Small, Medium or Large Frame?
 

Does anyone know how to determine what your body frame is? :?: Since I have been wrapped in fat most of my life I have NO idea what my natural "frame" is...I do know that I was comfortable when I was around 128-130 pounds (for a split second in time) , straddling a size 8-10. I am 5'0 ....

Thanks Chicas!

Schatzi, it sounds like you're a medium frame. I'm 5'-2", and weighed 128 during high school and college. I was running almost every day, and was very fit and muscular.

I think there's some measurement you can do with the wrist, but I can't remember what. I think I found it on the internet once... I think the logic behind that was that it was the boniest place on the body? I'll look and see what I can find.

Okay, I found a link... I hope it doesn't get edited out. If so, I'll PM you with it.

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/he...hart.htm#frame

The fact is that most people are med build. I work in the operating room and the biggest differences in bone is it's density (hardness) not it's size.

Lydia

That's fine, Love2C. :yes: Thanks for providing the link!

I am a large frame! My measurement was well over 3 inches.. finally I have something to prove it! ;) Seriously though, I've been trying to convince people of that for years.. howelse could someone weighing 255 wear a size 18? Thanks Love2C :)

-Aimee

Very welcome! :)

Thanks for the link, reaffirmed my belief in the 'large frame' issue i've been having. At 5'11", i've got a 2 7/8" measurement of my elbow. Which would make me a medium frame, if I were a boy, according to that site, but a freakishly huge-framed woman (not even on the chart). Ahh well.

Love2c135 you are a LOVE.. Thankyou so very much!!!

Well Holy Almighty Bob! I have a 3 inch elbow... my husband said I was large frame... and this proves it....
Swimgirl, I'm only 5 foot and I wear a size 18...and Im 183 pounds!

Well I guess I must be a small build cause my elbow don't even measure 2 inches. I didn't see the chart for it which is probably a good thing! lol

:) That was fun. I think I am medium frame, but couldn't find a measuring tape. I also have tiny wrists and ankles, but I know I am not a small frame. At 5'4" I tend to look enormous if I stand next to a petite woman (say 5'2" and under). I have disproportionately long legs (my inseam is 30 in.) I am also an apple. I think all those factors make us "carry " our weight as we do.

Sandi

158: size 12, but size 14 top (apple!!!!!) :(

My measurement was under 2 inches....so I guess I'm a small frame.CRAP I'm never going to lose this weight!!!

I live in China Town, and there are lots of beautiful, petite Chinese and Vietnamese women here. I feel like a frickin' buffalo beside them. :lol:

I learned this trick from a diet center years ago when I went in for a free "analysis" (fancy way of saying, "come on in, we'll get you so psyched up you'll pay any amount of money to join us")

Wrap your thumb and forefinger (the finger immediately after the thumb on your hand) around your wrist over the boney part that sticks up. If your thumb and forefinger overlap, you have a small frame, a medium frame if they meet, and a large frame if they don't meet. While this will not give you an accurate measurement, it is a good guess.


OMG, Ellis, I understand completely. My DH is chinese, from China. We went to visit the family a few years ago when I was close to my highest weight 5' tall, 190 pounds. People would stare at me as they were riding their bikes. They would literally turn their heads around and watch me walk by. I nearly caused a couple accidents. It wasn't because I was an American, because his family lives in a big westernized city. There are a lot of foreigners there.

I would walk into stores and the sales ladies would meet me and say very rudely, "no clothes for you. we don't carry big size" and then almost escort me out the door. I guess they were afraid I'd try on the clothes and stretch them out of shape or something.

So my dh had me buy fabric and we had some clothes made for me while we were visiting. The tailor was impressed by me stature. At least he was nice about it. He told me husband that he'd never seen a woman as big as me with so much muscle.

You know how large women have the creepy-crawlies when we were shorts and we tend to keep pulling our shorts down between the legs.

My mil would walk behind me and literally pull down my shorts between my legs whenever they would begin to ride up. How embarrassing. I quickly switiched to skirts during that visit.

Oh the trauma of being a large size.

Sarah

I'm very strangely shaped pear. I have GIGOONDA Breasts.....a "small" waist (comparatively speaking).... and the largest ***/widest hips ! (You should just stick a bumper sticker on it "Wide Load" like those trucks) I need a size 18 jean to get over my hips, and then they are loose on my waist...*Sigh*
BUT I KNOW I HAVE A MARILYN MONROE KICK BUTT BODY JUST WAITING TO BE REVEALED!!!! :smug:

Oh Sarahu, our posts musta crossed....
Well the Thumb and forefinger method confirms once again I am a large frame...
I hear ya about the creepy crawlies, I myself prefer to wear long fitted dresses... (Fit and Flare)..
UGH , I know what you mean about some stores... I saw a lovely dress in Unlimited, and while the clerk said nothing , I could read her face.." Oh SHE can't possible think she'll find something to fit her in here...must be buying for someone else...."

Hey tell MIL to pick her own butt!

Ellis: I hear ya.... I hate when I am around 2 of my friends who are the same height as me... and they are like Size 0 petite little things... I can't help thinking
so maybe thats what I look like under all this fat... bleah

Sarah, I love your story... you've totally made my day. :lol:

Schatzi, at least you HAVE a waist! I have a really boyish figure. I have hips, but no apparent waist from the front, and a very small chest (which I'm actually very grateful for!).
Yeah, you're pretty much going to be a babe in 50 pounds, aren't you? :yes:

Sarah, I just noticed how much you've lost! Woof! That's GREAT, girl!! :hat:

Ok I'm confused
 

I measured my elbow and it says i have a small frame. I'm 5'7" and had a measurement of 2".

