# People's inability to guess weight



## Webmaster (Jan 24, 2010)

It's really weird how most non-fat people have very little sense of weight.

Years ago, Michael Landon was on the Johnny Carson show and they talked about "Hoss," the late Dan Blocker, a BHM who with Landon played one of the Cartwright brothers on the show "Bonanza." Carson goes, "Big guy, must have been, what? 250?" Landon smiles and says, "You're missing a hundred pounds of that action, Johnny."

Johnny Carson, who dealt with thousands of people of all walks of life apparently had no clue how much people weigh.

Another example: I just finished reading "Under the Dome" (all 1,100 pages of it) by Stephen King. In it is a truly vile character by the name of Big Jim who, of course, also is fat. King describes how massive his stomach is, how fat he is, his dominating appearance behind a vast slope of belly on numerous occasions, on and on. How much does Big Jim weigh? 230 pounds.

So King, a great researcher, and an author who also wrote "Thinner" that was all about weight, apparently also has no clue how much fat people weigh.

An old friend of mine once said that the general population cannot imagine that any women weighs more than 199 pounds and any man 250. 

Have you had similar experiences?


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## TallFatSue (Jan 24, 2010)

Oh definitely. Whenever anyone takes a wild guess at my weight, they usually say "200? 220?". I tell them, "Not even half right. More like 450 or 460lb." That absolutely astounds them.


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## LoveBHMS (Jan 24, 2010)

I'm not so sure about this. I mean in daily life you never know how much any given person weighs, so it's not as if you "know" what x number of pounds should look like, or as if you'd often be in a position to guess somebody's weight. Many women here have posted their weights and also said that they don't look it or that few people realize they weigh *that much* so it's not really an exact science. Also the human body has a ton of variations as far as muscle, bone structure, height, etc. 

So 2 BBW or BHM who both weigh 350 can look drastically different and wear very different size clothing. Even among non fat people, how often do you hear about somebody looking "healthy" at a given weight or being a certain size at a certain weight while somebody else would look stick thin/unheatlhy at the same weight and wear clothing 2 sizes larger or smaller.

I actually just recently had a good friend and fetish partner "confess" that he'd lied about his weight when we met so I'd think he was "more serious" about gaining. Apparently he was 180 but told me he was 208 and I'd believed him. He asked in all honesty if i'd believed he was 208 and I said yes. And this guy is 5"8 so being 20+ pounds off would make a difference. However even for an FFA, I certainly can't visualize 20 men I know who are the same height where I know all of their weights, so if somebody says "this is what 208 looks like on me" I believe it.


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## Cors (Jan 24, 2010)

From my experience, most people are terrible at guessing a person's weight and size if they are significantly bigger or smaller than the average. I do think that it is because people have distorted ideas of what a certain weight is supposed to look like and everything else is averaged out in their minds. However, if you are at a truly extreme size (say, 70lbs or 700lbs) then people *might* exaggerate your size. 

I wear a size 0 or 00, and weigh 98lbs. I often get told that I look quite a bit bigger (people tend to guess that I am a size 2/4 and weigh around 115lbs) and that they almost always comment that I look "surprisingly healthy" because most people expect someone with my statistics to look horribly emaciated (how I would probably look at 75lbs).

My ex was 330lbs and women of her size are incredibly rare in Southeast Asia. While there are certainly people who think that she is the most massive person they have ever seen but couldn't possibly weigh more than 200lbs, there are also quite a few others who wildly overguess her weight and measurements.


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## tinkerbell (Jan 24, 2010)

Oh yeah, people always think that I weigh less than I really do (even here!) but I just always figured it was my odd body, and the ability to hide weight somewhere! 

I remembered I was getting weighed at Curves when I had a membership there years and years ago. And the lady was weighing me, it was one of those older scales (not digital) and she had the heavy thing on 150, and and was going to around 170ish or something. I was like you need to bump that up about 60 more lbs. And she was a short, round plump lady. And its not like she was trying to be nice, she honestly thought I looked like I weighed in the 170's. 

People have weird thoughts about weight and sizes. So many people think that everyone who wears the same size must weigh the same, and that if you weight the same you must wear the same size. I've seen it on a pro thin, celebrity site (the people say so and so can NOT be a size 3, I'm a size 3 and much skinnier than her!) or even here (I had people say there was no way I was almost 300 lbs, and a size 24/26).


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## AnnMarie (Jan 24, 2010)

I've mentioned this story before here, but one of my very best male friends (not an FA by any stretch) and I were working together. There was a personal add that said the woman was 400lbs. 

He looked at me, in all seriousness, and said "What does 400lbs even look like!??" I think he was picturing Jabba the Hut or something. 

Had it been now I would have easily replied "You're looking at it." - but this was many years ago, and I didn't have the level of self-acceptance I do now. It was pre-Dims days for me.


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jan 24, 2010)

I've mentioned this before, but I once read a whodunit by Max Allen Collins (who writes the _Dick Tracy_ comic strip these days) in which one character was a woman so obese that she was unable to stand up without assistance. Turns out she weighed 180 pounds.


