We''re all being fooled about our growing size

[Sparkster]

Date: 7/12/2005 8:15:50 PM
Author: LadyluvsLuxury
Interesting...although not surprising. We are a vainity driven society so it would not surprise me that this mass conspiracy is taking place behind close doors

. However, I think it is more dimensional than it seems on the surface. One of the most compelling arguments is that while it is true Americans are becoming more and more ''overweight'' (which is a relative term), is weight the only determining factor of health? Does being ''overweight'' really mean unhealthy, obese, disease prone etc. I will take myself for instance, 5''5 and I have always hovered around 150-155 which growing up I was always told I was ''overweight'' but healthy.... WHAT? seems like an oxy moron to me!

I always thought I was fat, even though I found it strange that I could fit into 7/8 pants and 5/6 tops. It wasn''t until I reached college and had my body fat taken that I found out my body fat was 18.5% which is considred ''low'' for a woman or ideal for athletes. Finally I understood that I wasn''t FAT like I always thought I was just more muscular than the average woman. So to put an interesting twist on the conversation does more weight neccessairily mean poorer health? And if that is the case and so many of us are medically considered overweight and therefore unhealthy, then why is our life expectancy increasing every year? And one of the highest in all the world? And wasn''t it true at one point in history that a ''large'' woman was considered attractive and desireable, and I mean like double-chin type large not just ''I''m 5 pounds over weight so I''m obese'', take a look at protraits of royalty back in the days, the women were always...thick

And when did that all turn around and we begin to value slenderness over curvaceousness anyway? So could it be that designers are just re-adjusting for the trend in society since size is relative anyway?

According to the BMI calculation, I''m at the lower end of what I should weigh for my height (19.14). But does that mean I am fit and healthy? I don''t eat too much junk food and have a very balanced diet. But I do know that I am extremely unfit because I don''t exercise, and not because of what I weigh.

I think the whole, ''more weight more health issues'' refers to obese people and not people who are overweight by a few kilos. I think we also live longer due to advances in medical science.

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Date: 7/12/2005 8:28:50 PM
Author: IrishEyes
I think our life expectancy increases every year simply because of advances in modern medicine. I think it has very little to do with weight and lifestyle. Sure, you can die if you drink alot, smoke, eat too much of the wrong things and never work out, but today''s scientists and doctors are making adjustments in medications and technology to handle these lifestyles.

In terms of being ''overweight yet healthy'' I do believe it is possible, although it does sound funny. Overweight is simply a government standard. They are the ones that issue the standards for what is considered thin vs. overweight, depending largely on your height, weight and age. What they fail to account for most of the time is your genetics, your muscle mass, your bone density and how active you are or not. These are all major factors in if we are overweight or not. I know many women who, according to government charts, are ''overweight''. But these same women are active, eat well, don''t drink or smoke, have healthy hearts and bones and have very high muscle mass. But they are being told constantly that they are ''fat'', which I think is a damn shame! It seems that to be considerend ''healthy'' or of normal weight in this country, you have to be thin naturally, or almost be a stick, with no curves and very little fat. This is not the average woman. And it does nothing but make us feel worse about ourselves and strive constantly for an impossible ideal.

I really hope that one or both things happen: 1. that women realize they are beautiful no matter what anyone tells us. I used to have massive problems with my body, and I am considered ''thin'' by the charts. But I constantly belittled every little bulge or imperfection. Then I went overseas and saw soldiers coming home with no arms or legs, with holes in their heads. And I realized that hey, my body is beautiful. So what if it''s not perfect, what is perfect anyway?? At least I have all my limbs. This body is beautiful because it encases ME, and I love myself. This body is beautiful because it works, it moves, it lives.

2. That the government and society can get a handle on what is REALLY healthy. That they can be fair and start making charts that take the things I mentioned above into account. Every year we seem to make advances, so maybe it''s not that far off......

