Weight

[almaty 19]

i've dated both. the skinny ones couldn't get a grip on themselves. the bigger ones are much sweeter.

ah my friend..the other side of the coin..the closer to the bone the sweeter the meat....

i am just joking..that is an old saying............i think a person's body is their very own private issue .........i known some women and men who were a perfect specimen and unhappy with themselves as they were never able to get beyond a physical aspect of their lives..and some obese people who were happy and okay with themselves and who they are..as george harrison said " it's all in the head,, you know"

[Chicken_Little 0]

My cousin's wife told me a story. She was in Mexico shortly after giving birth to her third child. She was feeling a bit chubby, as she had not yet lost the baby weight.

She noticed that man after man kept coming up to her and hitting on her. Finally she asked, "There are loads of skinnier girls around -- why not hit on them, instead of a chunky girl like me?"

The man she asked grinned at her and winked before explaining, "Bone is for the dog, meat is for the man!"

She told me that story and it's been my motto every since. Whenever I fret that my butt's too big, I tell myself that.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Whenever I fret that my butt's too big...

...there's almost no such thing.

[Aymerlu 3]

I think many americans are over weighted because healthy food is much more expensive, and if you don't have much income you can't affrod eating healthy or having many fruits/veggies in your diet. Also fast food places are so convinient here, especially with drive throughs available and hamburgers are really cheap, so people buy them. A lot. And do you know how many calories are in these hamburgers? It's crazy...

VERY TRUE. I've been doing the healthy thing with fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc, and my food bill has tripled!

[Fandango 1,439]

Oh man do I have a lot to say!

My family is obsessed with weight. Seriously. I remember when I was 12 I wanted to go to summer camp....well I did! My parents sent me to a camp for kids with eating disorders, lol. It was about a week before I figured it out, hahahaha. I was about 15 pounds overweight, lol. Don't get me wrong....it was a GREAT camp & I loved it...lived in a dorm..my own bathroom, etc....I asked to be sent back the year later.

Thus began my great love affair with superficiality....I am 5'6, medium frame...and up until my accident, I weighed 123 pounds. I went to the gym 3 hours a day, every day. I never ate bad things or drank alcohol...I'd wake up at 5 to go to the gym. I married a bodybuilder & we 'worked out' for fun. All my friends were bodybuilding men & very fit hot women. I didn't associate with anyone else, because my life was all about my lifestyle. Everything was about image. Well, in south florida, that's not too hard, but, whatever....

I was always told I was pretty...not a day went by when someone wouldn't comment on me in some way. I could talk my way out of any ticket, never waited on a line, had people always wanna be my friend. Seriously, I had ppl blow sunshine up my ### 24/7. I didn't realize it at the time, but I bought into it hook line & sinker & all these people would feed this self-image that I had that was dangerously teetering on oblivion.

Then came the car accident!!!

Now I have to say, I am so fortunate that I was in such great shape, cos the drs said had I not been, I would have broken my back & been wayyyy more severely damaged. But the accident left me in a wheelchair for a while. Not cos I was paralyzed, but because I had a broken leg, broken arm...lots of other stuff & I couldn't use crutches. I was in so much pain, I could barely move....so there went my exercise routine. I had bad spinal injuries, and I was talking cortisone injections straight into my spine. So many drugs by mouth, it wasn't even funny. But everytime I went to the dr...I had gained a lot of weight. It depressed me so much! I remember trying to 'fight' my body into not gaining weight by not eating...I remember sitting in my wheelchair so f&**(ing hungry that I'd be sweating and shaking. I limited my cals to 500 a day. And yet, I'd still gain loads. I became depressed cos the person who I thought I was was no longer recognizable...meanwhile, during this time I was in the throes of a serious undiagnosed brain and neck injury that left me almost wanting to kill myself because it hurt so much.

I say to my dr one day 'are you like not at all concerned that I'm going to double in size soon?" I was told the weight was a 'secondary' issue and that...if I was lucky enough...I should worry about it later. Then came the bombshell when they diagnosed my problem months later. I sat in a dr's office & was told how basically, he couldn't explain why I was alive...how medically I should be dead.....and I could die at any moment from this injury in my brain. 50/50 chance of surviving, and if I was lucky enuff to live, there was like a 70 or 80% chance I'd be paralyzed from the neck down.

My first question?

'HOW MUCH OF MY HEAD ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE TO SHAVE???'

Seriously! Maybe I was in shock, who knows...but my first thought was 'no, I'm fat now, please don't take my hair too'

Long story short (too late, I know) I was recovering afterwards....perfectly fine...praise God!...and I was still fat, mostly bald (I had the Hare Karishina bit at the top), walking with a cane thru the mall with my mom. It was such an achievement for me to walk, and it was such a wonderful thing to be alive & there...and then I saw a bunch of people that knew me....and they walked right past me!! Seriously, I was invisible to them!