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## Teleute (Jan 24, 2010)

tinkerbell said:


> I remembered I was getting weighed at Curves when I had a membership there years and years ago. And the lady was weighing me, it was one of those older scales (not digital) and she had the heavy thing on 150, and and was going to around 170ish or something. I was like you need to bump that up about 60 more lbs. And she was a short, round plump lady. And its not like she was trying to be nice, she honestly thought I looked like I weighed in the 170's.



Heh, this happens to me EVERY time I go to the doctor. I'm ~280, and they still start it on the 150 mark and start heading for the 185-190ish region. When I've actually been 185-190, I've gotten comments about "ooh, you're lucky you're sooooo skinny"... from people who are about 120 and several sizes smaller than me. I always assumed it was just because I'm tall, but it amuses me to know that this is a pretty universal area of confusion.


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## Cors (Jan 24, 2010)

Another thing worth pointing out is that people, particularly women tend to think that they look much bigger than they really are so they are likely to think that a person of the same size, shape and measurements is smaller than themselves. I have read a couple of studies on that but I can't seem to find them at the moment.


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## Teleute (Jan 24, 2010)

That is a good point - it's almost certainly a factor in my "ooh, you're so skinny" experiences.


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## Ernest Nagel (Jan 24, 2010)

Holy Toledo, I am "Guaranteed Accurate" once she's fully on top of me.


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## MisterGuy (Jan 24, 2010)

Yeah, I think OP is totally spot on, esp. where women are concerned. Guys, in particular--even FAs--are truly terrible at guessing womens' weights. I have a personal rule that women always weight at least 20-30 pounds more than you think they do, even relatively thin women.


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## elle camino (Jan 24, 2010)

such a quality OP that I can't even add anything besides my total agreement. I can't even count how many books I've read with fat characters who are described as just unfathomably huge, and eventually their weight is stated and it's like...what I weighed in middle school. 

Recently I was reading The Yiddish Policeman's Union and Chabon wrote this insanely colorful and humorous description of the main badguy, who (of course!) was superduper fat. My favorite was something along the lines of [He looked like] "a cartoon house with its windows sealed shut and all the faucets left on". 
And all I could think was that if they ever make this into a movie, I bet they'll cast friggin' Jack Black.


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## olwen (Jan 24, 2010)

Having been fat my whole life, I actually have trouble guessing the weights of people who weigh less than 300lbs. 130lbs vs 170lbs...throw a person's height into the mix and hell if I know. I just know - they are a lot thinner than me. Eh. If I'm really curious tho, I'll just ask.


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## bigjayne66 (Jan 24, 2010)

my neighbour thought I was about 25st (350lbs)I was 34 pounds over that at that time ,and 24 more still now since september 09,but she is an ex bbw but knows what 300 felt like so she is on my side


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## Captain Save (Jan 24, 2010)

olwen said:


> Having been fat my whole life, I actually have trouble guessing the weights of people who weigh less than 300lbs. 130lbs vs 170lbs...throw a person's height into the mix and hell if I know.



This reminded me of the thread that asked how much people weigh per inch of their height. Since everyone is so different as far as muscle/fat content, height, and body shape, it's really difficult to be accurate in guessing a person's weight.

Isn't there also a caveat about offering unusually large numbers in guessing the weight of a lady in conventional society? Who wants to run the risk of insulting family members at a family reunion who have been trying with limited success to loose weight, yet still weigh over 400 lbs.?


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## thatgirl08 (Jan 24, 2010)

Yeah, I've noticed the same thing. People often think I weigh in the mid/upper 200's but I'm actually somewhere over 350. I think it's because I'm tall (5'7"ish). I have trouble guessing other peoples weights though too.. one of my friends just told me she weighs like 30 pounds more than I thought.. I was like dude, no way?!


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## StarWitness (Jan 24, 2010)

Also consider how many jokes are made on _The Simpsons_ about how fat Homer is, and he's only 239.

I have no damn clue how much people weigh from looking at them. My ex is 6'3 and was almost 350 at his biggest; if I hadn't known that, I would have pegged him at 250 or 275.

I've really wanted to ask the fat men I've slept with how much they weighed, but... no idea how to do that politely. :blush:


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## mszwebs (Jan 24, 2010)

My boss freaks out about the 400lb plus people on Biggest Loser all the time...OMG THEY'RE 402 LBS!!!!

I weigh somewhere in the vicinity of 450, and she has no clue.


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## chicken legs (Jan 24, 2010)

People forget how much muscle might be under those layers of fat. However, since I have a musle fetish as well, I look at how well a person moves to determine their weight and a few other things...but I'm not telling all my secrets.


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## Larry G (Jan 24, 2010)

Oh definitely. At my very biggest I weighed 448 lbs, my doctor didn't believe I weighed over 400, even though at that time I actually tipped his examining bed over by sitting on it.

