Were you ever bullied in school for being overweight? How di

PhatAndy

Thanks for sharing, all.

Embell0830

Wow I feel like I really lucked out in the bullying department. I went to a school where from pre-K to 12th it was pretty much the same people. I was never popular or really fit in with the clubs I belonged to, but I had a great group of friends and pretty much had a friend in every group. Sure there were some comments here and there by some jerk, but nothing that every really affected me and I was never targeted. There are a couple times where I'm pretty sure that someone was pulling a mean joke, but could never really get them to fess up because isn't that part of the fun for them to fess up and make you feel humiliated?

The only time I really had a problem when I was dating this guy after I graduated college who would make little comments like when you finish loosing all the weight I can't wait to show you off to my friends. He told me until I lost the weight I couldn't meet his friends because he knew they would make fun of me. Though it should be noted that the *kitten*, was trying to make me the other woman and get laid by destroying my self esteem. Well he didn't destroy it and I learned a lesson that prevented me from letting another guy pull that crap on me again.

Elaina291

It wasn't so much bullying but more of just being ignored. I was treated like I wasn't even human which I find to be worse than bullying because at least people are noticing your existence. Would I have rather been bullied? No but if I was noticed for anything it was always because of something bad such as tripping down the stairs or falling on my *kitten*. Never anything good.

ShaSha620

I'm 24 years old and i remember being bullied in kindergarden throughout school untill i switched schools in 10th grade. i remember it like it was yesterday, boys teasing and laughing. one thing they did on quite a few occasions, one guy would go up to me and say his friend liked me (which i knew was a lie, i wasn't a fool) then the friend that it was being said about would get mad and they'd all laugh, and walk off snickering. oh and of course the P.E. tests every year. the how many pull ups can you do, and such, everyone just stairing at you. and one time i remeber the school weighing all the girls in my grade ( i was in 3rd grade at the time), calling them in by classes and of course the group of girls i go in with are all skinny as can be...they weighed between 80 and 90lbs...i weighed 130, so of course they wispered and snickered for about a week about it. i am so glad i moved, over the summer before i moved in 10th grade i got a little taller and i think i may have lost some weight so when i went to my new school i wasn't so fat i was just curvey and carried myself well and never got teased at least if i did i didnt know about it. the way i was treated in school i think does have reasoning as to why i am the way i am now. i am not compassionate nor caring as i should. but am more outspoken and dont trust people very easily, not to mention i can be VERY mean and hostile towards anyone that may pick at me. and yes i think we all had those family members who would make us feel bad about our weight too, i think everyone had that ONE relative that was lil miss perfect, skinny, pretty, popular, and good at any sport or just plain ANYTHING. this happens to be my cousin, shes somewhat close to me and said something to me the other day that really hurt. i mean they think its motivation or something???? which yes it is in a way but at what cost? i told her me and my son were playing and running togeather, and she said you can run?? i just wish for a day they could be fat, and know what its like to be stared at, then maybe they would have a better understanding of what we go through on a daily basis. sorry for ranting, and glad i'm not alone on the teasing.

PhatAndy

I'm 24 years old and i remember being bullied in kindergarden throughout school untill i switched schools in 10th grade. i remember it like it was yesterday, boys teasing and laughing. one thing they did on quite a few occasions, one guy would go up to me and say his friend liked me (which i knew was a lie, i wasn't a fool) then the friend that it was being said about would get mad and they'd all laugh, and walk off snickering. oh and of course the P.E. tests every year. the how many pull ups can you do, and such, everyone just stairing at you. and one time i remeber the school weighing all the girls in my grade ( i was in 3rd grade at the time), calling them in by classes and of course the group of girls i go in with are all skinny as can be...they weighed between 80 and 90lbs...i weighed 130, so of course they wispered and snickered for about a week about it. i am so glad i moved, over the summer before i moved in 10th grade i got a little taller and i think i may have lost some weight so when i went to my new school i wasn't so fat i was just curvey and carried myself well and never got teased at least if i did i didnt know about it. the way i was treated in school i think does have reasoning as to why i am the way i am now. i am not compassionate nor caring as i should. but am more outspoken and dont trust people very easily, not to mention i can be VERY mean and hostile towards anyone that may pick at me. and yes i think we all had those family members who would make us feel bad about our weight too, i think everyone had that ONE relative that was lil miss perfect, skinny, pretty, popular, and good at any sport or just plain ANYTHING. this happens to be my cousin, shes somewhat close to me and said something to me the other day that really hurt. i mean they think its motivation or something???? which yes it is in a way but at what cost? i told her me and my son were playing and running togeather, and she said you can run?? i just wish for a day they could be fat, and know what its like to be stared at, then maybe they would have a better understanding of what we go through on a daily basis. sorry for ranting, and glad i'm not alone on the teasing.

