To think that it is not particularly healthy to "promote" being plus size?

[MaterTheGreater]

I'm sure this discussion's been done, so no yawns please, but on Radio 2 this afternoon they were talking about the story in the news that 1 in 4 items sold in women's clothing are a size 18 or over.

They were saying that this was great and that Adele was a great role model for women.

Now I agree that they shouldn't be sending size zero models down the catwalk, and I think it's great that some designers are using something like a size 14, but I really don't think it's in any woman's best interest to think that a size 18 is a good thing.

I love Adele - she has an amazing voice, and comes across as a lovely girl, but she is definitely "overweight", and healthwise that can never be a good thing.

I know that obviously if you are taller with a bigger frame, then you need a bigger size, but I think even at 5'11" (which a good friend of mine is), an 18 would still be overweight.

I am 5'8" and a size 18 on the top half and 16 on the bottom and I am totally miserable. I am constantly worried about my health and the effect that my weight has on it. I am currently trying to shed the pounds, which is hard, but I really do not want to be this size - it's disgusting and unhealthy and I hate all the "big is beautiful" bollocks.

Oh lets go all hide in the cupboard where no-one can be disgusted with us fat people eh.

I have 36 inch chest, a 26 inch waist, a Beyoncesque arse...and a saggy bulging gut! Always a down side...Spanx are my best friend!

Lets face facts if you expend more calories than you put IN - everyone would be size 12 or below

You'd think so wouldn't you? Doesn't work though. And I'm not kidding myself - I obsessively log every detail of what I eat, and am currently training for the Moonwalk (so walking 3 lots of 6 miles minimum per week, at 4mph minimum, as well as 4.5 miles of daily school run). I eat no more than 2000 calories per day. I weigh, let's see, precisely 4lbs less than when I started in January

Size 14 btw. But a stone heavier than when I got married 13 years ago, and even then I was at the very top end/just over healthy bmi - it's now a bit less than 27.

I feel really very fit though, and despite being heavier I'm now way more toned than I was back then.

my friend who is a fitness fanatic just really bluntly said that to me one day when i was whining about needing to diet

i do also think that those programs that ask people to write down what they eat and then film them and see them eating double the amount are sooo true

we all eat half a crumpet and a few mouthfuls of soup and forget about it instantly... I just did that with a box of french fancies just now and they weren't even nice

cockadoodle wow you sound like superwoman!

It sounds like it is working cockadoodledoo, - just slowly, which I what I would expect from what you've said. The activity you are doing averages out to about 400 kcals per day. Take that off your daily intake of 2000 kcals and that's 1600 per day.

2000kcals is the recommended daily intake for women. If a person wants to lose weight, they should reduce their intake by 500 kcals per day and increase their activity level

In other words, if you wanted to lose weight more quickly, you could reduce your calorie intake. however, you are obviously very active so probably get very hungry; I know I do when I'm exercising a lot.

I think you should be encouraged by a 4lb weight loss. All right, it's not happened as quickly as you might have liked but you are losing weight and toning up too; not to mention doing good things for your heart and lungs.

Also cockadoodledoo - you will probably find that some fat has turned to muscle, which is heavier than fat.

Notamopsa I read that as 'we all eat a few mouthfuls of soap' and thought...surely there aren't many calories in soap?

that might help our weight !

I'm pretty slim but must admit that I do like to see plus size models and in the media.

I think women, whatever their size, should be encouraged to see themselves as beautiful and of value.

Sure, it might be healthier if they lose weight, but I do think happiness and self worth are as important as blood pressure etc.

Lol NotaMopsa - sadly it's a blanket around my shoulders you can see, not a cape

Thanks Olifin, that's pretty encouraging. I tried dropping my calorie intake for a week or 2, but actually gained a bit. Guess my body thought it was starving. I have a fairly large frame and am 5'8, so I'm aiming again for mid to top of the healthy bmi range. I'll get there one day!

I agree with the changing size of high street clothes. I have remained exactly the same body size and shape since the age of 16 ( now 40) and I used to be a size 10 and now I am sometimes too small for a size 6! It's a conspiracy to make women feel better about themselves and believe they are a smaller size.

