Why do you want to be thinner?

Princess Peach · 03-04-2012 01:08AM #1

Sooo much talk of weight loss and diets in the Ladies Lounge. What your goal weight is, how many points you ate today, you want a takeaway but you can;t have it, you had a takeaway and now feel guilty.

What are your reasons to want to lose weight? Is it to be healthier because you believe you are overweight, is it because you feel unhappy with how you look, do you compare yourself to other girls?

Beauty is a lot more than weight, and more women need to realise this. I'm not saying eating healthy and exercise is bad, but who cares if you want a slice of cake, gain a couple of pounds here and there. We need to learn to love our bodies for what they are, and not worry constantly about changing them to fit into what society "expects."

I give this advice and ask these questions as a girl who has an unhealthy obsession with food and diets and body image. Not sure if I will ever recover but I'm trying. And I spent far too much time worrying about weight when I should have been enjoying life. Its an easy habit to fall into, even to just a small extent. Try and take note of how often food/diet/weight/put downs come up in your conversations and thoughts, especially with other women.

Babybuff · 03-04-2012 01:40AM

Princess Peach wrote: »

Sooo much talk of weight loss and diets in the Ladies Lounge. What your goal weight is, how many points you ate today, you want a takeaway but you can;t have it, you had a takeaway and now feel guilty.

What are your reasons to want to lose weight? Is it to be healthier because you believe you are overweight, is it because you feel unhappy with how you look, do you compare yourself to other girls?

Beauty is a lot more than weight, and more women need to realise this. I'm not saying eating healthy and exercise is bad, but who cares if you want a slice of cake, gain a couple of pounds here and there. We need to learn to love our bodies for what they are, and not worry constantly about changing them to fit into what society "expects."

I give this advice and ask these questions as a girl who has an unhealthy obsession with food and diets and body image. Not sure if I will ever recover but I'm trying. And I spent far too much time worrying about weight when I should have been enjoying life. Its an easy habit to fall into, even to just a small extent. Try and take note of how often food/diet/weight/put downs come up in your conversations and thoughts, especially with other women.

My body is my temple

cheesy I know but I'm fairly conscious of what I put into it but only because I developed digestive problems in my late twenties and it got to the point where I was unable to eat very much without food causing pain. Consequently I lost a lot of weight and at that point I became unhappy with my body. I lost more than fat, I lost a lot of muscle tissue and was very very weak, I had no tone and I looked like a saggy used shopping bag so I started looking into developing strength and building my self esteem again.
I used to be competitively athletic up until my mid/late teens and I missed it, the pma, the physical strength and how I felt about myself so I started on a road to regain some of that and started with weight training. At the same time I began learning how to feed my body right and educated myself nutritionally.

I do eat cake occasionally

even though it's bad for me and I would probably have to take painkillers after it but I enjoy the feeling I get from eating right and working out too. My body is not exactly ms universe type of stuff (and it never will be) but I like having goals and aside from everything else, I'd like to be able to use it for another while yet.

tldr: I wouldnt care if I was 12st and fit, as long as I felt good about myself

Sparklebutt · 03-04-2012 01:45AM

Even though I could stand to lose some weight I've always been healthy. I want to continue being healthy and as I get older, I feel like it's just a matter of time until my poor choices catch up with me.

Plus I'd like to feel like I'm hot! :pac:

Fiona · 03-04-2012 06:44AM

I just want to be fit and healthy. Plus it would be nice to be able to be comfortable in clothes and not bet into them

Das Kitty · 03-04-2012 08:47AM

Since I was about 16 I had always wanted to be thinner. At that time I did compare myself to other girls, I was a 12 and they were a 10. I felt fat. I put on a lot of weight when I moved out of home and was up to a size 18 by the time I was 22. I got back to a size 14 and stayed around that mark until I got pregnant at 29. It was after I had the baby that I was diagnosed with depression and started seeing a therapist.

It wasn't until I was done seeing the therapist that I realised that I was happy with how I looked. I was a size 16 and three stone overweight but it didn't bother me anymore and I didn't worry about it. Then I decided that I'd like to get to a healthy BMI and I found that it is actually easy when you like yourself and are kind to yourself.