Im sorry about your pain, theres generally 2 routes people take after getting bullied.

LilacDreamer

yup, i was called Free Willy, Shamu, etc. I wasn't even THAT overweight when i was little, just chubby+baby fat...but kids are jerks.

I used to cry every day, and then i would get made fun of for crying. it was relentless. Teased from Kindergarten - HS

One day a kid through a block of ice at my face - unprovoked. i was just walking on the street.

Another person kept putting gum on my chair in high school. Having to scrape someone elses gum off your clothes is humiliating

But having to get your hair cut because someone put their nasty gum in it is worse. that happen, too.

I didnt have any friends in elementary school or jr high.

not til high school...and never close friends.

and to make things worse...when i would go home, instead of getting support - my father would belittle me and call me a fata*s, a gorilla, chunky monkey, slob, fatpig, and much MUCH worse (demeaning words not allowed on MFP)

never had any peace in my life.

1Timothy4v8

I was always really strong so I wasn't bullied but I was made fun of even by adults on a couple of occasions I had people threw food at me,

the only way I got them to stop was one day at school (3rd grade) one of the kids did there usaul joke and I just said yea I'm fat and? and the funny thing once I stopped caring they stopped,

and in Jr high I dressed in such a way people didn't F*** with me

PhatAndy

I was always really strong so I wasn't bullied but I was made fun of even by adults on a couple of occasions I had people threw food at me,

the only way I got them to stop was one day at school (3rd grade) one of the kids did there usaul joke and I just said yea I'm fat and? and the funny thing once I stopped caring they stopped,

and in Jr high I dressed in such a way people didn't F*** with me

Haha great attitude!

loufelleE

Everyday of my elementary days i cried. By the time i was in high school, things change.
When they call me names i get back at them either saying " well at least I'm fat and i can get fit if i want, but you are ugly and there is nothing you can do" or " sure. sure I'm fat, but I'm way smarted than you". "Spit at me I'll throw **** at you" that how i roll in high school.

kuunsilta

Defiantly. For as long as I can remember, I was always the fat kid.

I believe it was 3rd grade that it started. I don't know if it started off because I was fat or just because I was a bit weird. I loved my action figures, and I would bring them to school and play with them in the sandbox. I was a bit tom-boyish, and I think the other kids thought I was odd. But really, kids will take any excuse to pick on people.

There was me and this other boy in grade 3 who was pretty big. The most memorable part of the elementary school bullying was when the kids in the class took me and this boy to the hallway during recess and tried to shove us in the lockers to see if we would fit. He did, I didn't. I was then the fattest girl in the school and no one wanted to talk to me - aside from one nice girl who was also bullied because she was partially blind and looked very much like a boy.

Middle school was even more fun, and probably my highest weight period. I vaguely remember being a 175lb pre-teen ( 5lbs heavier then I am now at 5'7" and 20 years old). I think that my weight was reflecting my low-self esteem. The more I hated myself and other people, the fatter I got. A lot of bulling happened. I was shoved out of food lines and made to go to the back because the others "wanted to have some left to eat". Around this period I started to get "tough". I walled myself in and didn't really let myself show. I cared less about my classes, fought with my teachers, skipped classes and just went off somewhere to be alone and draw. I guess drawing was my outlet at the time. I don't want to blame my self esteem issues totally on school - because there was stuff at home that was messing me up too, but that's not the topic of this thread.

In grades 8 and 9, I met some good friends ( Who I'm still friends with today) who stood up for me and was really nice to me. They chased the bullies off ( both behind my back and in front of my face) and I was generally left alone with my friends. Over the summer before I started highschool, I started going to the gym. I was emotionally feeling better and I wanted to be healthy like my friends. I lost 50lbs ( by eating better and working out. I cut out all junk food and that alone was 30lb alone! YUCK!) and because of my good friends, I lost my tough girl demeanor and allowed myself to show the empathetic and caring person that I am today

I remember when I got to highschool and they tried to bully me again, saying "Hey, it's the whale!" and I marched right up to them, got in their face and said, "Who's the whale now? It sure isn't me anymore." and they all agreed after a moment. Thy never really bothered me after that - but I think that's because I scared the heck out of them haha.