Then I tried the wrist thing and my thumb and finger barely touch. So medium frame there.

Which is it? I'm so confused. :?:

Christine :moo:

BrandynsMoooM, I'd go by the HealthSystems check website...it states that the method is used by Met Life to calculate frames.... and I know Underwriters... they are sticklers for absolute facts.... :p

The fingers and wrist way is just an estimate. Like if you don't have a tape meaure handy. Anything that has you actually measuring is probabaly much more accurate.

Sarah

AMEN, sistah Schatzi!!!! :cp:

Yes you do...and don't you forget it, honey! It doesn't sound like you're a pear...more of an hourglass. How fun will that tiny waist be when you are at goal? You'll be able to wear those low rise jeans and men and women alike will drool and how tiny your waist is! :cool:

Sarah, I understand about those creepy crawlies...and about being around petite people! You are doing a fabulous job with your weight loss and your health. Just wait until your in laws see you! :smug:

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have a large frame. My hips are HUGE, my rib cage is ginormous, my elbow measurement is 3.7, and my fingers don't touch on my wrist...about an inch between them. :dunno:

OK so this finally got the better of me and I had to measure also. Very much a large frame person here. Elbow meauserment is almost 4" and wriste measurement is thumb and finger not touching by almost an 1". I to am a hourglass. Fairly large breasts, the "large load" butt and "ham hock" thighs. I also have the added joy of a super long waist (shirts always to short) and very short legs (pants always to long). :lol:

Shatzi, I can totally relate to the pants thing. I have a size 14 shorts in my drawer that are tight in the rear and way loose in the waist. All my jeans are like that too. If only my waist were proportionate to my rear, I'd be a size 10, I'm sure!

WOWzers ~ I am at 3" too. So I am a large frame.

The elbow thing has me at a small frame and the wrist deal has me at a large frame.

My doctor told me I had a medium frame when I saw her last but she didn't measure anything. I don't have calipers at work to do an accurate elbow measurement but it looks like I'm about 2 1/2" which would put me at the upper end of a medium frame. As for the wrist, well I have short fingers! I've got at least a one inch gap. I'm going with medium frame (especially since my doctor said 5' 3" and a medium frame would be 125-135 and I'm at 136.5 as of this morning :)

LETS HEAR IT 4 all us LARGE FRAME GALS!!! We're Zaftic, Rubenesque and downright SEXSEEEEEY!!

Our Medium FRAME GALS are SVELT and SLEEK and SEXSEEEEY

and you Small Frame GALS Are Petite, DAINTY and SEXSEEEY!

We're ALL BEAUTIES!!!! :hat:

( Maybe I better lie down, Ummmm 2 much Benedryl I think ) ;) '

Hmm, well I wonder if I didn't remember it properly. Maybe it was below the boney part, closest to the hand?? I've always liked over the boney part because it made me a large frame and I can weigh more and still be healthy. Go with the meusurements it's probably more accurate!

Sarah

Don't quote me or anything
 

I could be wrong here, but I think I heard somewhere that you're supposed you use your thumb and middle finger on the wrist thing. For all of you who came up with 2 different types of frames: check to see if this makes it more accurate. It gave me a small frame with both elbow and wrist.

Christine :moo:

Karla - omg I HEAR YAH! I have SUCH issues finding clothes, drives me insane! I am 5'8", I have an hour glass figure with a "flat" tummy, big hips, low rise (most pants come almost to my boobs), and a long torso, and long-ish legs. I have a freakish body, this ultra low rise phase has been my savior, pants are at last hitting my waist! Ugh, and you wouldn't think about it, underwear are impossible! I found some at Victoria's Secret, 3 for 35 bucks tho! Alright, enough complaining.. it is what it is!

-Aimee

Bump for Newbies wanting to know what Frame they are...
(I went by my Elbow... see thread for details) :)

my left wrist is smaller than my right!!

Are you right handed?
Another good reasoning...if you are large boned you can carry more weight than someone your height who is small or medium boned and not look any heavier!!

According to the elbow I have a small frame and according to the wrist I have a med!

Alrighty then, I got this straight from a life insurance underwriter: The grid they use to determine range of "normal weight by height by frame" is based on the width of elbow. "LOVE2C135" provided this link in the thread below, when you get to the site, it states it is that which is used by MET life...(according to Mike my underwriter friend, it represents the industry standard)...
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/he...hart.htm#frame
So what your elbow width is ...determines your frame.. and your frame, provides a guide for your weight range... :)

My elbow measures 3 3/8"!! OMG!! I'm more than large framed even for a guy of my height!!! :yikes: Um... Can you say Amazon Woman? :lol:

lol...Val u r a nut!!!...Godda luv ya!!

I've always known I was large framed...even at a decent weight I wear a size 10 on my ring finger...and it really doesn't look like it because my fingers are so long...even longer than my 6'5" tall DBF. :yikes:

My Mother, bless her heart, tried to console me with that when I was at my heaviest (over 300 pounds) when she said, 'sweetie, you're big boned...you're always gonna be a big girl.' Well, at that point I was pretty disgusted with her covering up for me...so I reached back and grabbed my a$$ cheeks and said, 'DOES THIS LOOK LIKE BONE TO YOU???' :tantrum:

Poor Mom...I know she was just trying to make me feel better, but d@mmit, enough is enough.

Even though I have my goal weight set at 167 I really think that might be a stretch for me...the thing is, the BMI chart says that is close to the highest weight I can be to fit into the 'healthy' weight category for me. :dunno: I felt healthy at 187 and wore a size 12...probably coulda squeezed into a 10, but honestly, I think my hip bones are too wide to go much smaller in pants size than that....and I'm fine with that. I am what I am. :D