There are people out there who are "normal" body sizes, and yet still have poor body image. For those who are "normal" body weight, what are some of the things that make you think you are "too fat" or "too thin" and what would it take to get you to accept yourself just the way you are?
When I was 13, I thought I was fat because I developed cellulite. I weighed 95 lbs and was 5 feet tall. There have been women who have died of stravation in third world nations and had cellulite. There is a lot of ignorance about cellulite. People can be underweight and have it and morbidly obese and not have it. I believe some, not all, but some anorexia begins with cellulite on normal sized girls. People told me I was fat. Especially men.
I was active in sports (biking, swimming, basketball, baseball) At 16, when I was of normal weight (I was 5'3" in height and weighed 116 lbs), I was fat because I was small from the waist up, size 2 and large 14-16 from the waist down. I was told I was fat. Espeically by men and boys.
I got the freshman 15 in college. People who thought I was fat before REALLY had a field day then. So, I began dieting and exercising. I began reasonably enough. Three years later, after the cellulite did not disappear, it was no longer reasonable. I weighed 90 lbs, was 5'6" tall. I ate 400-1000 calories per day and exercised, 6-10 hours per day, every day. I was told by a guy in college that I needed to exercise. ::eyeroll:: I developed strep throat and went to the doctor. He made me take off my shirt to check my chest and he had a conniption. From the waist up, I loooked like a refugee from a third world nation. Ribs, etc. showing. From the waist down, I looked like I needed weight watchers. Bad genes.
Of course genes are all my fault. 400 calories a day was too much food. People told me I was fat all of the time. 6-10 hours a day was not enough exercise. Legs with cellulite, well, we all know they need exercise. I believed them. It wasn't like I thought I was big. I just thought I was doing enough to get rid of the cellulite. I could have starved to death and still had lousy, flabby legs. Running, bicycling, walking ten miles a day, stretching, lifting weights. All did no good and I was constantly told I was not trying hard enough. I believed them.
There is no empathy for women with figure flaws that are not diet related. Everything we have wrong with us is our fault. We never do enough.
My doctor had a conniption and he made me promise to put on some weight. He told me that there was nothing I could do about my legs. Nothing would change them. He was right. I had done it all. I kept my promise to him. So, I gained weight til I weighed 110 lbs. I did diet and exercise for another ten years. I was a size 10-12. 5'6" in height. I have to deal with people calling me fat. Especially men Guys of all ages were very cruel about it. Rarely did I hear anything from women. Afterall, women were aware I weighed less than most of them so they didn't think I was fat. However, I wasn't in that ratio that is programmed into the male brain and thus it was my fault and by their verdict should be condemned.
I am fat now. I have gained about 60 lbs in the last year. I got so tired of dieting. I wasn't overweight until I was 35 and that was after I took prednisone. Unlike most people who take prednisone and gain weight, then lose it, I could never lose weight easily again. It all became harder. Of course, my legs and hips larger.
I know what it takes for my body to be thin. I did it for a very long time. Now, it is harder than ever. Partly because, I believe of that prednisone which I think triggered some permanent change in me. Also, the years of dieting also probably messed up my metabolism.
That is why I hate dieting and exercise. It is never enough. Ever. I know that if I got down to 130 llbs, I would still be perceived as morbidly obese. I also know that 130 lbs means no more than 1200 calories a day and at least 4 hours per day of exercise. All that and still be condemned as fat.
I hate dieting. I hate exercise. I hate men.
You see, I stood up to my genes and the genes won.
When I was 13, I thought I was fat because I developed cellulite. I weighed 95 lbs and was 5 feet tall. There have been women who have died of stravation in third world nations and had cellulite. There is a lot of ignorance about cellulite. People can be underweight and have it and morbidly obese and not have it. I believe some, not all, but some anorexia begins with cellulite on normal sized girls. People told me I was fat. Especially men.
I was active in sports (biking, swimming, basketball, baseball) At 16, when I was of normal weight (I was 5'3" in height and weighed 116 lbs), I was fat because I was small from the waist up, size 2 and large 14-16 from the waist down. I was told I was fat. Espeically by men and boys.