IrishEyes I completely agree! It always amazed me growing up how so many of my friends thought I had the* best body and they were like size 0''s and 4''s and I''m thinking...ARE YOU SERIOUS??? I think as a society we do not teach how to love our bodies but how to achieve the "perfect" body, and obviously there is no such thing, but for some reason we just keep striving and striving for that unattainable perfection at all costs. I wish we would focus more on HEALTH than on IMAGE. As bad as this is I must admit I always snicker to myself when one of my size nothing friends (who never works out) wants to suddenly join me for one of my daily 3 mile runs (because they assume that being skinny means they are fit and in perfect health), and begins to huff and puff and quit before the .5 mile mark hahahahahahahHAHAHAHAHHehheheheHAHAHHA...ok that is mean

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

MC - I agree, I HATE that my hubby can go into a store pick up the same size shirt he always does (irregardless of brand), pick out the same size pants (that might vary in size about 10% of the time) and not try a darn thing on and walk right out the store...BUT for us the difference is just sooooooooo drastic, I have everything hanging up in my closet from XS-L, and he can never understand why I have to try everything on before I buy it UGH

But that saleswoman was downright rude, obviously she has no business working in retail...I think you should complain, who knows how many people she does that to in a given day!

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Date: 7/12/2005 8:47:22 PM
Author: Mara
Being too overweight CAN be unhealthy because of things like stress on your joints like your knees which are your weakest joint in the body to begin with....also many times it can lead to high cholesterol stress to the heart working overtime or other things due to types of food you are eating. Some people are just naturally larger, but others are that way due to eating habits or no exercise or lifestyle and it seems like that is where it could cross over into being unhealthy for the long-term. Who knows, there are so many stats on what is good and bad...I can''t keep up.

However, if your doctor says you are a bit overweight but generally healthy, then good for you! But not everyone is like that! Even skinny people get high cholesterol or can have serious health problems...maybe not related to weight.

In the past and even now in some countries, very overweight people are deemed desirable due to them being able to AFFORD to eat...I know in some very poor areas of the world the very large women are considered beautiful and desirable because they have money and everyone else is stick thin and can''t afford to eat anything. Big difference from here in America where we have everything but don''t want to eat it because we''ll be deemed fat etc. I LOVE food but many times I know what it does to me so I don''t eat it. I try to strike a healthy balance betwen good and bad items.

Bottom line, thin or fat, do whatever is best for you and makes YOU happiest. I personally feel unhappy with myself when I overeat or stop exercising and gain weight. I hate when my clothes are tight...there''s no reason for them to be like that. If I could fit into them before, I should be able to now...I''m an adult and not growing anymore naturally! So I tend to try to use my clothes and how they fit as a gauge rather than scales. I do also use the tape measure at times to keep myself ''in line'' with where I feel is good for my body.

I am not skinny and I''m not fat. I''m somewhere in between...I''m tall and medium boned so I will never be Nicole Richie thin but I can feel good about myself and what I wear etc. Sure sometimes I wish my hips were like 3'' smaller but why wish for what you CANT HAVE??!

Just because clothes would be that much more fun to wear is not an excuse to get hip removal surgery.

Anyhow, I also wanted to say that doesn''t it suck that no matter how good you feel about yourself, so many times when you go to the store to try on new things, 99% of them look like crap on you? Even when I have been thinner in the past, aka when I was younger and not quite so curvy, I''d still be like...that looks like CRAP, look how it bunches here, or this is not made for my body etc. Wouldn''t it be great if everyone could wear what they wanted and look fabulous in it!!!??!

Oh and Michelle it probably WAS you that was making the shirt look unflattering and no I don''t mean you are fat. But just that the shirt was not made for YOUR body style, just like my comment above....I hate that! If you like something, it should just fit. What is so hard about that?! Unfair!

Where is that country and how soon can I get a ticket there?? LOL Seriously, I completely agree that after a point being too overweight becomes a health risk. However, my gripe is the lack of education about healthy habits over striving to achieve a certain image. If the average woman is a size 14 and 174 pds(?) I think JM quoted, then how can being a size 10 make you overweight? Or even being a size 12, or weighing 160 (of course in the right proportion for your height)? What I am saying is that there are more important indicators of health and how we should perceive our bodies than just weight, and we (adults and children alike) should be educated about that aspect more, instead of just focusing on the scale which does not take into account height, bone structure, genes, fitness, proportion, measurements etc.

 

[hoorray]

When I talked about fat being unhealthy, I meant real fat, not muscles or bones. In general, I ignore stats and arbitrary charts since everyone is built differently.