When I hit 260 lbs (I am 6 ft tall) I am considered "normal, but a bit pudgy" not according to BMI "severely obese". At that weight, girls would tell me they wished they were "as skinny as me", I am not making this up. At 240 lbs, I would start to get counseled that I was getting "too skinny", I'm serious.

People have no friggin clue. BTW, I read once that Johnny Depp at one point hit the scales at over 200 lbs, and that guy is SMALL to give just one example. There was a guy I worked with, muscular but thin male model who clocked in at 200 lbs exactly, the boy looked skinny, you just never know.

Larry


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## 99Haints (Jan 24, 2010)

People have always underguessed my weight by far. On an especially bizarre note-so have I. A few years back I somehow managed to pack on 100 pounds and have no idea until I stepped on the doctors' scale. I actually chuckled and told her that something was wrong with it, and not entirely out of denial. She asked "didn't you notice your clothes stretching out"? And I should have...but I didn't. Of course when I look back at the pictures, the weight gain was glaring, but I waddled around with it totally oblivious in spite of all the broken furniture in my wake, like some shitty fatsuit comedy.


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## TallFatSue (Jan 24, 2010)

That sounds like one of my more memorable incidents with my fat-phobic sister-in-law. Years ago at a family breakfast she said she couldn't possibly eat another pastry or else she'd be over 200lb in no time. Possibly another dig at me? Anyway as she took a sip of her coffee I casually mentioned I was well over 400lb. Well, I don't know what was funnier: watching her spit her coffee all over the table, or her embarrassment at giving everything a good spraying. 

My sister-in-law is being much nicer to me lately and possibly losing her fat-phobicity, which scuttles one of my great sources of entertainment. 


AnnMarie said:


> I've mentioned this story before here, but one of my very best male friends (not an FA by any stretch) and I were working together. There was a personal add that said the woman was 400lbs.
> 
> He looked at me, in all seriousness, and said "What does 400lbs even look like!??" I think he was picturing Jabba the Hut or something.
> 
> Had it been now I would have easily replied "You're looking at it." - but this was many years ago, and I didn't have the level of self-acceptance I do now. It was pre-Dims days for me.


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## chicken legs (Jan 24, 2010)

LOL...How do you know she isn't a "closet" ffa?


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## musicman (Jan 24, 2010)

I see this all the time. I think there are at least 3 explanations, depending on the situation:

1. People are clueless, or to say it in a nicer way, they have no conception of anything outside their own limited personal experience.

2. People are intentionally guessing low, because they think they are being "kind" to the fat person.

3. For underestimation in the mass media, I feel there is a third explanation. This occurred to me after I saw that ridiculous episode of CSI a couple years ago, where a "300-pound woman" killed a guy by rolling over on him in her sleep, and he was powerless to push her off (yeah, right). CSI is supposedly a well-researched show, so I began to wonder if there was some reason the woman's weight was intentionally represented as so low. I believe that, with all the diet and weight-loss ad revenue that TV gets, it is in their interest to use lower numbers, because it helps to exaggerate the "dangerous" effects of weight. At 300 pounds, you won't only kill yourself, but also your loved ones! Holy sh*t! And if 300 pounds can do that, then what about 250? It must be almost as bad. And think about how many celebs are portrayed in the tabloids as "flirting with death at 200+". How much ad revenue do newspapers get from the diet and weight-loss industry? When no other explanation fits, I say "Follow the money". 

I know most of you are probably saying "tin-foil hat", but think about it. Media and advertising are subtle games of influencing people's thinking. It doesn't take a vast conspiracy to explain this. You just have to plant a few little hints and associations in people's minds. And it doesn't matter whether the advertisers are telling the media to do this, or whether the media are doing it themselves to court the advertising dollars. The effect is the same. 

(There's also the political gravy-train aspect. Once we get everyone to automatically associate weights over 200-250 with certain death, then we can get mandatory taxpayer-funded WLS for anyone above their "recommended BMI". After all, it is society's responsibility to take care of "those people", right? You know that certain "medical professionals" are already having wet dreams about this. Follow the money...)


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## TallFatSue (Jan 24, 2010)

chicken legs said:


> LOL...How do you know she isn't a "closet" ffa?


"The horror... the horror..." My thin and annoying sister-in-law a "closet" FFA? Perish the thought! On the other hand, you might be onto something. You don't suppose she's been repressing that all these years? She doesn't seem at all surprised by my weight anymore, and I do like her much better now. This could get interesting. 


musicman said:


> I see this all the time. I think there are at least 3 explanations, depending on the situation:


Yes indeedy, there's a ring of truth in what you write. I know many people can't see beyon their own narrow range of experiences, and they like to keep it that way. And many times friends and coworkers have thought it kind to low-ball my weight because, "Oh you're not that fat." As to your third explanation, the self-absorbed media try to present the world as they like to believe it is rather than as it truly is, and they have products to sell.


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## LovelyLiz (Jan 25, 2010)

StarWitness said:


> Also consider how many jokes are made on _The Simpsons_ about how fat Homer is, and he's only 239.



