Size 18 and Happy - Anyone Else Not Wanting to Lose Weight?”

[Dancingflamingos]

I’m a size 18 and, honestly, I’m happy at this size. I don’t feel the need to lose weight, but people keep suggesting weight-loss jabs to me, which I find frustrating. I did try calorie counting for a while, but it became very restrictive and unenjoyable, and it just wasn’t something I wanted to continue.

I was actually very slim as a child, teenager, and into my early 20s. From my mid-20s onwards I gradually put weight on, and after having my son at 29, it became very hard to shift the excess weight. Over time, I’ve kind of embraced where my body has settled.

Physically, I’m healthy: my heart rate is very good, my blood pressure is normal, and I feel well. I have a great sex life, my DH finds me attractive, and I’ve never experienced rudeness from strangers. If anything, I still get men looking at me and women smiling, and I often receive compliments on my appearance - especially how I dress.

I love fashion. I live in midi dresses, skirts and boots, and I enjoy wearing bright colours and novelty earrings. I’m 5’7”, which probably helps, and I’ve often been told I “carry my weight well.” Most people assume I’m a size 14/16 (I have big boobs though!)

What I struggle with is the feeling that there’s something wrong with me because I don’t aspire to be skinny or slim. I was brought up with the idea that fat = bad, and I don’t want to carry that mindset through my life. When I think about my grandmas, they were both rounder women - warm and cuddly

My DS, who is 7, recently said he doesn’t want me to do calorie counting to lose weight because he wants me to stay cuddly. That really stuck with me.

I guess I’m just wondering if anyone else feels this way - comfortable in their body, not chasing weight loss, and trying to unlearn the idea that thinner is always better.

That’s really weird of them considering how badly they are doing on them. Are they not particularly clever?

Exactly! So in between belching and nausea and acid reflux…. They’re saying that WLI is magical and saying you should go on it @Dancingflamingos

For some people anything side effects are worth losing weight when for them it is a last resort.

I used to be the same. Until it caught up with me when I was 40. I really wasn’t very well.

I used to say I was fat and healthy. I wasn’t. You can’t be. It’s not possible.

I lost it all on my own (it was before WLI but personally, I wouldn’t have taken them), as it was a huge wake up call. But I am still left with awful back issues.

Im not happy with my weight- I'm about 3 stone overweight- but for some reason I just cant be bothered to do anything about it! I swim 3x a week and do 2 other exercise classes. I walk a lot which is enough to maintain my current weight. I think because I know that because I'm menopausal, ill really have to cut down severely, I just an not motivated to do anything about it. I eat healthily and home cook everything but when I do a food diary I can see exactly what I do. I snack and eat too many sweet things. But I like them too much!

They just don't feel normal hunger. I love food and it's a joy to eat and I would hate giving up on that. But I never eat breakfasts because I'm not hungry in the morning so I have 2 big meals per day which might explain why I'm not overweight. Some people call it intermittent fasting- look into it. For me it has just been a natural thing before I heard about people doing that.

If you are a size 12/14 and 5ft 11 you must have a healthy BMI? I think you probably have the kind of figure a lot of people using WLI are aiming for so no your weight should not be holding you back - why would it when it is a healthy weight?

This is basically me in a nutshell 😅

Except the swimming bit. I only do occasional walks.

No sorry I’m not a 12/14 now, I’m a size 18
I meant even at 15/16 years old was never below a 12/14

So why are doctors offering it to folks at 27 BMI with type 2 diabetes or high to them cholesterol

cos once of it cos you can’t be on it for life the weight goes back on and you’re back to square one.

Because BMI of 27 plus weight related health conditions means the person will benefit from medication to lose weight? I'm not sure what point you are trying to make?

Because it’s dangerous to say someone is needing weight loss drugs at a bmi of 27 even with conditions. That’s my point.

doctors are freely in my opinion throwing drugs at it without looking at the bigger picture. Lazy medicine comes to mind.

It's very specifically not dangerous to offer WLI at a BMI of 27 with weight related conditions. The risk/benefit analysis of that was considered in detail by the MHRA and the decision taken that the benefits outweigh the risks, and that it is definitely not dangerous.

Were they really analysed for that reason?

it was never to be used this way for someone slightly overweight. now it is like I said lazy medicine.

@Sevenwondersofthewoo yes of course it was. You can find and read the MHRA documentation and the documentation from the many clinical trials of WLI. Someone who is BMI 27 is not slightly overweight. They are in the higher overweight category, and if they also have a weight related health condition, then the prescription criteria are that they can be prescribed WLI. That has been the case since these medications were approved in the UK for weight loss.

The issue isn't necessarily your health now though, it is the fact you're more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease, dementia etc. as you reach your 50s/60s

It's about investing in your future

This feels like just another way to have a go at wli. It’s just constant, your “friends” experiences are very unusual if true, you just need ri look af any of the thousands of posts on here and Reddit to show that, how odd both friends are so unusual.

if you’re so happy stop talking about weight in front of your child. Or going on about it and just crack on. If you deep down want to be thinner and just can’t afford the injections and don’t wish to diet as it’s so hard then just own it.

The replies are brutal to your thread OP. There's nothing wrong with feeling happy and beautiful at any size. I completely understand where you are coming from as I've been a size 16-18 for decades. Enjoying weekend drinks and delicious foods. Not one person suggested I lose weight and my DH and family loved me no matter what size I was.

I did choose to lose weight medically (for me alone) in my mid 40s as a last ditch attempt to be slim and fitter before menopause kicked in. I was squeezing into a size 20 and despite being an hourglass and whilst the curves looked fine, my health was starting to suffer. My knees were struggling and I was developing foot pain. My hips became sore in bed and the snoring was becoming an issue, I had investigations for sleep apnoea. I had become so unfit that a short walk was making me tired. It was a slow creep of weight gain and being really unfit.

So my guidance is, love yourself and enjoy your life. If your health is fine, crack on. Have a glass of wine for me 🍷

The replies are far from brutal. The op has simply deviated into a discussion on how crap weight loss injections are, however unhealthy and how she can’t afford them and even talks about calorie restriction in front of her young child. This doesn’t suggest in any way someone who is happy at her size. It suggests someone deeply unhappy but feeling unable to do anything about it.

You're talking pure nonsense :/

It’s my opinion which I’m freely allowed to say

it’s lazy medicine for someone at a 27 BMI.

@Rumpledandcrumpled
I suppose I’ll admit deep down I am slightly jealous when I see how quickly my friends are losing weight. And yes they’re both having the experiences as I’ve described. One less so than the other.
I’m sure there are plenty of other people taking them and don’t have any issues.

The entire point of the thread is whether I’m being unreasonable feeling okay about my size and not feeling the extreme need to lose the weight.

Wtf is wrong with people?! Why do they concern themselves with other people’s weight so much? Everyone’s bloody obsessed!
Glad you’re happy OP 🙌