Mara is right about extra fat being hard on your joints and skeletel system. I read recently that losing 1 lb reduces the pressure on your knees with every step by 6 pounds. Being one with bad knees, I know how important that is. The other thing that medical science is really starting to understand is the relationhip of abdominal fat to heart desiese and diabetes. This is specific to abdominal fat, so I guess I''m off the hook since I tend to gain gluteal fat which they say is just unattractive and bad for my knees

.

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Date: 7/12/2005 9:50:06 PM
Author: lop
When I talked about fat being unhealthy, I meant real fat, not muscles or bones. In general, I ignore stats and arbitrary charts since everyone is built differently.

Mara is right about extra fat being hard on your joints and skeletel system. I read recently that losing 1 lb reduces the pressure on your knees with every step by 6 pounds. Being one with bad knees, I know how important that is. The other thing that medical science is really starting to understand is the relationhip of abdominal fat to heart desiese and diabetes. This is specific to abdominal fat, so I guess I''m off the hook since I tend to gain gluteal fat which they say is just unattractive and bad for my knees

.

Hey lop, do you happen to know what causes the correlation betwen heart disease/diabetes and abdominal fat?? I mean are there specific organs (aside from our stomachs), that trigger these particular illnesses?

 

[Mara]

"If the average woman is a size 14 and 174 pds(?) I think JM quoted, then how can being a size 10 make you overweight? Or even being a size 12, or weighing 160 (of course in the right proportion for your height)? What I am saying is that there are more important indicators of health and how we should perceive our bodies than just weight, and we (adults and children alike) should be educated about that aspect more, instead of just focusing on the scale which does not take into account height, bone structure, genes, fitness, proportion, measurements etc. "

______________

Just because a magazine notes that the average woman is size 14 and 175lbs does not mean that's 'healthy'. In general, I feel like most of America is overweight and many people are not 'healthy' about their lifestyles. Of course it's a sensitive topic to discuss 'america's growing size' in more ways than one, and weight is so taboo to discuss...

I also agree that there is more to your body than weight or size of clothes etc...I don't use the scale because IT LIES.

In general, I use BMI calculations and things like body fat to gauge kind of where I am as well as clothes fitting and how I look. I don't need to be a twig but I don't want to carry too much weight either, esp since they have said that carrying weight in your abdomen leads to increased risk of health problems or cancers later etc. So I figure if I can just stay in decent shape then I feel better about myself and my clothes fit. I also do feel better when I am active, even if it's just walking.

MC I also have bad knees and I think I can really FEEL it in my knees when I carry an extra 10 lbs or so...your knees are your weakest joint on your body and it carries so much body mass!

 

[IrishEyes]

It is very unhealthy to carry fat, commonly known as visceral fat, around your abdomen. It leads to heart problems and can be a factor in having diabetes. I am going to share a secret that I have discovered to beating cortisol, the stress hormone that leads to cravings and increased eating/bingeing which leads to more visceral fat:

I used to really guilt myself about everything I ate. I had an enormous appetite, especially for the "bad" things like pizza, ice cream, soda, chocolate, etc. Before I was deployed, I was unhappy with my body (see what I wrote previously in this thread about how I got over that) and I tried to tell myself that I wouldn''t eat badly anymore. I got a food journal and started recording everything I was eating, making sure I only ate healthy foods. Every single time a "bad" food would end up on the list, I would seriously cuss myself out inside my head! Point being, I was a slave to the "perfect" images that were being crammed down my throat on a daily basis. I was trying to look perfect and all I was doing in the meantime was stressing myself out. This of course led to lots of midnight snacking and giving in and having all the bad food I was trying to avoid. I actually started to gain weight!

Then last year once I got home, I simply gave up! I still go to the gym, maybe three times a week or so, although I only go if I feel like it - I don''t make myself go because then I won''t enjoy my workout. I also started eating WHATEVER I wanted to. If I want that piece of pizza, it''s mine! Chocolate at 11 pm, MINE!! However, I naturally love veggies and fruit, so I incorporate that into my schedule too. Over the course of a few weeks, my appetite started to shrink. I started eating several small meals a day, and I get full quickly. This has also saved me cash, as I frequently have leftovers for the next day! I started to lose weight, not just on the scale, but inches around my waist fell off.