This is ALWAYS where my mind goes first when I think about this question. You're my hero for bringing it up first. :wubu:

Do you also remember the episode where Homer had to get up to 300 (shocking!) pounds so he could work from home because he would be too fat to go to work? That episode really pissed me off (it was when I still had a lot of work to do on my own body-image, and when I was probably over 300 myself, at 5'1"). But he had to wear a mu-mu, got turned away from the movie theater, and several other things that were pretty unrealistic for a man who's probably 5'10" and carrying that weight.

It's ignorant.


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## liz (di-va) (Jan 25, 2010)

I agree--I think people are awful at guessing everyone's weights, frankly. Not just fatties, although people are exponentially worse at it there. When I was thin I weighed way more than I was "supposed do"...this did not help budding eating issues and terrible self esteem at the time!

Yeah, most of the time people undercut whatever gravitas they have when they are trying to describe somebody fat when they attach a number to it. "The biggest person in the whole world....wait for it...wait for it...one HUNDRED FIFTY POUNDS OMG OMG. "(It really bothers me that Wren Douglas in _Significant Others_ basically weighs 200 lbs. Doesn't fit her description.) Happens in personal ads all the time too. Also hate when Oprah talks about her weights with so much shame when you know they wouldn't be seen as so out-there if people better understood or were more honest about weight...

Meh.


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## liz (di-va) (Jan 25, 2010)

mcbeth said:


> It's ignorant.


Yeah...that's the right word.

(Agreed about King-Size Homer! Ruins some of that for me.)


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## Jigen (Jan 25, 2010)

Cors said:


> From my experience, most people are terrible at guessing a person's weight and size if they are significantly bigger or smaller than the average. I do think that it is because people have distorted ideas of what a certain weight is supposed to look like and everything else is averaged out in their minds. However, if you are at a truly extreme size (say, 70lbs or 700lbs) then people *might* exaggerate your size.



You are right, but I think the reason is the fat storage is not uniform, and varies from one person to another one.


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## Jigen (Jan 25, 2010)

mcbeth said:


> It's ignorant.




Quote. Believe me, in Italy we have been able to make even worst jokes about fat people.


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## Melian (Jan 25, 2010)

Confession: I can't guess weights, so I usually don't even dare.

A while back, I casually estimated my own husband's weight (it was relevant to the conversation) and was off by about 40 lbs....:doh:


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## Tam (Jan 25, 2010)

Most of the people think that im between 190 and 200 lbs.
A couple of guys here sent me some private messages and they told me that they thought i wasnt 223 (my weight right now).


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## Cat (Jan 26, 2010)

Maybe other people are judging weight from driver's licenses? I've been easily 100lbs shy on my license for the past....ummm...forever.


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## TallFatSue (Jan 26, 2010)

Cat said:


> Maybe other people are judging weight from driver's licenses? I've been easily 100lbs shy on my license for the past....ummm...forever.


I've always found an odd pleasure stating my actual weight on my driver's license. Sometimes I need to show a photo ID, and once in a while they catch sight of my weight and do a double take. The look is priceless, like they simply can't fathom the actual number. Once when I renewed my driver's license I heard the clerk whisper to her colleague, "I can't beleive that woman weighs 450 pounds. That can't be right." 

Kinda reminds me of an episode from the old _Get Smart_ series. Max took Hymie the Robot for a physical exam, and the doctor asked Hymie to step onto the scale.
Doctor: "982 pounds." (Pause) "Did I say 982 pounds?"
Max: "No, you said *182* pounds."


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## Ernest Nagel (Jan 26, 2010)

I think maybe it's like age - relative; "old" is always 10-15 years more than our current age. Seems fat or huge is X% more than someone's current weight? I used to joke that 'if I can pick her up I'm probably not interested in picking her up'. As my knees and I have gotten older that # has gone down a bit, I suppose? Still, _relative_.


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## thatgirl08 (Jan 26, 2010)

I always hear people talk about weight on drivers licenses but.. I don't have one on mine! I don't remember them even asking me. I asked a few of my friends and they said the same thing. Apparently NY doesn't do that?


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## Tooz (Jan 26, 2010)

thatgirl08 said:


> I always hear people talk about weight on drivers licenses but.. I don't have one on mine! I don't remember them even asking me. I asked a few of my friends and they said the same thing. Apparently NY doesn't do that?



They do not. I have one of my old licenses, there's no field for it.


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jan 26, 2010)

thatgirl08 said:


> I always hear people talk about weight on drivers licenses but.. I don't have one on mine! I don't remember them even asking me. I asked a few of my friends and they said the same thing. Apparently NY doesn't do that?



This just proves New Yorkers are smart. After all, the purpose of a driver's license is to assist in identifying the person who owns it. As this thread shows, most people cannot estimate other peoples' weights correctly. So having the person's weight on his/her license wouldn't be much help...


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## thatgirl08 (Jan 26, 2010)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> This just proves New Yorkers are smart. After all, the purpose of a driver's license is to assist in identifying the person who owns it. As this thread shows, most people cannot estimate other peoples' weights correctly. So having the person's weight on his/her license wouldn't be much help...