I always thought that I'd be happy if I was thinner, turns out I was able to be thinner because I was happy.

The reasons I wanted to lose weight are as follows in no particular order:
- To get the most out of my body, I plan on needing it for a long time.
- I didn't want to be thought of as fat anymore (by myself or anyone else). I don't want to be conspicuous for my weight.
- I want to be desired, most people do.
- I want to see an outfit on someone and think that I could wear that.
- I no longer want to start sentences with "If I was slimmer..."

Dunno if any of this answers your question PP...

rainbow kirby · 03-04-2012 09:03AM

Dropping from my current 68kg to around 60-62kg will help me in terms of hitting my goal for the year of a 1:45 half-marathon. :pac:

ihsb · 03-04-2012 09:43AM

I am a 12, I was an 8 around two years ago after a tough breakup I put all my energy into working out and eating healthy. I was no happier with my body then as I am now. In fact I look back and I wish I had noticed how slim I was.

I was deffo not unhealthy but when I put some of the weight back on, I happened to be a my doctors. She told me I looked much better with meat on my bones. That has stuck with me.

I fluctuate. I hate gyms, but I go the odd time. I do pilates and burlesque classes every week and also go to the odd salsa class. It is fun, you meet people and without you noticing it tones you up.

Thats what it is for me. I eat all the things I shouldn't in moderation, but if I am healthy enough, and toned I really don't care what my size is. I dress to what suits my shape at that time and it works for me.

wivy · 03-04-2012 09:47AM

Sparklebutt wrote: »

Plus I'd like to feel like I'm hot! :pac:

Snap. I just feel so much more confident when I'm in good shape and toned up. I recently saw some pics of myself where I'd put on a bit of weight and it really really got me down...
have been tryin to tone up since and it really is a huge confidence booster.. esp when you get compliments from guys.. I know that could sound really shallow but I really feel how I look is strongly correlated with my self-esteem and my confidence.

Stench Blossoms · 03-04-2012 09:55AM

I had a health check in work and was told that if I put on another pound I'd be borderline overweight. I think that was the beginning of my downfall. (To be fair, I wasn't overweight. I was a size 10 at 5'1)

I stopped eating crap food and ya know what, I'm a much healthier weight and a lot fitter but all I think about now is food and training.

My life is now consumed with how many calories are in food. I feel a bit sick when I look at people who could do with losing a few lbs tucking into a cake or bar everyday of the week. It's their bodies and they can eat what they want but it's just this niggling feeling I have.

dearg lady · 03-04-2012 09:59AM

I'm lucky to be quite slim, but I always wanted to lose weight, I never felt thin enough. A few years ago I started dieting and lost half a stone, I felt that I looked amazing but I didn't like myself, I felt guilty with practically every mouthful of food I ate. This was very strange for me, I've always enjoyed food. Anyway, I decided it wasn't worth it, and I stopped 'dieting' but I do like being healthy, so my diet overall is quite good, but it always had been, and I was healthy before, I just wanted to be skinnier because I thought it was more beautiful!
I exercise regularly but that has nothing to do with losing weight, the more I burn, the more I eat anyway

I'm finally, age 28, beginning to like and accept my body. I still have good days and bad days, but I know I'll look back in 10 years time and think wow I looked amazing then, so I'm trying to appreciate it now, instead of beating myself up about it!

cynder · 03-04-2012 10:09AM

I was a size 8/10 and 32a boobs and I was 8 stone up until I had my daughter 12 years ago at the age of 19. I went up to a size 12 34b boobs after I had her and people commented on how healthy I looked. ( I used to be very scrawny) At 25 I had my next baby and he was 5 weeks premature I lost the weight within 2 weeks, 7 months later I was pregnant again after he was born I was 10 stone 5. I gained 2 stone over the last 5 years but remained a size 14 but last year I did buy a few size 16 items.