I really feel that because I stopped pressuring myself and bereating myself for all the things I was doing wrong, I became very happy. I stopped stressing so much, and all that cortisol I had been producing diminished greatly. I still eat what I want, but I eat healthy too, and I work out whenever I feel up to it and motivated. I may not be the healthiest person around, but I''m much better than when I was obsessing over every little calorie and carb. I realized that as long as you keep moving (walking, gardening, some form of excercise) and eat as well as you can without feeling deprived, you will see how much better you feel as you truly live life! Food is part of life, and a great part at that! Why not enjoy it? I hate it when I see women go to a party and eat a piece of chocolate cake, then "jokingly" scrutinize themselves for doing so. They will say to you " oh look at me! I just had that piece of cake!! Ugh, well I guess I need to go the gym tomorrow morning!!" and look embarrassed. Forget that!! Have the damn cake! Enjoy it! Savor it!! And if you feel like going to the gym the next day, then ok. But if not, don''t sweat it! You''ll get there eventually, in the mean time you had a great time at the party and had one great piece of cake!

Sorry! I just wanted to share this because, while it may not work for everyone (everyone is different), it really works for me! Maybe it can help someone to stop feeling bad about themselves and realize what a great, imperfect body they have!!

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Date: 7/12/2005 10:08:40 PM
Author: Mara
''If the average woman is a size 14 and 174 pds(?) I think JM quoted, then how can being a size 10 make you overweight? Or even being a size 12, or weighing 160 (of course in the right proportion for your height)? What I am saying is that there are more important indicators of health and how we should perceive our bodies than just weight, and we (adults and children alike) should be educated about that aspect more, instead of just focusing on the scale which does not take into account height, bone structure, genes, fitness, proportion, measurements etc. ''

______________

Just because a magazine notes that the average woman is size 14 and 175lbs does not mean that''s ''healthy''. In general, I feel like most of America is overweight and many people are not ''healthy'' about their lifestyles. Of course it''s a sensitive topic to discuss ''america''s growing size'' in more ways than one, and weight is so taboo to discuss...

Hey how come I have your font?

I agree that it is taboo to discuss weight, but my point is size is relative, let''s take it back to our favorite topic, diamonds

When my best friend became engaged (her in FL, me in VA), naturally I had to get all the juicy details on the ring...well she kept telling me how big it was and she didn''t know anyone with a stone that size etc. (she did not know exactly the specs of my stone). Well, when we finally got together for the holidays, and I saw her ring I thought it was GORGEOUS on her, but she, instead, kept staring at my ring and finally asked what size mine was, so I told her (my stone is half a carat larger than hers). NOW she keeps talking about her "small" her stone is and how she wants one ATLEAST the size of mine etc. Her perception of small/large was based upon those around her, however, when she saw her stone next to a larger stone it suddenly became "small". Yes, I agree that there is an alarming amount of unhealthy overweight Americans but there is probably the same if not close proportion of unhealthy "ideal" weight Americans as well, we do we not focus on
health instead of size? Size is relative, and if 30 years from now what is considered "average" at size 14 suddenly became a size 8 because as a population we continue to expand horizontally lol then does that mean someone who wears a size 8 30 years from now is still unhealthy? Or does it mean that they suddenly become healthy because that person has become more the norm than the not they are ''ok''. According, to jaysonsmom''s original post that would indicate to me that someone who wore a size 14 10 years ago and now wears a 10 because sizes have been adjusting upward...have they suddenly gone from becoming "large" and "unhealthy" to "slender" and fit? As I said before, I think it is dangerous to correlate weight/size with health in any way shape or form. I volunteer at a high school as a mentor for underpriviledged children and it just amazes me what a terrible self-image so many of our youth today have because of blanket terms like ''overweight'', ''fat'', and people idolizing the "new, improved skinny" Lohan and Richie... PUKE!

 

[Sparkster]

I''ve never worried about weight issues, but that''s probably because I''m skinny. But I still have body issues, one of them being that I have no boobs (or as my sister likes to call me in these politically correct times - ''mammary challenged''). I think that no matter what we look like, we will never be happy - too fat, too short, too tall, frizzy hair.........I even read that Michelle Pfeiffer hates how her lips look!!!!