I wasn't skinny - I was still a bit bigger than most people in my school, but I was more average. Because of the bullying though, I always felt that I had to be skinnier and better, and even though I could get into size 5-7 clothing, I still looked through the plus sizes naturally first before going to the right sizes. I remember going into a +14 store and looking at clothing and the sales clerk asking if I was picking out clothes for myself, because she really didn't think I could fit in their smallest sizes. She was right. I still felt fat though, because as a female, my body loves to hold fat around my stomach. I've always had a big stomach - not once in my life had I ever had a flat tummy, and it made me feel fat and ugly. Yay media body imaging.

I hated the gym classes in high school with a passion. I was always the fat kid running behind, the one who couldn't finish something simple without collapsing and so on. We even had a weights room, and I remember the gym teacher getting mad at me because I couldnt' do a single chin up or hardly even bend my arms. He thought I wasn't trying and the kids talked about me behind my back.

Anyway, in the last 2 years of highschool, I fell into depression and gained sooooooooo much back. I was the fat one again.

Now for some positive stuff:

Last year, I went on Rotary Youth Exchange to Finland. I almost made it to 190lbs while there - I was horrified. All the people who went to my school where the stereotypical 'tall and thin Nordic's ' and I was kind of accepted as the sterotypical 'Fat North American". Around Christmas, I decided to take on their eating habits ( which trust me, are a lot healthier than the general eating habits of most people here) and started exercising.

When I came back to Canada, I moved in with my best friend ( one of the people from middle school)who is health conscious and we began to work out, eat right and support each other.

To be honest though, I wouldn't really take any of that back. Sure, bullying was difficult for me and has affected me in many negative ways, but there are positive things too that I wouldn't take back.

Being that fat kid has made me develop this attitude:

-Treat others the way you want to be treated. ( I will treat nice people nicely. Mean people, I let Karma take care of.)
-Smile to people, even if you are having a bad day. Your smiling just might make someone else feel better.
-Bullying lead me to good people who have been friends since middle school, who I hasn't lost contact with. I believe in quality over quantity.
- I think it has really helped me see the good in people. When I see someone, I usually don't label them. No matter what they look like. You never know their story.
- I let myself be me, and typically dress and do my hair the way I want to. I'm not concerned about what other people think about me, but I'm not full of myself either. I developed the attitude that if people can't love me for who I am, then they aren't worth much of my time or concern. I am positive that I must look a little plain to some people, but I don't really care . My goal on MFP is not really to lose weight ( although that's a part of my goal) but to look and feel healthy. I really don't give a s*** about media standards. My point in saying this is that I feel, with my personality, that had I been skinny and 'fit in' during school - I would probably be one of those people who obsessed over their looks and would have done almost anything to be media perfect. I feel like I have 'smartened up' by not feeling the pressure as strongly as I know some smaller girls do.

and several other things I guess. I am kind of out of steam and feeling like this is getting too long lol

rovernio

i used to be fat elementary school got bullied by my brothers but it motivated me and now they all want me to teach them how to train and eat (:

mrsmadewell2012

I got bullied alot. It took a toll on how I felt about life and was near that state of giving up. I'm happier now but it still hurts to think about it.

I'm sorry that happened to you. That makes me so angry. :grumble:

Nhiggin

After reading so many posts about people's experiences with bullying it makes me angry and sad. From kindergarten to high school I was bullied for being fat. BUT I on the other hand I bullied others in my class during this same time frame. Its an interesting perspective when you have been bullied and have done the bulling. I felt that I had to bully others to "fit" in and to be "cool." What is so sad is that I always felt so bad for the people I bullied because I knew exactly how they felt.

To this day I still remember the names my classmates would call me. They still sting a little but I try not to think about those awful years. But I think the hardest part about growing up fat was during gym class when we had to study gymnastics instead of allowing me to participate my gym teacher would use me as a "prop." The gym teacher would have me sit on the mat then my classmates would roll over me or I would lay down then my classmates had to jump over me. When I think about it today I get so embarrassed and I hate myself for allowing it to happen. But my family still brings it up to day and laugh and call me the "prop." I try not to let it bother me but sometimes I just wish people would forget that.

