I'm a size 16 and I think I'm pretty hot

[MermaidApocalypse]

Just to even out the fat shaming on another thread. I'm a size 14-16. I can still fit in jeans I wore in sixth form college, I've always been this way. I have stayed a similar size through physical jobs, sedentary jobs, two pregnancies, breastfeeding, having a personal trainer, driving and sitting at a desk all day. I think that for some of us this is our healthy size.
Despite this I have to acknowledge the science, excess calories minus insufficient exercise does cause weight gain. Saying that my GP isn't worried as I've not gained weight in a short space of time, I've stayed the same for 16 years. I did once get down to a 12 but I had to try so hard, 18 hour fasts, exercise four days a week. I know women who stay at a 12 doing sweet F.A!

The things that I hate hearing are that people who are a size 14 to 18 are unhealthy. My previous job was being the manager of a health food shop. I lifted boxes of dried pulses, nuts, oats all day every day. Twice a week the delivery van used to park two streets down and we would have to carry 40+ boxes back to the shop and up the stairs to the storeroom. Do you know how many skinny people couldn't do that, even once? I can lift 25kg without much effort, if the tits didn't get in the way, I'd make a good weightlifter!

[quote ClientQ]@CrunchyCarrot I'm under haematology for my blood disorder, they have done over 70 tubes of blood just for diagnosis and they test everything under the sun every 12 weeks I usually have about 5-8 tubes taken
He's v v good and if I think anything is wrong he just adds stuff on. My B12 was out of range (too high) due to multivitamin so he asked me to stop taking it so they could check actual levels and it came down to a pretty average level, vitamin D on the higher end (I'm a redhead so unlikely to have vitamin D issues)
High risk for my condition converting to AM leukaemia hence the constant bloods[/quote]
OMG what 'fun' that must be! You're really well looked after by the sounds of it, I hope you stay well and don't develop leukaemia.

deficiencies. I'm afraid the more you dig re hypothyroidism, the more you come up with and it's not a straight forward illness at all Isn't that a fact. It is known to cause the obvious unwanted hair growth, weight gain, but more seriously psychosis, depression, anxiety, most sufferers in olden days were put in institutions.
I've know 2 sufferers one with graves sister with hashi both no longer drink alcohol it has a dreadful effect on their MH.

Not read the full thread, but tit jobs, bedroom skills, smackable arses... 🤣 how much more desperate can you get?!

It really reeks of a huge lack of confidence tbh. So you think you’re hotter than skinny women cause you’re willing to give tit jobs?! 😂

@CrunchyCarrot he's excellent. He knows nothing about thyroid but fought for me to start on levo (TSH 7.2) after looking up the guidelines and has just sent a letter expressing concern they haven't referred to an endocrinologist
If I say "can you test my vitamin D?" He's "yeah, here, and I've chucked in a load of other stuff because I can"

oohnicevase yes of course size 16 looks different depending on how tall you are, but even the tallest woman on your photo cannot be descrived as thin.

@FuckinGoddess

Amen to this post

Looking at the general public about a third overweight

You wanted to say a third is not overweight, right?

I agree none of them look thin , just that it does make a difference if you are taller . As a nation we have lost touch of what thin looks like , not many people are their optimum weight.

Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel also if you don't go without or suffer, aren't you sort of proving my point that you aren't actively contributing towards your own slimness?

Not at all, you assumed that I don't contribute. I am very active. We converted an outbuilding into a gym on our land. I work out/train every other day. I run and walk long distances. All of which I love doing. I eat within reason what I please. Hence no suffering or going without.

If you eat anything less than a raw vegan, non alcoholic diet then you are a hypocrite.

Well first off, a raw vegan diet might not be particularly healthy. It's one of the better diets but you'd have to be extremely careful to make sure you got what you needed. Second, tea totallers aren't always the healthiest group and there's nothing particularly wrong with moderate alcohol intake.

But the key problem with this statement is the assumption you cannot argue a point unless you're perfect yourself. Someone can be trying to be healthy but falling short slightly in some ways. They can still usefully join in a discussion about health and weight and should be able to do so without someone else calling them a hypocrite.