The thing is, yeah okay, I''m skinny but my doctor has warned me that because I am skinny, I have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. So it''s not just being overweight that causes health problems - it works both ways.

 

[IrishEyes]

Sparkster, that mammary challenged is hilarious!!

Do you ever wonder how much of a slave we are to comparison and trends? I often wonder: If suddenly everything switched and being around "average", between 5''4" - 5''6", 140-170 pounds, size 8-12/14 was the "ideal" would women starting coveting that size? Would they quit counting carbs, calories and start eating more food to attain that shape? Would they be like "YES!! I am no longer a size 6, I''m a 10!!"? Just makes me wonder exactly how much of a slave women are to comparing themselves to other women and following current media trends......

 

[Mara]

It's true that the grass is always greener...

Kelly Monaco, the Dancing with the Stars gal and General Hospital soap actress...she's small, hot, fit, beautiful (I think she is stunning) etc etc...insert all sorts of positive adjectives here.

On a recent DWTS episode they had a sidebar where she was talking about how she had to learn the dances and steps and how she is 'squat' and clumsy and she is going to try to not be quite such an 'oompa loompa' when she dances.

I just thought it was ironic that she thinks she is SQUAT because she is small and had these negative adjectives to describe herself! When so many gals probably starve themselves for her body! Just goes to show, alot of people have issues. Even Jennifer Aniston was described by a friend as considering herself 'homely' and unnatractive. When so many women think she is just great.

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

IrishEyes that is so funny you mentioned that because I was telling one of my co-workers (who just started Atkins on Monday and has only been eating raw hotdogs PUKE!), anyway ANY TIME in my life I "dieted" I found myself MORE hungry than I would normally be, and not because I was starving myself but because I was CONSTANTLY thinking about food. Food consumed my life and would just count down the minutes/hours until when I could eat again which caused me to think I was always hungry even though it was really an obssession! So, like you said, I eat what I want when I want, but I find because I am not depriving myself of anything I do not WANT for things like I used to, so I am not binging and eating it nearly as often. Also, although my main form of exercise is running, I also LOVE to kickbox, do step aerobics, weight train, walk my dogs, dance, do pilates/yoga etc. So I always try to keep some variety to my workout and although I know doing pilates will not burn as much calories in a given workout as my 3 mile runs, atleast it keeps me motivated to remain active, and that is a completely different train of thought than I had growing up. I HATED exercises but I LOVED sports so I was lucky because year round I was training and playing something, I think had I not been into sports I would be a walking blob right now. Anyway, I think in the end you need to learn to love yourself, accept your quirks and realize life is too short to constantly worry about things you can''t change, and dwelling on things you can but choose not to!

 

[Mara]

I''ve found that walking is really working wonders for me. I started a few months ago and have been doing it more and more esp since I hurt my pec after kickboxing and had to take it easy but didn''t want to languish away in the house for a month. I finally got a pedometer so now I can actually know what I am doing in terms of miles. But I love it! It feels good, its fast (I do 2m in 30 minutes) and Portia can run outside with me and have some fun too. Benefits all around.

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Date: 7/12/2005 10:40:42 PM
Author: IrishEyes
Sparkster, that mammary challenged is hilarious!!

Do you ever wonder how much of a slave we are to comparison and trends? I often wonder: If suddenly everything switched and being around ''average'', between 5''4'' - 5''6'', 140-170 pounds, size 8-12/14 was the ''ideal'' would women starting coveting that size? Would they quit counting carbs, calories and start eating more food to attain that shape? Would they be like ''YES!! I am no longer a size 6, I''m a 10!!''? Just makes me wonder exactly how much of a slave women are to comparing themselves to other women and following current media trends......

Absolutely we would, that is exactly my point. Just like royalty of the past, and as Mara stated some cultures of today. Personally, I have come to terms with being a 6-8 and knowing that I could NEVER be a 0 or a 2, I LOVE that I have inspired women to focus on fitness not just pounds (started a little lunchtime workout club on my job) and it is so cool to see them showing me their cute little biceps and telling me how just by being active they stopped focusing on the scale and started focusing on how THEY perceive their bodies and how their clothes fit. Now the one cool thing about my body is that because I am solid, I look like I weigh about 15 pds less than I truly do...now THAT rocks! But it''s always funny when I tell people how much I truly weigh they never believe me....I am like WHHHHHHY would I lie about weighing MORE? Boooooooooooooooo!

