do you ever wonder what is the point of being thin?

msstatz

Oh the question should be what ISN'T fun about thin! Honestly, there's not much. Here's what is fun:

Riding a bike and not getting winded.

Being able to do multiple pull ups because there's not as much weight to lift.

Buying anything off the clearance rack in the small sizes and KNOWING it will fit before you even try it on.

Getting smug satisfaction from the strength that it takes to eat healthy, especially while those around you eat garbage. This is especially fun while dining out with friends. Honestly I used to hate this part (as most healthy eaters do), but a small part of me kind of enjoys it now...

Seeing ripped muscles in the mirror instead of flab, and knowing the effort that it has taken to get them.

Bikini shopping!!!!

Pajama shopping!!!!

The boundless energy - it's no longer such a chore to clean the house or walk the dog.

My house is now cleaner (see above).

This is not a complete list, by any means...

For some reason, I love this paragraph: Getting smug satisfaction from the strength that it takes to eat healthy, especially while those around you eat garbage. This is especially fun while dining out with friends. Honestly I used to hate this part (as most healthy eaters do), but a small part of me kind of enjoys it now...

This is the exact mindset that I have when dining with others, especially the inlaws. They won't really say anything about me being in shape or losing the baby weight and then they will look at me like I have 2 heads when I bring a salad to share for lunch. then they will comment about how they need to start walking/dieting/getting in shape/etc and I'm like "You just wolfed down 3 servings of cheesy potatoes and chicken and you are wondering why I am very content eating my salad and am in the best shape of my life". It is almost like others are jealous of those of us who eat healthy and are in shape so their only reaction is to react in a way that is indifferent to our actions. Sorry got off on a tangent there, but I just wanted to let you know that I like your comment.

salladeve

I haven't read all the responses yet, but for me I don't want to be thin, I want to be healthy and strong. I want to be able to shop for "regular" size clothes. I want to be able to take a walk with my grandchildren without having to stop or ask them to slow down. I want to be able to care for my elderly parents without injuring myself trying to move or lift them. I want to have the energy to enjoy my life, not be so tired all the time all I feel like doing is laying on the couch.

Basically I want to just be healthy, and that becomes so much more important as you age.

LMT2012

I think, in my case, the older you get, the less you want to be an old, fat person who does nothing except sit around and get older and fatter. Age does enough to rob you of the energy and mobility you take for granted in youth. Not to mention the older you are, the more susceptible you are to problems with joints, bones, heart problems, etc. I want to enter the last years of my life with a better chance to avoid some of the pitfalls of old age.

VAIN? Your friends are morons. Misery loves company....they WANT you to stay fat like them. DONT fall for that. You get yourself thin and healthy and find some new friends that will support your efforts. You will be a LOT happier!

Yay you for saying what I was thinking and couldn't figure out how to say it : )

nickyfm

Who cares about them. Are YOU happy feeling overweight? Are you confident, mobile and healthy? No? Then that is the point in being thin.

JoanB5

I was just 15 pounds over goal last year and it wasn't a huge deal. I could have stayed happily there. The problem was, I wasn't staying there. It was an undisciplined approach. I was slowly creeping up a pound or two every month, truth be told. It was time for a reset of habits, an examination of what worked, and a commitment to stop the madness. No more new clothes in bigger sizes.

Six months later, I am thinner.

I started lifting.

I can run a 5K.

I am encouraging activity in my family.

I am blessing my man.

I am able to eat more calories because I have more muscle and I need energy so that I can stay more active.

THIS is a good place to be. Could I be happy elsewhere? Yes. Could I be healthy? Not as much. Try both and see which you like better. Give it a real shot. You have the rest of your life to not care.

spectralmoon

I think, in my case, the older you get, the less you want to be an old, fat person who does nothing except sit around and get older and fatter. Age does enough to rob you of the energy and mobility you take for granted in youth. Not to mention the older you are, the more susceptible you are to problems with joints, bones, heart problems, etc. I want to enter the last years of my life with a better chance to avoid some of the pitfalls of old age.

