To wonder what exactly middle class and upper class Mums do to be skinny

[Humpy84]

I am a Mum of a two year old turning three July. Not an age that he can be packed up for long walks in buggy.

I have gained weight and feeling overwhelmed by everything.

I have noticed and I think it is obvious that middle and upper class Mums tend to be slimmer.

I want to know if you identify this and if so what is your weekly shopping routine, meal plan, how do you exercise with or without toddler/s, tips and tricks etc, diet plans, etc etc.

Someone up thread made a point about exercise and it occurred to me that a lot of my friends social plans revolve around it - so fun runs, putting kids to bed then going for an evening run together. Let’s for for brunch after the gym type things.

One other point, some of the wealthiest people i know are women, who are by no means worried their husbands are going to trade them in! They have money in their own rights - I would say it’s more expected / conditioned lifestyle rather than fear that drives them!

Good food IS expensive compared to junk food when you're not used to buying it. I've been trying to eat healthier lately and am finding it harder: tiny tub of blueberries = £2, multipack of crisps = £1.50.

It's also about cooking times, which can feel like a waste when you're not used to them. Or storage space when you have tiny freezers and can't batch cook that much. For us, a McDonalds breakfast is just a couple of quid and a 5 minute drive away. I can easily see how if you're knackered and busy that's appealing as a weekend thing, and adds up without you realising it.

I'm not saying these are good reasons, but it's daft to just pretend everyone can easily snap out of lifetime habits and routines without any "cost".

I'm middle class and I am most certainly not skinny nor slim. If anything I am the size of a beluga 😂

I used to think all the super slim mums I knew were naturally that way. They I got to know them.
They work hard at it, all the time. No snacks/treats. If the do indulge, night out for example, they make sure they shift it again asap-gym/run/etc.
They make time for the gym. One runs a business but takes an hour for lunch and uses it to run like a loony in the gym.
My point I suppose is, that it doesn't just happen. They make it happen.

contentedsoul I'm working class and proud
Being working class does not mean that you have to accept shit food or having a shit life in any way.
As to exercising with young children, I used to to do exercise videos and weights indoors when I couldn't leave them on their own. There's loads of stuff on youtube, should be something to suit everyone.

@fallaf

Massive tub of frozen mixed berries £2

10 bananas £1.50
3x heads of broccoli £1.50
Etc.

Doesn't need to be expensive

There is something in this

It’s having the extra money to buy good quality food, help doing chores and time is the biggest factor (you can make healthy meals but when time is cut short sticking a pizza in the oven is much easier)

Mums at ds school are mostly slim (prep school) school up the road in a run down area most mums are overweight

Having the money and time to take care of yourself makes a huge difference and valuing yourself too this is very socially class ingrained in our society

araiwa

With regards to class, if they have married a rich man theyre probably more aware that if they let themselves go, rich hubby could easily trade them in for a younger, fitter model. Rich men dont tend to have fat wives

^^

This is why so many women love Pierce Brosnan!

Going to go back and read the thread but shocked that people are rejecting weight as a class/ wealth issue so much on the first page. The information is freely available demonstrating that the poorer you are the bigger you are (apart from the very poorest men if I remember rightly, who are the thinnest). This is especially evident within the population of childbearing women.

Where is this McDonalds where a breakfast is 'a couple of quid'?

One single sandwich is over £2 on it's own for one person, and a meal with coffee and a hash brown is nearly £4. In the same time as that five minute drive, you could have done eggs, beans and toast for an entire family for less than the cost of one McDonalds meal.

And lets not go down the 'healthy eating is expensive as proved by the cost of the most expensive fruit possible' route shall we? If you're on a budget, get apples or bananas instead.

"Their wealthy husbands can easily trade them in for a younger fitter model."

This is so sad and true, my husband's job often mislead some women (especially single mums) that he is well off. I am annoyed but little I can do.

I will always remind my children to build their careers and be financially independent.

I think there is a difference between poor and being uneducated about health. We grew up with very little money at all. We never had a holiday, not even a weekend away, my entire childhood and all my clothes were made from cut-down old clothes. No bathroom, outdoor toilet and so on. Nevertheless, we ate cheap, healthy and filling foods and were always in great health.

" If I was a sahm to school age children I’d be really thin as I’d spend the day doing exercise and preparing good food."

I actually thought housewives was one of the main groups at risk of becoming overweight or obese. I'll look and see if I can find stats for that.
I think for many people, being at home and bored makes it difficult to resist temptation to snack.

fallaf you do realise you there are many other (much cheaper) things you could buy instead of blueberries ?

There may be a correlation between class and weight but money is rarely the main factor.

Seeing as we all need to declare our class and weight, I'm a well paid working class person who is slightly podgy after a lifetime of being a slim adult, when I actually had a lot less money, but now it is due to eating too much crap, not moving enough and being peri menopausal.

"It's not just class but it's about education and lifestyle. Also huge influence from your peer group."

Education, lifestyle and peer group is part of class :)

Maybe I was lucky, but my mum was a great reader and curious about healthy living and stuff like that. We used to visit the library once a week and she could learn things for free. It's a mindset too.

Being working class does not mean that you have to accept shit food or having a shit life in any way

This ^

For the sociologists amongst us, do you think the stay-at-home working-class mums are at more risk of gaining weight nowadays? I mean, this was not the case in previous decades, was it? Or was it? I really don't know. Would like to discuss.

"As for saying that you can't lose weight without a gym, what an excuse. You can walk and run anywhere and get a bike for next to nothing if not free on free cycle."

It's good to have the option of a gym though. I have no space for a bike and it's dangerous where I live so that's out of the question. The gym is what works for me and without it I wouldn't exercise.

@Gwenhwyfar

I have definitely found a snobbery towards weight loss groups. And weight loss products.

Because if you are middle class you don't drink a slim fast shake, you make a green smoothie...

Or become vegan, or give up wheat, or dairy, or carbs, or whatever the latest "health" thing is.

It's almost like being thin is beneath them. Only it's not it is still their preoccupation they just call it "healthy eating" or "making positive changes."

I got fat "eating clean" and thin eating Muller lights. So my guts are obviously working class whatever my sensibilities may decide otherwise

@yura the sleep deprivation doesnt stop me exersizing. Lack of sleep leads to the body holding onto fat/not burning it effectively.

I am always surprised at the hospital when I see so many overweight - even obese - nurses and doctors. Not only are some of them presumably middle-class, but they should be the most educated about the repercussions of that

I got fat "eating clean" and thin eating Muller lights. So my guts are obviously working class whatever my sensibilities may decide otherwise

I have lots of disposable income. I don’t have a nanny or a cleaner. My kids go to childcare while I work my full time job. I have a gym membership and I get up at 5am to exercise while everyone is asleep. It’s not all about money, sometimes it’s just about the hard work and effort.

"I’ve noticed in deprived areas vs privileged areas the difference is enormous! "

Yes, it is and this is why I'm aghast at those here saying 'it's not a class issue'. Even if they're ignorant of the stats, have they not just travelled from one area to the next?
Seriously, some of you should come to visit the south Wales valleys. Just go for a walk around Merthyr. Whole families and groups of people who are obese, and older people on mobility scooters. It's totally normal for them to be massive.
Then I sometimes travel to London on the coach and we pass through Chelsea and Kensington where there are size 6 women jogging in the street.
How can anyone not see this unless they never go anywhere?

Education, lifestyle and peer group is part of class
My friend from Poland thinks physical education in this country is a joke, from dot they are thought to cook from scratch, physical fitness every day in school, laps before PE.
It is rare they are obese, Any of the polish I know have their DC in sport clubs, they're always out walking getting air.