To quite like being fat?

[Flumpflimpo]

There was one time that i was 9 stone. This year i am the heaviest i have ever been.

Every week for that last year i have been thinking that i must lose weight, and i have been trying every diet , and thinking about food all the time.

I was so stressed from it all that i decided to give myself and not think about dieting for one month.

I was just thinking this month, I quite emjoy being fat. Im not morbidly obese, i am fat.

I feel nice and warm and cozy

When i was thin, i rememember feeling cold and having low energy a lot.

Has anyone else felt the same?

Baffles me how it's not spoken about more... I don't eat much less than the average person paying for injections, but they're fine and healthy, and I need to be in a hospital because I'm starving myself. Apparently...

You suffer from anorexia. How do you know you don’t eat much less than the “average person paying for injections” ? @Agix

Exactly 💯 this. I've got Asian genes and type 2 diabetes is a real risk. 😳 My birth father was Chinese and looked as thin as a reed in photos, both my birth parents were slim but I seem to have inherited a love of food from one of them, so I'm not sure I will be in s healthy BMI range if I was to eat all I liked.

Actually, I am not in a healthy range now, so I do need to lose some weight. During my second pregnancy, I went on a low carb diet to prevent gestational diabetes and lost weight while remaining healthy for the baby. The consultant was totally impressed by how well I controlled my blood sugar, and said it would be great if fewer women with gestational diabetes used insulin and drugs.

I agree that Asian people are more likely to get diabetes, and I'm worried about how much weight I need to avoid putting on. Portion sizes aren't my forte and I love food, so it's a constant battle 😅😆😅

BMI is flawed, especially for women (designed on/by/for male bodies)

it would seem only people in the unhealthy BMI zones argue this

I think BMI is a very crude tool because it doesn't take your build into account.

I am medium height but a very small build. That's not a stealth boast - my mum and dad are both very small builds so it's genetic. I have very narrow shoulders and hips, and not much boobs or bum. I also have a sticky out tummy shape so don't look great in a bikini. As a young woman I once had to go for a medical and was told I was underweight by my BMI. It was quite upsetting as I eat plenty and have never dieted. My mum had the same when she was at school due to just being a very small build.

Conversely I have two friends who are shorter than me (so I guess about 5' 2 or 5' 3) who are clearly both much bigger builds than me. Even when we were all young and skinny, they had much broader shoulders and hips than me - their actual skeleton is wider. Neither are health freaks but they both eat fairly healthily and do exercise. I'd say they are both around a size 14. Due to being short, BMI calculators would probably put them at the top end of normal, if not overweight. But they look healthy and in proportion.

If OP eats fairly healthily and exercises, but has a naturally broad body shape, she may not be particularly overweight at size 16.

Looking at this thread title and all the comments, no matter what the opinion, heartens me. We have moved through that nonsensical phase, not so long ago when 'fat' was labelled a dirty word which had to be dressed up in euphemistic terms such as 'curvaceous' 'womanly' 'voluptuous' etc. It gives me hope.

You're not wrong about the "BuT wHaT AbOuT BoDyBuilDeRs?" arguments, but then again people with a healthy weight according to the BMI scale are naturally going to be less likely to criticize it!

“Due to being short”

BMI calculators take in to account height!

Of course it takes your build into account, theres a massive range within each point of a couple of stone.

I can be as heavy as 10 stone 5lb or somethjing like that and as little as the late 7 stones (cant be bothered to look it up). A massive range that take into account people's build, bone structure, how they carry weight etc etc.

Yeah I don’t think BMI is the be all and end all and it’s certainly flawed but I think if you’re a normal, non-athletic person who is 30+ BMI, then there’s no real way to spin that as being a healthy weight. You’re obese. It sucks, I know. The BMI ranges are really generous - healthy for me spans almost 40lbs of variation, so there’s plenty of leeway. They have a lot of ‘give’ in.

As a former fatty, maybe a fatty again one day because I think once you’ve been obese you will always have to work harder at not being, a lot of stuff like this exactly like is excuses I made for myself. ‘BMI isn’t that accurate anyway, I would look gaunt at 9 stone’ all that stuff.

But I was 34BMI at my heaviest and was hugely overweight. I am now 9 stone, 21BMI, and shockingly do not look gaunt. I could probably lose another half stone and not look anywhere near gaunt. I look back at pictures of myself and feel just really sad and sorry for myself because I didn’t think at the time I was that fat. But now I look at them and I’m genuinely a bit horrified because I look so obviously obese. I think when you’re living it, your perception is warped and you try to protect yourself from it a bit.

If OP eats fairly healthily and exercises, but has a naturally broad body shape, she may not be particularly overweight at size 16.