VAIN? Your friends are morons. Misery loves company....they WANT you to stay fat like them. DONT fall for that. You get yourself thin and healthy and find some new friends that will support your efforts. You will be a LOT happier!

Yay you for saying what I was thinking and couldn't figure out how to say it : )

Beat me to it as well. When everyone has a problem, it's easy to overlook it... until one of them overcomes it and now might "judge" the others.

Do what makes you happy and healthy. Let the rest pound sand.

greenmonstergirl

I want to be healthy and strong and fit....not thin.

GoClaireGo

I value health the most! I like to set fun goals for myself to ensure that I stay active and if I lose weight then that is great. You can be overweight and cardiovascularly fit. You can also be underweight/normal weight and be completely unhealthy and have many health complications.

toutmonpossible

No, I never wonder. Other members of my family have gained weight and people think my siblings are older than I am. I am seven years older. To be overweight is aging and hard on your body in all kinds of ways.

I don't wonder when I see my parents having to take medicine for Type II Diabetes. It's not certain that I'll avoid that merely by keeping my weight low, but I'm certainly going to try.

I don't wonder when another family member is having severe knee problems that may have been caused or were exacerbated by his/her weight.

I'm lucky in that I live in a city with a high proportion of thin people. I often take evening classes at a prominent fashion design school. Most of the students and teachers are thin, some extremely thin without any effort at all because they're young and/or naturally very slender. Sometimes I feel almost fat by comparison. But I'm glad to have so many examples of people who are normal weight or thin.

Your environment can have a huge influence. Several years ago there was a study that reported that thin people tend to have thin friends. That's definitely true of me. It's not something I'd ever thought about, but many of the people to whom I'm close have the same values: We try to live healthily and we like to be active. If I were you, I would try to find some friends or a group with the same objectives. Perhaps you could look into a running or other sports club. There is nothing more depressing than to be in the company of people who have given up.

For me the issue is whether I should stay put at the weight I am or work hard and try to get back down to my college weight. I just can't decide whether it's worth it. One reason I'm focused on that right now is I'm trying to figure out a way to recommit to exercise, which I've never enjoyed. (I feel guilty, but there it is.) I also suffered an ankle injury and I don't think my ankle will ever be the same, so I will have to find a suitable activity. I was considering Insanity, but have decided it would be too punishing to my knees and ankles. The only way for me to do a program is to dedicate myself to a plan that involves something quantifiable, like weight loss. I'm also curious to see if I have the resolve to do it.

ndj1979

is this a serious thread?

determinedbutlazy

I dont want to be "thin", I want to be fit. The point of that is being able to run and hike and work out and enjoy my body.

bwogilvie

I disagree with many of those who have posted on this topic. I think you can be fat and fit, as long as your definition of fitness is limited to present physical ability (despite what Covert Bailey wrote a couple of decades ago), but that being significantly overweight has long-term health risks that I don't want to take.

I first lost weight when I was in my early 20s and realized that I couldn't run a quarter mile without feeling awful. I got fit and lost weight, together, without counting calories. Being young and living in a city where I usually got places by walking 2-4 miles a day were the main factors there.

Then I got older and got a job where I had to drive much of the time. I started putting on weight again (from 135 lbs. to 225 at my heaviest, over the course of 11 years). At my fattest, I was still fairly fit: I went on long bike rides (up to 50 miles), I could walk for 10-12 miles without feeling exhausted, I ate healthily.

Nonetheless, the weight was making itself felt: my cholesterol and blood pressure were higher than normal, and approaching the point where medications would be a good idea; my blood sugar was creeping upwards (and I have a history of Type 2 diabetes in my family); my resting heart rate had gone up from the upper 40s (when I was thin and running three times a week) into the upper 60s; and every time I sat down, I had a big, uncomfortable roll of belly fat on my lap.

