Skinny as a Child

DollyMiel
DollyMiel Posts: 377 Member
in Motivation and Support
I feel like a lot of people on MFP have been heavy all their lives. Anyone else who was thin as a kid and suddenly, you're just... not? Looking at pictures of myself as a kid, I wonder how I ever made it to 120lb, much less got to 190lb. :x

Because of that, I definitely always visualize myself as a really thin person, so when I look into the mirror or at photographs, it's shocking and painful every time. Seems to be the opposite of people who have always been bigger (they lose weight and still see themselves as bigger, that kind of thing).

Edit: Just want to know what others in this same boat think, because I don't run into anyone else who was thin as a child. I'm not even sure how I'd look thin as an adult.

Replies

  • chellebublz
    chellebublz Posts: 568 Member
    I was thin as a child and as a teenager then after i had my first baby at 19 i couldnt lose the baby weight. Now that im done having children, not gona stop til i lose it :)
  • janinems1
    janinems1 Posts: 7
    I fit in this group. I was thin all my life...until I quit smoking and got old. Now it's a constant battle with my weight.
  • scadgirl20
    scadgirl20 Posts: 134 Member
    I was a small till about when I hit high school which I started my 8th grade year. Actually I wasn't even big in high school now I look at old pictures, but I thought I was. I lost a lot of weight my junior year the unhealthy way. I kept it off till I hit college. That was when I really gained it. Ever since then I've been trying to get it off
  • KaleidoscopeEyes1056
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
    I was thin when I was young, but I had an emotionally abusive father who always told me that I was fat. Because he told me that, I started to believe it (I can remember being as young as 3rd grade and thinking about how "fat" I was despite being one of the thinner kids in the class). As I got older, I kept thinking that I was fat and didn't care about anything that I ate and never worked out. By the time I graduated high school, I was 180lbs at 5'3.

    Flash-forward to college, I started out strong going from a size 16 to a size 12 (didn't have a scale at the time, so wasn't sure of my weight). Then I went through a depression and gained the freshman 15... err... freshman 40 (from 180, that is. Probably more than 40 to be honest).

    BUT! Now that I've become disgusted by my weight and started working out, I'm the most fit that I've ever been in my life.
  • jennmodugno
    jennmodugno Posts: 363 Member
    I was a freaking stick as a kid. My mom calls it the family curse - we can eat anything we want... until we have our first child. Then suddenly we gain weight just by LOOKING at junk food. ;) Granted, I think she used that as an excuse, which is why I'm working my butt off to prove to her that I can have a child and still be slim. But yes - it was really hard after I had my daughter, looking at myself in pictures and seeing rounded shoulders and back and belly. I still tend to think of myself as a very slim person, because I do activities that make me strong and agile. I used to love having my picture taken, and now I dread it. But not for long, right?! I'm going to be sexy again!
  • leeanneowens
    leeanneowens Posts: 319 Member
    I was skinny as a child. I didn't get big until I was pregnant with my 2nd child at age 28 at which time I weighed about 156. I lost down to 104 when she was about 3 but very slowly gained until I had my 3rd child 9 years later. Again, I slowly gained until I reached 196 lbs. . I didn't think of myself as fat until I would see a picture of myself or until I really looked in the mirror.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    I was skinny as a rake as a child, and up until college. Even then, I was still underweight, but didn't look so skinny. I only got fat in my 30's.
  • suz155
    suz155 Posts: 326 Member
    I was thin, until I was 47, 5'9'' and 130=135 lbs....,,,then whoooosh.....I gained almost 80 lbs. I quit smoking and started the road to menopause. But, thats ok,,,,Im on the road to thiness again. :)
  • LavenderBouquet
    LavenderBouquet Posts: 736 Member
    I was a stringbean when I was young, but then we moved just before my teens and my lifestyle changed from playing outside every day, going to the park, and eating healthy homemade meals to sitting on my butt in front of a tv, eating fast food several times a week, and nonstop snacking. I lost a decent amount of weight in high school, but gained it back and then some while in university. I definitely don't see myself as thin in any shape or form but I do look back with regret.
  • katerinajulia
    katerinajulia Posts: 89 Member
    I was thin and very athletic up until after I hit puberty (or became depressed & dependent on food, not sure which one it was.) Regardless, I had a 6-pack as a 13 year old and now it's hard for me to see myself as fat - even though I know I am. I don't recognize myself in pictures and I believe I'm basically in the same boat as you.
  • Crazy4Healthy
    Crazy4Healthy Posts: 626 Member
    I was a stick as a kid, had the metabolism of a flea. I honestly think that is what made losing weight so tough, never knew how since I had always been able to eat anything I wanted. Sounds like having kids was a common factor for many posting here. It was the same for me, completely changed my metabolism. :)
  • amandapye78
    amandapye78 Posts: 820 Member
    I was thin as a child, teenager and all through my twenties. Yeah I know what you mean
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    I was a skinny kid most of my life. My mom called me 'bean pole' til I was in HS. I graduated HS at 5'6" around 125 and thought I was fat because my best friend was 98 pounds soaking wet.
    I was always within 10-20 pounds of goal weight until I had a bad wreck and became disabled. I went over 200 pounds around the time I turned 40.
    My mental size has always been around 150 ish as an adult. That is where I stayed for many years and in my head, I am still that size. Even looking in the mirror, I never saw 230. It wasn't until I saw photos of me, did I really see how huge I had gotten. So I just stayed away from cameras! lol. Denial is a wonderful thing!
    I am down to 190 now and still have at least 35 more pounds to go, but I am finally starting the see the girl inside me coming out again, and it feels great!

