My doctor called me fat. My tests show otherwise

[dawn16]

@little96 I'm super confused. He didn't do glucose at all, or it was done but not fasting?

 

[profsanctvs]

@little96 Hrrm that's a pretty big hole in your bloodwork. I'd definitely schedule a follow up appointment.

 

[not_a_unicorn]

@little96 What BMI is he looking at? You're taller than me and the weight I was when I started losing, that's overweight, not obese according to BMI. I understand where you're coming from though, I was working out all the time before I actually started losing weight. I didn't really consider myself unhealthy, but I also knew I had some extra weight on me that probably would be better if it wasn't there.

Health, fitness and weight are hard, they're very personal, and you need to do what works for you.

 

[dawn16]

@little96 None of those tests suggest you're not fat. They just show you've been lucky not to develop any complications yet as a result of being fat. I was expecting to see a body fat percentage measurement.

 

[marth4k1ng]

@little96 You've come a long way and congratulations on your success so far. But the only tests that show that "BMI is invalid" is a bod pod or a DEXA scan to show BFP in a healthy range.

 

[dawn16]

@little96 A BMI of 28 is "overweight" rather than "obese," and BMI was never intended to be applied to individuals. I think your doctor is kind of an asshole. My height and weight are similar to yours, and none of my doctors ever hassle me about my "obesity." And cholesterol screening in slightly overweight 30-something women with no additional risk factors is not recommended by the USPSTF guidelines.

 

[clomar]

@dawn16 I would not call a doctor who wants to check a lab for a very treatable condition an asshole. A doctor who doesn't ask questions and try to help you improve your health using the best scientifically validated tools and guidelines that the medical community has is not doing you any favors.

 

[dawn16]

@clomar Unless the OP left out some crucial information, the doctor was not following the guidelines.

 

[clomar]

@dawn16 See my other comment; the provider didn't go against guidelines--he/she made a judgment call in a gray area, probably based on OP's history of being significantly heavier and any one of several other risk factors. When I'm not pregnant, I'm 5'3" 120ish lbs and my lipids are routinely screened every few years because of family history alone (my dad has been on a statin for years and my sister is overweight/obese with elevated lipids. I think you need to calm down and stop pretending to be more informed than this woman's doctor.

 

[dawn16]

@clomar The OP didn't say anything about a family history, and a BMI of 28 is not obese. I don't think I'm "more informed" than the OP's doctor; I think I'm less biased against "overweight" people. I assume the doctor does know what the guidelines are and follows them for "normal weight" people. Why are you assuming I'm not calm? Because I'm stating an objection to something? Again, unless the OP is leaving out crucial information, then her doctor let his bias get in the way of doing his job properly. I don't like overtesting in general. Again, there are reasons that screening guidelines exist, and overtesting is not beneficial. A lot of people seem to think for some reason that it's always better to test for something than to not test for it, but that's just not the case.

 

[knowhisjoy77]

@dawn16 It's not a bias if it is statistically true that overweight people are more at risk

 

[dawn16]

@knowhisjoy77 That's not how that works. At all.

 

[doyola38]

@dawn16 To me it sounds like he's responsible and gives a shit about his patients. His bedside manner could probably be improved, no doubt, but I bet he is sick of people not even able to tolerate being told how much they actually weigh, and then seeing the other end of it when they end up with preventable "diseases of lifestyle".

 

[dawn16]

@doyola38 If she were complaining about feeling like crap or her BP or heart rate were high or there were some indication that something was wrong, then it would certainly make sense to mention that her weight and/or lifestyle might play a part. But there's nothing wrong. She's extremely active and her vitals look great. Weight is not lifestyle, and a very active person who's slightly overweight is no more likely to get diabetes or heart disease than a sedentary "normal weight" person.

If you're implying that my doctors don't hassle me because they don't give a shit, you're wrong. They don't hassle me because they know me as an individual and they understand my situation. They know that scale weight doesn't tell the whole story. They actually do give a shit and they've taken the time to actually look at me and talk to me.

 

[dawn16]

While scale weight does not in fact tell the whole story, being in the "healthy" BMI range for your height is optimal to prevent future problems, regardless of risk factor, having excess fat still means higher risk for diseases, injuries, etc, no matter what. I'm about the same size as OP, and I'd consider myself fat, even though I ran a half marathon, rock climb, lift 4x a week, etc etc. My bf% could be lower, and I could lose about 20 lbs to be somewhere in the higher end of the healthy range for my height. (which is coincidentally what I'm working on now)

Your weight very well could be higher due to large amounts of muscle, which would certainly discount the BMI scale, however, the vast majority of people DON'T have that sort of muscle mass. Honestly, bf% is much more effective in telling you more about your body composition and health than just BMI/weight (like you and OP said, it's definitely not a tell-all), but that doesn't mean that one should completely ignore BMI ranges and the number on the scale. I agree that a lot more goes into play, but that doesn't mean these factors aren't still important in the grand scheme of things is all.

 

[doyola38]

@dawn16 I replied above about that.

Yeah I think it's important to trust your subjective sense of well being for lots of things - at least, when things feel really wrong, they are usually wrong - but that's just a snapshot of the present day. For the slower-to-build problems, like with cholesterol etc., even arthritis, initially, you can't rely on how you happen to feel.

 

[dawn16]

@doyola38 That's what screening guidelines are for.

 

[waltherchan]

@dawn16 Screening guidelines, like say ... Bmi?

 

[dawn16]

@waltherchan BMI is not a screening guideline. I don't think you understand what screening guidelines are.

 

[waltherchan]

@dawn16 Obviously not. Oh no, I feel like I am missing out on so much in life! If only I knew what screening guidelines were and picked fights on the internet, then maybe I could be as fulfilled as yourself!