At Christmas I got the flu and lost 5lb and that kick started my diet. Since then I lost 2stone however I did put on 2lb last week... I've started walking 10k once a week and doing 5 k twice or more a week. I now fit into size 12s. Am I happy YES, however I do feel guilty if I have an ice cream or cake. I start kickboxing this evening always wanted to do that but with the excess weight I never took it up.

Why did I lose the weight? I felt like it, no because the media said I was fat but I just got a notion after I lost weight with the flu and kept it up. I tried dieting before but never lost more than 6 pounds and I accepted that I was meant to be built that way.

I was out walking on Sunday and someone beeped going past me, I took it they were beeping at my fine figure. Tbh I have no idea why they beeped but it's a nice thought......

I'm now walking 10k in under 1 hour and 30 mins....

cremeeggeater · 03-04-2012 10:13AM

Fitness is the main reason for me. I don't care what weight I am provided its nicely toned muscle.

I have terrible eating habits and lately I've been uping my exercise to try and achieve my ideal body. I'm a long way off but hopefully I'll see improvement soon and I'll gain more confidence if I'm happy with my body

Mollyd90 · 03-04-2012 10:29AM

I want more energy, feel better about myself, be healthier as I get older, be able to buy nicer clothes.
Being 5ft 1 and a size 16/18 I find it hard to buy nice clothes. on top of trying to get clothes that suit my body type I have to think about back fat, muffin top etc. Being top heavy I'm supposed to buy tailored, fitted clothes on top which is hard to find when the majority of clothes are made for pear shaped thin women. Also when you get to a size 18 clothes get a lot longer which is no help to a short person like me.. love to know why clothes manufacturer thinks only tall people are fat?

03-04-2012 10:31AM

I don't necessarily want to be skinny. But I do want to be thinner definitely. It's not to do with health in all honesty. I'm relatively healthy. I eat well, I don't smoke, I exercise very regularly for the mostpart. But I eat too way much - I just love food!!! I am very conscious of cellulite and stretchmarks. I've a half decent shape, thankfully, hips, boobs, small waist. I just wouldn't mind it being more toned and having less cellulite - that would automatically take me down a stone I reckon and I think I would be happy enough with that.

I wouldn't mind being overweight if I was 95% happy with my body - whatever size that may be - but I'm not, not by a longshot. I am learning to be less self conscious and as I get older that gets easier.

I totally agree though, we are too hard on ourselves, men and women alike, most of us will always find something to dislike when other people don't even notice it!

What bugs the crap out of me though, is that, why, if I'm so unhappy with my body, is it so difficult for me just to cop on and sort it out? It really gets to me and yet I'll continue to go on like this forever no doubt!

Michellenman · 03-04-2012 10:31AM

I'm the happiest with my figure than I think I've ever been before in my life.
I moved abroad to France nearly 18 months ago and tbh, student meals of pasta and rice and all the lovely french bread really caught up with me. I gained about half a stone and in total cliché'd manner it went straight on to my thighs and stomach. I was bloated and uncomfortable and frankly, I couldn't really stand to look at myself. I was constantly trying to hold my stomach in or to stand in such a way to make me look my slimmest. I got home for Christmas and some pictures taken over that time were real eye openers for me. It was those picturs and someone repeatedly calling me 'chubby' that were my motivation.

When I retured to France that january I stopped buying Bread, pasta, rice and cous cous. Within days I'd lost all the bloaty water weight and within 3 months I'd lost about 22lbs. Did I do it healthily? No. Not at all. Upon returning to Ireland for good I began to put some of the weight I'd lost back on, living at home again meant my unhealthy means of weight loss weren't going to fly with my eagle eye'd mother. As a result, I've had to readjust everything. Now my diet is (fairly) clean. I still don't eat a whole load of starchy carbs because I think I'd be ill if I did tbh. But I've taken my exercising to the next level to compensate for any diet mishaps I may have. I box once a week, strength train 3 times a week and run about 24km each week too. I've got my first 5km race this friday

Exercise has been my saviour. It clears my head and relaxes me. It lifts me out of a funk if I'm not feeling great and it makes me smile when I see just what my body is capable of and what more it could be capable of. Motivating myself to do it isn't always easy but the sense of accomplishment of lifting heavier or running 5km faster than the last time is unbelievable.