During this time I was a very emotional child/teen. I would think about hurting myself or killing myself but I never did because I had such a good support system at home. My parents and siblings really helped without even knowing because I have NEVER talked about my thoughts of suicide or self-harming with others. To this day I still lack some confidence in particular areas but I am still proud of all that I have accomplished!

My words of advice to those kids/teens/adults who are being bullied find ONE person who will be your support system and forget everyone who bullies you. From experience the people who bully others have just the same insecurities and low self-confidence. And you to kids/teens in particular, school is not the end of the world. There is so much to live for. If you have thoughts of suicide ask for help.

Thank you so much for starting this topic!! It is amazing to share and read about every experience!

wittlelacey

I may have been a little curvy and lacked toneage (not a word but it is now!) but I wasn't overweight, or even close. However, until I was 14 I was stick thin. 4'10 and 90ish (or less) pounds, and my brother tormented me with terrible comments implying my weight was an issue. I don't think I've ever been secure about my body because of him. Compared him, I am far more thicker than he is with his 6% body fat, but the comments from him and eventually from my mother are one of the reasons I'm here today, seeing as how the taunting and comments never ended. At 5'0 and 105 pounds, I strive to become thinner!

michellebd1980

Im curious to see how many out there share my same story,

Were you overweight in Elementary school? High school? Were you the target for bullying? How did you overcome it and how does it affect your life today?

For me it was Bulling grade 2-12 and until i was about 21 or so. the height of it being in grade 9, cornered in the boys lockerroom and surrounded by 6 guys with basketballs. "We are about to do this to you because you are fat, you are ugly, you will never get a girlfriend, and you should kill yourself" They then proceeded to throw basketballs at my head until i bled out of my ears..


I know it got bad, but I kind of thank God for my crappy life. because its the things in life that form you into who you are today.

Most people who got bullied (Or at least the ones I know) turn out to be Sweet Compassionate Loving Sensitive people.

So my question is, Have you ever been bullied and how have you overcome?

I'm so sorry you had to go through this! It makes me so mad! I was teased from 6th grade through 11th, then I lost a lot of weight and people actually started to notice that I was there. I wasn't ugly anymore because I wasn't fat anymore! I would get told I was a fat, ugly ***** almost every day of the week and I'd cry almost every day! I'd spend hours putting on make-up and picking out an outfit that suited my body type..... And still was tortured. I had girls who would try to fight me but because I was such a ***** back then, they didn't even come close to fighting me. I'd give them a verbal lashing and be done with it. How did I overcome? Lots of therapy and good friends who'd stick up for me! My older brother and I never really got along but when he heard about all this and or heard people talking smack, he went to town on their happy *kitten*! He told them off and put them in their place. Seriously though, I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't put up with all the tourment from back then!

KarmaxKitty

In elementary school, I was EXTREMELY overweight. We had this excercise program school wide that required us to pass certain fitness tests (harder than high school WHY???). I was overweight because of all the steroids I had to take because of a cruddy respiratory system, so OF COURSE that made me doubly unable to pass the running exam. I tried so hard though... All of my "friends" would give me "encouragement" by telling me to pretend I was running to end of the finish lines and that there were towers pancakes and bacon at the end... I went along with it and laughed, but I literally wanted to kill myself every time...AT NINE YEARS OLD...

michellebd1980

In elementary school, I was EXTREMELY overweight. We had this excercise program school wide that required us to pass certain fitness tests (harder than high school WHY???). I was overweight because of all the steroids I had to take because of a cruddy respiratory system, so OF COURSE that made me doubly unable to pass the running exam. I tried so hard though... All of my "friends" would give me "encouragement" by telling me to pretend I was running to end of the finish lines and that there were towers pancakes and bacon at the end... I went along with it and laughed, but I literally wanted to kill myself every time...AT NINE YEARS OLD...

That's so horrible to say that! Way to make you feel worse about yourself... I'm sorry that happened to you!

richmondcowgirl

I was never bullied about my size. Instead I got the creepy sexual advances at way to young of an age. I remember being 10 and some of the neighborhood guys would comment on me having hips to hold on to. I've always had an hour glass figure but as I got bigger the curves got more defined, specially with my hips and thighs. I thinks that's why I play up my top half more than my lower, too much attention there too early

richmondcowgirl

Double post

sadie902

im really 10 yrs old in 5th grade and i really dont get bullied becouse i have good friends that have my back but i know a overweight girl that is a bullie and she bullies thin girls and boys