    I often wonder if it is so much harder for those who have always been overweight, because they can't envision themselves at a smaller size, having never been there. I would think it would be harder, and I have the utmost respect for those who do succeed in losing.
  • glahlstedt
    glahlstedt Posts: 308 Member
    Me!!! I was 110 till I was @ 23 years old, and then age, pregnancy, and meds made me jump right up to 201! Well, 240lbs right before I delivered my daughter. So, with that said, all of my friends growing up were so envious of how skinny I was. Well, I swear it makes it so hard to see that bigger in the mirror. I use to take for granted the 110 lb gorgeous figure that I use to have back in the day. Well, we have to embrace ourselves at all weights I guess, nobody said it would be this hard as you age!!
  • DollyMiel
    DollyMiel Posts: 377 Member
    I was thin when I was young, but I had an emotionally abusive father who always told me that I was fat. Because he told me that, I started to believe it (I can remember being as young as 3rd grade and thinking about how "fat" I was despite being one of the thinner kids in the class). As I got older, I kept thinking that I was fat and didn't care about anything that I ate and never worked out. By the time I graduated high school, I was 180lbs at 5'3.
    Ugh, that's effing awful. :c Sorry you had to go through that.

    I weighed 120 in middle school and more than one person called me fat (I'm 5'3"...). It really does have an effect. Even though now I look back on it and just WTF at it.
    I often wonder if it is so much harder for those who have always been overweight, because they can't envision themselves at a smaller size, having never been there. I would think it would be harder, and I have the utmost respect for those who do succeed in losing.
    I wonder too! It must make getting to a goal weight all the more exhilarating though!

    I'm not really sure how I'd look thinner, not as a grown-up. So I'm kind of hoping to be surprised.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I was a thin child who stayed thin as an adult. Near the end of my thirties I noticed I was starting to creep up to the upper end of the healthy weight range so I decided to stop that crap before it got out of hand. That's how I got here - never actually ever been overweight, but seeing that just that little bit of extra weight was skewing a lot of my tests in the wrong direction: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. All those numbers are now right back down where they belong with just a 15 pound loss! I'd already been exercising and eating healthy foods, so it was weight alone (too much healthy food LOL) that was affecting my numbers. I guess my body REALLY wants me to be on the slimmer side. :drinker:
  • terrib1980
    terrib1980 Posts: 33 Member
    I was always really thin as a child and into my teens - in fact I was often the skinniest girl in class. It wasn't until I hit 20 that I started having challenges with weight. I gained a fair amount in my early 20's and then lost like 50+ lbs (used Atkins then Herbal Magic) and was down to 122lbs (I'm 5'6") when I got married in 2009. I was 133lbs when I got pregnant with my daughter in 2010 and I gained a whopping 60 lbs during pregnancy. I lost 40 of those lbs in a relatively short time after she was born but I've held on to about 20ish lbs. I'm VERY committed to getting healthier and losing this excess weight now and I am hoping I will be at or near my goal by summer :)
  • MoLivesLuvsLifts
    MoLivesLuvsLifts Posts: 1,161 Member
    I understand how you feel. I was 145 - 147 lbs until I was 32 years old. I'm 5'10" so that's a good size 6. Honestly, my metabolism started slowing at 30 years old. Now, I had to exercise to keep my weight down. Then at 32 years old, when I was pregnant with my first child. I went over 200 lbs before I delivered him and just kept getting bigger and bigger. In my weight loss journey, I've found that it's mostly a mind game. In my mind, I didn't try to lose the extra weight because I thought that a "good mother" was indeed a big mother. Now that I've gotten a healthly perspective that a good mother isn't necessarily a big mother, I can now finally lose the weight.