As for health - why not ask the midwives and obstetricians? You are now classified high risk if over a certain BMI and our birth is far more likely to be associated wih complications.

It's not about dieting but a healthy attitude towards food and both thin and large people alike can have an unhealthy attitude. I think most fat people stay fat because they do not change their lifestyles in the long term but are constantly yo yo dieting which is more unhealthy.

The bottom line is...if you expend more calories than you take in you will lose weight...always.

That sounds a really good goal cockadoodle

I think you're right about your body going into starvation mode. It can really mess with your metabolism, I find.

I am lucky to have a fast metabolism and come from a family of fairly slim people so I've never had to worry too much. However, I have a bit of an odd relationship with food and tend to veer between bingeing and not eating enough. I am forever trying to find a balance! Exercise, though, remains fairly constant in my life and it does wonders for my mental health as well as physical health and I do tend to get away with the odd week of excessive cake-eating purely because I'm very active.

i have an underactive thyroid and pcos so loosing weight is a huge struggle for me. I do 3 zumba classes per week, run around after a baby and a 12yo. I am fitter than i have ever been but I am fat.

I dont think they are trying to promote obesity just trying to make women who like us all stuggle feel we can dress the way we want.

I do think sizes are different in all shops and the fashion industry have changed shapes of clothes to accommodate different shapes.

What annoys me are these people who say things like "if I weighed less than 14 stone I'd look ill and gaunt" errr no you wouldn't and stop using that as some sort of an excuse to not lose weight.

You'd think so wouldn't you? Doesn't work though. And I'm not kidding myself

Erm....are you trying to disprove mathematics now? Calories spent > calories eaten = weight loss. It really is that simple.

What isn't simple is the rate in which YOU spend calories or the way you are recording calories.

I suspect either you are undercounting them (perhaps the food is inaccurately labelled) or you are not burning enough calories to lose enough weight. So if you consume 2000 calories but only burning 2001 calories then yes, your weight loss will be slow.

The vast majority of the media is hell bent on fat bashing women in particular.

You are more likely to be able to lose weight if you are not full of self laothing and following every diet you can find for 6 months but instead make small changes to your diet and increase your exercise levels.

You can be healthy and overweight.

Being overweight might increase you risk of various conditions depending on your body type and your genes.

"Calories spent > calories eaten = weight loss. It really is that simple"no it isn;t the body dealwith differnt calories in different ways because of the effects that different food types have on your hormones (and in particular insulin). I can bore you to death about it.

None of the statements above are mutually exclusive.

I don;t think that being overweight should be promoted as being a good thing and in truth it isn;t. But giving women tsome self esteem and feeling of control and that they can acheive something in life is all to th egood as that control might well include losing weight.

Very well said Kewcumber. I think making people feel shit about themselves is never going to be a good strategy for encouraging them to change their habits. Same as trying to get people to give up smoking. Self-esteem is so important in all of this.

Just another point to make for those who are finding it difficult to lose weight. As well as doing cardiovascular exercise, it is well worth incorporating some resistance work into your regime e.g. gentle weights work, pilates.... Because gaining muscle causes metabolism to go up.

I agree, kew. If people have greater self-esteem then it is easier to lose weight and if there's anything that makes you think of food all the time and crave it, it's a diet. I don't think large women should be made to feel bad but I can see the OP's point that we shouldn't encourage it either.

However, calories spent equation does work but we do all use different amounts of energy a day depending upon our activity and genetic make-up.

Also, Olifin, getting out of breath when exercising usually means you keep burning calories after you've stopped but alot of us go wrong by spending an hour in the gym and then collapsing on the sofa for the evening afterwards which often means no more calories are burnt than by keeping active at a low level all evening.

It's not easy and that's why there are people to help and advise.

I agree with the OP. There were nine women on my section of the train the other day and seven were obese and one was morbidly obese. You see it all the time. It's like the majority of people are heavily overweight. What happened?

All the fat-bashing in the media -- do you think it makes people fat? It doesn't seem to make people be thinner.