Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To tell friend she isn't trying to shift baby weight in argument

550 replies

ForeverChasingToddlers · 12/04/2015 09:44

Before everyone blasts me and jumps to conclusions about what I think and believe just to be clear

  • I know having a baby is hard
  • I know having babies so close together is even more hard on the body and mind in most cases
-I know loosing wieght in general is hard
  • I know women should not judge other women
  • I think all ladies could go at their own pace
  • I know having kids and working out is harder than getting it done without kids. Moreso when you are a working mom.

Friend and I were at a escape from evil bloodsucking children birthday dinner on Saturday.
She has 2 DCs under 3 - the last one being born in september.
I have 2 DCS under 3 - Last DD being born in October.

I'm 70KG at 5''7 post baby, she is 5''6 and around 87KG post baby. I have about 10 Kgs to go until I am happy so emotionally mentally physically am still on a weight loss journey

We are at the dinner, DH's at home with the babies, She orders macaroni and cheese with half a chicken and a side of chips with a large glass of wine. She had a starter of fried cheese balls and a desert of what looked like apple pie. I didn't give one shit yet when I order a chicken salad with dressing on the side she starts to snigger and make little digs. The ones that really hurt me throughout the night was

"I'm more focused on my DC's than trying to be skinny"
"Live a little - it's all about being a good mom"
"Not all of us have time to frolic around in the gym some of us have kids to take care of"

I laughed them off until the last frolic comment - I then said that It's fucked up that in today society you cannot get on with being whatever type of woman / mother that fits you without being fucking judged!!! My husband is 100000% hands on, and we share the responsibility 50/50, when I have a spare minute instead of going to bed I muster up every last shred of energy I have and go for a jog for 1/2 an hour instead of watching corrie with a tin of biscuits next to me (which is what she does fair enough but silly if you want to loose weight thats all!!). I watch what I eat and that gets 80% of the work done anyway so what's with the parenting bashing?

she then said "being a mom is a 24/7 job with or without a husband" as though for taking 1/2 an hour a day to jog while hubby watched the DDs makes me an absent mother! WTF

I just bloody snapped and said We all have to loose the wieght at our own personal pace in our own personal way....but don't try and make being over weight and being a good mom mutually exclusive...they do not walk hand in hand and just bloody admit you are being lazy and you could atleast watch what you put in your mouth if you really cared

She didn't speak to me for the rest of the night.

AIBU?

She hates her body and says she wants to loose weight but clearly has no bloody motivation. Some people are single mothers with not one spare lucid minute to work out at home or cant afford a gym membership fair play but watch what you eat then if you so desperately want to loose weight

I'm tired of the "eating for two" myth and I'm tired of the sensationalism of not shifting baby weight (if you want to) as "being a real mom" because you are too busy mothering and eating crap!!

Most of all I'm tired of the judgement of being a slim and working out and going to the gym .... with her and to be honest some other women it's like to be a "real" mom you have to be a frumpy depressed mess. I truly believe that if you have a hands on DH or even a mum willing to help you out etc you can get the weight off!! Sometimes ...... I even wear makeup and get my hair done....CALL THE SOCIAL SERVICES!!!

OP posts:
TheRealAmandaClarke · 12/04/2015 13:47

YABU for saying "100000%"

DuckChowMein · 12/04/2015 13:48

I agree with mrsstarlord. You sound very defensive and aggressive op. And the this your friend said seem to have got nastier as the thread has evolved.

You're both unreasonable. Take it to Judge Rinder.

FirstWeTakeManhattan · 12/04/2015 13:48

Ach, you both sound a bit much to be honest. i can't imagine any of my friends acting like that.

I'd be interested to know how those cheese balls went down though. I'm imaging them with a nice rocket salad.

DuckChowMein · 12/04/2015 13:49

The things your friend said.

zzzzz · 12/04/2015 13:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

26Point2Miles · 12/04/2015 14:00

Those poor kids sound smothered... 24/7 indeed!

TheRealAmandaClarke · 12/04/2015 14:10

Im guessing this was the first time in a while that you both had been out without the kids
And that wine was involved.

Aeroflotgirl · 12/04/2015 14:16

Right ourGlass, so you would have put up with constant jibing about your parenting and weight would you Hmm. I don't think op sounds aggressive, unless I am missing something, yes I would be defensive if I had lots of Mumsnetters telling me that I had to suck it up, I am wrong and I am a rubbish friend.

