To tell you that if you're overweight and worried about going on holiday, don't be!

[SpeedbirdSquawker]

I'm almost 24 stone and a size 24. I'm lucky enough to be able to get away a few times a year, but my weight has always held me back doing things. I know other overweight people have similar fears, so I was hoping to alleviate those with this post.

Firstly I worry about the flight and if i'm going to fit into the seat. I always need a seatbelt extender (with Ryanair, not so much with other airlines), but I fit in the seat absolutely fine! I use the toilet onboard and have room to manoeuvre.

When I have been away, the beach is always full of the people with perfect bodies, as is the complex pool and i've always avoided the beach (for fear of looking like a beached whale) and i've only used the pool when it's empty, first thing or just before sunset.

I don't eat out at restaurants because I thought people might judge me scoffing my face.

Well, this holiday, I thought to fuck with it all. I ate out in restaurants. I went to the beach and even stripped off to my swimwear and went in the sea. It was liberating! I sunbathed on the beach. I went in the pool at busy times. You know what, people didn't bat an eyelid? I got friendly hellos and people were more busy with themselves and the people they were with to even look at me and if they did, to give me a second glance.

I know that being overweight can put some people off living life to the full, but please just do it.

The thing is with these “obesity is unhealthy “ comments is that they miss the point.
If you are overweight, in that moment you haven’t lost the weight have you, so the choice of being skinny isn’t there.
The choice in that moment is:

Be overweight and miserable
Be overweight and happy

The healthier way is to be happy, which the op has done

Yes plan to lose weight for the future, but if you are already fat and on holiday might as well just jump in the waves and have a good time regardless because it’s a much better look than fat and miserable.

Well done op

I have to wear rash vests and shorts otherwise I burn so easily and ruin the holiday.

I was in a family beach club last week and the only one not in a thong or sparkly bikini and got a few looks on my coverup.

wear what works for you and just own it. 😀

That's how you tend to feel when you're unhappy with your body (is how I read that).

I'm on holiday at the moment and on the beach. I've just seen an older lady (60+) larger lady with the most gorgeous blonde hair wearing a blue sequin bikini and she looks amazing. She clearly doesn't care what anyone thinks and quite rightly she shouldn't. I sort of wanted to go over to her and tell her how great she looked but thought that might be odd. Wish I had her confidence to rock a bikini far less a sparkly one. I think it's great you have decided not to give a shit. Enjoy the sea and sun

I find the only people who are nasty about fat people are random strangers on the internet (mumsnet being the worst site for fatshaming).

in real life I’ve only once had a stranger comment on my weight (I was a size 14 at the time, and laughed at her and how inappropriate she was). Most people are busy getting on with their own lives

Thank you for the post op. I’m much fatter than I’d like, obese. I actually started a better eating regime a month and a half ago for my health. The benefit is I’ve lost a bit of weight at the same time. It’s nice to be reminded that I can be ok with not having the body size and shape I’d like. I hope you had a great holiday.

@CoffeeWithCheese those people are sad little fucks with sad little lives and you shouldn't really give them a second thought. They are to be pitied - not you who is happily trying to exercise in peace. Sorry you got them as pool mates.

Chub rub shorts are your friend. I bloody love them !

Really pleased for you OP! Everyone is busy worrying about themselves and how they look, and no one will care how big you are! I love seeing larger people relaxed and happy because society spends so much time telling them they shouldn't be. We are all good enough, every body is a beach body.

If that ever happens again go for a dive o be right next to them.

Those people were rude cunts .

Dive bomb.

@Happylady165 i am in the exact situation. Body dysmorphia and in ED recovery and the biggest I’ve ever been by far. Bmi is obese so not in my head. I’m trying to be confident burr god is it difficult to kill that horrible inner voice.

thank you OP, for the glimmer of hope.

for the posters insinuating that weight loss is always a choice, it really isn’t. I eat less than I did during ED and the same meals as my (normal weight) family but my metabolism is fucked.

I wear retro style swimwear with a tankini top and a little skirt bottom. It keeps my tummy and bum covered which are the areas I’m conscious about but still looks really stylish.

it does take ages to dry out though 🤣

Love this! i aways feel a bit self conscious on the first day but after that I dgaf. There’s always someone bigger and someone smaller and prettier and less attractive.
I find I’m more likely to look a women with the ‘perfect’ body than bigger ladies. And I certainly don’t judge anyone. I’ve been big and I’ve been small. Now I’m somewhere in the middle.
People are usually too focussed on their own body hang ups to judge you for yours.