 

[ursulawrite]

Date: 7/12/2005 5:48:40 PM
Author: Bikergirl
So what if you''re a size zero? If all the other sizes are ''shifting'' what happens to really tiny people? Just wondering.....

It means that we skinnies can''t shop at certain places! Banana Republic and Marc Jacobs, for example, are both massive on me (I''m 5''7 and 110lbs).

I have more success with small sizes when I go back to England, to be honest.

 

[moremoremore]

OK LADIES! Time to get a grip and have our Daily Affirmation (for those of you who didn't have a life on saturday nights).....

REPEAT: "I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am an attractive person. I am fun to be with....I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggon'it, people like me"

ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hlmr]

Date: 7/12/2005 11:07:12 PM
Author: moremoremore
OK LADIES! Time to get a grip and have our Daily Affirmation (for those of you who didn''t have a life on saturday nights).....

REPEAT: ''I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am attractive person. I am fun to be with....I''m good enough, I''m smart enough, and doggon''in, people like me''

ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL!!!!

 

[moremoremore]

oops!! I had a few typos. But stewart says it''s OK.

 

[IrishEyes]

MMM, I sent you a pm about your avatar!! I just saw the giant-sized picture in your post!! LOVE IT

 

[kaylagee]

LOL at MMM''s S. Smalley av!

***I''m scanning the thread since I''m on my way to bed but another place reality hit me was learning to sew. The dress patterns in fabric stores seem consistent with the bridal sizing. I was an 8 in shops & like a 14 in patterns.

Another quick comment: in Paris, so many women are slim to skinny. I always feel huge when I''m there. It''s a bit better in the south.

During my last preg. my MIL and my French doctor(female MD, slim, kinda glam) constantly cautioned me against gaining too much weight. OTOH My doctor in the US was/is always after me to be sure I''m gaining enough!

As a consolation - the men there seem fine with some extra well-placed weight. I remember getting my first-ever public pinches at a club there in "99. I was like "What the...?!" lol! At that time I weighed about 140 lbs. & I''m 5''4".

 

[IrishEyes]

Hehe, how funny!! Yeah, I think it''s hilarious how so many women try so hard to be ultra-thin, when in reality, most guys I''ve ever talked to say they want a girl who is slim yet has some good curves to her! Men like a little extra, especially the chest/hips/butt area. Who wants a girl who looks like she hasn''t hit puberty?

 

[moremoremore]

Every guy- no matter how gross, thinks he deserves a super-model. It''s the funniest thing. It''s like they don''t have a grasp on reality.

Women are a bit more realistic..although that''s probably part of the poor self images a lot of women have b/c of the media and pressure to look like the air-brushed gals in the magazines!

 

[ursulawrite]

I think the most important thing is to exercise and be healthy.

And ladies, muscle rules. Too many women are scared of hitting the weights when, in fact, it increases your metabolism and reduces overall body fat.

 

[Bikergirl]

Date: 7/12/2005 5:59:13 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 7/12/2005 5:52:29 PM
Author: ForteKitty

Date: 7/12/2005 5:48:40 PM

Author: Bikergirl

So what if you''re a size zero? If all the other sizes are ''shifting'' what happens to really tiny people? Just wondering.....

They have 0, 00, 000 for teens, and those are TINY. I normally wear a 0P for Banana Republic, but I''d wear a 3-5 in those brands. Imagine how small a 000 is!

This is all madness, of course. No one wants to be ''fat'', so for the sake of vanity as people grew, sizes changed to help massage people''s vanity. In seventh grade I was around 5''2'' and weighed 99 lbs. I believe the pattern for the skirt I had to make in home economics was a size 12. I remember my waist being 27'' and my thinking that that was huge for a waist. I mean, didn''t Scarlett O''Hara have something tinier? Weren''t the measurements of all models, movie stars, and Miss Americas 36-22-34, etcetera?

I had to live with being a size 12 at 99 lbs!!!