Satsumafairy · 12/04/2015 14:18

Sorry have only read half the thread but I don't think Yabu. Your friend obviously feels insecure about her weight but that doesn't give her the right to be bitchy to you because you are losing weight. As for suggesting that you're less of a parent because you go out for a jog etc!!! What crap. I agree with you op.

fatlazymummy · 12/04/2015 14:21

YANBU OP.
I say that because she started with the bitchiness first, and you eventually snapped. She sounds quite passive aggresive to me, and you fell for it.
I probably wouldn't want to be friends with her anymore, but if I did carry on with the friendship it would be with the strict understanding that certain topics are out of bounds. Weightloss being one of them.

shewept · 12/04/2015 14:23

Op fuck what she or anyone else thinks. I go to the gym. It has no impact on my parenting, even though certain people in my life like to assume it does. Since I go when they are at school or get up at 5.30am and am back before dh and the kids are up, it doesn't impact them at all. But some people don't want to accept that. Fitness isn't a priority for them which is fine. However some people feel its a reflection on them, that they don't prioritise it. Its not its a personal choice. But the sort of people that your friend is will use anything as an excuse for not wanting to do it. For some reason they don't want to say 'i don't want to'. Why they don't want to say it, I don't know.

Keep going OP. I am a much better parents now I am happy in body. I am happy in general, love going out with the kids more rather than wanting to hide in the house. I would never have played football with the kids in park 2 years ago, but I did on Friday. Loved it.

As for people saying 70kg isn't slim...get a grip.

itsbetterthanabox · 12/04/2015 14:23

She was being rude an defensive and now you are doing the same. You can't moan that she judged you by judging her back and criticising her body and eating. Just live and let live. There's no morality to weight.

Satsumafairy · 12/04/2015 14:24

If op had been the one making jibes all evening and calling her friend a bad mother for being overweight would that have been acceptable? No, it wouldn't. Such double standards.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 12/04/2015 14:26

This thread is fucking nuts.

OP, you sound far too intense and defensive to start a thread in AIBU. The attention you're giving the whole thing is waayyyy beyond what it warrants. You're becoming obsessed and slightly embarrassing to read.

Clearly you dealt with it badly as it should never have got to the point of mud slinging. Why could you have used some assertiveness (NOT aggression) to say to your friend when the comments were starting to get on your nerves: "look, this is not the case. I find what you're implying quite unreasonable, if not offensive. Can we stop all talk of food and weight as clearly this is not a good topic to discuss together."

Aeroflotgirl · 12/04/2015 14:32

Yes, hindsight is a good thing. The friend wasen't just giving these comments on the night, this is a regular thing for her. Op quite clearly had enough, but yes she should have pulled the friend up on it much earlier.

needaholidaynow · 12/04/2015 14:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ForeverChasingToddlers · 12/04/2015 14:39

Mrsstarlord your kids do not need to be by your side for them to be a priority.
And I've responded on par to what I've been given. People love to be rude on AIBU as opposed to giving a normal response.

OP posts:
fatlazymummy · 12/04/2015 14:40

I agree, the OP needs to be more assertive in the face of bitchy comments.
I think she should have nipped them in the bud, politely but firmly, rather than outwardly laughing them off but allowing them to build up inside.
If you want to continue the friendship I think you need to be more open with each other.

ForeverChasingToddlers · 12/04/2015 14:41

CurlyhairedAssassin of course i sound intense god forbid i speak about food.

OP posts:
RufusTheReindeer · 12/04/2015 14:42

she

OP is happy to say she is slimmish and getting slimmer

Lots of people don't think that 70kg/11stone is slim

I would be happy to be that weight (I'm trying Grin) but I wouldn't be slim

ForeverChasingToddlers · 12/04/2015 14:43

FirstWeTakeManhattan I love them I'm making them for lunch but bake them. So good.

OP posts:
AyMamita · 12/04/2015 14:53

She sounds like a jealous fat cow. YANBU.

ApocalypseThen · 12/04/2015 15:02

OP, I've read the whole thread and I'm not sure what the point is. You clearly do not believe you were being unreasonable and are extremely defensive at any suggestion that you may have been.

You are at pains to point out that you are a slim jogger. Is allowing a wider audience access to that amazing information the point here?

littlejohnnydory · 12/04/2015 15:07

You both sound bloody horrible. The 'escape from evil bloodsucking children' was enough for me tbh. You and your friend deserve each other.

Koalafications · 12/04/2015 15:07

She sounds like a jealous fat cow. YANBU.

Lovely. Just lovely.