Were you a skinny , healthy or an overweight child?

[JoeyBartonHanson]

I would say I was skinny , regularly had people tell me that too

Do you know what, I have no idea.

I was an athlete as a child, so was super-fit. I remember doing my conditioning and watching my stomach muscles change shape, so I must have had a 6 pack, i just didn’t know it as such.

However I was strong and muscly, not super skinny thin as was ideal in the 70’s. I had a drip drip drip from my mum (very weight aware and will always comment) about sounding like an elephant when I ran, having big “piano” hands- for lifting, not playing! and not “knowing my own strength”.

I was always compared to my naturally taller and thinner sister. When i hit puberty i did that grow out, then up thing, so I would have my food intake monitored while my sister ate cake and sweets.

There are a couple of photos of me and I don’t think I look fat at all. Maybe in my early teens I wasn’t whippet thin, but not overweight.

But in my head I am “big”, and always have been. I see a big person in the mirror. Interestingly, i have been 8st and 11.5 st at my current height, and to me, my body looked no different. Still big.

Deep down I kind of knew i wasn’t fat, but all the little comments over rode that. People said i was big, heavy, couldn’t run etc, so I must have been. Only once have i ever been called slim, when a colleague found out i was pregnant and said she had suspected as i was normally so “lovely and slim”. I nearly cried.

I never, ever comment on anyone’s size. Ever.

Skinny until 7 then very fat until 21 (can't even look at the picture without cringing)
Very slim after dd1 from 21 to 26 then fat again after ds2 and slim again after cancer (52 kilos)

Slim as a child, slim as an adult. My dc are also slim. And our dog lol.

Skinny and healthy.

I'm still like that now, although not as skinny as I was

Healthily skinny as a child. Normal weight in my 20s. Became morbidly obese in my 30s due to medication. Came off the medication and lost most of the weight in my 40s - a few pounds to go, but it’s very very slow.

Healthy weight. I've been both skinny and overweight as an adult, down to health problems/medication. When my health is better I'm a normal weight.

Average for the 70's which would probably be seen as skinny now.

Skinny
At my heaviest as an adult I was 9 and a half stone and felt out of shape.

Have always been skinny inc as a baby. Still around 105lbs now. I used to love being thin however as I get older, I see my face being more prone to wrinkles than it otherwise would if I were a bit more plump 🤬

I was over weight and only lost weight to be healthy in my 30s. Now a size 8 and happy. My sister was very thin naturally until her teenage years. She’s now very over weight...

Slim as a kid, ate what I liked. Hit mid thirties and I have to pay a bit more attention to what I eat now in order to stick at a size 12. Always moderately active and in good health.

I was a slim, healthy child, teenager and young adult. Overweight now and being investigated for under active thyroid.
I'm 5"4 and remember weighing myself out of curiosity at 18yo, I was just under 8 stone.

Skinny and healthy which was normal in the 60s and 70s. Got a bit chubbier after puberty, slimmed down again. Got obese in my 40s, yoyoed in my 50s, now a healthy weight and fit with it (I'm 59 now).
I'm a natural apple shape and get fat really easily if I'm not active.

I've always had a small build, lean but healthy through childhood. Probably "skinny" by today's standards from looking at my twiggy children and their peers. I had to wear pinafores and dungarees as there was nothing to hold up skirts or trousers until well into junior school. My DCs have the same issue. Either the waist fits or it's the right length and cinched in like a sack of potatoes or constantly battling to stop them slumping below their knees. This is where my 8yo's shorts obsession is handy as he takes an age 4 in shorts for the waist but needs the length of 7-8 in t-shirts even though the shoulders are down his arms. Both DCs are the low end of healthy and are clearly fit (can run parkruns) and muscular, just nothing spare.

In adulthood I've filled out as a pear shape. Small bust which gives the impression of being slim. I store my weight on my thighs, bum and since having DCs, a mum-tum. Still a healthy weight although that takes more effort at 35+ than it did in my 20s. I can't eat whatever I like with impunity and do need to be mindful of portions and food choices. Being short with a small bust means that I have no hiding space!

a skinny healthy

Always skinny, then slim. Still am thank goodness.

@feelingverylazytoday

I’m also an apple and find I need to exercise quite a lot to stay a healthy weight and size. I get very flabby and gutsy if I don’t.

I was so skinny and short I had numerous hospital tests to find out why. It was genetics. But since my 40's I've put on a quite a bit of weight and at just under 5ft I'm 9st 2lbs and my bmi is 25.71 so now I'm overweight.

Slim / skinny as a child and up to my late teens. Overweight now.

I think i was technically overweight as a child but actually i'd say i was just a stocky build. I'm big, for a woman, got big hands and feet and just plain well built! I went slim as a teenager but with boobs and butt, but because i was voluptuous and that 90s 'heroin chic' thin was 'in' i started starving myself at 17, which led to binges and putting on weight. I'm now slightly overweight and want to kick my 17yr old self....

I was healthy. But my Mum was really skinny as a child, so thought I was overweight because I wasn't as skinny as she was. I do have issues with food and my weight now, but I wasn't actually overweight until my early-to-mid twenties.

Overweight as a child and overweight now. My mum was and still is overweight. My sister was slim as a child but has definitely put weight on as an older teenager/early 20s.

Tiny from 5 because of chronic illness. Always about three stone lighter than my peers.

Now, at 32, overweight because of steroids needed for the same medical issue. my consultant is currently trying to figure out why weight loss isn’t happening because tracking calories in/out is not working. Plus, I have additional dietary restrictions that make everything even harder.

I feel like I’ve never had agency over my body.

I was skinny as a child/teenager in the 80s. I was teased constantly and called all sorts of names. Was also accused of being anorexic.

I was so embarrassed about my stick thin legs that I didn't wear a skirt from the age of 13 to 15.

My mum made me drink a glass of full fat milk every night an eat a spoonful of malt extract in an attempt to build me up.

Stayed skinny no matter how much I ate until I hit about 24 and then had to diet before my wedding when I was 26.

At 49 I'm now about a stone and a half over weight and am really struggling to lose it.

Looking back I was an over weight child. I loved food and hated any sort of outdoor activity and my mum let me eat what I want! She always says now she should have been much stricter on me.

When I was about 17 I decided I wanted to lose a couple of stone and I did it quite easily and I've always stayed at a healthy weight since but it's something I have to work at.