Search Results: am i overweight for my height

I really want to know the answer to this question. It's really frustrating for me. I'm 5'3, about 176, and I 26 years old but I can do so many more things than my smaller friends. I just hiked up a trail in the Smokey Mountains that was 2.5 miles to a waterfall. I turned around a 2 miles because I got scare of the heights (extreme fear) but my friend is who is 5'9, 140, and 26 had to stop and rest every few minutes because she kept running out of breath. She went through two water bottles. One of them was supposed to be mine, but I didn't need it. I ended up leaving her behind when we walked back down the trail, which should have been faster, but I still ended up waiting 10 minutes for her to make to the bottom and she was so tired that I had to drive us back. This is the same friend who went to the gym with me to do the elliptical with me at the gym and dies after 5 minutes. I can do between 15-20 minutes.

This is really frustrating for two reasons. First, I know I'm overweight, but I go to the gym, workout, and I played soccer for 16 years, more than she ever did, but I guess her metabolism is just faster because we eat the same. Yet, everyone finds her more attractive than they do me. Part of it's that she's blonde with green eyes and tall. I'm short, black, kinda lighter, with black hair and brown eyes... no stand out colors at all. It's just annoying. Second, I also know, based on what my doctor and trainer have told me, I will probably never weigh under 150 because I want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. In order for me to be under 150, I would have to lose muscle, too, which I don't want to do. So why do men want someone small and out of shape? Why is that attractive? Wouldn't you want someone who's healthier?

So normally I wouldn't post something like this, I don't really believe that I should need the validation of others to think that I am beautiful. However, I recently broke up with my boyfriend of two years and I have been feeling really down on myself. Not because I think I screwed up, (I definitely made the right decision on that one) but because being in a relationship gave me a sense of security knowing that somebody loved me and the way I looked, and now I don't have that anymore. I constantly find myself sitting in front of the mirror picking apart every little flaw that I have. I have an hourglass shape and I am pretty proportionate, but I am overweight for my height (I am 5'1 and 115 pounds). most of that weight sits on my ass and I have stretch marks all over my upper thigh stopping right before my butt. I also have stretch marks I got in middle school on my boobs but those have gone away over time (That's what happens when you go from an A to a D in a year Cx). I have super chubby cheeks and a lot of times I get mistaken for a being much younger than I actually am because of it. My nose is HUGE and I am also starting to get a double chin because of staring down at my laptop gaming all day haha. I am a natural blonde but I dye my hair dark because I have naturally dark eyebrows and everyone always comments on it. All I guess I really need are some words of encouragement. And I am honestly tired of dyeing my hair. Do you think I look better as a blonde or brunette? Thanks a ton! (And sorry I took the Blonde picture when I was 16 the last time I was blonde which is why it looks younger.)