AIBU to think not everyone can be skinny?

Willpower simple.

my daughter is the same height as me but has a 5 inch longer leg so of course there are different body types.

However have a look at something like mybodygallery.com 1000s of real womens bodies and photos which can be filtered by age height and weight. Helps remove any body dysmorphia

nothing wrong, that was my point, sorry if that wasn't' clear.

2 skinny women, but because of the title, one is admired, the other one criticised. One is bloomy wonderful for getting her figure back after her children, the other one mocked for "eating salads"

Of course skinny shaming is a thing, apparently you can't be skinny without "starving yourself". I disagree!

Nobody is saying emaciated is healthy. That wasn’t the question posed.

Anyone saying that ‘not everyone can be skinny’ is delusional. Like I said earlier it is basic biology and science. Everyone can be skinny if they restrict their calorie intake. Someone earlier mentioned concentration camps, I’ll add gulags, and famine regions/periods.

This study The Minnesota Starvation Study basically starved 36 average men to study the effects. Super fascinating but may be difficult for some to read about.

At the end of the day if the OP is asking is achieving skinny likely for everyone, then the answer is no, for a lot of reasons already mentioned. But it is possible.

I've lost 17 pounds so far on my weight loss this year and though I've got a ways to go, I've been training and eating lots of protein so I do cut a good figure in jeans and t shirt because my figure has changed a lot. I was skinny years ago and it really didn't suit me so I'm very happy with a more muscular body.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but have a look at Kibbe body types. I'm 5ft 5 and size 8 but look taller and therefore thinner. It's got something to do with the size of your head and the length of your arms?!

Yes skinny shaming is just as bad but because so many people are overweight or want to lose weight they dont understand why.

Hopefully VB is happy with her build and doesnt pay attention to the rags or trolls. She is probably naturally very thin anyway and it doesnt take much for her to keep the weight off.

But that sort of skinny could not possibly be regarded as healthy.

A healthy person has plenty of energy, strong bones, nails, teeth and hair. They have an effective immune system and are generally well. A diet that achieves all of that and keeps you within BMI 19-25 (when not an ultra-athlete) so that there is no undue strain on heart or joints is what most people should aim for.

The distribution of flesh over the body will be down to genes (bust, hips etc), stage of life and which types of frequent exercise. We aren't all the same, we all have different genetic heritage.

OK so build wise I happen to be more Middleton, but actually I'm annoyed I'm even pointing that out -

BECAUSE
What is wrong with VB being the weight she is, if that's her choice?

Yes osteoporosis etc, but she herself knows the tide has swung in the last 10 years with the advent of the Kardashians, the whole "curves" positive stuff

So maybe, just maybe, she chooses to be that way and that's also ok?

The fact skinny shaming is even a thing is something I find as abhorrent as the fat shaming thing.

Why is "skinny not a good look" ... ?

depends who it is. Kate Middleton can be described as skinny, she has an impossibly small waist and she's tall. She 's always described in the most flattering terms on MN.

Victoria Beckham, who is not much bigger, is "too skinny" 🙄

It's about the individuals - also it's the same as vanity sizing. People feel better about themselves if the average 14-16 in the uk is considered as the most attractive, and size 6-8 "too skinny".

If the goal was size 8, they would be too far away from it to feel good.

I said that from the point of view that everyone I know who is/was skinny hating it. I was skinny and hated it. Constant put downs for my weight, same as others had to deal with. Obviously there have been brief periods where someone famous who was skinny started a trend like Kate Moss or Twiggy but that's more of a fashion thing surely.

Everyone was skinny in the concentration camps so I think if people don’t eat they can all become skinny.

Yes they can be, just some people have to work a lot harder at it than others.

Why is "skinny not a good look" ... ?

See this is what I find so fascinating about Mumsnet.

You have all the people who say "my DH loves curves" and the usual eye roll stuff.

You then also have the "slim is a size 10, but you don't want to get any smaller" kind of thing.

And yet there are folk like in my family, where we are naturally size 8 or because we're long-limbed, tall and we have a runner's build.

Are we ugly? Is the modern standard shifting to being 10-12 because it's more achievable?

I won't cite my DH on this because I think male validation is weird in this topic, but I never struggled to meet people for being that size, and I think I look good in clothing?!

YANBU.

There's a difference between being skinny and being healthy, which is why there is a range between 19 and 25 BMI that are regarded as healthy for adults.

I'm 5'8" and 61yo. I naturally hover between BMI 22 & 23, but I also run and swim and cycle. I was never naturally curvy. If I add weight I add it to my stomach, and then I feel uncomfortable.

Others are naturally curvy and feel well. I guess we just have different genes and different natural builds.

I think you’re right. DH could lose all of his body fat and you wouldn’t call him slim or skinny. His literal bone structure and build is the shape of a barrel and he’s quite short.

What do people mean by skinny anyway as I thought being skinny was not a good look? Surely slim/thin or medium build is better.

5ft 2 and at just under 7 stone i still looked stumpy, might have had a flat tummy but my backside/hips were wide. I was meant to be round so i just have to live with what i have.

It isn't always true. I'm 5'8" and when I was in my 20s I hovered around 8 stones. When I got married I had a 23.5" waist and had to get the wedding dress taken in. Even when pregnant with my first baby, I wore size 12 jeans at 28 weeks pregnant. I could, and did, eat anything and couldn't gain even 100g. My Dr investigated for Marfan's, etc.

Now that I'm in my 40s I hover around 10.5 stones and would need to restrict my intake to lose weight. I think it's just a metabolism change.

what's interesting is how cultural it is. What is considered "slim" or even skinny in some countries is average for another.

can someone explain to me please how this all works -

• Loads of people on here saying they're happy being 12-14+ with their "rugby" frames or being "strong" in build

• Loads of people in the 2020s who have ditched the body positivity terminology and basically leapt into the arms of Mountjaro and Wegovy

So which is it?

If you have enough money or you want the jabs, was the body positivity thing a stopgap until you got the drugs?

I'm 5ft 15" and I weigh 4.5 bags of flour. 😊

Obesity is a different thing to not liking your arms, thighs, little belly etc.

I find it amazing the fixation some people have about their bodies. The majority of us are just doing OK and most have something about them that they don't like - that's fine I think. Life's too short to worry about a bit of flab on certain parts of the body provided the overall weight is within reasonable limits.

That’s not true. Even at the height of my eating disorder I never was ‘thin’. I was a size 10-12 and looked healthy. The reality was different as I was being tube fed and all my hair was falling out.

Of course everyone can be skinny. Everyone can be emaciated. Everyone can be fat and everyone can be obese. It’s basic biology and science.

I’m 14 stone. I take anti psychotics and don’t have to eat much yet put weight on very very easily. Ozempic & Mounjaro don’t mix with my meds well.

OP you are very skinny & lucky compared to me!!