naturally thick curly hair so no matter what I do I can't avoid the big 80's Bon Jovi Hair!

What a great thread, I feel right at home!

*I'm actually more like 5'-11 1/2" if we were to be particular; and I think I actually even look taller cuz my height is all in my legs.
*Size 12 feet
*Know the feeling of "birdhead" -- especially in photos when my fluffy,curly(not thick unfortunately) hair is wet, aiyaiyai!

Fun Thread!!

I'm a tall one too--5'11", 249lbs. It IS quite a different challenge to be tall and be overweight, and I don't see a lot of popular diet programs addressing that.

I don't know how differently I feel I need to eat or exercise because of my height, but body image is always going to be different. I can be at the bottom of my weight range for my height, and the word "big" will still apply to me.

I'm only 5'7" (which seems tall compared to many women around here), but my sister is 5'10". She's currently about 175-180 and wearing a size 13. She has very wide hip bones, so I think that size is slightly mis-leading. I think she looks great, though I think she could lose 10 pounds or so if she really wanted to without looking scary. She was in a size 8/9 at her smallest and she looked actually a little scary and bony (I think she was about 145-150 at that point).

Glad I'm not the only one. I'm 5'8, and believe it or not, the shortest person in my immediate family. (My mom is next at 5'9 1/2) And I have a big build. (broad shoulders, big rib cage, wide hips.) Having a short torso does not help in this dept at all. I was 130 and a size 7/8 at my smallest, which was when I was a teen. And looking back at pics of then, I was kinda a bit on the too skinny side. But at the time, having a big build and seeing all the little petite girls running around school, I always thought I was fat. After I graduated and looked back after gaining about 20lbs (and looking great), I knew better. But as good as I looked, the big build haunted me in the military, as I don't think the weight/tape/uniform fit standards were really made for curvy, big boned women. At any rate, I've come to grips with the fact that I will never be small or petite in any way shape or form and have become more comfortable with this build. And I already have a weight I know I look great at, so that's what I'm aiming for. Now here's hoping I can get there and stay there. Hooray for tall, big build women!! *^_^*

I've been looking for the tall women...
 

:) So glad to have found you!

I call myself 5'11", though like another poster I think I've shrunk to 5'10 1/2" or so. I share the pregnancy-is-more-manageable-on-a-tall-person experience, as well.

I started college at 148, which I think looked pretty good. I yo'ed back up to 172 or so, which is about a 12 on me, for most of college, and worked out a lot to get down to 158 in my early 20s. That's about a 10 on my frame. Dating my husband-to-be, avoiding the gym and eating out all the time with friends, I went way up to 193 or so, which was a 16, and not pretty. I got down to 155 for my 30th birthday, which is a 10, sometimes an 8, and looks both svelte and healthy.

Two pregnancies later, I'm hoping to get back to 155. I trusted the adage that nursing would take the weight off after my first pregnancy, but now I know better :( Ah, well! It may take a little while, which is frustrating as all get out, but I know I've done it before. Good luck to you all, and thanks for sharing your tall perspectives!

I just felt like I should say "hi" to the tall ladies!!! It's taken quite a few years for me to appreciate my height, but now I wouldn't have it any other way!! Of course, being taller has often meant weighing quite a bit more than my shorter friends, but I have finally accepted this. I'm actually at the end of my weight loss journey, but I still have a lot of issues with my body. I have wide hips, so even at this weight, I am wearing a size 8-10 in pants. I have come to realize that sizes are really not important, though, because sometimes I look at myself and think that I am so small! In fact, when I look at pictures I can't ever remember being this small... most of my middle-high school years, I was a size 12, and at my highest I was a size 16. When I look in the mirror, I generally like what I see, so this is a great accomplishment for me!!

Anyway, my point is that I can definitely relate with you tall ladies!!!!!!