To think that a size 16 is not fat

[roseability]

I mean I would say this, as I am surprisingly enough a size 16.

When I was younger I dieted, starved and fought myself into a size 10-12. I just can't be bothered anymore. My DH seems to like my curves and I feel it is only society that deems I should be thinner.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a size 10-12 BTW but I think some women are naturally smaller sizes than others

I want to stand up to all this size 0 shit! Why can't we just be the size we are without feeling inadequate.

What do you all think?
How do you feel about your size?
What is your opinion of other's size?

Am I harking on about nothing or should Mnetters stand up and embrace their curves/lumps/bumps

I was a size 16 last year and 3 stone overweight. I've now lost that 3 stone and am a size 10. I don't struggle to stay this size, it's just my eating habits have changed, and this is what my natural size is.

Mamazon, your comment "if i woke up a size 10 i'd cry and stuff my face until i got a proper figure" is actually pretty insulting.

I never dreamed I would be a size 10, never have been before in my life - always hovered around the 14 mark, have been up to an 18. I don't feel skinny as a size ten, I have a proper figure. There are plenty of women who are an 8 or a 6. Size 10 isn't skinny, it's a pretty normal healthy size to be. But I can kind of understand your comment, because as a size 16 or 18, I never could have imagined ever being a 10, but now I'm here, it feels very normal.

If I woke up with a size ten figure I'd go out and buy myself a bikini.

Sadly Belgo it's not that simple. I am a size 10, but am covered in stretch marks and loose crepey skin, so a bikini is still out of the question.

Have just been playing with the BMI calculator on the BBC website. Apparently, for my height (5'6), I can be anywhere between 8st 3 and 11st to be a healthy weight for my height. That's a pretty big range! And at a size 16 and weighing 12st plus, I have a BMI of 27.5 which is not healthy. So I think I'm aiming for 11st rather than 8 to begin with...

I'm definitely fat. I'm not happy at this weight, but I was very happy when I was a size 16, and my goal is a 16-18. I know I'm fat, but I also won't follow BMI calculations - I have very broad shoulders and size 8 feet - I am not a small woman, and I've had doctors tell me that, judging by my current weight and size, I should be aiming for a weight significantly above my "healthy" BMI range.

DH runs 5k or more 4-5 times a week and cycles 14 miles 4-5 times a week. He's not fat by any stretch of the imagination. We went in for a health checkup once, and the nurses made a comment about there being nothing wrong with DH. Then they did his BMI, and he was officially overweight, so they started lecturing him about his food!

His "extra" weight is his cyclists thighs! But even though he's very fit (has an extremely low resting heart rate, eats hardly any fatty foods and doesn't drink much) the chart said he was overweight, therefore HE MUST DIET!

Makes me sick!

Anyway, if you're 4'6 and a size 16, you're probably pretty fat. 5'6? Depends on frame and shape I think.

Whoever it was that said society has normalised being overweight or obese is right. And this has undoubtedly skewed our judgement r.e. what is/looks healthy.

I recently went to a wedding of someone in my husband's family. Out of the 10 young parents in his family group, 5 were significantly overweight - 1 had recently given birth, but the youngest other baby was 16mo. These people have always been on the heavy side; even as teenagers. It is because they eat too big portions - their parents are mostly fat too. In that group, I looked on the thin side (with a BMI of 24, size 12 bottom with 'normous norks) - usually I look healthy, b ut not especially thin.

I think it depends on your frame. Before i fell pregnant with DS i was size 16 trousers (i'm 5'10'') but i have larger thighs and a small top. my BMI was 23 so i was well within the healthy range.

I think everything gets taken out of context and sizes should be standardised. I'm due to have #2 in 10days and i can still fit into size 16 primark trousers (with the button undone at the top) yet i need size 18 next maternity jeans

I'm a tight size 12/14 and I feel fat - I am 2 stone overweight, possibly a little more, BMI 29. I won't allow myself to get up to size 16. However, I do believe body shape/frame makes quite a difference - I'm 5ft 4ins and can look fairly slim at 10 stone but my sister who is same height needs to be nearer 9 stone to look slim as she's got a totally different body shape to mine.

I am a size 14-16 at the mo. Mind you I bought a pair of maternity trousers size 18, so this means/says nothing.
I used to be a 12-14, like ALL my life, and was always very comfortable with that. Never actually wanted to be a 12.

But do I think size 16 is overweight ?
Well YES, actually I do.
Sorry.

Plus I am tiny. Only 5'2'' with HUGE norks.

So height does mae a difference. If you are 6ft, you carry a size 16 much better.

Very sorry but size 16 is definately fat.

I am currently the heaviest I have ever been and no longet fit into anthing that is a size 8 and had to buy my first Medium item of clothing yesterday instead of small.

I am going on holiday next week and tomorrow I am going to buy myself a swimsuit instead of wearing all my lovely bikini's because I feel I have put too much weight on to wear them.

Its all about what weight you feel most comfortable and confident with. For me thats an 8. And a size 8 doesn not mean that I don't have a proper womans body.

Does it matter? I mean, if you are happy with yourself, wwho cares what others think about your dress size?

depends on your shape. i don't have a waist so if i am size 16 i turn into a barrel which is not a good look!

when i was size 16/18 my knees hurt from carrying excess weight and i had no energy.

i started to lose weight when i realised i would have to start shopping at evans. i used to rage about high street shops not stocking larger sizes to tbh alot of the ranges would have just looked shite in large sizes. [dons hard hat]

When I had postnatal depresssion I lost loads of wieght. I wore size 8 clothes and photos of me looked terrible. (Except for tops which were absolute huge because I was breastfeeding and had breasts the size of Kilmanjaro) I had no periods because I was so skinny and grew hideous fine hair all over my body.

Now six years on my figure looks fanastic in comparision (to boast). I am healthy, I have better skin and hair, more energy and vitality.

I think a lot depends on your height. I imagine that someone like Bonifacio is a lot shorter than me.

Fio, can't you tell what size someone is ? I can. Most people can.

diff body shapes look diff at that size, ive just got down to size 16/18 from 22 and i still look /am fat, im 5ft 6 and think i would prob look better size 12-14 which will prob mean another 2-3st loss for me

I don't think wearing size 16 automatically means you are fat, but in my case it definitely puts me in the obese category.

Oh, maybe I am just good at it then
No seriously, I can give a rough guess/quite accurate guess on a woman who is 5 foot, very slight of frame, I might say, she is possibly a 10.
I can look at a 5 foot 9 woman, slim'ish and say I think she is prob a 12.

I think I'm pretty good at guessing peoples sizes, irresepcetive of how tall, what shape they are.

If you watch any trinny/Gok/ ...... any such programme, you would probably have a decent clue.

Ah CouldyouWouldyou, I remember looking for nice clothes when I was a 16 and realising that all the ones I wanted to wear would look crap on me as I was too big to wear those styles. I had been used to being thin and so had to change my whole mindset about how I dressed. So I wore longer sleeves to hide the tops of my arms and V-necks to drag attention to my cleavage rather than my waist area etc. Also no tight fitting clothes, when I normally would wear all fitted, scoop neck vest tops I've lost a bit of weight since then and can now start to shop as I used to again which is lovely. I am talking by the way about the way I felt when larger - not suggesting there are no nice clothes, just that I wasn't used to having to find them...

[borrows spare hard hat from Couldyou]