I got the freshman 15 in college. People who thought I was fat before REALLY had a field day then. So, I began dieting and exercising. I began reasonably enough. Three years later, after the cellulite did not disappear, it was no longer reasonable. I weighed 90 lbs, was 5'6" tall. I ate 400-1000 calories per day and exercised, 6-10 hours per day, every day. I was told by a guy in college that I needed to exercise. ::eyeroll:: I developed strep throat and went to the doctor. He made me take off my shirt to check my chest and he had a conniption. From the waist up, I loooked like a refugee from a third world nation. Ribs, etc. showing. From the waist down, I looked like I needed weight watchers. Bad genes.
Of course genes are all my fault. 400 calories a day was too much food. People told me I was fat all of the time. 6-10 hours a day was not enough exercise. Legs with cellulite, well, we all know they need exercise. I believed them. It wasn't like I thought I was big. I just thought I was doing enough to get rid of the cellulite. I could have starved to death and still had lousy, flabby legs. Running, bicycling, walking ten miles a day, stretching, lifting weights. All did no good and I was constantly told I was not trying hard enough. I believed them.
There is no empathy for women with figure flaws that are not diet related. Everything we have wrong with us is our fault. We never do enough.
My doctor had a conniption and he made me promise to put on some weight. He told me that there was nothing I could do about my legs. Nothing would change them. He was right. I had done it all. I kept my promise to him. So, I gained weight til I weighed 110 lbs. I did diet and exercise for another ten years. I was a size 10-12. 5'6" in height. I have to deal with people calling me fat. Especially men Guys of all ages were very cruel about it. Rarely did I hear anything from women. Afterall, women were aware I weighed less than most of them so they didn't think I was fat. However, I wasn't in that ratio that is programmed into the male brain and thus it was my fault and by their verdict should be condemned.
I am fat now. I have gained about 60 lbs in the last year. I got so tired of dieting. I wasn't overweight until I was 35 and that was after I took prednisone. Unlike most people who take prednisone and gain weight, then lose it, I could never lose weight easily again. It all became harder. Of course, my legs and hips larger.
I know what it takes for my body to be thin. I did it for a very long time. Now, it is harder than ever. Partly because, I believe of that prednisone which I think triggered some permanent change in me. Also, the years of dieting also probably messed up my metabolism.
That is why I hate dieting and exercise. It is never enough. Ever. I know that if I got down to 130 llbs, I would still be perceived as morbidly obese. I also know that 130 lbs means no more than 1200 calories a day and at least 4 hours per day of exercise. All that and still be condemned as fat.
I hate dieting. I hate exercise. I hate men.
You see, I stood up to my genes and the genes won.
Appy20: I've always been fat~I remember seeing photos of me at around age 6 I had chubby arms. I grew up in a household that loved to eat~when you're Jewish,Italian,german,Russian, Austrian & Irish and both parents love to cook you eat alot of great homecook meals.
Now when I was in jr/Sr.Highschool I was about 155lbs~That was until I began taking Dexedrine for my Epilepsy. I went and changed a few things~like eating 1/2 sandwitch around 11:30AM and the rest at around 3:30 when I would work in the dean's office.
I went from 155 to 134 and fit into a size 7!!!! I had some little shape~and the boys came running after me then. When I graduated highschool I was about a size 14/16. That was 1972. Then came 1974 and my whole life changed both emotionally and weight wise: That was the year that my mother had a stroke.
When she had the stroke I was about 165~When things go bad I'm a worrier. I dont' lose I gain weight. I don't know if it's from "unconious eating or just nerves" She was diagnosed with "Inopberable brain cancer in March of '74." father chose to keep her at home: We were going to take care of her. he refused to put her in a hospice or nursing home I was only 18 when she got sick and 19 when she passed away on September 29,1974.
This whole expeience changed me~and made me grow up~FAST. When she died, I would say I was maybe 187.
Now between her passing in 1974 and now I went all the way up to 365. I'm heavier now~last time I was weighed I was 388.3 I'm on a water pill to help me get rid of the excess water I'm carrying. It's working~I can tell,cause my legs don't hurt and I'm seeing the differance in my clothes. And my shoes!!! My feet aren't swollen anymore.
I want to get down to about 200lbs. That's a healthy weight for me. I'm only 5'5.5" inches and I also have a really bad back due to a fall I had in 1987. I also want to have a breast reduction. I'm rather large in that department~I'm a 52DD. I want to be a 38DD-AND I want them FIRM!