Also, I don't know about other states but once you're over 21 here you get a new license every 10 years.. like, someone could easily gain or lose 100 pounds in a decade.


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## Kbbig (Jan 26, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> Another example: I just finished reading "Under the Dome" (all 1,100 pages of it) by Stephen King. In it is a truly vile character by the name of Big Jim who, of course, also is fat. King describes how massive his stomach is, how fat he is, his dominating appearance behind a vast slope of belly on numerous occasions, on and on. How much does Big Jim weigh? 230 pounds.
> 
> So King, a great researcher, and an author who also wrote "Thinner" that was all about weight, apparently also has no clue how much fat people weigh.



First of all, I loooooved "Under the Dome" and think everyone who reads this comment should read the book. Very exciting and "The Stand"-like.

Second, the whole time I was reading it, I pictured Big Jim Rennie as a pretty short and squat man, with most of his weight packed into his gut. Now, I imagined him maybe closer to 250 pounds, but King's given weight still seems relatively accurate. Seeing as it was a book, I think a character's weight should and normally is left up to the reader to decide for the most part. 230, for me, was just like a suggestion.

And in response to the question, I cannot tell people's weights at all. Not even remotely. I wish I could, I guess.


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## smithnwesson (Jan 27, 2010)

Ernest Nagel said:


> Holy Toledo, I am "Guaranteed Accurate" once she's fully on top of me.


Ya beat me to it, Scott. Load yourself onto the scale, and my estimate will be accurate to +/- 5 pounds. If I'm wrong, sue me.  -Jim


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## Tina (Jan 27, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> Another example: I just finished reading "Under the Dome" (all 1,100 pages of it) by Stephen King. In it is a truly vile character by the name of Big Jim who, of course, also is fat. King describes how massive his stomach is, how fat he is, his dominating appearance behind a vast slope of belly on numerous occasions, on and on. How much does Big Jim weigh? 230 pounds.
> 
> So King, a great researcher, and an author who also wrote "Thinner" that was all about weight, apparently also has no clue how much fat people weigh.


I've had the book and it's been in the queue for a little while now and have looked forward to reading it. Been reading his work since his first novel, but I've long noticed that he seems to have a streak of fat bigot running through him, even though at times he's been a smallish BHM. Not sure how much of his work you've read, but have you noticed that his fat characters are pretty much never sympathetic or likable?

It really bothers me that someone whose work I've read and enjoyed -- and almost every single book, too -- could be so backwards in that way. Guess it goes to show that no one, given the right (or wrong) circumstances, is immune to such ignorance.


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## 99Haints (Jan 28, 2010)

Tina said:


> have you noticed that his fat characters are pretty much never sympathetic or likable?



I have noticed this. It's mostly his early stuff that I've read, but even when the fat characters are somewhat sympathetic, it's emphasis on the pathetic. The mommas' boy children from Stand By Me or It come to mind, not to mention the husband in Geralds' Game. King goes out of his way so much to make these characterizations that I've wondered if he's not just focusing his own frustrations with his weight into the writing. His killer automobiles end up with better personalities.


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## speakeasy (Jan 28, 2010)

Tina said:


> I've had the book and it's been in the queue for a little while now and have looked forward to reading it. Been reading his work since his first novel, but I've long noticed that he seems to have a streak of fat bigot running through him, even though at times he's been a smallish BHM. Not sure how much of his work you've read, but have you noticed that his fat characters are pretty much never sympathetic or likable?
> 
> It really bothers me that someone whose work I've read and enjoyed -- and almost every single book, too -- could be so backwards in that way. Guess it goes to show that no one, given the right (or wrong) circumstances, is immune to such ignorance.



I think I remember Stephen King saying in his autobiography that he weighed a little over 200 lbs before the van accident.


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## gow (Feb 3, 2010)

I cant guess weight well. I think this is why i like weigh ins so much!

Ive always liked "Larger" Women. This includes both actually literally "Larger" (Amazons and "Fat" Both,) and "Thicker" Females. Even in collegem the girl i liked was really Heavy. Not immeduately evident.. I mean, she musta been like 5ft9in (Tall for a girl?) with some nice size Arms, and a nice curvy body, little belly.. but she was HEAVY though! Like, REALLY Solid! Im STILL thinking she may have weighed around 300lbs.. I never asked nor did i ever know, nor did i ever try to lift her up or anything (I find that sexy, the size of a Woman vs the strength of a Man, usually Woman wins,) .. but yeah, she was a solid, HEAVY Girl. Musta been Bones, and compactness, as her bally didnt SEEM that big.. 

But yeah, it ALWYAS amazes me how much Weight some people Have! In a GOOD way!


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## largebob280 (Feb 5, 2010)

One thing that makes estimating someone's weight hard, especially guessing the weight of women in the U.S., is that many lie about their weight.

