Body positivity is out of control…

Since the teeny tinies took over Mumsnet!

Since when is a size 12 fat?

I’ve been a size 12 since I was 14 and I am very petite and a normal bmi. And im
almost 40. Seriously, cop on . Also I must add that I think bigger women (size 18+) age better than skinny rakes. Get off your high horse.

You sound like a bundle of laughs OP 🙄

The size 12 debate needs context. I am 5’5 and I am a size 12 and only just on the range of a healthy BMI. If I was shorter then yes I would be technically overweight
if I was taller I would have an even lower BMI and be a size smaller

I think that most people with weight to lose feel enough shame without ither people adding to it. To quote myself as an example, I have already lost 2 stone, but I know I have a way to go. at first I only ever exercised in the privacy of my own home, but now that I have lost some weight I will go for a run first thing on a morn8ng, so that people are not subjected to me hauling my blubber round the streets. I work from home and I don't go out to socialise anywhere where I would have to dress up. I certainly would never eat in front of other people, because nobody wants to watch a fat person eat.
Once I have lost another stone my reward will be allowing myself to exercise where other people might see me, and getting some proper exercise wear rather than a baggy t shirt. Once I have lost a second stone I will allow myself to go swimming, and to go out on an evening.
This is the level of shame that a lot of heavier people feel. I I am using the self loathing as a way to push myself to lose weight, so I guess I am an advert for shame being a good thing, as it is working.

A size 12 is fat?! Really? I'm a size 16,and admittedly a bit podgy,but if I was a size 12,I'd definitely consider myself slim. As would most other people,I hope!

A size 12 is fat!! What a ridiculous thing to say. My dd has battled anorexia for 5 years and is now the size 12 we always dreamed of. She is in no way fat and we’re so proud of her. I’m a 14 , I don’t eat shit food and I’m not fat either. We’re both healthy and that is all I care about. Is it a wonder eating disorder levels are so high when young girls are faced with such a ridiculous view of health and weight.

I was kind of following some body pos stuff on social media trying to get into it but I am glad I’m out of it

what I saw was pretty much:

campaigning for more brands to make plus sized clothing

‘what I eat in a day as a Xxx fat person’

‘here is me in gymwear doing some joyful movements’

‘here is me in something unflattering or virtually naked breaking stereotypes and smashing down barriers of fat hatred’

excessive eating challenges and clearly disordered eating of diets purely consisting of junk food on camera (is this fetish)

complaining about healthcare

FYI I don’t want to see anyone semi naked on my social media at any size tbh

Excessive eating is also an eating disorder ie disordered eating, what I believe other posts are discussing (aside from the unnecessary size 12 comment which I think has now become a far bigger issue than the point of the post) is that there is a group of people promoting excessive eating and mukbankging etc as normal. They are so young, they will not be experiencing health issues until they hit their 30’s and 40’s when they suddenly realise how hard life is going to be for them. I see them promoting a low level of ‘movement’ which they believe is exercise but essentially there are harmful behaviours being promoted in this movement

You literally said 'And I’m definitely people judging and shaming’ in your initial post.

My point is that if you want to encourage people to feel able to acknowledge that their weight may be unhealthy and make steps to change that, making them experience shame is not the way to do it.

It you just wanted to pointlessly gnash your teeth and wring your hands about how fat we’re all getting and piss of a bunch of strangers on the internet - you totally nailed it!

I am overweight and deeply ashamed by this, and I don't agree either with those ads showing obese women dancing around happily. Fat is not good. I've come to accept my flaw or vice and trying to work on it from this angle rather than feeling like a useless fat failure. Being overweight is awful, I can only speak for myself here, but it is absolutely mortifying, with any other vice its somewhat hidden away. No one sees a 'gambler' walking in the a restaurant or a 'shopping addict' in the Supermarket queue. But if you are fat you get to be fat 24/7 and everyone knows. So why am I fat and not doing something about it? Well I could write all day and still not get to the bottom of it. Its an incredibly complex thing and FWIW I feel I am doing something about it, every minute of every day I am battling a want to eat more. I am over 12 stone and feeling quite proud of it because inside me is a 20 stone person being overpowered constantly.

I have noted that in my life I have often make instinctive judgements about other vices that I cannot understand. But I now stop and check myself and understand that they are struggling with their things, as am I . We are no better than each other. I wish people who are slim could see an overweight person with that compassion and see that many of them are simply displaying their struggles to you. Examples of what I can't understand instinctively but am compassionate about:

Smokers - just quit! Its easy. I used to smoke but just stopped, why can't you.
People in debt/overspenders - plan your month, no impulse buys. Cut your cloth according to your income, its basic maths!
Gambling addicts - its so stupid and nonsensical, just stop doing it.
Tech /SM addicts - just turn it off. Its not hard, the button is right there.
People in unhappy relationships - just break up or leave. Be happy single.

These are just examples I'm sure I could find a million more. You see I don't do any of the above and there are a million other things I do very well every day in my life, thank you very much. So I am refusing to feel ashamed for this one thing I cannot get right but I will keep trying. But I am battling a massive industry designed to feed my addiction if you want to call it that, with no supports to help me and a world that is normalising my size. If we as a society want to reduce obesity we need to stop wasting time telling people about it and take very real action, like taxing or banning UPFs or supplementing healthy foods so the decision of what to eat is never one based on money, along with having funded supports for those trying to give up their vice. But we need to be supportive and compassionate along the way.

If you agree that it is a dangerous statement then why post it on a public forum for 1000s of women to see?

Tell me you’re tone deaf without telling me that you’re tone deaf

Twice in my life I have edged into having an eating disorder. I have spent a couple of years each time obsessively restricting food and exercising to a stupid extent. BMI wasn't something I was aware of the first time but the second time I fell into the underweight zone. Neither time did my dress size fall lower than a 12. It's just how my skeleton is formed; I'll never be a waif.

I'm now a size 14/16 and overweight according to BMI, but my diet is healthy and I weight train several times a week. I know which life I prefer.

The average requirement of protein for the average woman is about 50 g/day.
The approximate calorie requirement is say 1500 calories more.
100 g dry rice = ~350 calories.

Cost of protein powder = £50 / 5 kg
Cost of rice = ~£30 / 20 kg
Cost of multivitamins = £20/360
Cost of essential oils = £20/360

Therefore you could get ALL your nutritional needs per week for (60p+50p 5p+5p) x 7 = £8.40.

It wouldn't be a fun way of doing it, but that's it. Buy a big 20 kg bran for fibre and you're set.

People aren't fat because they're poor. People aren't fat because they're rich. People are fat because of a poor diet. People choose that box of cereal, macaroni/cheese, chicken nuggets. They could choose brown rice, chicken and broccoli. No sympathy.

I think the upper end of the healthy weight range is seen as optimal. It’s be surprised if a bmi of 24-25 came in under a size 12 for most.

Nope - Several major studies and meta-analyses have found strong associations between BMI and all-cause mortality; most have described a U-shaped association with minimum mortality in the healthy weight (20–25 kg/m2) range;2, 3, 4, 5 a 2013 meta-analysis suggested that overweight might be protective6 but concerns were raised about whether the study had adequately accounted for age, reverse causality, and confounding by smoking.7

Isn’t it the case that people in the overweight (not obese) category have the longest life expectancies?

I’m not trying to enact change.

That's obvious.

It's not. It's skill and motivation not finance.