I don't want to be skinny, I like my shape. I want to stay the size I am now. I've got boobs and a small waist and hips and I'm toning up nicely. What I do want is to be faster physically and stronger physically and mentally. I want to improve my physique and treat my body like I'd want to be treated by a friend. And exercise and diet are, for me, the way to do that.

Daisies · 03-04-2012 10:48AM

Again, I'm a person who doesn't want to be skinny. I want to be more toned. I know deep down inside that I am never going to be smaller than my current size ten as I have big hips and shoulders and to be honest I don't want to be smaller. What I do want to be is more toned. I want to be able to wear jeans without seeing a muffin top, wear shorts on holidays and have less wobbly thighs.

I was travelling and I put on a stone in Australia (thanks to Tim Tams, beer and goon) and felt ugly all the time. Spending a lot of time in skimpy summer clothes and bikinis does not help with that matter. When I arrived home and started puting on clothes that fitted me before I left and were now too tight was a kick in the a$$ I needed to look at my lifestyle.

I've never been skinny, all through secondary school I was heavier than my friends and I was too shy to have the personality to compensate for it and make myself seem self confident. For the past 3 months I've been watching what I eat, exercising (semi) regularly and feel much better for it. This weekend was my sister's 21st and I saw people I went to school with who I probably haven't seen in 6 years. I got compliments for the first time in my life about how I looked (from people who aren't friends or family) and I realised that I look (and feel) healthier. I'm happier in my own skin and I realise that I can still eat treats just not EVERY day, I can still go for drinks but just cut back on the beer (hello vodka

)

Morag · 03-04-2012 10:56AM

l want more clothes to fit me.
Ok I know clothes sizes are absurd and even if I did loose the mammy belly which currently stops so many pairs of trousers fitting right or more tops being an option I know there are would be still issues with my wide torso but I would have a lot more options with clothes.
I also want to be fitter and more active with my kids.

I have never been happy with my shape or size except for a brief 6 months and then I got pregnant and have not been happy after that due to weight gained from depression.

My lack of confidence in my shape/size goes back to when I was about 11 and was enrolled in a dance class, one of the instructors made a comment about young girls growing from cygnets to swans and that some unfortunately turn into elephants. She meant me, I had a broad build and looking back, I wasn't a baby elephant, I had just put on the puppy fat the some prepubescent girls do. But I came out the other size with more curves then a swan would ever had and the rest of the classes didn't and I quit the classes and figured if I was going to be an elephant I would stamp about and not care.

Which pretty much was how i felt/ignored my size and shape for years. But I figure I have another 30+ years in this body and it's not getting any younger so I have to try and get it into good nick so it will last me.

LenaClaire · 03-04-2012 11:34AM

I am never going to be skinny and I accept this. My shoulders and rib-cage are very broad (my doctor said my lungs are 30% larger than most women) and I have a very large bust line but my hips are normal. My tops are always a couple sizes larger than my pants due to this.

When I am at the thinnest my body can go with out starving I am still only down to about a size 10. I am not sure if it is due to lots of dance and martial arts when I was younger or due to all the steroids I took for asthma but I am very muscular for my size.

I want to get down to a size 12 for several reasons. I feel better at that weight. I have more energy and I have more confidence. I want to be able to buy clothes and not worry about how my tummy looks or how my arms look. It is also hard to find clothes that are not clothes for old women when you get to a certain size and it is really frustrating. And I also just don't want to be the fat one in all the photos.

So 50% health and 50% just feeling gross and unattractive for getting this big.

Princess Peach · 03-04-2012 12:05PM

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

I had a health check in work and was told that if I put on another pound I'd be borderline overweight. I think that was the beginning of my downfall. (To be fair, I wasn't overweight. I was a size 10 at 5'1)

I stopped eating crap food and ya know what, I'm a much healthier weight and a lot fitter but all I think about now is food and training.

My life is now consumed with how many calories are in food. I feel a bit sick when I look at people who could do with losing a few lbs tucking into a cake or bar everyday of the week. It's their bodies and they can eat what they want but it's just this niggling feeling I have.

