Happy with fat isn't realistic

[fitorfat]

Wondering people's opinions on this as i've decided I need to make a change. I wouldn't say i'm unhappy with my 'weight' as i'm 9 stone 6 pounds and majority of people wouldn't class that as overweight. However, I know that I have about 15 pounds of extra fat on me that is definitely slowing me down and dragging down my fitness. Therefore, to feel more energetic, I want rid of it.

Here's the thing though, I don't think anyone should be shamed for being over weight at all. But surely these people who are 'happy being fat/curvy/overweight' may be happy with how they look, but surely they don't FEEL good? If I feel lethargic and unfit with a stone of extra fat how can people who have a few stone be happy?

Do any of you who have extra weight like myself feel fit and in shape or do you feel worn down by it like me?

How tall are you?

You want to go to 8,4 is that right?

We all come in different shapes and sizes, it’s aboht what you eat and how much you move. One of the forest people I know cycles to work and back everyday (16 miles) and swims most days. She’s probably a dress size 14/16 and by your calculations is fat. She’s far from it and is the dead opposite of lethargic.

I think your post is dumb.

I also need to lose lots of fat - maybe 10 to 15lb.

I do feel energetic and fit through. In fact I am fit. I ran 9 miles today non-stop. I wasn't very fast though because I am too fat.

Fittest not forest!

I would like to lose a couple of stone (BMI is around 26-27), but for me it's mainly about how I look rather than how I feel. I don't feel lethargic. I'm not super fit by any means, but I regularly run 7-10k and go on active holidays (eg hiking, skiing).

It’s quite an individual thing.

I lost five stone and genuinely didn’t feel and different either physically or mentally.

I was a happy overweight person and now I’m a happy slim person.

It’s obviously far healthier to be slim but not everyone feels miserable overweight.

Completely know what you mean, Op. If DP and I change from our usual diet and workout routines, we feel awful. I usually leap out of bed in the morning buzzing with energy, but after being away this weekend and so missing my exercise classes and eating more stodgy food I had tummy ache all night Sunday and felt really lethargic. Spinning the next morning sorted me out.

I think that many people don’t know just got fantastic you can feel when you eat a nutritionally dense diet and workout, and so don’t know what they’re missing.

Surely you realise that people are different or is that a totally novel concept to you?

I think that many people don’t know just got fantastic you can feel when you eat a nutritionally dense diet and workout, and so don’t know what they’re missing.

That’s not patronising at all Jaim and you may be right for some people, but not necessarily for all.

Hence why i'm asking for opinions @VladmirsPoutine

My point was you may be over weight and feel mentally happy about how you look. But I struggle to understand how you wouldn't feel the physical effects of the extra weight.

Oh good, another wide eyed, bewildered thread about gasp fat people.

Why do you care OP?

I’m with you OP - I currently have about a stone and a half to lose and I can feel it. It’s not just that my clothes don’t fit as well, it’s that I am slower, more lethargic, I feel heavier. I firmly believe that it is due in large part to the fact I haven’t had the best diet recently, haven’t drink enough fluids and haven’t moved enough, however, I also think it is in part due to the fact that I am carrying extra weight that my body just shouldn’t be carrying. (For reference: I’m 10.5st and 5’4 so aiming to get down to 9st which puts me firmly in the middle of the healthy range for my weight whereas at the minute I am right at the top of it.)

What is your intention with this post op?
Some people who are fat are happy enough as they are and not unhappy enough to go on a diet/ fitness regime/ try to lose weight. Some people who claim to be happy will be secretly unhappy. Some it will depend what day you ask them.
I am size 18, I am strong, I walk everywhere and I am a strong swimmer and cyclist - I don't run though I have terrible joints due to hypermobility and have always preferred low impact exercise. I am definitely hale and hearty rather than whippet thin and built for running.

I sometimes think "should I lose weight?" I do eat a healthy varied diet. I am not scoffing cake and lard ... Quite the contrary I am veggie and I love lentils and kale and all that. But I don't care enough about what the scales say to spend much thought or emotional energy on the excess weight I carry. I have different priorities. Such is the infinite variety of human experience.

Some people don't feel bad when they are overweight, especially if they eat well and exercise. So someone who is a few stone overweight and eats to maintain that bodyweight and has the muscle mass to support the fat might well feel fine.

For other people, the physical effects of being overweight might be better than the physical and/or mental effects of dieting. This can be especially true for yo yo dieters who lose weight only to put more back on. In those cases, maintaining their current weight can be the option that feels best.

I'm pretty slim, always have been, just the way I was born. I am not fit or bouncing with energy. Exercise makes you fit not being slim. It is perfectly possible to be slim, unfit and lower energy like me.

Actually, I am quite happy! I know i should do something to improve my chances but because Im happy I cant find the motivation to do anything. If I was unhappy I would!

You are a very judgy person. Sort yourself out, if you think you need to, but dont concern yourself with others.

Unless you’re very short I think it’s much more interesting that you feel you have over a stone of fat on you and that that fat is effecting your energy. When I was v unfit I felt held back a bit by my weight in so much as every extra pound is an extra pound to lug around with you. But now I’m fit I’m not hugely less heavy but I don’t feel that weight at all.

I think being a normal/light weight (depending on your height) and feeling that a few pounds of fat is having an effect on your energy etc is much more strange. You need to be v v big or v v unfit or trying to get significantly fitter to really feel the effect of a few pounds here or there.

Acivil makes an excellent point.

There are slim unfit people and there are fat people who are actually pretty fit.

So yes, if you’ve put on weight because you aren’t eating well and aren’t exercising you probably do feel rubbish.

But you might be overweight and exercising loads and feeling pretty great.