To ask if you used to be 'fat' and are now thin, are you happier now?

[Lsquiggles]

I'm overweight and a size 18. Like many others I'd love to be thin or slim but when I think about it logically, I think it's because society has conditioned me to think thin = happy.

Am I unhappy because I'm fat or because society tells me I can't/shouldn't be fat and happy?

So if you used to be big and are now at a weight/size you are comfortable with, are you happier now? And if yes, why do you think you're happier?

I've always been slim, but have recently put on weight. I'm much less comfortable physically. My feet hurt, I get tired more easily, I'm uncomfortable around the middle where most of the weight sits. Clothes don't hang right.
I'm not unhappy, but I am uncomfortable and for me that is the driver to lose it and be slim again.

I put on a lot of weight a decade or so ago after a botched operation left me with limited mobility but I carried on eating as if I was still as active as I used to be I went from 8 stone to nearly 19. Over the last two years I have lost ten stone, over half my bodyweight!

I was never unhappy when fat. I had good self esteem and a good social life etc. But there is no doubt that life has become easier since I lost the weight. The main benefit is that I am more mobile and suffer less pain; my leg was already damaged enough, it couldn't afford to carry that extra weight around. I will never be able to walk far but it is much further than I could walk when I was fat. I can hire a mobility scooter or use a stairlift without having to worry that I might be too heavy for it. I can also shop anywhere for clothes, sit in a restaurant without worrying the chair might break, I don't suffer with the heat in summer, etc.

Appearance-wise, I do have a lot of loose skin. Whilst it is objectively not pretty, I don't think it looks any worse than the massive gut I used to have, and the positives of being lighter far outweigh any negative feelings about it. It is also easily hidden by clothes, which fat can't be.

I don't think being a healthy weight is a magic recipe for happiness, but it definitely makes day to day life easier.

I'm very happy being a normal size and weight. I feel much healthier and more like myself. Plus other people take me seriously xx

In the last 5 years I've been 16st at my heaviest (size 18) and 10.5st at my lightest (size 10-12). I'm 5'10.
I wasn't happy at either end of the extremes. When I was lightest I had floppy boobs and a saggy bum and honestly I missed my curves. But I hated being fat too. I think my ideal weight is around 12st and a size 12-14. Just need to get back to that again!

I used to think in stones and pounds until I started lifting weights and becoming strong and fit.

I learned that the scales and weight mean fuck all.

3 and half years ago I was a size 24/26 and weighed nearly 21 stone. I'm now 13 and a half stone and a size 16,and although I'm still not by any means thin,or even slim,I'm a damn sight happier than I was at nearly 21 stone! I've still got another 3 and a half stone to go,but I'm determined to get there, hopefully in the next 18 months.

@ALongHardWinter

3 and half years ago I was a size 24/26 and weighed nearly 21 stone. I'm now 13 and a half stone and a size 16,and although I'm still not by any means thin,or even slim,I'm a damn sight happier than I was at nearly 21 stone! I've still got another 3 and a half stone to go,but I'm determined to get there, hopefully in the next 18 months.

Wow, that's an amazing loss! I'm sure you'll get to target!

I was a size 22 and now 12/14. I always thought I wouldn't be happy till I was a size 8/10, but I'm actually happy now.

It is the weight loss. But it's also being fitter, stronger and healthier as I've lost weight through exercising with a PT.

So yes, I'm happier being slimmer but it's strongly linked with fitness.

I became happy when I rediscovered how to eat. Yo yo dieted for years, lots of issues with food, shame and self-loathing. 'Happy" when thin but superficial, still turned to comfort eating.
Came across intuitive eating (original not some Instagram lite) the book written by nutritionists years ago. Had my mind blown, lack = craving, basic human behaviour. Mentally tossed away any diet ever (I've done then all - they all work, until they don't).
Rediscovered how to eat, what I like, what full and hungry means. No 'naughty' food (how infantile that expression is). Its long term but I feel my relationship with food is reset and I notice eat like my (slim) friends who have healthy relationships with food, enjoy their food, sometimes eating more, sometimes less. I found I love most veg and dislike most fruit. Don't really think about food unless 'whats for dinner' type thoughts (always hungry before).
Anyway rambling on, freedom from food shame brought me great happiness.

Yes

I'm 5"7 and used to weigh 15 stone so was classed as obese. I lost most of the weight over the last year and a half. I'm now 9st 11 and I'm still not happy with my weight. Ideally, I would like to get to around 8st and I think for me, I look in the mirror and I still see the fat person I was before.

Much happier. Though my weight gain was due to a health condition, so it didn't feel fair to be ill AND fat considering I didn't even get to eat any cake. I've found it's also much cheaper to be skinny when it comes to clothes which is an added benefit.

I think most people would be happier if they were slimmer, after being very overweight. All sorts of reasons to be slimmer. Blobbing around while being overweight,is usually going to cause various health issues eventually. I think the benefits of better health would be first, and then the niceties of feeling better in clothes etc, and an overriding feeling of looking much better in all ways.

