Why weren't Victorian upper class women fat?

[waltzingparrot]

They sat around drinking tea, playing the piano, embroidering, reading. Just the odd amble round a park, occasional dance.

How did they stay slim with their tiny waists?

No snacking

Not sure what their alcohol consumption was like?

Also exercise makes me fatter. Run 5k? Ooo I must have earnt a Mars Bar! No exercise and no Mars bars.

@Howdidigetsoold

I have antique glasses (wine). They are so small compared to today’s so I’d imagine potions for everything were smaller

This is true, they’re Sherry/port glasses compared to today’s useage and looking at what I’ve just drunk that would be a good thing.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

‘Corsets made almost anyone look thin.’

Y, not just the corset but the dress as a whole. If your skirt is massive enough it’s not hard for your waist to look tiny by comparison.

yup, also many of those photos were edited...it was done on the glass plate long before photoshop was thought of

Diet few carbs and lots of protein doe the wealthy

wealthy Victorian women hardly exercised at all many were very weak from doing so little it was later on Victorian times they realised the importance of going for walks

redthreaded.com/blogs/redthreaded/that-waist-photo-editing-at-the-turn-of-the-century

@Mysterian

They were fat but also short. This meant that when their corsets were done up tight they became tall and thin. Basic science.

This is the only true answer.

@Mysterian

They were fat but also short. This meant that when their corsets were done up tight they became tall and thin. Basic science.

Omg I need a corset!

@OhWhyNot

Diet few carbs and lots of protein doe the wealthy

wealthy Victorian women hardly exercised at all many were very weak from doing so little it was later on Victorian times they realised the importance of going for walks

not true sorry

They had their meals prepared for them. They wouldn't be snacking or raiding the fridge or biscuit jar.

Combination of corsets, dainty, feminine portions and, probably, bulimia in many cases.
Though ladies did ride, bicycle and play tennis by then.

No toblerone. Or cookie dough ice cream. Or wotsits

Not just Victorian - Edwardian diet for that class seemed equally calorific. Obesity relates to far more than calorific input. Obesogenic environment and ultra processed food, amongst other things.

I don’t believe corsets were that big a factor, tight lacing was not ubiquitous

I lecture history of fashion. They were tight and they were universally used. 18” was an ideal waist span.

Underclothing became so restrictive, it gave rise to the Rational Dress Movement in the mid Victorian era. To rid women of the 10lbs of underclothing they wore.

The Asthetic Dress movement rejected corsets. But that was for the wives of artists and writers.

Some traditional Victorian recipes.
Lotta fat & sugar there, lots of carbs, not to mention the brandy & isinglass.

Acctually l think it was 16”

I'm sure some of them must have slipped out of the corset once all morning calls had been completed and just lay on a chaise longue and sent word to Mrs Patmore to send up some delicious treats.

I'd think there was huge, huge pressure on them to stay slim.
It just wasn't acceptable at all to be fat.

They were not only slim but also fashionably pale. Having a tanned complection was meant to show someone as lower, working class, who probably did outdoor work and wouldn't have had a carriage or parasol.

@Garraty47

I used to wear corsets in my daft young goth days; you literally can't eat while wearing them, you have to choose between eating or breathing.

They could probably only eat tiny meals or they'd puke.

then your corset fitted badly unless you were trying to do a Mr Pearl

Pioneer cuisine -- plenty of pies, plenty of carbs.

I should make more pies.

...but they WERE fat. OK so some people were tiny waifs thanks to childhood malnutrition; there was definitely a trend towards self-denial and particularly not letting young girls eat delicious foods not only because of scarcity but because it wasn't spiritually healthy to indulge in such a way.

But it's nonsense that nobody was fat. The clothing that survives, being far more often tailored to its wearer rather than off the peg, comes in all shapes and sizes. The illusion of a tiny waist was achieved as much by big skirts as actual corsetry, and saying that some women achieved an 18 inch waist or whatever doesn't mean everyone did, or aspired to it, or expected it: it would be like people of the future assuming that every woman in 2021 had an arse like Kim Kardashian's. It was a fashionable silhouette but how drastic you went with it really varied.

And of course they ate carbs. Especially where food was scarce, carbs were the only reliable source of nourishment. Recipe books and instructional housekeeping books for all classes - royalty to those living in poverty - are focussed on carbs and meat, maybe cheese. I'm sure country people particularly ate a lot of veg but it wasn't privileged, it was more often portrayed/regarded as something to bulk out a meal, rather than healthy or aspirational as a food group. Even back then you could succeed in being poor and overweight.

@TopTabby

Dinner: Not sure yet. Bought a peacock to roast I hope the peacock is a MN peacock that will feed your family for at least 10 meals!

😂😂😂

@Cocomarine

Also, you say the odd amble around the park… but every single journey you might jump in a car for, they’d have to walk if the carriage wasn’t brought round! I will admit I’ve driven a 10 minute walk to the shop - because I think I’m too busy not to. I’d imagined Victorian women - even upper class! - had a higher step count than you think!

An amble round the park could easily hit 10,000 steps. With my WFH desk job, some days I’ve not even hit 1,000.

But mostly I reckon portion size and far less yummy processed crap.

Lizzie Bennett in P and P walked over to Netherfield, 'It's only three miles'!

My grannies and great aunties (born at the end of the 19th century) were all stout. As were their church friends, as I remember.

@exexpat

Umm, have you seen the size of Queen Victoria's underpants? She wasn't exactly skinny.

She was skinny when she was younger, I have seen her original riding habit ( the one they copied for the tv Victoria series) and it is tiny, would probably only fit a 10 year old today. She was less than five feet tall and had 9 pregnancies, no wonder her abdominal muscles gave up the ghost.

She didn’t eat much by all accounts, apparently the family were always starving because it was not done to carry on eating if she had finished, a. Mouthful of soup, plates cleared, slice of chicken and a roastie, plates cleared........