Does anyone else have no wish to be very "thin"?

[Felix01]

My BMI is 21.5 probably a bit porky by MN standards. I've been ill but I feel a bit frail and too thin, my hip bones are jutting , I'm going back to the gym to do weight training I like having big thighs , big bum , feeling strong I'd be happier with a BMI of around 22.5 even 23. Does anyone else feel like me or does everyone want to have a very low BMI? Is being very thin a sign of status? I think once women start to get older it looks very aging.

Honestly. I rarely think about my weight or my shape or my bmi. If I fit in my clothes that's good. I'm happy, I don't care what other think, and I'm pretty healthy.

There is much more to health than just being thin. Excessive thinness is not a good thing. Go to the gym, get active, gain muscle and reduce fat and never mind what the scale says or what BMI you are.

I think being rather lean can look ok until you are around 40, then it can be very aging.

A member of my family has fought to stay a size 8-10, eating very little, she looked good in her 30s but now is starting to look a bit scraggy in 40s, particularly around her face.

Like pp i prefer to focus on health. I want to be strong, fit, and eat varied diet.

I think when you are in that position you also tend to be a healthy weight (for most body types that does not mean bonily thin in as a mature adult female).

If someone is happier slimmer and they don't have an eating disorder, does it really matter what that woman's preference for her body is?

It's not a status symbol for someone to decide they are happy and comfortable with their body a certain way.

God no I don’t want to be thin. My ideal BMI is around 23 which makes me slim which I like. Currently got a few lingering Xmas lbs I call it my winter body.
I like to go to the gym and build a bit of muscle, not look frail. But I’m not built for skeleton proportions anyway. Once I go under 9st I become ill, I’ve tried it. To me thin isn’t a good look.

No but I've always wanted a flat stomach. I quite like my big thighs though. Have no idea what my BMI is

I am an older woman and was very thin as a young woman. But I am not any more and am just below the top end of my ideal BMI.

It does not bother me at all. I have had 3 lovely children, which has contributed to the weight gain, and I am less mobile due to an accident.

If I were to be as thin as I was, I would look ill and scraggy - it would go from my face rather than my tum, as I might wish) - I am happy as I am.

I look my best at a BMI of 23/24, any lower and I look underweight, ribs showing between where my boobs are supposed to be, despite being at the top end of healthy BMI wise. I must have a huge skeleton.

BMI is a stupid measurement because it doesn’t take body shape into account. Mine is 21 too but I workout a lot so I have muscles and defined abs which adds weight but not really any fat. I also have big boobs which add weight. Apparently I’d still be healthy at 7st10 which would be completely unachievable! I already have jutting out hip bones and you can see the top of my ribs yet my BMI is supposedly above the middle of the “healthy” range. BMI is really triggering for someone like me who has a difficult relationship with body image.

Idratherbepaddleboarding
You might not look or feel healthy at 7 stone 10, but someone with a smaller frame who is the same height would.

A healthy BMI window is around 3 stone. It's not saying every single person will look and feel their best anywhere in the window, but most people will have a healthy weight somewhere in that 3 stone window.

Not me. I need to lose a couple of stone, I’m 5ft 2 and 11st 5lb. About ten years ago I did Weightwatchers and went down from 10st 5 to 8st 5. I’m a medium/large frame, hourglass shape and didn’t need to lose that much.

9st 4 or 5 is my “happy weight” at which I am size 10. Gives me a BMI of 24. I am planning to start WW again when I come back from my holiday but this time will set a more realistic target weight.

Honestly I wouldn’t, I’m used to my shape and like it

Yes, I like to be thin. BMI 19, any more than that and I don’t feel great. I hope my bony bum doesn’t give you nightmares. Sick of these thin body bashing threads.

No. BMI of 21 now and very happy. I'm slim where I want to be (waist) with roundness and curves where I want them (hips and bust) I went through a period where I did get too thin and didn't enjoy feeling so 'ribby' and having leaner hips/bum. My preference relates far more to shape than size anyway. Aesthetically I find a heavier hourglass more pleasing than a lighter rectangle/athletic shape. So the thinner the better? Certainly not.

I was very thin last year. Lost so much weight but looked like a wrinkly pole with flat flappy spaniel ears for tits...

The weight loss aged me. So I've decided to plump up a little and my skin looks more youthful, less wrinkled and my breasts look great.

since when is a BMI of 21 "very thin" ... surely that descriptor should be retained for people outside or at the very extreme of a healthy BMI (<18/19) where there are adverse health effects?

My BMI is 21.5 probably a bit porky by MN standards.

Weirdest humble brag. In what thread have you seen MNers say 21.5 is ‘porky’, OP?

BMI amounts mean nothing to me (like wise kgs).

It's old fashioned height and stones and pounds which make sense to me😃

But i can say that at my lightest - 9 stone (5'5 booby hourglass) i feel amazing. Hips bones/collar bones ect. and my face is slim but not hollow cheeked.

Currently a bit heavier than that and losing - but i fear at my age (pushing 50) i won't look so good facially at 9. I want to keep my cheeks! So i'm not going to push hard to get down that far again.

I definitely remember someone once saying they felt porky at 19.5.

There is a thread somewhere on here currently where they are all cooing over how low their BMI is and their size 8s. I was thin when a teenager and at Uni but not since. I recall the years and years of everyone wanting to be thin and have no hips or bum. Lo and behold in the last few years a bum is suddenly desirable in the UK while it always was in some cultures/countries. As you age you realise it is all about health and yes as you age you lose fat on your face so better to have a few pounds extra. As Eamon Holmes said " there's no fat on a balloon" 😂

What do you mean by ribs showing? It's normal (healthwise) to see your ribs. Rib muscles are small and don't cover the bones. You are meant to be able to see the ribs, including the xiphoid process, on most body types.

I think if you asked most people if they would want to thin they would say no but there's no agreement of what thin actually is. My 'order' goes skinny, thin, slim, plump/overweight, fat with slim being healthy 'spot on'. I would say Kate Middleton, Jennifer Aniston and Taylor Swift are slim, whereas Celine Dion, Penelope Cruz and Victoria Beckam are skinny. Angelina Jolie hovers.
I would say that Nigella is plump but looks better than Ulrika who is probably perfect BMI but looks thinner!

I think the healthy range covers most of the above and they're each attractive in different ways.

My BMI is 21.5 probably a bit porky by MN standards.

Who told you this? I'm this BMI and by no means "porky". Thanks.

My ribs didn’t show at 8st 5lbs and a size 8. I could have lost another stone and technically still been “healthy weight” but trust me, I would not have looked healthy.