I decided that the point of being thin was not necessarily to be fit in the immediate sense of having the strength and stamina to enjoy everyday life (since I was doing that already), but that it would add to that, and it would have significant long-term benefits. I do a lot of cycling in hilly terrain these days, and being thin is the best way to improve my ability to climb hills quickly without feeling like crap at the top. But it's really the realization that my health 20-30 years out would be a lot better if I lost weight and got the blood pressure and cholesterol under control that has been my underlying motivation. In his late 50s, my father went from being overweight, diabetic, and having clogged arteries to being thin, having reasonable cholesterol, and controlling his diabetes by exercise and diet. It sucks that a recurrence of oral cancer got to him in his early 70s, but apart from that, he was healthier and fitter at 72 than he was at 52. His late turnaround was an inspiration to me.

mike_ny

The point is not to be thin. The point is to be fit and healthy. And, you do this for yourself and those people who depend on you and not for your friends or anybody else.

Everybody's body is different and won't necessarily have the same shape. Some people's goals to get really thin are just not realistic. Get in shape and run a calorie deficit to lose gradually and you'll feel great regardless of whether you hit your skinny goal in the time you want to. Stay in shape and continue to watch your diet and you'll eventually hit your body's ideal target weight.

ndj1979

I disagree with many of those who have posted on this topic. I think you can be fat and fit, as long as your definition of fitness is limited to present physical ability (despite what Covert Bailey wrote a couple of decades ago), but that being significantly overweight has long-term health risks that I don't want to take.

I first lost weight when I was in my early 20s and realized that I couldn't run a quarter mile without feeling awful. I got fit and lost weight, together, without counting calories. Being young and living in a city where I usually got places by walking 2-4 miles a day were the main factors there.

Then I got older and got a job where I had to drive much of the time. I started putting on weight again (from 135 lbs. to 225 at my heaviest, over the course of 11 years). At my fattest, I was still fairly fit: I went on long bike rides (up to 50 miles), I could walk for 10-12 miles without feeling exhausted, I ate healthily.

Nonetheless, the weight was making itself felt: my cholesterol and blood pressure were higher than normal, and approaching the point where medications would be a good idea; my blood sugar was creeping upwards (and I have a history of Type 2 diabetes in my family); my resting heart rate had gone up from the upper 40s (when I was thin and running three times a week) into the upper 60s; and every time I sat down, I had a big, uncomfortable roll of belly fat on my lap.

I decided that the point of being thin was not necessarily to be fit in the immediate sense of having the strength and stamina to enjoy everyday life (since I was doing that already), but that it would add to that, and it would have significant long-term benefits. I do a lot of cycling in hilly terrain these days, and being thin is the best way to improve my ability to climb hills quickly without feeling like crap at the top. But it's really the realization that my health 20-30 years out would be a lot better if I lost weight and got the blood pressure and cholesterol under control that has been my underlying motivation. In his late 50s, my father went from being overweight, diabetic, and having clogged arteries to being thin, having reasonable cholesterol, and controlling his diabetes by exercise and diet. It sucks that a recurrence of oral cancer got to him in his early 70s, but apart from that, he was healthier and fitter at 72 than he was at 52. His late turnaround was an inspiration to me.

yea i totally disagree with you that someone can be fit and fat...take a person with 30% body fat and put them on a track with someone that has 15% body fat...who do you think is going to last longer running said track?

and I don't want o be thin, I want to be shredded....

heatherloveslifting

No. For me being healthy is an awake and alive feeling that permeates every inch of my body and mind. I feel like I can do anything. I feel sexy all the time. It is the best high ever.

RonnieLodge

everyone where I live is overweight (except for teens) and they seem pretty content. sometimes I think to myself, what is the point of being thin if everyone around me is heavyset and happy? am I being vain or shallow for watching my weight? I know I've been made to feel that way by close friends & family sometimes.

I am less interested in being thin and more interested in being fit, capable and healthy.