Deb

A size 12 at 99 lbs?!? How very strange. I think the whole size thing is a hoax, anyway. Someone said earlier it would be nice if women''s sizes were measured by waist/inseam (like men''s clothing) and I agree! I have clothes in my closet that are size 2, and I have clothes that are size 10, and they all fit equally well! You''re certainly not consistent as you go from one manufacturer to another.

 

[IrishEyes]

I agree about the weights, however I don''t like it when girls go crazy with them and start looking like body-builders

There is this girl at my gym who strength trains everyday. She''s got crazy muscles, all big and bulky like a man''s. She also has breast implants which just make her look very uncomfortable. She always looks like she''s holding a big breath of air and her chest is swelled up with it! I want to go up to her and pop her so she deflates!!

Oh yeah, and she fakes and bakes REALLY bad, she''s got bleach-blond hair and this super dark tan. ICK. But, if she feels good, than more power to her! I don''t envy her, but it'' s not my look so I won''t worry about it....

 

[Bikergirl]

Date: 7/12/2005 8:15:50 PM
Author: LadyluvsLuxury
Interesting...although not surprising. We are a vainity driven society so it would not surprise me that this mass conspiracy is taking place behind close doors

. However, I think it is more dimensional than it seems on the surface. One of the most compelling arguments is that while it is true Americans are becoming more and more ''overweight'' (which is a relative term), is weight the only determining factor of health? Does being ''overweight'' really mean unhealthy, obese, disease prone etc. I will take myself for instance, 5''5 and I have always hovered around 150-155 which growing up I was always told I was ''overweight'' but healthy.... WHAT? seems like an oxy moron to me!

I always thought I was fat, even though I found it strange that I could fit into 7/8 pants and 5/6 tops. It wasn''t until I reached college and had my body fat taken that I found out my body fat was 18.5% which is considred ''low'' for a woman or ideal for athletes. Finally I understood that I wasn''t FAT like I always thought I was just more muscular than the average woman. So to put an interesting twist on the conversation does more weight neccessairily mean poorer health? And if that is the case and so many of us are medically considered overweight and therefore unhealthy, then why is our life expectancy increasing every year? And one of the highest in all the world? And wasn''t it true at one point in history that a ''large'' woman was considered attractive and desireable, and I mean like double-chin type large not just ''I''m 5 pounds over weight so I''m obese'', take a look at protraits of royalty back in the days, the women were always...thick

And when did that all turn around and we begin to value slenderness over curvaceousness anyway? So could it be that designers are just re-adjusting for the trend in society since size is relative anyway?

I think life expectancy has more to do with medical advances than with actual health. I heard that somewhere, but I couldn''t tell you exactly where... sorry

As for royalty/changes in perception, I also heard (from that famed somewhere) that people who were skinny were thought to be poor (couldn''t afford food) and people with tans were also thought to be poor (had to work in the sun) while people who were pasty white and overweight were looked upon as protected and wealthy (had the luxury of sitting around all day protected from the sun, and had more than an ample food supply).

 

[Bikergirl]

Date: 7/12/2005 8:28:50 PM
Author: IrishEyes
I think our life expectancy increases every year simply because of advances in modern medicine. I think it has very little to do with weight and lifestyle. Sure, you can die if you drink alot, smoke, eat too much of the wrong things and never work out, but today''s scientists and doctors are making adjustments in medications and technology to handle these lifestyles.

In terms of being ''overweight yet healthy'' I do believe it is possible, although it does sound funny. Overweight is simply a government standard. They are the ones that issue the standards for what is considered thin vs. overweight, depending largely on your height, weight and age. What they fail to account for most of the time is your genetics, your muscle mass, your bone density and how active you are or not. These are all major factors in if we are overweight or not. I know many women who, according to government charts, are ''overweight''. But these same women are active, eat well, don''t drink or smoke, have healthy hearts and bones and have very high muscle mass. But they are being told constantly that they are ''fat'', which I think is a damn shame! It seems that to be considerend ''healthy'' or of normal weight in this country, you have to be thin naturally, or almost be a stick, with no curves and very little fat. This is not the average woman. And it does nothing but make us feel worse about ourselves and strive constantly for an impossible ideal.