I remember seeing a plus-size fashion segment on a talk show many years ago, and the host was asking most of the models how tall they were, how much they weighed, and what size clothes they were wearing, so the viewers could get an idea of the women's sizes (which can be deceptive when they're the only person on camera). There was a gasp from the audience when one super-sized model said she weighed about 310 pounds. The host immediately said she didn't look that large. The fashion expert present for the segment said that one reason for the host's misjudgment is that it's not unusual for some women to say they weigh up to fifty pounds less than they actually do.

I had a personal experience with this type of deception. I was out with some friends one time about a decade ago. I don't remember how the subject got on to people's weights - I think several of us were joking about how fat we were getting - and one slightly chubby woman in the group said she was up to 145. Later, another slimmer woman in the group quietly told me she weighed 140, and the "145-pounder" had her by at least thirty pounds. Looking at the two of them side-by-side, I had to agree.


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## Lamia (Feb 6, 2010)

largebob280 said:


> I had a personal experience with this type of deception. I was out with some friends one time about a decade ago. I don't remember how the subject got on to people's weights - I think several of us were joking about how fat we were getting - and one slightly chubby woman in the group said she was up to 145. Later, another slimmer woman in the group quietly told me she weighed 140, and the "145-pounder" had her by at least thirty pounds. Looking at the two of them side-by-side, I had to agree.



It depends on how they carry the weight. The lady may have told the truth. My niece told her friend that she weighed 145 lbs and her friend couldn't believe her. The friend weighed around 130, but looked bigger because of her body type. She said she always felt like "the fat one". 

I'm not a very good judge of weight. My best friend was just down and is about 5'11 and she told me she weighed 300 lbs my mouth fell open I thought she weighed about 200. 180 maybe...she is one of those people who is "actually" big boned. 

I carry my weight evenly and I think that makes it hard for people to guess my weight, but also agree as someone posted previously sometimes people guess low to be nice. 

If someone guesses my age at 35 I then I know they're on the nose about me being 40. They're just being nice. I got carded recently and the lady really didn't believe I was 40. Made my freaking day. 

I'm 5'7 and I think when you're a little taller it's easier to look thinner than you are. I am the biggest I've ever been at 425 I am starting to look my weight I think.


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## SocialbFly (Feb 6, 2010)

I always think back to the John Cena interview and think how he at what, 268, said that this woman he went with and had a good time with, was maybe 300lbs?? i bet she was a lot bigger...like my size...and it warms my lil heart....and makes me a bit green too.


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## tonynyc (Feb 6, 2010)

SocialbFly said:


> I always think back to the John Cena interview and think how he at what, 268, said that this woman he went with and had a good time with, was maybe 300lbs?? i bet she was a lot bigger...like my size...and it warms my lil heart....and makes me a bit green too.



*D*i: :wubu: You got better "guns" than Mr. Cena :bow:


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## SocialbFly (Feb 6, 2010)

tonynyc said:


> *D*i: :wubu: You got better "guns" than Mr. Cena :bow:



hahaha, but i would love to do some push ups with him...i mean workout with him, i mean um, yeah, um, yeah....pushups....yeah...exercise...


nevermind :blush::blush::blush::blush::blush:


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## tonynyc (Feb 6, 2010)

SocialbFly said:


> hahaha, but i would love to do some push ups with him...i mean workout with him, i mean um, yeah, um, yeah....pushups....yeah...exercise...
> 
> 
> nevermind :blush::blush::blush::blush::blush:



*Y*es Mr. Cena would have to be in tip-top shape to tackle our gorgeous AMAZON of the Dims Board.... that's for sure....


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## TheIceManVer2.0 (Feb 7, 2010)

Women's weights are tricky. Its easy to assume men weigh more than they look due to usual height and muscle mass. Women's body comp can be deceiving. My ex, who weighed about 285, was regularly mistaken for about 225. She is tall, 5'8 and heavy framed and muscular. My current gf, is even tougher to peg in that respect. She's 5'4, 160. All hips,thighs. Prob has the lower body of someone who weighs closer to 200 and the upper of an avg 130 pounder. Also, not much muscle, and real squishy. Super hot to me, and even tho she isn't 100% cool w/ her body, she's starting to realize and believe that I am, so thats def made her a little more comfy. My own weight is misleading as well. I am 6'1, about 230, and have long, yet huge legs and a bigger behind. I am built kind of like a running back, all legs,shoulders and trunk. Since I dont have a big gut, and have lower body fat for a guy my weight, I look a lot lighter to most people. They usually guess about 195-200. Its true, people have no freakin idea about people's weight. Im usually pretty good (most appreciators of BBW's are), but man, sometimes people throw me off.


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## gow (Feb 7, 2010)

tonynyc said:


> *Y*es Mr. Cena would have to be in tip-top shape to tackle our gorgeous AMAZON of the Dims Board.... that's for sure....



mr. Cena would NOT continue to hold the WWE Championship if pitted against a number of our Amazon ladies. And that pat in "12 rounds," wiht the Fat guy in the old elevator: TOTAL B.S.


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## Saoirse (Feb 7, 2010)

SocialbFly said:


> I always think back to the John Cena interview and think how he at what, 268, said that this woman he went with and had a good time with, was maybe 300lbs?? i bet she was a lot bigger...like my size...and it warms my lil heart....and makes me a bit green too.



