My legs aren't fat, I have lipoedema.....

R.D. aka MR.D

Hi everyone,

So one of my guilty pleasures is reading the Mail Online

I saw a very interesting article though:
http://www.lipoedema.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Daily-Mail.jpg

(Sorry, I can't find the proper link)
EDIT: heres the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2791475/when-pear-shape-figure-medical-problem-liposuction-make-worse.html

More info here:
http://www.lipoedema.co.uk/about-lipoedema/


Now, I'm a size 6 on top and 8 on the bottom because my legs are fat. My mum has always had big legs and I inherited them but it seems like it might be a medical condition.

I hate my legs, no matter what I do, they stay 'fat'.


It's weird, I'd always thought that it was just bad luck and maybe someday I'd lose enough weight and they would get better because my aunt is very slim and her legs aren't bad.

Now that I've found this out, I'm not sure how to feel about it......


What do you all make of this?

Rachiee

Maybe look up body dismorphia too. Its normal for people to differ in one size between top and bottom. Womens bodies often store fat around the hips and bottom naturally.
I don't want to get at you but your post absolutely breaks my heart you are categorically not fat,stop calling yourself names x

R.D. aka MR.D

Rachiee wrote: »

Maybe look up body dismorphia too. Its normal for people to differ in one size between top and bottom. Womens bodies often store fat around the hips and bottom naturally.
I don't want to get at you but your post absolutely breaks my heart you are categorically not fat,stop calling yourself names x

Oh that's a really sweet post, thank you.

Maybe I should have picked better words but I actually don't know how to describe my legs. They are soft and big. They don't fit my body in a way. I used to be overweight but now I am a very healthy weight (5'6 and 130lbs). I know that i'm not fat overall.

The lipoedema seems to describe them perfectly because my legs bruise very easily, too.

LegacyUser

Oh my god, I’ve never heard of this but it actually describes me really well too My legs have always been massive and I always thought I just wasn’t trying hard enough to lose weight. When I was 14 I was thin enough that you could see my ribs between my breasts but even then my thighs were huge and looked like they belonged to someone else’s body. What made it harder is that my mam and my sisters are a completely different shape to me, with thin legs, but one of my aunts is like me.

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

Now that I've found this out, I'm not sure how to feel about it......

What do you all make of this?

I don’t know how to feel about it either. I suppose in a way it’s good to know that it may not be my fault that I have horrible legs, but then on the other hand it means that there isn’t anything I can do about it...

Mars Bar

Did you do weights when you lost weight? Some toning up might help.

R.D. aka MR.D

Mars Bar wrote: »

Did you do weights when you lost weight? Some toning up might help.

That is what I think is so interesting about this lipoedema thing. I'm super into cycling and running. I used to do a lot of swimming. I even have abs and very toned upper arms (no bingo wings ). I could never understand why my legs weren't changing.

R.D. aka MR.D

fatlegs wrote: »

I don’t know how to feel about it either. I suppose in a way it’s good to know that it may not be my fault that I have horrible legs, but then on the other hand it means that there isn’t anything I can do about it...

That's exactly how I feel. It's almost like the loss of hope......

Mars Bar

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

That is what I think is so interesting about this lipoedema thing. I'm super into cycling and running. I used to do a lot of swimming. I even have abs and very toned upper arms (no bingo wings ). I could never understand why my legs weren't changing.

Well I'm at a loss then and I'm super jealous of your lack of bingo wings!

R.D. aka MR.D

Mars Bar wrote: »

Well I'm at a loss then and I'm super jealous of your lack of bingo wings!

Eek, i know this is off topic but something that I started doing really helped my arms: i have two 2lb weights that i keep in my bathroom and usually everyday(sometimes i skip when busy) before i get into the shower i do various arm exercises for about 5-10mins.

ceadaoin.

Size 8 legs aren't fat! It's pretty common for women to be different sizes on their top and bottom halves.


Even the woman in the article you linked doesn't look out of proportion. Maybe it's because she is wearing a loose top but she looks the same size all over

The pictures that show up when you google it look very abnormal and swollen and not just a bit bigger than the top half.

Maybe book an appointment with your GP and see what they think.

Lalealea

There are other symptoms too.

Personally I think this sounds more like body image issues.

The google pics look like it would be obvious.

Maybe go to your GP. And you can talk about general health and your mindset about your body while you are there. Your gp is the best port of call whether it be to do with body image or something else.

--LOS--

You can't go down that line of thinking, you really shouldn't anyway. We inherit all kinds of things that you can't change, whether you want to put a name on one of those things like 'lipoedema' is irrelevant. I could say I have the same thing although I've never considered it in medical terms because it doesn't impact my health, can't say I've much considered it at all other than just an observance, no matter what weight I am my ankles have that kind of fatty thing you're talking about, I can see other family members are the same, and I'm fairly skinny and tall so I know it doesn't change but it also isn't noticeable to other people because of that. People are all shapes and sizes, partly due to genetics, you can't get hung up on something you can't change, you are an especially shitty person if you attack someone for something they can't change imo, so similarly, don't abuse yourself in the same way! Seriously don't go down that self-hatred route. So maybe the article has made you realise maybe this is one of those things you can't change, so instead of focusing on the loss of hope, maybe you should take some comfort from the fact, and accept it, you don't have to like it but you don't have to actively dislike it either, ya know? My Dad has such skinny ankles and I've often jokingly said why did I not get his ankles and I really like defined legs on other people, I enjoy a spot of leg creeping on the bike but hey that's time better spent than engaging in negative dialogue with yourself