HAHA!?! A revelation...
 

I have just found out that I weigh about 60 pounds more than a friend of mine that I considered to be not much smaller than me. And it is SO obvious now that I know.

I feel so frickin' stupid.

I have been kidding myself and need to get myself sorted out.

Ah, yes...I had that happen before. Don't feel stupid. It kinda sucks, but it puts things in perspective (unfortunately).

I know I have watched the Biggest Loser weigh-ins and thought "I am smaller then her" and she ends up being 20 pounds lighter then me. I hate that too!

LOL...same happened to me. I always thought my gf was "much" bigger than me...turned out I am much bigger than her...I was shocked to see that when our picture was taken together.

Everyone carries her/his weight differently. Don't assume that the number on the scale shows you the reality of your size and health relative to her size and health. Every body is different. (Also, unless you saw the scale yourself, your friend may have fudged a little--not to impugn her honesty, but I'm pretty sure we've all "misquoted" our weight here and there.)

With that said, it's excellent that you're using this as motivation instead of an excuse. Your friend may not be much smaller than you despite the 60-pound weight difference, and if that's the case, think of the kind of great shape you'll be in once you've reached your first few goals. You have good genetics in your favor! :)

Take a look at this web site showing different body sizes and shapes at different heights. You'll be amazed at how dissimilar two people of the same weight and height can look.

I was going to say something along those lines. It's not just HOW much you weigh...it's how you carry what you weigh.

I've had people tell me they couldn't believe I weight 288 lbs. To them...I looked more in the 260 range...which is a big difference.

Pretty much what everyone else already said. AND, my mom and I are the exact same height, and we wear the same size clothes. But she is 40 lbs lighter than I am. I'm guessing bone structure and muscle mass make up the difference in us.

Haha, thanks guys. Now that I "know" how much she weighs it seems glaringly obvious that I'm MUCH bigger... I suppose I just never really thought about it much before.

I think it's that I've been telling myself that even though I'm ~60 pounds more than I want to/should be, it doesn't make much difference really and people probably can't tell.

It's just so silly.

It's good (if a tad depressing) to have this wake up call. I think I need to actually remind myself every now and then that I'm overweight so I start doing something about it.

I had the same problem. I thought I was much smaller than I actually am. Now I'm really aware of how big I am and I'm like wow!

The good thing is that you're doing something about it. :)

I'm really wondering if it's also a height difference thing. You list yourself as being 5'10", which is fairly tall for a female so if your friend is quite a bit shorter than you than that's going to make a huge difference in how she carries her weight.

Also, it depends a lot on body shape. I'm close to an hourglass (not quite there) and have a fairly large chest, which makes my waist seem smaller. Even simple things like how well one dress, if they wear a well-fitting bra, and a haircut can affect how someone perceives your weight.

But, seriously, good for you for taking this as motivation! Going shopping with a skinny friend has always been great motivation for me because they get to try on waaayyy cuter clothes!

Yeah, I'm always shocked at how big I look in photos. It's a painful, but much-needed reality check :o But, I always keep in mind that when I reach my goal weight, I'll definitely be mugging it more for the cameras, instead of avoiding them :smug:

Do you have a big height difference? Back in early college I join WW with a friend who I considered not much smaller than me (fatness wise, but much shorter than me). Her starting weight was my goal weight!

In my siggy picture I am 200. Nobody ever beleived it, but I guess I hide my fat well. I must have a black whole in my jeans or something. But yeah, dont feel bad, weight and perception are tricky things.

I'm heavier than my Mom but I don't look it in my opinion. We're about the same height too. It happens. Just means I don't have to lose as much to "look" better haha

I never feel as big as I look. In my head, I'm a size 6 at the MOST. :D Then I see myself in pictures and I'm like, OMG I can't believe that's me.

For instance, I bought a REALLY adorable outfit to wear last week. I thought I looked so cute, and I felt SO trendy and thinner and just sparkle-tastic (LOL) but when I saw the pictures, I was knocked down a peg or two. I looked nice, just much bigger than what I thought I did.

I suppose in some ways that's better than always seeing yourself as bigger than what you are. :o