to think that size 14 is NOT that bad?

[Coldhands]

I have always been naturally thin, to the point where I wanted to put on weight. At school I actually used to get asked if I was anorexic (I was not). Sometimes commenting on being 'skinny' (hate that word) is just as bad as commenting on 'fat' people.

Anyway, I put on loads of weight after having DS and it has taken me a very long time to shift it as I can't exercise. I was wearing size 14 clothes for quite a while after, which I didn't think was that bad. Now I am back to a 12, I have had loads of comments about the weight I have lost (which does make me feel good). When I look back at the photos, yes I looked bigger than I thought I was at the time, and for me it was unnatural after always having been thin.

I bumped into a distant reletive the other day who said "oh you've lost weight" Great I thought, then she started going on and on and on about how big I was, and she lost her baby weight straight away when she had her DD (this woman is not particularly slim herself btw), and how I took soooo long to lose weight as I got so big. I told her I was only a size 14 (she thought I said 14 stone and went on about that for a bit). In the end I just "hmmmed" along until she shut up.

AIBU to think that a 14 is NOT big? Obviously I am much happier being a 12, I would say I am now slim but I have curves (and a few more wobbly bits than I would like, but we can't have everything ), and what is this bloody obsession that everyone has about weight? I recently read that a size 12 was a plus model size! WTF is that about!!

downhill- I have no idea about how much the bone density can vary.
32" under breasts is definitely small.
Have you had a period when you thought you were a good weight for you? I mean, naturally, without dieting?
It's also all what you are happy with and I wouldn't really use sizes and bmi as an indication of that- that is, obviously you shouldn't go below certain weight and I would think anything below 20, if you had anorexia, could be potentially leading to problems.
But again, I'm bmi 22 and definitely have rolls of fat on my tummy- but I have tiny bones and so even when I was size 4 I didn't look skeletal.

And the same for having big feet Milly or is that just me?

DHF ifyou read my olderposts on this I stated very clearly I have an od build, I have not equated my experience with yours at all.

Unless you dont believe me and think I am lying?

i am 8 up top but with what feel like wide hips certainly not small

i am 5 foot 8 which again not tiny...hips maybe 36 37 inches

RJ, I have sneaked under the bar of standard women's shoes - am only size 7. Many people have still said I have big feet, but I am not sure how I could balance if they were smaller. I shouldn't whinge about my height though. My brother is 6 foot 8, which is taller than a modern standard door frame, and has much more hassle than me.

Sorry, I have highjacked this thread and turned it from weight to height whinging.

Ooh you lucky thing, I'm an 8, I don't have as much trouble as my friend who is a 9 and shorter than me. Thats harsh, at least I've the excuse as you say of needing big feet for balance.

Notanotter, I reckon 8 is a perfectly healthy size for your height though. The range of weights that constitute a healthy BMI is very wide.

BMI is very controversial - particularly for Orientals. I believe the cut-off for healthy BMI is 25, but only 23 for Orientals. Build and muscle mass do skew things.

yes becasue hips make somewhere lovely for fat to settle ;)

were i 14 i would look big though despite height

PeachyWillNeverVoteBNP - eh?! sorry, i have no idea what has given you the idea I 'don't believe you'?! I wasn't aware we had even posted on the same topic.

Nothing I've said was directed at any of your posts anyway. I clearly haven't been paying enough attention.

at size 12 - i looked ill and at size 14 - i looked good!....im 5' 9" and is size 16 atm. i feel big but its slowly coming off me as due to abit of pre-post pregnancy weight so i need to get back to 14 as its perfect for me

Well, the outcome of this thread for me is that I need to go on a diet.

The outcome for me at this moment in time is to order a pizza. I am so glad I am no longer anorexic. I love saturated fats. I don't give a toss anymore what bmi I am, what size or density I am. I have no major illnesses, I have my limbs, I have my faculties (just about anyway), I am content with my spare tyre.

no don't diet, change your eating habits as people stick with habits if thats what you want to do - but never diet

eryare have a hobnob....

Peachy, I was alluding to my previous actual personal experience of being an apparently healthy BMI while in fact not having periods. Therefore I believe I was too thin. Yet I still 'weighed' in the healthy range. Which was odd as I was clearly not healthy. Therefore I must have a very odd build too.

'Size 14' is meaningless. Shops can make whatever size they want, slap a label on and call it '14'. I'm a Size 14 in Karen Millen, but an 8/10 in East. So?

"Not that bad". Well. If you're a size 14 in M&S, not an athlete with extra-wide muscly shoulders, and you're at or near UK average height then 14 probably won't look great and might be unhealthy.

I don't think size 14 is fat but it can be, depending on the person. I was very thin pre-dc (size 6 maybe) and am now a 10 or 12. I still look slim but have fat rolls on my stomach. I am naturally thin though, I shouldn't be this size considering what I eat (Nutella for breakfast everyday, straight out of the bottle etc.).

I don't think a size 14 is 'that bad' as the OP says.

When I was in my late teens/early twenties in the 1980's I was a small size 10 which probably equates to a 6-8 now. I ate very little, drank too much and smoked too much, and looking at old pictures of me, I had no bust and my collar bones stuck out.

I am now a fairly curvy size 14, and wouldn't think I look any worse, or am any unhealthier than I was back then - just different.

I would certainly agree that at a size 12 I would look better, and be healthier though. Its just summoning up the motivation to diet/exercise. In the meantime I shall continue to tell myself a size 14 is OK!

A size 14 is fantastic for me. I'm 5'6" and I was a rake at school, horribly skinny, though when I look back at the photos from my early teens, I actually look quite healthy compared to some the young women I see today. I was never happy with my figure

As I got older I went up to a size 12, dieted til I was a size 10 and still hated my body. I eventually reached a size 14 and 11 stone in my 30's and I have NEVER looked or felt so good!

It depends on your height, your frame and your build IMO. If you feel good and are happy, sod what anyone else thinks.

hmm, i'm sure i 'heard' that the BMI indicator is being increasingly questioned - if you're too far above/below av height, it's wrong & that people who are at the top end & into the 'overweight' category tend to live longer than those at the low end.

i'm thinking longevity is a key indicator to how healthy someone is?

IABU because I'm having insomnia & am picking up threads at random

FGS, I had teenage anorexia, have been skinny, fat, athletically perfect & just plain lardy. Once I got over the eating disorder (and quite possibly because I got over it), I seriously don't care. As long as I'm neither malnourished nor overstraining my heart through weight, I reckon I'm healthy. The rest is just fashion, whim and mood.

What does piss me off is other people's reactions! Every time I get thin and/or fit, people start lavishing me with congratulations. Like I'd won the Nobel Prize or something. Jeez, I just lost weight or toned some muscles! It's not really anybody else's business, let alone a moral victory.

In case you were wondering, I'm currently a M&S size 14 - which is a real size 18 - and unfit, wobbly & sagging. As long as you have clothes that fit properly & aren't endangering your health, you look fine. What's "beautiful" is healthy. End of.

Rolls eyes.

kickassangel, you're correct. Fatter people tend to live longer than skinnier people. Though this may not be true for Asian physical types.

Coldhands , forgive me gor not having read the whole thread, but I'm a bit confused bu the OP.

You say you were skinny, but then you say that you're backto a size 12. You know 12 is not skinny, right? Definitely not to the point of looking anorexic...