"Thinspo" Whats your view?

tam120

I'm much more inspired by strong, muscular women because that's how I want to look. Skinny is not attractive to me but muscles are awesome!

CMmrsfloyd

This topic made me curious so I googled "thinspo". This came up:

"Tips and Advice

A lot of those are really disturbing and dangerous. Not to mention sick and twisted.

SarabellPlus3

I meet with a group once a week and the question was asked "in all honesty would you be happy if you could be underweight" every person said yes. so I feel like maybe there is something about thin women that we all secretly wish we could possess.
*Note*: the group is now going to be working on body image.

Are you comfortable saying what the group is? I only ask because while I guess I'd rather be underweight than overweight (in any extreme), and in a trick-question sort of way, I feel like I'm a happy person, and would be happy no matter what the weight said, I wouldn't want to be underweight personally. No way. So I'm wondering if the group was a good cross-reference of society, or if that was only a specified group of people who said they'd be happy to be underweight.

Its a womens group that meets at a local gym to help support healthy weight and eating habits. It gets very personal some days and people are very honest, whether they are "politically correct" or not most people still say how the truly feel. Someone brought up that they would rather be underweight than heavy because of the varying stigmas attached. Thats how it all came about.
In reality, in the media, fat people are seen as lazy etc while the thin people are glamourous.

Thank you for answering honestly! That's exactly why I wondered, kwim? I wondered it it was more of a cross-reference of society, or a group specifically concerned with weight, I'm sure that weighs the results. I'd be real curious if there were a poll like that with just a cross-reference of society, though I be the results wouldn't be real differnt. ?

thinnerisstronger

I don't particularly support thinspo. You never really know if the girl has actually lost weight or if she was just born skinny. Wanting to be naturally thin is a terrible goal since it really is unachievable. You can never be born thin. It's too late for that. Fitspo at least promotes a healthy goal since anyone can work their *kitten* off and become fit!

ILoveFroggies

"Thinspo" is associated with eating disorders, as has already been pointed out. As such, I find it hard to see how it could be associated with any healthy weight loss venture. Idolising or envying the body of another individual (who may or not have a mental or physical illness, you do not know) may fire up your drive to lose weight, but I don't think it's for the right reasons.

lc504

Transformations, before & afters, inspire me more than just seeing fit or thin women.

I do have a handful of celebrity "role models" with bodies I admire, but I try to pick ones with somewhat similar physiques to mine. I'm never, ever going to look like a VS Angel with out massive surgery and some prolonged torture sessions on a medieval rack. But I might be able to have a build similar to Anna Paquin, since she's my height, has a bum and isn't terribly busty.

I kinda do this too! I wouldn't necessarily call it my "thinspiration" but looking at awesome celebrity bods that might be "within my range" like, Rose Mcgowan back when she had more of a butt (well, minus a cup size or two in the chest, but it's not like I'd ever expect miracles there :laugh: ), maybe, it IS motivating to think that I could look like that without all the extra inner thigh/stomach flab. (Which are really the only two areas of fat I'm struggling with right now. Ugh.)

But when you look at pics of model-type size 0's and aspire to be that thin when you're a naturally curvy/medium to large framed girl... yeah, that's bad. You're just going to cause yourself misery trying to get there.

ogosun

Positive, love to see transformations... Totally motivates me....
The women in europe most of them are super slim, they look awesome.... and they do not have a mental disorder of any kind....
Look at the French women....

kelseyessex

Hey people,

Hope you are all well, I don't know how to quote a few posts at a time but there are a lot of useful posts on here!!! nice one girls :-)

I went on a calorie controlled diet in 2008 using My Calorie Counter (pretty much like this). I lost my weight but then because I was so scared of putting it back on I turned bulimic. It took over my life for 2 years but in April 2010 I finally realised I actually loved myself, my family and my friends too much to continue down this road.

"Thinspo" as you put it is what carried me on through Bulimia so personally I don't like that idea of comparing yourself to someone else anymore. I am now in recovery - I would like to say I am recovered but I still have to tell myself you need calories to love...you need energy to be able to give love and receive it, its hard each day is a struggle but I have a lot of love in my life which helps me carry on. The reason why I joined MFP is because I have put all of my weight back on which I lost, I needed to do that to fully realised that being skinny doesn't make you happy, neither doesn't being over weight! happiness is a state of mind, its not determined by what is on the scale, or in a picture of the size of your clothes! I am here now to lose the weight I feel I need to to be healthy again...not happy as I am extremely happy now :-D my mum is keeping close tabs on me so I know I can do this the right way.

I think everyone needs inspiration in their lives to reach their goals and I will never deny that! but I think you should get that inspiration from real people and not a picture. After all if your goal is to look like Kate Moss or Angelina Jolie...that is totally unrealistic and will never happen...you are NOT them!! and why the hell would you want to be when you are YOU...you are amazing in your own right and I think to truly be happy you have to realise that...don't ever believe that losing weight will make you happy because if that is what you strive for you will never be truly happy, it comes from the experiences in life and the love we give and take from each other as humans.

Healthiness is an amazing aspiration...if you aspire to be healthy you set such a good example for everyone around you. Don't ever strive to be perfect, perfection isn't real, nothing in life is perfect and sometimes people do forget that - I know I do.