Well done OP!!! I’ve struggled with weight and my perception of my body my whole life and have been all sizes between 12 and 24. At my biggest, I used to plan a lot of things for “when I lose weight”. I’ll go on holiday when I’m slim, I’ll get my brows microbladed as a reward when I lose weight blah blah blah. I was putting my life on hold “until I’m slim again”. It’s not worth it. Life is here and now.

I'm 64.. weigh 19 stone and a size 26..( lucky you being a size 24 at 24 stone,) I'm 5ft 7.
I am on holiday now.. my 5th this year.. l wear swimdresses ( I'm old) but couldn't give a stuff what other people think.
We don't use hotels but villas .. some with private pools some communal.. but there is people of all ages.. of all shapes and sizes.. if they want to judge thats their problem..
I've been much slimmer ( l had an accident and became disabled hence the weight)
Be proud of who you are.. life is too short to worry what other people think. I've another 3 holidays abroad this year to come.. and nothing is stopping me. Enjoy your hols.

OP I think you are fabulous. So happy you managed to well just live and be happy, Only judgement you get from me is the fact you have made my day with your positivity!

From the experience of three decades of eating disorders and consequently having been a very wide range of sizes from thin to obese on the beach, I can say that my experience of it was so dictated by what was in my head. So I could be a size 10 worrying about my thighs and trying to hide, or size 16 in a hot pink bikini having a great time - my mind and body haven't always correlated, if you see what I mean! Whenever I see photos of myself I remember how fat I felt when it was taken (whether that was true or not) and I notice how great I look when I'm happy (regardless of dress size). I wish I had never wasted time fretting and I'm so sad when anyone feels they can't get in a pool or relax on the beach.

I don't know why a thread like this brings posters like bakewellbride crawling out to be vile. What I know from my life is that I have been extremely unhealthy and thin; also that I have never been able to get to and maintain a healthy weight through shame and self-disgust. Hating myself has only ever created a self-destructive spiral that has always ended in suffering and ultimately weight gain. When I feel at peace with myself, I treat my body better which helps me to get to a healthier weight. But thirty years of being immersed in diet culture and shame has really broken something in me which makes that harder now. I certainly won't lose any more of my life putting things on hold until I'm a certain size or weight or whatever. We will all be better mentally and physically if we commit to living our lives, being present in our bodies, not punishing or torturing ourselves and treating ourselves with compassion and respect. Nobody jumping on a thread like this to talk about the obesity crisis has the slightest interest in health; they just want to voice their disgust and their judgement.

I've just started wearing a bikini at almost 40 and feel so much better in my own skin. For years I've under ate and over exercised and have always judged myself harshly but I've never thought anything negative about anyone else ever! I'm just sad that most women waste years of there lives feeling self conscious when we have no need too.

Agree with you op.

Life is too short to not live it because someone might judge or because next year you might hit a target weight or whatever.

Well aren't you just a delightful bag of sunshine ☺️☺️

Note for the mean of spirit and pursed of mouth on this thread - this is not a thread to celebrate obesity but rather it is a thread to celebrate the freedom of wearing what you like without the fear of being judged. Which is entirely positive. No one should feel scared of wearing what they want because of what other idiots might be thinking or saying.

Not one overweight poster on this thread has said being obese is a good thing. It is a a health risk and everyone knows that. But that doesn’t mean that all posters aren’t entitled to a fun holiday and to keep cool in whatever swimwear they choose.

Save your comments for a different thread.

Glad you had a good holiday OP and hope everyone else does too! ☀

People are saying well done for going out and about for enjoying herself. Why don’t you want her to have fun on holiday? Do you think that’s the appropriate punishment for being fat? What makes this so so stupid is that your view actually makes people fatter! What a wally you are! Will knowing this change your attitude or will you double down?

No, it really isn't. It's heavily judged (by women) and heaven help you if you are an overweight woman because they'll see twattish posts from people like you.

If your take away from OP's post is that obesity is promoted and celebrated then, a) you can't read and b) you're a huge part of the problem.

You must be very disappointed in life so I'm sorry for you as I am for any disaffected person.