In a Howard Stern interview he said the "guys in the locker room" dared him to sleep with a fatty... so he did.


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## waynelampard (Feb 8, 2010)

Maybe you can help me figure out my current girlfriend's weight because I can't. She's 5 feet six, and wears size 24 and 3x mostly, size 10 panties. Any guesses?


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## chicken legs (Feb 8, 2010)

waynelampard said:


> Maybe you can help me figure out my current girlfriend's weight because I can't. She's 5 feet six, and wears size 24 and 3x mostly, size 10 panties. Any guesses?



low 200 to mid 200...but it really depends on how much muscle she has, if she is top heavy/bottom heavy or hourglass, etc.


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## gow (Feb 8, 2010)

chicken legs said:


> low 200 to mid 200...but it really depends on how much muscle she has, if she is top heavy/bottom heavy or hourglass, etc.



More Mid to High 2s.. If she REALLY Heavy (And she could be, Big Bones, Muscle, "Packed" etc,) it will be in the 3s! GET HER A SCALE!!!


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 8, 2010)

waynelampard said:


> Maybe you can help me figure out my current girlfriend's weight because I can't. She's 5 feet six, and wears size 24 and 3x mostly, size 10 panties. Any guesses?



I stand 5'4" tall, weigh about 260 and wear a size 24/3x. Same size panties, too, I do believe.

I'm thickest in the middle but baby's got some back here, too. 

Probably close to my own weight- with the height making the biggest difference. 275-280 maybe?

You seem intimate enough with her to know all those size details....you cannot ask her what she weighs? 

If she knows you dig the fat girls, I bet she might be more comfortable revealing her true weight to you.


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## TraciJo67 (Feb 8, 2010)

largebob280 said:


> One thing that makes estimating someone's weight hard, especially guessing the weight of women in the U.S., is that many lie about their weight.
> 
> I remember seeing a plus-size fashion segment on a talk show many years ago, and the host was asking most of the models how tall they were, how much they weighed, and what size clothes they were wearing, so the viewers could get an idea of the women's sizes (which can be deceptive when they're the only person on camera). There was a gasp from the audience when one super-sized model said she weighed about 310 pounds. The host immediately said she didn't look that large. The fashion expert present for the segment said that one reason for the host's misjudgment is that it's not unusual for some women to say they weigh up to fifty pounds less than they actually do.
> 
> I had a personal experience with this type of deception. I was out with some friends one time about a decade ago. I don't remember how the subject got on to people's weights - I think several of us were joking about how fat we were getting - and one slightly chubby woman in the group said she was up to 145. Later, another slimmer woman in the group quietly told me she weighed 140, and the "145-pounder" had her by at least thirty pounds. Looking at the two of them side-by-side, I had to agree.


 
I have a family member who weighs 138 pounds. I weigh 20+ pounds more than her. We wear the same size jeans. It is altogether possible that the 'slightly chubby' woman was telling the truth.

Personally, I think that many people are horrific at guessing weight because ... weight simply doesn't mean that much to them.


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## Geektastic1 (Feb 8, 2010)

waynelampard said:


> Maybe you can help me figure out my current girlfriend's weight because I can't. She's 5 feet six, and wears size 24 and 3x mostly, size 10 panties. Any guesses?



An ex-girlfriend of mine was exactly the same size and height, and weighed 265. How much a person weighs really depends on their bone structure and amount of muscle, so your current girlfriend might weigh something very different.


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 9, 2010)

TraciJo67 said:


> I have a family member who weighs 138 pounds. I weigh 20+ pounds more than her. We wear the same size jeans. It is altogether possible that the 'slightly chubby' woman was telling the truth.
> 
> Personally, I think that many people are horrific at guessing weight because ... weight simply doesn't mean that much to them.



At 175 lbs, I wore a size 14. The same exact size as my 145 lb mother. I'm just one inch taller than she is.....I estimated part of it to be my muscle mass due to all the walking/exercise I was doing to achieve that size.


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## desertcheeseman (Feb 13, 2010)

mcbeth said:


> Do you also remember the episode where Homer had to get up to 300 (shocking!) pounds so he could work from home because he would be too fat to go to work? That episode really pissed me off (it was when I still had a lot of work to do on my own body-image, and when I was probably over 300 myself, at 5'1"). But he had to wear a mu-mu, got turned away from the movie theater, and several other things that were pretty unrealistic for a man who's probably 5'10" and carrying that weight.
> 
> It's ignorant.



Yes, as a man who was once over 300 pounds myself, that episode never rang true to me. Another fictional weight I always thought was funny is detective Nero Wolfe's "seventh of a ton." He is described as a grotesquely huge man who never leaves his house and does nothing but eat and putter around his orchid garden. He has to have his clothes and furniture especially made for his "massive girth," and his weight is constantly made an issue of by pretty much every other character. And you know how much a seventh of a ton really is? 285 pounds. And Wolfe is 5'11". I know there were fewer obese people when those books were written, but seriously! I know people heavier than that who aren't all that big and live much more active lives. 

