To wonder how I’m perceived as a bigger woman after the previous thread?

I found it shocking how many women consider anything above a size 8 as larhe tbh! And envious that so many mumsnetters have wadhboard stomachs!
I bet you look great op.

I wouldn’t notice unless you were directly in my way. So if someone just stops in a doorway and you can’t get around them, that really winds me up!

Having said that, unpopular opinion though it may be, I do wonder how much the NHS has to spend on obesity-related illnesses.

If I see someone that is so overweight that it affects their walking gait then I do have a passing thought about how difficult life must be for them physically and mentally. Otherwise, I don't really pay much attention to other people's bodies.

I am in my mid thirties and have always been a size 8, apart from the few months postpartum with my two pregnancies. I don't think about my weight all of the time but I am aware if I have had an indulgent week and make sure I revert back to healthier habits the following week to prevent weight gain.

I agree with this. Obesity has now become the norm, there used to be shame associated with it. I think the term curvy has been hijacked when it used to mean boobs, bum and a waist not fat and overweight. At size 12 I was curvy because I had boobs and a waist. At the size I am now I am fat. I'm overweight and I hate it, I looked good 4 years ago but perimenopause hit me like a truck and I'm struggling to shift the weight (even this year I've put on half a stone).

I think we are doing overweight and obese people wrong by trying to say its normal and healthy to be that size. If they're happy with their size fine but let's not pretend it's a healthy size.

I have BDD and am constantly comparing myself to others and would likely notice you and clock you ere overweight but I wouldn't judge you for it. People are overweight for lots of reasons and I don't know what they are and it's not my place to judge. Your OP implies you carry your weight well, and I'd also noted they (as some people do (I do not) and feel envious of this and that you probably look more attractive than me. I am sure that your confidence in the way you look would also be apparent and I would be envious of that also.

I would not notice op. Many people are overweight, I don’t think people really give it any thought.

howver I would get some scales, simply at 15.7 at 5.7 I was a sixteen. So I think possibly for a 20/22, you could be much heavier, it’s important to know for your health.

I read part of the other thread: it was an interesting question, but the answers were depressing to me.

I used to notice other people's body size - women and men - when I was slim and, more relevantly, eating disordered. After I fixed that, I lost interest. It does register when somebody's so obese they can barely walk, or so thin that they're skeleton-shaped. Other than that, I could probably tell you if someone was 'solid', 'slim', 'rounded' or similar, but I'm uninterested in it.

Last week, I met up with a friend who invests a lot of time, effort and money in her appearance. She kept asking if I'd lost weight. I haven't - it never changes - but she always asks. I know that, to her, this is meant to be a compliment and to start a conversation about diets, exercise and the post-menopausal waistline. But I just do not fucking care. Already been there, it's boring and unhealthy.

Just to add - I'm still really interested in fashion, so I do notice if someone is dressed really well and/or interestingly for their body shape. So, in that sense, I will notice when a young woman is fat and has successfully highlighted her curves, or a large older woman emphasises her presence with swathes of luxurious cloth.

So many people are overweight - I think size 20-22 just blends into the crowd. I would only take note if you were monstrously obese like in US documentaries.

My mother in law is polish. She refers to anyone even slightly big as “that great big fat person” or “that fat pig”. Even though I am a 2xl and she doesn’t say it to me but I know she thinks it. She constantly obsesses over her own weight as she has developed a tummy with age. I know she prefers my brother in laws girlfriend because she is a yoga practicing goddess of perfect health and fitness and also tiny and petite.

I never stopped her saying those things till my son (who is dangerously overweight I think and worried about him myself - 6ft 5” and pushing 300lb giant of a guy) got a girlfriend. Who is shortish and plus size but beautiful half Chinese half Cambodian. My mother in law said “she must eat like a pig, I’ve never seen a fat Chinese person before.” It was horrible and I asked her to stop.

i think a lot of people sadly view us larger women this way. I hate my own body and weight but I’m on depression meds that make weight loss super hard. And honestly I don’t feel well enough to try to get thin. I’ve been plus sized ever since my kids were born and it probably contributed to my marriage failing too.

A BMI of 40+, or 35 with a health related problem, is morbidly obese. The poster is, at best, in the mid-range of obese. That is noticeable. The fact you “wouldn’t think twice” is shameful, and shows how ordinary and acceptable life-threatening obesity has become 😢

At size 20/22 you will be obese and everyone who encounters you will be able to see that, but they’ll all have individual reactions to your obesity. Some will be negative (stereotypes of laziness and gluttony, maybe pity), some positive (curvy, a “real” woman) and some will have absolutely no reaction at all (they’re so focused on other aspects of you/themselves/the world, that your body doesn’t register.)

To be completely honest, I don't think anything about anyone when I'm.out and about! My head is far too busy with my own stuff, I look around and take things in to a minimum degree, like everyone it seems. (Many are just on their phones and notice nothing). Occasionally I may notice someone who stands out, usually because they're being loud or what their wearing stands out, but even then, nano second brain reaction, then back to thinking about a million things! X

@clearquote bit more normal than posting over 100 times on MN in one day P.S. made you look.

I haven't read the thread, I'm a size 12 and 9.10/10 stone I vary. I'm happy enough and I know I cut eat healthier if I wanted to and I could exercise more. I used to be a size 8 then a 10 after my children now the weight I am. I think we all have our hang ups. I do feel for really big ladies with the prolapse but never comment.

I wouldn’t look at a woman of the size you describe yourself and think anything about your weight. I’d probably notice your clothes and think you looked very cool.

May get flamed for this....

I do sometimes feel sorry for very obese people as (based on my own slightly messed up thinking) I feel like they may feel unhappy or helpless and I think about how hard it must be having to squeeze into seats or carry all that weight as you go upstairs or up a hill.

That's normally when someone is not carrying it well and doesn't look very happy though.

If you look good with it I would probably just notice you look good and maybe be impressed by you achieving that (as I never feel like I look good when I feel myself to be overweight).

People who stare at others with a negative viewpoint as usually insecure, bitter, and jealous...and sometimes hangry.

It is not only about looking good or having great sex, if you are a size 20/22 you are most likely obese/morbidly obese depending on your height, this will have negative health effects and reduce your mobility specially when you are a bit older regardless on how good you look on your outfits... saying that I don't think most people will think twice about a strangers weight...it's you who should be doing something about it.

I would love to be 70kg and would be a size 10 at 5'7" at that weight. Would definitely look slim. I wouldn't want to be slimmer than that now at 49.

DD2 is 70kg and 5'10 and is a size 8.

Welcome to the fresh hell of dreading going back to being fat... 😔

I notice others and the imagine the difficulty they will have in the future if they maintain a high BMI. Regardless of what they believe -- their health is suffering now.
Add on I'm in the US and have my scale set to kg. 54.5 BMI 20+.

4 years ago I lost 7 stone. Then I gained 1 back. And recently I've lost another 2.5 stone. My weight is now 10 st, size 10 and I've never been more paranoid/obsessed with it than I am right now! I hoped once I was slim my worries would all disappear.

Isnt it only the tall lady who is a normal bmi?

I think back in the day when the average BMI was lower overweight people did stand out as they were in the minority. However these days there is so much more diversity in people’s shapes and sizes that in general you don’t give anyone else’s weight a second thought.