No one complimented me anymore, no one gave me stuff, no one let me jump lines anymore. And I just about wanted to go crawl in a corner cos I obviously had such a fragile image of myself that I let superficial azzholes tell me who I was.

I recovered, got my ### in the gym...lost EVERY SINGLE POUND of it (over 100 btw)...for me, not for them...then was put on other meds for a secondary probbo, gained a bit back, lost most of it again...but ya know what? I no longer link my own self-worth to what anyone else thinks of me. You don't like me? F$%& YOU!

When I lost the weight, the friends came running back...the compliments came back from strangers...but now...now I look at them & I'm like 'you superficial #######' lol

If any of you tie your weight into something to make you feel bad about yourself, please realize what a self-destructive thing that is to do. I was facing death & still worried about my azz....how crazy!!! It's great to be the center of attention, but at what cost? and how sincere and true are those ppl anyways? You can't please the world...only yourself. Now I'm not saying if you don't wanna lose weight, you shouldn't....but only you can decide where you're happiest. I go up and down and in between now.....I enjoy my life, and I will eat that cake on my birthday (like tonite!)...and if I gain a pound, it's not the end of the world...it'll come off....but I'll still know who I am, regardless!

If you've gotten this far in my looooooooooooong azzed story, thank you!

[Laveau 67]

I have been scanning this thread. Someone posted that it's expensive to eat healthily. I have to disagree. My ex-husband says this ####### to our children often (he is overweight). It's total BULL. I'm very aware of what Ibuy in the grocery store and I keep that bill down but only buying...ok MOSTLY buying healthy stuff. My bro comes over often and complains how I don't have nver have "junk" in my kitchen to snack on. As a matter of fact, my daughter is vegan and I tend to cater to her way of eating at home since she decided to go with this way of eating. My grocery bill is even cheaper now,even with the meat substitutes on the list (tofu, Morningstar farm crumbles, veggie sausage that I put in beans). I tell you, it's NOT expensive to cook healthily.

[CanGal 1]

wow lisa, as bad as it was what you had to go through it sounds like you came out better off. Good for you and you actually got to find yourself in all that mess. Its an inspiring story.

[sukie175 0]

When I got here I was 40 pounds heavier than I am now. The husband of one of my friends told me about a month ago, that he was worried I would end up huge living in the USA. My mum also told me I had to get my weight under control when I got here or I would be huge.

My opinion on why Americans are so much bigger comes down to 3 things. Poor eating out options, its all fast food, certainly out here you don't get European style restaurants with healthier choices. Portion control is the next reason, I mean the servings in restaurants or takeaways are HUGE!

The third reason is they drive EVERYWHERE! They don't seem to have pavements (sidewalks) much at all and they are rarely used. In England whole areas of towns are pedestrianised and you have to walk. You walk to see your neighbours, to post a letter etc - just many more opportunities. There is also limited street parking so many use car parks and then walk.

The reason I have finally lost weight here, 40 pound since January, is I have an illness. Gastro-intestinal Candida which is an overgrowth of yeast in the body. As a result you cannot eat any yeast or any sugar - well that don't leave alot as almost everything has sugar in it. This is a lifelong thing for me and the weight just keeps coming off.

So my top tip to lose weight, either cut out or reduce dramatically your sugar intake and bread. No need to weigh, measure or even diet, the weight will just melt away!

Sarah

[Chrissy25 0]

ok well my story is, when i was 21 i decided to lose weight i was a whopping 230lbs, now when i was big i knew i was big, people took me how i was, i lost 50lbs and i am more self concious about my body now than i ever was when i was bigger. I live always scared i will gain the weight back, i'm neither fat nor thin, i kinda feel like i dont know what i am, i had some eating issues that i now have under control, but for the most part i try and live healthy and excersise 3 times a week, but my weight will always be an issue to me

[MichelleandCraig 1]

Lisa...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! So sorry I didn't get it posted in the other thread during your actual bday(in England time!) but hey..I still have 1/2 hour on this end!!! Anyway...that was an amazing! story, and thanks for sharing it. I've heard you mention your accident in another thread, but never in detail, and I wondered about it. That is...WOW! I have to say, it was SO inspiring to read....all of those complications you had, you came back from them all, lost the weight, and had a major revelation in the process. YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

Sukie..I so agree with you about America in this respect. When I went to England for just two weeks to visit Craig, I ate like crazy. I loved the food that I'd never had before(the certain rolls,etc etc)and I ate whatever I wanted..hey I was on 'vacation' right??(bad attitude, I know..was being sarcastic) Anyway, the point is, I lost 10 pounds anyway! When I got home and stepped on the scale because my jeans were fitting a bit better and I couldn't see HOW that had happened!..I was shocked...but you're right..we did a lot of walking..the thing is..it didn't even seem like exercise. I've always had this conception that exercise has to be hard..you have to go, go, go and sweat it off. Well, that's one way, but I'm now thinking...as long as you're just DOING it, and not gourging yourself in the meantime, it WILL help.