I was a size 16 for a bit post pregnancy and more than the clothes issue was being tired during a short run or cycling, not enjoying exercising or hobbies the way I used to. Generally i was hovering around a size 14 at about 75-80kgs. I'm now 67kgs size 10-12 and more comfortable generally. I feel fitter and generally well. So I'm sticking to that size now that I'm done with pregnancies :)

Much, much happier. I lost 3 stone a couple of years ago - size 18 to a 10/12.

It's been really hard work keeping it off but it's really worth the effort. I look so much better but much more importantly, I feel so much healthier and know at my age, mid-50s, how important it is to be as healthy as possible.

I was happy when I was a size 18. I'm happy now I'm a size 10/12
I don't know of it has made me happier, but I certainly feel better about how I look and what I can wear.

@1forAll74

I think most people would be happier if they were slimmer, after being very overweight. All sorts of reasons to be slimmer. Blobbing around while being overweight,is usually going to cause various health issues eventually. I think the benefits of better health would be first, and then the niceties of feeling better in clothes etc, and an overriding feeling of looking much better in all ways.

Blobbing about?

Oh do fuck off!

I've only really been overweight just after pregnancy and when I was a kid, but not by much. I've also been very thin - at one point after an illness I was a size 4.

I'm a size 10-12 and after two kids I'm not really much happier. Would like to lose a stone and get down to an 8-10, as I'm 5'3 and petite and there are clothes I can't wear as I have an awkward shape and feel self conscious. I was happiest then as I don't carry weight well - I look better at the lower end of a healthy BMI. I think I've hit an age now where it isn't possible, so I just work out to build muscle and feel healthy more than anything. It works wonders for my mood, even if it doesn't for my arse.

I was miserable when I was too thin though, so I would say both ends of the spectrum make you miserable.

In about 2005 I was 118kg. I lost weight down to about 68kg. Stayed there for a while then drifted back up slowly. Back at about 86kg in 2019 then lost again and this time I'm down at 62kg. My weight hasn't affected my happiness as such, but when I'm lighter I'm fitter and better at my sport so I do feel better about myself. But if I had this level of performance and a bit more weight it wouldn't bother me much.

Yes, I am much happier slim than overweight.

I was brought up by a feminist mum in the 60s/70s "Fat is a Feminst Issue-Suzy Orbach' and I have never believed that women should be slim to be lovable. I totally accept that there are double standards for men and women about body size. But, but, but...

I know it fits the zeitgeist to insist that you are happy being big. I did this for decades. I was overweight but did the whole 'big is beautiful' thing. Saw a therapist, and we talked a lot about how it was great to be big and proud. Would have said sincerly that I was happy being overweight. Thing is though- I still wasn't comfortable in swim suits or even just nice clothes and most importantly wasn't comfortable with my body when with boyfriends. 'big is beautiful' was actually a kind of lie which I talked about but didn't actually, deep down, believe.

I lost weight a couple of years ago as I got into eating more healthily and also dancing which I iniitally just did for a laugh but found out I love and it made me fit and changed my shape. I am so, so, SO much happier being fit and slim. No, not because society expects it of women but because being fit and slim means you are healthier, have more energy and fit clothes better. This is not a shallow thing but just a fact about health, energy and mood/attractiveness.

I would like to plead with those people (men and women) who are insisting they are happy being overweight to just be honest with themselves. Look inside yourself. Leaving aside all the sexist social media stuff. How do you feel about yourself? Very few people are sincerely happy being overweight. It's not awful or shameful to be overweight and it is not soemthing especially bad for women. BUT nobody really enjoys it. And if you really do like yourself you want to be happy with your body, right?

Stop believing all these women's magazine articles about how various celebs are happy being big. How do YOU feel? I can guarantee you will be happier if you aren't overweight.

Yes.
Lost 2.5 stone and life is lighter, happier and less painful (my knees had been suffering). It's also cheaper bc I look ok in virtually any clothes so am not always on the hunt for that elusive item which will
Make me look better

I was overweight from early teens to mid 50s, most of the time - did the yo-yo dieting for several years, lose 20lbs, gain 20lbs, blah blah. Lots of shame tied up with it. Now late 60s, I've been within a healthy BMI since then, and I am much happier in my body. I don't ever want to be fat again, or get into the compulsive overeating that made me fat.

Yes. Much happier.

I've lost 6 stone - Size 20 to size 10.

I had no self confidence at all at the size and weight I was. Much much happier now. And having the physical fitness I didn't when fat is a huge huge benefit. Being able to say "yes" to little things.

Like fitting on rides with my kids without worrying. And days out where I know there will be hills or stairs etc without feeling embarrassed if I'm out of breath.

I went from being a size 18 in my early 20s to a size 20. I basically starved myself for 6 months. I wouldn’t recommend it. I often wondered if I was unhappy because i was fat or fat because I was unhappy. It didn’t magically solve anything as I was still me but I had the confidence when thin to let myself be loved/fancied and then eventually I met my husband and had my kids which has made me happy. With the body positivity movement i do wonder whether I could have decided to be fat and lovable. But I was very unhealthy so while I get the pressure to be thin there is some middle ground. I’m now a 14 and that’s fine for me.