If someone is tall and a size 16 they can be slim or even very slim

I just measured DH and according to his measurements, he could be wearing UK women's size 14. He is indeed slim. He is also 6'5'' which is relatively unusual for women. So I would still doubt most women who claim they are very slim when size 16.

@CrunchyCarrot sorry I didn't mean to imply you must look terribly skinny. I was just saying that at my height 11st 7 looked very thin and all the photos my head seemed to look weird on my shoulders. Maybe I just have a big head though lol

I'm currently a 14-16 I feel happier for some reason when I'm more of a 12-14.
I was a 10/12 after I had my baby as I was breastfeeding and the weight just fell off. My weight is on my face and around my middle. I have very slim legs.
If I wear a blouse with skinny jeans for instance I can hide the middle part of my white well. I'd love to lose my belly but I'm late 40's now so kinda feel like my metabolism has slowed right down.

My dad is indigenous Mexican, you go to Mexico and see the indigenous people there who have lived off the land and ate the same diet for hundreds of years. They're not slim people!

Mexico hasn't passed United States as one of the most obese countries in the world, due to 'living off the land!'

@GoatCheeseTart

To me, the word 'slim' has taken on a monstrous purpose of its own on MN. It connotes just the right amount of weight, not SKINNY or THIN ("who'd want to be those?"), not CURVY ("it just means fat!"), not REAL ("just means fat!"). It's a vague, undefined term for "I don't think I'm carrying too much weight and I think others will approve if I call myself slim".

It makes me sad because it feels performative, and to me represents an attempt not to be battered by both ends of weight-criticism.

I'm a 14-16, 5ft9. No, I'm not slim. At my ideal weight, about 13.5st, I'm not slim either - I have naturally wide hips, small waist, muscle-building hobbies, and big breasts. So a kind of muscular hourglass, toned, fit, strong looking. But not slim.

People would say my BMI is too high at that weight, but my waist is 28" at that weight typically - far less than half my height (hips and bust rarely less than 2 sizes bigger than my waist). So I might be tempted to attach myself to the vague term of 'slim' to connote that I'm essentially not carrying weight where I don't need it.

I'm 5ft 10 size 16 and I don't think I look slim at all, not necessarily grossly fat as such, but chunky and ungainly, I'm slowly losing weight by dieting and running 4 times a week, I can't say I've seen anyone on my travels size 22 riding a bike yet, at the gym I have though.

Being overweight has been normalised in our society and it shouldn't be. The simple fact is that most fat people are not fit. We need to stop viewing nutritionally poor foods as treats and rewards. Problem is they're cheap and often sold in huge packs rather than single portion sizes.

I fail to see how the daily restricted intake foods you listed OP come to more than 800 calories at most. Certainly nowhere near 1300.

Fruit is full of sugar - eating more vegetables, which are a lot cheaper, will provide lots of nutrients, dietary fibre, etc. without the sugar.

I was under a lot of stress and used sugary foods, treats and large portions, i.e. continuing to eat when I no longer felt hungry, to help relieve the stress. The effects of those foods on my mood were temporary and led to weight gain. My mental health really suffered after I put on weight. Over two stone. That inhibited my efforts to lose weight and get fit and healthy. It's a vicious circle. It did not help me one iota when people told me I wasn't fat. I bloody was. I dressed in what would still fit with the aim of disappearing. I lost confidence in myself and my abilities.

I've gone from the top of the overweight BMI range to just above the healthy range this year, losing 20lbs. I don't feel hungry - you have to find the sweet spot where your appetite is satiated, but you are taking in fewer calories than you are expending. Protein and fat help you feel fuller for longer. No need to exclude carbs, just eat them in moderation. Yes, I eat fruit but once a day rather than at every meal. I don't snack because it's just a habit and now I don't feel hungry why would I eat for the sake of it?

