The “Big Bone” Myth

The excuse, “I’m Big Boned” just doesn’t fly with me.

Sure, some people are wider or narrower, but when it comes to your actual bones, the issue is body fat, not the size of your bones.

True story. Years ago, I worked with a woman who was about 5′5″ and 175 pounds. She looked, what you would traditionally call, big boned.

Her 19-year-old daughter was home from school during winter break, and came in wearing this great looking, very small, overcoat. She asks her mom “Who’s is this? I love it!

Her mother, my 175 pound client says, “Oh honey, that was mine before you were born.”

The daughter, FY!, was also 5′5″ and about 120 pounds. The coat it her perfectly AND had fit her mother perfectly 50+ pounds ago.

The mother was not big boned. She was overweight.

I had the same thing happen with a former student when I taught class years ago. She totally looked, what you would call “athletic” like some of the female gymnasts (who i happen to think are overweight and pounding their bodies) of today.

About two years later, I see her in the strength training room, NOT the cardio room, and she has this lean, ballet dancer like body. I go up to her and say, “sorry to bother you, but do you remember me from class? you look amazing.”

She told me people used to tell her she was big boned or athletic or some other PC word for overweight. Her wrists were tiny. This was a small woman. She was just carrying around too much weight.

Hope this makes that issue clear.

Jim