I found spending time with elderly people was good motivation -living longer looks much more enjoyable when you have good mobility and strong bones from doing regular weight bearing exercise and eating well. It also means more independence when you get older.

If you haven't got your health, it will negatively impact on every facet of your life.

savithny

Yes, but I don't wonder what the point of being healthy is. And the two are not necessarily the same.

You don't need to lose a lot of weight to improve your health and future outlook *tremendously.* The studies that talk about the benefits of weight loss often are talking about a loss of 5% to 10% of starting weight. Even if that leaves you over "ideal" weight, you're still healthier than you were before.

Getting up, moving, being active, eating a nutritious, balanced diet? Will benefit you from the day you start, even if you don't lose all the weight you want to lose. Think of it as an investment in your future.

msstatz

Yes, but I don't wonder what the point of being healthy is. And the two are not necessarily the same.

You don't need to lose a lot of weight to improve your health and future outlook *tremendously.* The studies that talk about the benefits of weight loss often are talking about a loss of 5% to 10% of starting weight. Even if that leaves you over "ideal" weight, you're still healthier than you were before.

Getting up, moving, being active, eating a nutritious, balanced diet? Will benefit you from the day you start, even if you don't lose all the weight you want to lose. Think of it as an investment in your future.

this ^^

admegamo

I don't think that everyone who is fat is unhappy. Any unhappiness I have had, has had little to do with my weight. Everyone has times when they don't feel attractive and I've heard myself say, "I know I'm fat, BUT, I feel fat today." I've always been fat, so I generally don't feel fat. It's the way I've learned to describe when I'm feeling heavy or something.

People outside of my world have brought me down by feeling sorry for me and assuming they know how I feel. In fact most of the times I've been made fun of or picked on, I didn't even notice until they pointed it by trying to tell me things will be ok. That's not to say I never notice when people are being jerks because I do.

I've always sabatoged my weightloss because of the superficial hype around it. Like you will be beautiful, sexy, you'll get a date, more friends, etc. People in my family believe that when a girl dresses nice and losses weight, she's looking for a man. Things like this brought me down. It made me not want to lose weight. Not only is it scary changing and going to the unfamiliar but all of these other things made me feel overwhelmed. I thought, "How will I know if people really like me for me? What if people think that I changed? WIll I like me? Am I going to feel superficial and contantly checking to see I've gained weight or fat?" Basically, "I'm I going to turn into the people that I can't stand?"

Recently I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic and it made me realize these things:

1. Even though my health has been good, it won't stay that way forever if I'm not doing something about it.
2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so thin doesn't equal beautiful or sexy. Just as not all people think I'm attractive now, not all people will think I'm attractive if I'm thinner.
3. Your personality will only change if you allow it to. I have a theory that it's like what they say about money changing people. I don't think money changes a person, I think it allows them to be who they really are but felt they couldn't afford to be. I think it works the same way when losing weight. I've seen nice fat people lose weight and "become" the same type of nasty, mean person that I thought we had an equal distain for. But I also know myself well enough to know that weightloss or not, this is me and if anyone thinks I've changed it's because they don't know me as well as they think they do.
4. It doesn't matter the reason they think I'm losing weight because the truth is, I can't take care of the responsibilities in my life if I allow my health fail.
5. My life means more to me than what people think of it, after all, I'm stuck with myself for better or worse until I die (and hopefully afterwards too).

Aside from the superficial benefits, I think there are more pros than cons when it comes to losing weight. Such as, when I was young I always wanted to run a mile. I'm about 100 lbs heavier than I was then but I can do it. It took many months of practice but I did it. I've ran 4 miles at most. They were slow miles, I definitely won't entering a race but my new goal is to pick up my speed without over working myself and then eventually joining a marathon.

Sorry this is so long...I also forgot to quote the person I'm partly replying to.

admegamo

I also want to add that being thin does not mean being fit. I know many thin people that get winded running to the end of their block and they act like a big baby about it.

However, being thin will get you nice clothes for cheaper price. ^_^