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Waist measurement - hidden flaw?

LittleGreyCat

LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Looking down at my belly in the shower this morning, it looked to be sticking out a bit.
I stretched up and my belly slimmed up a bit.

Then I thought how when I do a Yoga class I come out about half an inch taller.
I can tell this because I have to adjust the rear view mirrot in the car.

So waist measurement will be a good approximate guide, but can be affected by posture and tiredness.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
Looking down at my belly in the shower this morning, it looked to be sticking out a bit.
I stretched up and my belly slimmed up a bit.

Then I thought how when I do a Yoga class I come out about half an inch taller.
I can tell this because I have to adjust the rear view mirrot in the car.

So waist measurement will be a good approximate guide, but can be affected by posture and tiredness.
Click to expand...
it has been said. as if you no longer can see the feet when standing up.looking down you have a problem.
 
LittleGreyCat said:
Looking down at my belly in the shower this morning, it looked to be sticking out a bit.
I stretched up and my belly slimmed up a bit.

Then I thought how when I do a Yoga class I come out about half an inch taller.
I can tell this because I have to adjust the rear view mirrot in the car.

So waist measurement will be a good approximate guide, but can be affected by posture and tiredness.
Click to expand...

Not to mention often folks (men and women) actually measure the wrong place, then you got into "natural" waist and "high" waist discussions.

Like all metrics there will be those for whom they never work.
 
Since losing weight my stomach/waist area is very flabby - so my waist measurement varies significantly by whether they measure loosely or pull the tape in.

If I could afford a tummy tuck I'd suddenly have a healthy waist to hip measurement without losing any fat.
 
I'm a bit OCD about waist and hips measurement, and tracking my waist height ratio. So I got excited when seeing this thread title.

The hips of course - is your belly. And that, in my experience, is the measurement that fluctuates the most with daily food (yoga, posture, fatigue etc?) and so on. I think that is why it's the waist measurement that is used for the w/h ratio, as it is way more consistent. (That is certainly my experience.)

As for where your waist is. I poured over descriptions of where to measure for this, with centimetres over under your belly button and so on. I do believe those descriptions are meant for the males amongst us :) . Because once you get a waist again (I did not have a see-able waist for decades), as a woman, it is incredibly obvious where it is. Or, I remember back in my youth for fitting Levis, seeing it described as the smallest measurement, which makes sense for clothes fitting. (And where your various organs are?) The hips/belly measurement is the largest part - again - very sensible when thinking about and measuring bodies for clothes. (And where the bulk of your digestive system is? Correct me if I have my body stuff wrong...)

It worked perfectly for ordering clothes online during the lockdowns, for sure.

When tracking my waist and hips/belly, I only measure first thing in the morning, before coffee and certainly before food, at the same time as my Fasting Blood Glucose. If I am keeping an eye on my blood pressure, this is when I take a baseline reading for that too.

As for height - stick to the one in your passport? As that is probably the one that measured your spine in all its glory, upright, etc etc.
 
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