Everyone please know this...you are ALL AMAZING...and you need to APPRECIATE yourselves for who YOU are!!!

kyliegroat

I'm pretty opposed to thinspo - for myself at least - because it's driven me to some seriously disordered eating in the past. If other people can use it to drive themselves to actually be HEALTHY, then good for them, but for me it's just a trigger.

TheBraveryLover

Although other people's bodies doesn't motivate or inspire me, I find nothing wrong with others' finding inspiration from a slim or thin woman's body. The word "thinsporation" is highly used in the eating disorder community though, so keep that in mind. One would be better off just saying that they find thin women to be an inspiration instead of using that word.

Destinie589

Hey people,

Hope you are all well, I don't know how to quote a few posts at a time but there are a lot of useful posts on here!!! nice one girls :-)

I went on a calorie controlled diet in 2008 using My Calorie Counter (pretty much like this). I lost my weight but then because I was so scared of putting it back on I turned bulimic. It took over my life for 2 years but in April 2010 I finally realised I actually loved myself, my family and my friends too much to continue down this road.

"Thinspo" as you put it is what carried me on through Bulimia so personally I don't like that idea of comparing yourself to someone else anymore. I am now in recovery - I would like to say I am recovered but I still have to tell myself you need calories to love...you need energy to be able to give love and receive it, its hard each day is a struggle but I have a lot of love in my life which helps me carry on. The reason why I joined MFP is because I have put all of my weight back on which I lost, I needed to do that to fully realised that being skinny doesn't make you happy, neither doesn't being over weight! happiness is a state of mind, its not determined by what is on the scale, or in a picture of the size of your clothes! I am here now to lose the weight I feel I need to to be healthy again...not happy as I am extremely happy now :-D my mum is keeping close tabs on me so I know I can do this the right way.

I think everyone needs inspiration in their lives to reach their goals and I will never deny that! but I think you should get that inspiration from real people and not a picture. After all if your goal is to look like Kate Moss or Angelina Jolie...that is totally unrealistic and will never happen...you are NOT them!! and why the hell would you want to be when you are YOU...you are amazing in your own right and I think to truly be happy you have to realise that...don't ever believe that losing weight will make you happy because if that is what you strive for you will never be truly happy, it comes from the experiences in life and the love we give and take from each other as humans.

Healthiness is an amazing aspiration...if you aspire to be healthy you set such a good example for everyone around you. Don't ever strive to be perfect, perfection isn't real, nothing in life is perfect and sometimes people do forget that - I know I do.

Everyone please know this...you are ALL AMAZING...and you need to APPRECIATE yourselves for who YOU are!!!

Thanks for replying. You have a very interesting perspective. I think that thinspo could be very triggering to someone who struggles with an eating disorder. But (and I dont know much about disorders) can it trigger someone who doesnt have any kind of disorder? I think there needs to be more serious research placed on eating disorders and how and why they occur. And to add to that why the media places so much pressure on women to meet an unrealistic size.

bmqbonnie

I have a folder of it. I used to use it more in its negative connotation when I used to starve myself. These days it has healthy and muscular women with similar builds to mine, not waifs.

ciaobellakiss

I like to see weight loss transformations in real people, not celebrities or models.

wcsangel

I have a picture of myself five years ago at my School Leaver's Ball (kinda like a Prom) - weighing around 115 pounds, looking completely lovely and happy in my own skin. That's all the inspiration I need, and I'm almost there again.

SachaMichel

I don't really like thinspiration... I used to use it when I was a teenager but it just killed my self-esteem.

capriciousmoon

Thanks for replying. You have a very interesting perspective. I think that thinspo could be very triggering to someone who struggles with an eating disorder. But (and I dont know much about disorders) can it trigger someone who doesnt have any kind of disorder? I think there needs to be more serious research placed on eating disorders and how and why they occur. And to add to that why the media places so much pressure on women to meet an unrealistic size.

I think thinspo could possibly trigger someone that is predisposed to having an eating disorder, for someone without an eating disorder it may affect your self-esteem but I don't think it would be as harmful.

http://ed-bites.blogspot.com/2011/01/brain-disorder.html

I can't speak for others but the media and all of that never had any effect on me at all. I never felt pressure to be a certain size because of actresses or models. Sometimes it has nothing to do with weight or size at all and those are just a distraction from the real issue.

Destinie589

I like to see weight loss transformations in real people, not celebrities or models.

I love to see before and after pics. It always gives me a push. Especially when its a female my size with a not so great tummy and her transformation is a nice flat toned stomach. I dont think images like that are unhealthy especially when they make you strive for a healthier weight.

donyellemoniquex3

My kinda fitspo - it's not always skinny and unattainable..

amen

soulfulsally

Depends on how the thinspo makes you feel. If the pics serve as a reminder for you not to pig out on empty calories, great. If looking at them brings on negative anorexic thoughts, obviously that's not good.

Am I the only one who gets more motivated by looking at photos of fit men?

bcattoes

I don't see how anything that motivates to you work harder towards your goal(s) should be considered bad.

bcattoes

I meet with a group once a week and the question was asked "in all honesty would you be happy if you could be underweight" every person said yes. so I feel like maybe there is something about thin women that we all secretly wish we could possess.
*Note*: the group is now going to be working on body image.

I could see getting that answer. For most people, it is easy and fun to put on weight. Even if someone doesn't want to be underweight on a regular basis. Many would probably rather be underweight and have that awful problem of having to eat a calorie surplus.