Do you think you would be happier if food was not such an obsession for you?

Stench Blossoms · 03-04-2012 12:14PM

Princess Peach wrote: »

Do you think you would be happier if food was not such an obsession for you?

For sure. I was happy out going to the gym and not really being bothered about how many calories I was consuming before the nurse told me I was getting overweight.

dearg lady · 03-04-2012 12:17PM

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

For sure. I was happy out going to the gym and not really being bothered about how many calories I was consuming before the nurse told me I was getting overweight.

It seems bizarre that you would be overweight at a size 10, may I ask what she was basing this on? Some measures are so rough, they can be incorrect...

wivy · 03-04-2012 12:55PM

BMI - Body Mass Index

Stench Blossoms · 03-04-2012 12:56PM

dearg lady wrote: »

It seems bizarre that you would be overweight at a size 10, may I ask what she was basing this on? Some measures are so rough, they can be incorrect...

BMI.

^^^ and that one up there would have put me at the higher end of normal.

g'em · 03-04-2012 01:00PM

Ugh, BMI is a guideline that's useful for a lot of people but it can be taken with a pinch of salt in a lot of cases.

The hip:waist ratio is a much healthier guide.

beeftotheheels · 03-04-2012 01:00PM

wivy wrote: »

Is the apricot underweight or the white? I think the apricot but then I don't see why white needs to be a different color.

dearg lady · 03-04-2012 01:02PM

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

BMI.

I thought as much. Well I would tend to take BMI with a pinch of salt, it can be useful, but there's so many factors it doesn't take into account. I have quite a number of healthy friends who would be in the 'underweight' category.

I'm no expert so I wouldn't give advice, but there's so many different measures, I wouldn't rely solely on BMI!

dearg lady · 03-04-2012 01:03PM

g'em wrote: »

Ugh, BMI is a guideline that's useful for a lot of people but it can be taken with a pinch of salt in a lot of cases.

The hip:waist ratio is a much healthier guide.

ha, how funny that we both used 'pinch of salt' expression in reference to BMI. I don't even like salt! :P

Stench Blossoms · 03-04-2012 01:05PM

dearg lady wrote: »

I thought as much. Well I would tend to take BMI with a pinch of salt, it can be useful, but there's so many factors it doesn't take into account. I have quite a number of healthy friends who would be in the 'underweight' category.

I'm no expert so I wouldn't give advice, but there's so many different measures, I wouldn't rely solely on BMI!

Oh yeah I know it's not an accurate measurement but it was just being told, by a health 'professional' that I needed to lose weight that got me worrying about calories etc.

dearg lady · 03-04-2012 01:08PM

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Oh yeah I know it's not an accurate measurement but it was just being told, by a health 'professional' that I needed to lose weight that got me worrying about calories etc.

Yeah, it's pretty poor form, and honestly laziness on the part of the professional too, to just rely on this one measurement, which is well known to be a very basic guideline.
I hope you're not too stressed about calories, it sucks worrying about everything you eat.

Stench Blossoms · 03-04-2012 01:13PM

dearg lady wrote: »

Yeah, it's pretty poor form, and honestly laziness on the part of the professional too, to just rely on this one measurement, which is well known to be a very basic guideline.
I hope you're not too stressed about calories, it sucks worrying about everything you eat.

Ya know, I'm pretty sure the worrying about calories is down to some sort of control issues I have.

I find it very hard though to not count calories and don't really like eating food that don't have an obvious calories content. Mainly because it was eating these foods that made me a little pudgy in the first place.

Princess Peach · 03-04-2012 01:13PM

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Oh yeah I know it's not an accurate measurement but it was just being told, by a health 'professional' that I needed to lose weight that got me worrying about calories etc.

One of the things that spurred me on was after I had been sick a few months and lost a lot of weight very unhealthily, and afterwards started on the pill, my doctor told me to watch my weight as I was slightly overweight.

If I remember correctly I was living off fruit and energy drinks at the time! But it was her first time weighing me and she never asked any questions, just said it.

Why do you want to be thinner?

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