I've been weight training too. Weight training is beneficial and helps with bone density as well as building muscle. I used to think "gym bunnies" had too much time on their hands or prioritised the wrong things. I was wrong and you don't have to spend hours in the gym to get healthier.

As for my mental health - it's a hell of a lot better although lockdown is always in the back of my mind and a source of some stress. I keep reminding myself I'm actually very fortunate.

So good for you OP for feeling "hot" but very many people the same size and bigger do not.

It is known to cause the obvious unwanted hair growth, weight gain, but more seriously psychosis, depression, anxiety, most sufferers in olden days were put in institutions.
I've know 2 sufferers one with graves sister with hashi both no longer drink alcohol it has a dreadful effect on their MH.

Sadly all too true, it's the disease that keeps on giving. I can't drink alcohol now either, it gives me histamine reactions (as do a number of other foods). My mother had Graves' and it was quite terrible, her mental health really went downhill.

@chubbyhotchoc sorry I didn't mean to imply you must look terribly skinny. I was just saying that at my height 11st 7 looked very thin and all the photos my head seemed to look weird on my shoulders. Maybe I just have a big head though lol

It's fine . I have a smaller head so I've had a pinhead feeling for quite awhile. Anyway photos are deceptive. That's what I keep telling myself!

@Teddy1970 that's how I feel. I don't think being tall gives as much leeway as everyone makes out. In fact in a lot of ways I think it's harder. If you're short and a 16 you can still look cute and girly. If you're tall and a 16 most tend to look big and awkward. Miranda Hart is an an example of this. I wouldn't say you would ever say she was 'fat' but the way she's viewed even on a cutsie, everyone is nice to everyone type programme like 'Call the Midwife' she was cast as this big galumphing creature.

Mexico hasn't passed United States as one of the most obese countries in the world, due to 'living off the land!

Don't they have a huge problem with Cola in México? I've never been but I didn't a bit of work with a Mexican company about ten years ago, one of their top universities was running a series of events to encourage people to study there, and the events were sponsored by Coca Cola. I was astonished to learn nearly all the business lecturers either still did or formally worked at coca cola! Seemed they churned out business graduates who went straight into the corporation. I think I saw on a documentary in some of the poorer parts they drink it instead of water because clean water is harder to come by.

It's good that you think you are hot. Self esteem is really important. Some people carry 80kg much better then some other 54kg ones.

But.... at the same time, if you are an avarage hight then a size 16 would mean that you are carrying to much weight (fat) in my opinion. Unless you are all muscles .

Also. Just because everyone is bigger nowadays/you have always been this size doesn't mean it is healthy.

But I am a size 10 and look bloody aweful haha

@Hangingover

Mexico hasn't passed United States as one of the most obese countries in the world, due to 'living off the land!

Don't they have a huge problem with Cola in México? I've never been but I didn't a bit of work with a Mexican company about ten years ago, one of their top universities was running a series of events to encourage people to study there, and the events were sponsored by Coca Cola. I was astonished to learn nearly all the business lecturers either still did or formally worked at coca cola! Seemed they churned out business graduates who went straight into the corporation. I think I saw on a documentary in some of the poorer parts they drink it instead of water because clean water is harder to come by.

Like other countries with high obesity rates, they have a huge problem with junk food and over consumption in general.

Mexico also has one of the world's highest childhood obesity rates and that's something that's rarely discussed on threads about adult weight/clothes size/how 'hot' people think they look etc.

Everywhere kids look, there are adults in authority such as parents/teachers/HCPs etc, telling them to do as I say and not as I do.

Mexico also has one of the world's highest childhood obesity rates

I guess poverty and obesity often go hand in hand, especially when the brightest business and marketing minds are being creamed off to work for the Coca Cola corporation - wouldn't be surprised if other fast food companies cynically target areas in such a way.

Interesting article here if anyone wants --> www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35461270

@Lglonel

You are just shaming the other side now - the skinny. What’s the difference between you and the other thread.

Agree. Except it's not 'skinny' women being shamed - it is slim people, but skinny is used as an insult, as if anyone not fat is skinny.