I'm overweight, and have been since I fairly young..maybe about 10 I started gaining..not a lot when I was younger(much less than now)but always a bit chubby.(fluffy..I like that! ) Now, tho, I find myself in the position of weighing much more than I would like to...ideally I want to lose 60 pounds(and maybe 70/80) but I would even be happy with 40 right now. I lost 50 pounds(hope you can keep all the numbers straight! ) about 4 years ago, and put 40 of it back on within 2 years. I have to remember to maintain too! Anyway, my weight has always been a very large, overwhelming part of my self-concept. I judge myself very harshly over it, (and my ex fiance didn't help...arghhhh..thank goodness my husband is terrific and doesn't see that about me.) and never a day passes that it's not on my mind. I know that no one can do anything about it but myself, however. Thanks for sharing everyone! M.

[Welshcookie 17]

Interesting stories!

My weight has yo-yo'ed all my adult life. I am about 2 stone over weight right now and only 5ft 2 so every pound shows But I working hard to get rid of it for my wedding. For the first time ever I have a man who NEVER makes comments about my weight....in fact I was a stone heavier when we started dating, I have always be slim at the start of relationships and put weight on thro them...this time it is the other way round! In fact in my last serious relationship of 7yrs the bloke actually said that if I ever got fat he would leave me!....when I got sick of him I piled on 4 stone...bast**d still didn't take the hint!!!

I too worry about piling the weight on when we move to US. Although we eat healthy and don't do fast food...except chinese on a Friday and then it is always squid and prawn dishes. My downfall isn't that I over eat it is all the wine I drink I walk everywhere here in the UK...it is 2 miles to the nearest town and I always walk there twice a week.

I like the word fluffy too...

[Jaylen Brit 0]

The stereotyped image of Americans is people who are fat.

Not all obviously - but its that 'image' for normal people. Celebs and models in the US are too thin and ordinary people are too fat.

I agree with what others have said already - portions sizes in the US seem out of control - I can rarely finish anything when we go out to eat - and the whole 'seupersize' thing at fast food places - thats just insane.

Also - fast food contains very little 'food' - lots of salt, lots of fat and sugar but not much actual 'food'. It wouldn't surprise me at ALL that many overweight people are actually malnourished.

Myself, well I'm the other end of the scale - probably underweight for my height (I'm 5ft 7 and my weight varies between 120 - 130lbs) but I've NEVER judged anyone on their weight.

Why? Simple really - cos I used to work in industries where looks were the be all and end all and at the end of the day it means NOTHING.

We all get old, we all gain weight at certain times of our lives and thin people are no more interesting or fun than larger ones. It annoyed me that I used to be judged on how I looked - and I hated it if people said 'oh they only like you cos you're 'this image' I loved the Net cos I knew people talked to me cos they liked ME not cos they could see a tall slender (I don't think I'm skinny) blonde. I liked being noticed for personality not looks - it was freeing..and most of my gal pals were large but that was immaterial - I liked THEM cos they were fun people.

We all gt judged on our looks, I know thats part f life and don't think I've not played up to it myself on occaision but Ive never had that negative aspect that makes me think fat people are lazy or whatever.

And you should wear whatever you feel comfy in - if other people don't like it they don't have to look do they?

[Cali Gal CPA 0]

I think lack of exercise also contributes to the weight problem here in the US, I know I gained 20lbs since I got here I was a petite 100lbs 5'2" when I first came here, well now...now I can't even fit into my old skinny jeans anymore! Back home, walking is part of everyday living, I walk 30 minutes (2-way) to work everyday from the train station. It's easier to find the time to go to the gym (I go every other day) with the help you have at home, you don't have to worry about doing chores.

I'm presently adding exercise to my daily routine by waking up at 5am and running 3 miles every other day, it's a pain, but I'm more worried about health issues triggered by weight gain such as diabetes and heart disease.

[Tiksman 0]

Well, I like my ladies a bit on the fluffy side. Skinny just don't to it for me too much. I have had a constant struggle with my weight. I have been to 300lbs and now I am at 228lbs (I am 6.1) I still feel fat now If i was around 200-205 I would be happy. I am also concerned I will gain the weight back lets face it at 300lbs I was miserable. I dont like the way people treat the really fat people, I have done it myself sometimes making fun of them 400 500 lbs plus people. Some of them cant help it.

[ace13 0]

I don't think people in America care as much about their appearances. That can be good--they are less superficial about clothes and weight--but can be bad because they don't try to improve. Americans, as a general rule, don't dress very nice either. It isn't that important, I guess.