FATorexia

infinitevast
infinitevast Posts: 875 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just came across this term not too long ago, Fatorexia. At my highest weight I was 257 pounds and for some strange reason I never really looked at myself as that big or obese. I mean, I knew I was overweight but not obese even though the numbers didn't lie. I never really took notice of my size until I started standing in front of a full length mirror next to family members and feeling HUGE next to them. It's almost as if that's the only way I can truly see how big I really am. Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Replies

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I think calling it that is a bit offensive and weird. Not calling you weird or anything! But whoever thought of that is pretty misguided using that made-up term for it.

    I do think yeah, I've viewed myself a lot differently including thinking "I'm not THAT big" when I was at my heaviest weight(s).

    For me I think a lot of it was the way I felt. I was 260-270 lb for almost my entire 20's and part of my 30's. I was used to that. I went to the doctor and my labs were good. Of course they said "you should try to lose X amount of weight" but I had loads of energy so I just felt okay and fine. It seemed wrong to me that I was technically morbidly obese.

    Although as for looking big next to others...I still feel that way. I am 5'8" and 196 lb currently and honestly I feel just as much like an "Amazon" next to my best friend who is 5'3" as I did when I was at 270-300 lb. Maybe more so! I feel a lot taller and if we're both just sitting together my legs go so far and my reach is so much longer. It seems more dramatic now that I weigh less.
  • ohhonestly
    ohhonestly Posts: 1 Member
    I had this exact thought yesterday. But it was while I was looking through photos of me with my sorority sisters. I seriously feel the same no matter if I'm 170lbs or 240lbs. I prefer to tell myself that I'm confident with my body and I'm choosing to be healthier.
  • LRoslin
    LRoslin Posts: 128
    I think a better term might be "body dysmorphia." When a person cannot reliably judge the size of their own body, that's what it's called. It happens most often in patients with anorexia, but I suppose it could happen the other way.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    I think a better term might be "body dysmorphia." When a person cannot reliably judge the size of their own body, that's what it's called. It happens most often in patients with anorexia, but I suppose it could happen the other way.

    Anorexia means "without appetite," so the made up term is just nonsensical and actually quite offensive. The body dysmorphia is just one aspect of anorexia nervosa.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I totally know what you mean but I don't think you can label it in any way besides flat out denial. I just didn't pay that much attention and honestly didn't really care what I looked like besides the fact that I was pretty cute and my Hubs still thought I was sexy. It wasn't until I saw some pictures of me at my heaviest, especially beside much thinner friends/family, that it finally hit me just how big I really was. Plus the fact that my health was slowly taking a toll (nothing alarming but BP and cholesterol were both creeping up to danger zones) and I was in horrible shape - just walking up stairs or doing housework was exhausting.

    I see that Fatorexia is an actual term now but agree that's a horrible and slightly offensive way to label it.

    FYI - body dysmorphic doesn't fit because that term is for a mental condition where the person is overly concerned with thier body image and perceives their looks in a negative way - like someone already at a healthy weight thinking they're still fat. This is like the exact opposite of that.
  • infinitevast
    infinitevast Posts: 875 Member
    Sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive at all! It's just the term that I kept seeing online when googling. I'm not quite sure who came up with it?

    But yes...especially in pictures...it felt as if that was the only way to see what I REALLY looked like. In the mirror I didn't look that bad to myself.
  • hasta_la_vista_belly
    hasta_la_vista_belly Posts: 103
    Yeah, don't like that term, but I kinda know what you mean.

    I'm kinda the skinny fat guy. The rest of my body is pretty skinny overall but I have a lot of fat around the belly and love handles area. I weighed 205 in January of 2012 and as of yesterday weigh 175. I don't at all feel like I've lost that much weight. I feel exactly the same overall and I feel like I look the exact same too, but its not true. I found some old pics of me from 2012 and the change is astounding to me. I had no idea I had gotten to a point where even my face was getting kinda fat. And now that particular fat is gone. And my clothes fit better.

    You might say 175 is a perfectly healthy weight for a 6' individual, but I'm here to tell you that at least 20 pounds of that is still belly fat. I need to lose that and then replace that weight lost with muscle.

    Its a long road and we often do not even notice the progress until we actually look back. I've started to take pictures so I can compare periodically and see the progress that I don't necessarily feel.
  • MarKayDee
    MarKayDee Posts: 196
    I can honestly say I have never once had that problem, I have always felt like the fattest girl in the room, or if there was no hiding that someone was heavier than me I felt like they carried themselves better than me.
  • techgal128
    techgal128 Posts: 719 Member
    I gained 65 pounds but oddly enough, didn't actually see myself gaining it. I knew I was gaining weight because I donated blood on a regular basis where they record my weight. My pants were so tight that they would leave marks in my stomach (they must have been really stretched out for me to even fit in them). I'd look in the mirror and just not see myself as fatter than I started. It was finally when my pants tore (big surprise eh?) to when I realized how big I'd gotten. I literally went up FOUR pant sizes and kept having to grab bigger and bigger jeans. After that, I suddenly saw myself as I really was. It was a major shock when I looked in the mirror and suddenly saw cellulite and fat rolls that I never saw before.
  • freckledjezebel
    freckledjezebel Posts: 65 Member
    I can honestly say I have never once had that problem, I have always felt like the fattest girl in the room, or if there was no hiding that someone was heavier than me I felt like they carried themselves better than me.

    I'm right there with you. I'm always VERY conscious of my size and my body. I turn sideways automatically to give people more room, even when I'm not really in the way. I always put my purse on my lap to disguise my belly. I always make sure to pose for pictures in as flattering a way as possible. But I see girls my size and think, "I wouldn't mind being this fat if I only looked/dressed/carried myself like her."
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Anorexia is an actual term and describes obesity as a disease. I don't agree with this at all and find the word itself as offensive, but I have no problem with the OP bringing the subject up for discussion.

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=fatorexia&qs=AS&pq=fatore&sc=8-6&sp=1&FORM=QBRE&cvid=ea04844977a14a8b84fc9c59158c0181

    That said, I have the opposite problem--I have always seen myself as bigger than I am, but that has been changing over time to where I perceive myself in a more normalized way.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    It was a major shock when I looked in the mirror and suddenly saw cellulite and fat rolls that I never saw before.

    This is how I felt in dressing rooms with lots of mirrors. For years and years. Horrific.

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