There should really be a guide for authors and screenwriters with descriptions of people at different heights and weights so they can get describe their obese characters right. That is, if authors and screenwriters actually cared about such things, and didn't just throw out numbers in order to sensationalize and simplify the complex and emotionally-charged issues surrounding obesity...


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## Weirdo890 (Feb 14, 2010)

Man, I'm fat myself, and I can't really guess what someone's weight is. I'm usually wrong. I once thought I was pushing 350 lbs., but I was only 300 lbs. I'm just clueless I guess.


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## LovelyLiz (Feb 17, 2010)

succubus_dxb said:


> I realllllllly don't think these girls would appreciate you posting their photos online without their knowledge! Best to take it down, perhaps...



Um....yeah... Completely agree. If one of my "friends" was to post my picture and say "Here's my fat friend, she's never had a boyfriend, just HOW FAT IS SHE?" well, I can tell you that the person would no longer be my friend.


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## TraciJo67 (Feb 17, 2010)

Well, come on. He was at least courteous enough to blacken the faces of the thinner people


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## LovelyLiz (Feb 17, 2010)

TraciJo67 said:


> Well, come on. He was at least courteous enough to blacken the faces of the thinner people



And his own (?) left nipple, apparently.


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## JMNYC (Feb 21, 2010)

You want a true hatchet job, try the late Albert Goldman's take on Elvis Presley's "obesity" and his "rolls of fat."

The King was, at best, carrying 30-40 extra pounds at his biggest.


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## midnightrogue (Feb 23, 2010)

if a woman is over 12 stone i struggle to guess her weight.

must.
do.
better.


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## Seraphina (Feb 23, 2010)

I think it can be pretty hard to guess weight. Just because there are "factors" that mean it can be hard. I mean my hubby is coming up on 200lbs and bang on 6ft but ask anyone and they think he is more like 150-160lbs and 5'8. He isn't imposing at all and he has tons of core muscle which is only really obvious with his shirt off (not ripped muscle just deep body muscle), so he's mostly in suit and tie and it makes him look much slimmer.

Some of my most amusing times have been when my mother in law has gone "Gawd you've lost weight" and I've like gained a stone or something but I've been tired and my face has been really drawn. I think it's much easier to think someone is a lot heavier if their face is fat but then again there are medications that do that and actually you can be really light and just have a fat face.

All in all I'm useless at telling someone's weight unless it's someone I know well and I know what their ballpark is normally. I tend to think weight says very little about someone's form, one weight can look really fat on one person and just chubby on another.


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## Weeze (Feb 23, 2010)

My drum instructors are great... but clueless. He thought i'd be able to fit into a size... Large... underarmor shirt.... No. It was thoughtful, I guess, the way he ordered it... but i couldn't get the pants up my thighs, or the shirt over my head.


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## KittyKitten (Mar 5, 2010)

Webmaster said:


> It's really weird how most non-fat people have very little sense of weight.
> 
> Years ago, Michael Landon was on the Johnny Carson show and they talked about "Hoss," the late Dan Blocker, a BHM who with Landon played one of the Cartwright brothers on the show "Bonanza." Carson goes, "Big guy, must have been, what? 250?" Landon smiles and says, "You're missing a hundred pounds of that action, Johnny."
> 
> ...


*
That is so definitely true, people are shocked when I tell them how much I weigh. They think I am under 200lbs or about 170lbs. But I'm really 220lbs! I wear a size 18 but people think I'm a 12/14! The fat in my body is more and compact--I am about the size of Toccara or Jennifer Hudson. I have a tight muscle structure and I'm an hourglass so it is difficult to guess my weight. *


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## verucassault (Mar 6, 2010)

i agree most peopel have no concept of weight, and it gets worse as the weight gets higher. i once applied for a position with the UN and on the application was the field for weight. there was NO WAY i was going to put 293 pounds in that box. not because i am embarassed but if i wrote that, they would totally skew my appearance and assume a boat of load of things about me. i have asked people how much they thought i weighed...and i am sure some may have been trying to be kind. but all were totally off the mark. if its over 200 lbs its inconcievable to alot of people.


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## verucassault (Mar 6, 2010)

midnightrogue said:


> if a woman is over 12 stone i struggle to guess her weight.
> 
> must.
> do.
> better.



i lived in london for 3 years, stones just confound me. now in germany i am suppose to adapt to kilos, nah, f**k those too. LOL


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## Ruby Ripples (Mar 6, 2010)

verucassault said:


> i lived in london for 3 years, stones just confound me. now in germany i am suppose to adapt to kilos, nah, f**k those too. LOL



I'm guessing you are American ...


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## verucassault (Mar 9, 2010)

Ruby Ripples said:


> I'm guessing you are American ...



haha yes, i cant wrap my mind around either stones or kilo. even with fast little formulas, have the same issue with cm and km bah
i do have a conversion application on my mobile though, so in a crunch i can sort it


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