I have exactly the type of body people tend to reference when they try to argue that size 16 isn't big:

• very tall, nearly 6'
• big build - broad shoulders, 9lb childbearing hips, 34F breasts, size UK9 feet
• muscly - I lift heavy weights 3x weekly.

Yet I was overweight at size 16. By BMI, and by visible fat. By the time I was filling my 16 clothes to their limits I'd tipped into obese.

Hasn't she posted her height and weight?

5 '3 and 13 stones?

Are we supposed to know that? I have no idea what my BMI is.

....actually. I'm not even sure what my weight is.

It really does.
The normal weight range is stretched on from 7st 7lb to 10 stone 5lb approx while remaining in the normal category.

I get you OP. I have been the same weight for years, similar BMI to you. No matter what lifestyle I lead, I can only lose weight if I really really deprive myself and I just feel hungry and miserable all the time. I’ve had two kids during that time and that’s not changed my weight, it always just settles back at the same point.

Of course I would like to have a healthy BMI but at the moment I’m not prepared to be miserable to get there (I am considering mounjaro but don’t want to rush into it)

In the mean time I exercise A LOT, I walk everywhere, I try to eat balanced.

I have also always had good blood pressure, a recent cholesterol check shows that’s all done and am generally in excellent health.

Meanwhile a friend who I have always envied for her flat stomach has just been put on blood pressure medication and has high cholesterol. I only say this to show weight doesn’t always equal health.

It isn’t western culture. It’s science and medicine I a developed country that knows being obese is really bad for your body

I guess the ideal is to feel happy and confident in yourself whatever your weight. I've been all different sizes from 8-18 - for me i think i feel the same from size 14 downwards but start to feel more self-conscious above a size 14. Wouldnt say i was unhappy over 14 though.

@Flumpflimpo I’m around your size too - thing is I think I look ok but I am 63 - body isa bit crap but I have good legs and don’t have a huge tum- it’s kind of on all over but I do I think still have a good face and great boobs. What I will say though is at 60 that’s when the weight related health issues kicked in, not awful but enough to make me see that I needed to lose some- I don’t intend to go much below bmi of around 27 though because I look pretty ok at that level

Being happy and confident shouldn't be part of your weight.
The two things are not always connected.

Being a sensible weight is necessary for long term health. It should be the default setting for everyone to do their best to achieve that.

Being happy- that comes from whatever else is in your life and so does being confident.

Meanwhile a friend who I have always envied for her flat stomach has just been put on blood pressure medication and has high cholesterol. I only say this to show weight doesn’t always equal health.

Being a healthy weight or having a flat stomach doesn't mean you won't have high cholesterol or high BP.
Those are lifestyle related or genetic.

But being overweight and obese, statistically, means you are far more likely to develop lifestyle-related disease from middle age onwards.

Absolutely, alot of thin ppl hardly eat anything.

I am similar size to you OP but have started to lose some weight allbeit very slowly in mounjaro.
Ive always had lots of energy, been active, when I'm hot my thighs do chaff but then so do my DDs who is a size 8.
I do enjoy food and eating out gives me a lot of pleasure, I'm aware I also comfort eat.
I do look fat in photos particularly beach ones! But I love fashion so can normally dress in a kinda flattering way.(i hope!)
I've recently lost about a stone and am feeling more confident and comfortable in my clothes although they are still the same size.
What I notice is thou is just how little calories you need if you are short and menopausal.
Putting in weight is very very easy but losing weight is HARD and I think I would find living on very little calories is a bit miserable long term. So. I'm trying to make small changes, adjust portion size, stops snacks and eat within a window of time whenever I can.
Having body confidence and feeling good about yourself is absolutely brilliant! And the better I feel about myself the less I eat-also. Although also what I eat is impacted by external factors/life events which are not controllable.
I think it's true people either eat to live or live to eat, I'm in later category!

Having been very overweight for much of my adult life and now very nearly into the healthy BMI category, I can honestly say that I cannot understand how anyone could be happy being fat.
Life is so much easier being a healthy weight. I’ve got more energy, clothes are designed for smaller bodies and I’m not at such at huge risk of developing weight related issues. Things like travel aren’t an issue- I’m not worried about being cramped on a plane for instance. There are so many ways that life is easier in a smaller body.
I honestly cannot get my head around someone choosing to live with a bigger body, it’s mind boggling to me.

Because i feel warmer
I feel stronger.
I just feel happy

I meant to write "chubby person"!

I wasn't referring to overweight people as chubbies.

It's obviously your choice OP, but you can't expect people to agree it's a good idea.

You post could be
I've decided I'm going to carry on smoking crack because it makes me happy. I'm aware it causes issues for other people but I feel fine.