I really hope that one or both things happen: 1. that women realize they are beautiful no matter what anyone tells us. I used to have massive problems with my body, and I am considered ''thin'' by the charts. But I constantly belittled every little bulge or imperfection. Then I went overseas and saw soldiers coming home with no arms or legs, with holes in their heads. And I realized that hey, my body is beautiful. So what if it''s not perfect, what is perfect anyway?? At least I have all my limbs. This body is beautiful because it encases ME, and I love myself. This body is beautiful because it works, it moves, it lives.

2. That the government and society can get a handle on what is REALLY healthy. That they can be fair and start making charts that take the things I mentioned above into account. Every year we seem to make advances, so maybe it''s not that far off......

You''re right about being overweight but healthy. I used to be a sloth and never did anything unless it was required. (typical teenager is my excuse

). I woke up one morning and decided I wanted to be an athlete, so I signed up for a triathlon - then figured I should probably learn how to swim!

Anyway, skip ahead four years - I''ve gained almost 20 pounds (no joke!) but my waist size has gone down considerably. If you look at the charts, I''m totally overweight. However I get comments all the time from people asking if I''m anorexic or if I''m feeling OK

. It''s because I have tremendous muscle mass now from all of my training.

I also agree that women are all beautiful, we just haven''t all realized it yet!

 

[Bikergirl]

Date: 7/13/2005 10:13:01 AM
Author: IrishEyes
I agree about the weights, however I don''t like it when girls go crazy with them and start looking like body-builders

There is this girl at my gym who strength trains everyday. She''s got crazy muscles, all big and bulky like a man''s. She also has breast implants which just make her look very uncomfortable. She always looks like she''s holding a big breath of air and her chest is swelled up with it! I want to go up to her and pop her so she deflates!!

Oh yeah, and she fakes and bakes REALLY bad, she''s got bleach-blond hair and this super dark tan. ICK. But, if she feels good, than more power to her! I don''t envy her, but it'' s not my look so I won''t worry about it....

I see people like that often. I know this sounds awful, but it kind of makes me sad. I think I would rather be HUGELY overweight and happy with who I am, than to be so insecure to do ALL of those things - surgery, fake tan, fake hair color, fake maincure, fake pedicure, etc, etc. Not blasting anyone who does these things (especially if you only do one or two as a luxury/treat for yourself....I can totally see that). But it seems like people who are so caught up in image that they will to go any length to have the "perfect" body/style/hair/whatever have got to be tremendously insecure. At least...that''s my perception.

 

[hoorray]

Date: 7/12/2005 9:53:48 PM
Author: LadyluvsLuxury

Date: 7/12/2005 9:50:06 PM
Author: lop
When I talked about fat being unhealthy, I meant real fat, not muscles or bones. In general, I ignore stats and arbitrary charts since everyone is built differently.

Mara is right about extra fat being hard on your joints and skeletel system. I read recently that losing 1 lb reduces the pressure on your knees with every step by 6 pounds. Being one with bad knees, I know how important that is. The other thing that medical science is really starting to understand is the relationhip of abdominal fat to heart desiese and diabetes. This is specific to abdominal fat, so I guess I''m off the hook since I tend to gain gluteal fat which they say is just unattractive and bad for my knees

.

Hey lop, do you happen to know what causes the correlation betwen heart disease/diabetes and abdominal fat?? I mean are there specific organs (aside from our stomachs), that trigger these particular illnesses?

Hi Lady...
I''m not an expert on the topic, but everything I have heard and read says that the visceral fat (abdominal fat on and around the gastrointestinal area) seems to have the largest impact on heart related health issues. It can lead to a conditinal called insulin resistance where you body no longer reacts/produces insulin properly and can lead to a diabetic state. THere are lots of articles at the American Heart Association''s web site if you do a couple of searches. Here is one....

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3025171

I agree with the general consensus here is that we as a society have made ourselves try to be something unrealistic, and it''s not a healthy way to go through life trying to achieve that model thinness or beating ourselves up for not being that. However, I don''t believe that the right answer to that is to ignore the health issues associated with carrying too much weight. I know I always feel better when I am on the thinner side of my norm, and getting good exercise. I don''t have to be a size 0 to feel good, but I like my clothes to fit well, and my body to feel strong.