I eat when I don't sleep. Fatigue is my only emotional eating. I don't eat when I am depressed, worried or whatever. But boy if I am tired. I am soooooooooo hungry and I tend toward junk food then. However, I rarely eat junk food and do manage to fight it even then. I am a very healthy eater. I eat mostly fruits and vegetables. Very little meat.
I can't over 145 to be in size 16. I have to weigh under 140 (139 is good enough) to get into a 12. When I was 90, I was an 8 in jeans. Most 90 pounders are in size 2s.
There are people out there who are "normal" body sizes, and yet still have poor body image. For those who are "normal" body weight, what are some of the things that make you think you are "too fat" or "too thin" and what would it take to get you to accept yourself just the way you are?
You've asked this question a few times now on a couple different threads. Yet you never seem to accept or respect anyone's answers and throw out a simple "get over it already" mentality to everyone. So why do you keep asking the same question over and over again when you don't seem to want to hear an answer? Or really you already have your mind made up on the subject?
With subjects like this, you need to have an open mind and open heart. Would you approach someone with Schizophrenia and say "Just get over it."? Just be considerate and open.
You are assuming a lot about my "mentality" about this subject. You are assuming I'm saying "just get over it" and that is not at all where I'm coming from. And actually, no, I have not asked the same question over and over again. In the thread about body image, I ask the question of people who are overweight about accepting their image. On this thread, I ask normal-weight people the same question because many "think" they are fat when they are not. Anorexic people can even "think" they are fat, but they are so not.
I have never once suggested that anyone "just get over it" and am offended that you would even assume that. I am simply wondering what it takes - maybe for myself as much as for anyone else reading these boards.
I have not "made up my mind" because there is nothing to "make up." I would like to gain understanding into the issue of body image and weight....what makes people either accept themselves at their present weight, what makes them not, what motivates them to lose rather than accepting being overweight, what the issues are for those who are underweight, what makes "normal" people think they are not and what they can do to accept their body shape. There is nothing to "make up."
Maybe I ask the same questions in different ways because the questions don't get answered and threads go off topic. For example, on this thread I ask the question of normal weight people, and ended up with a conversation about eating patterns in a matter of three posts. I also fail to see where you think I've been disrespectful or unaccepting of other's answers.
There is some evidence that true anorexia is an OCD condition. Anorexics can't just stop dieting without a lot of help and even then it is not always successful. I have a cousin who is dying of anorexia. She has had most of her intestine cut out due to problems stemming from not eating.
However, striving to achieve a certain body is not OCD, if you can quit the dieting. Also, if the problem is not imaginary. Anorexics aren't trying to fix a part of their body, they truly think they are fat all over.
Here is some insight as to why women strive so hard for beautiful bodies:
"what the issues are for those who are underweight, what makes "normal" people think they are not and what they can do to accept their body shape."
It is the people around you that remind you that you are not. Because, you are not. That doesn't mean you don't accept yourself. I can accept myself as flawed but that does not make other people accept me. It isn't the media although it does remind me of all the comments i heard that week when a comedian makes fun of people like me. It isn't the comedian. It isn't the media. it is family, friends, even teachers. It is the strangers at the mall that make rude comments. Strangers at the beach. The boys in your class. The men you work with. A male oworker once told me that I looked like two halves of two different people stuck together. Who asked him? It isn't like we were discussing the subject. Coworkers who point pictures of people like you at the beach and say "people like that should not be allowed in swimsuits." You can accept yourself but it is an uphill battle and like it or not, it is human nature to wish to fit in and not be ridiculed. There is a luxury of being able to wear shorts, swimsuit or anything without having comments made. I cannot begin to count the times I was not thinking about my flaws but someone else brought my attention to it. It takes a lot of work to overcome the unrelenting perceptions of those around you. It is made worse by those that are oblivious to it all and think you should just get over it. Because, you do get over it. However, that doesn't end it. There is always the next day where it all begins again.
Years ago when I was a teen I had an eating problem too, I believed I was fat but after losing weight after a while it was not the pant size it is what you see in the mirror and for people which I heard all the time if she would just eat and it is not about the eating its about the distortion you see of yourself in the mirror its more in the mind then anything thats why you can really only be helped by doctors and centers that deal with anorexia and bulimia because it's so much more then the food. I'd say if you are having any set backs the wisest thing for you to do is to go to your Dr. and tell him or her your past for one if its not the same Dr. that treated you, and to ask for some help now before it gets out of hand.