    Good luck in your weight loss journey! Whether you've been overweight your entire life or within the last year, you can lose the weight and achieve your goals.
  • EmGetsFit
    EmGetsFit Posts: 151 Member
    My story: I was always thin and fit. I graduated high school weighing 99 pounds (I'm 4'10"). I studied dance, mostly classical ballet, for 18 years. I took classes 2 or 3 days a week and ate whatever I wanted, knowing that dance class kept me fit. Then I quit dancing in my early 20s after college, due to injuries and muscular stress. I gained maybe 20 lbs. over the next several years but did not think much of it because my body was less active, and I knew there are metabolic shifts in adulthood. I felt fine weighing 115 to 120. BUT then in my late 20s to early 30s, I was laid off of 3 jobs in 3 years. That + financial stress + depression + anxiety + lethargy + eating my feelings = I put on an additional 25 lbs. It was gradual, but one day I didn't recognize myself in photos. It was strange and scary to see that it was me. In my mind I was still (somewhat) thin and fit. And that made me more depressed. My body was hurting from extra weight on my short frame & my back and hips started hurting again. So, finally last autumn I decided enough is enough. I'm getting rid of 25-30 lbs. I'm losing the weight slowly but surely!!!
  • MrsGriffith
    MrsGriffith Posts: 43
    These stories all sound so familiar. I was skinny as a rail as a young kid. I began to bloom in jr high and my body changed drastically, I was taller and had bigger hips and chest than my sisters so I thought I was fat, I had a best friend who was 6 inches shorter than me and wore 2 sizes smaller jeans, that didn't help. Looking back now, I was 5'"7' and 165 lb my senior year, which for me was a comfortable active healthy weight. I so wish that I had seen that. I found out I was pregnant with my daughter right after graduating high school, and, long story short, in the last 8 years after having her I have gained over 100 lb, from a combination of stress, depression, a sedentary job and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. I know all about denial, I know all about the pain when you see those pictures and realize that its really you. I look in the mirror and I can't even believe that I am that person. That is why I am here, I know what it is like to NOT be like this, so I know I have to do the work to get back there.
  • 1234terri
    1234terri Posts: 217 Member
    Was a size 4 thru my mid 30's...late 30's. Then at 40, stuff just started shifting. At 50, it was time to start doing something, though I doubt I'll ever be a 4 again! But yeah, I was a skinny kid and it drove my overweight sister nuts:-)
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    i was thin and athletic until i reached 30. then i sopped being an athlete and started working desk jobs but i kept eating like an athlete :laugh:

    plus i got a bit comfortable with the extra weight for various reasons.

    now i'm ready to get back to where i know i can be, i'm just relearning new eating habits
  • kimleroy
    kimleroy Posts: 50 Member
    Oh yes! I was very very tall for my age as a child and the rest of my body couldn't keep up, so I was very thin. I hit the height I am today, 5'7", when I was 13, and I was probably no more than 110 pounds going into high school. Once I was in high school, I became extremely active with swimming and track and I started lifting weights a lot. I gained so much muscle. I graduated in amazing shape at 140 pounds, still very lean, but muscular. I could eat absolutely anything I wanted because I was burning up to about 4000 calories a day during the intense parts of my competition seasons. When I got to college, I stopped working out but I kept my appetite. And thus, over three years of college I gained 35 pounds, which is exactly what I'm working off now! My goal is to get back down to 140 again.
  • amberleighxoxo1
    amberleighxoxo1 Posts: 12
    I was always really skinny. Like 115lbs, 5' 8" at the end of grade 12 then I quit smoking, lived on my own and had my son. Now I am 230 and enough is enough. I would like to hit 150lbs maybe less. Feel free to add me.
  • justgowithit17
    justgowithit17 Posts: 1,392 Member
    yup i know what you mean! i was skinny up until my sophomore year of high school! back then i was actually trying to lose weight at 5'7.5" and 115 pounds! :noway: i got depressed for awhile and then ended up gaining a bunch of weight.
  • Infauna
    Infauna Posts: 89
    I was always a skinny child, it was only until I was in an abusive relationship when I was 14 that I gained weight. I was 5'6" and my weight hovered between 120-128lbs, I looked really healthy back then imo. When I got out of the relationship I weighed around 150lbs. Now I weigh 110lbs.
  • cinrn68
    cinrn68 Posts: 215 Member
    I was skinny as a child and I was "average" as a teenager (although I always thought I was "fat" -- I see pics of me in HS now and I can't believe I thought I was fat). I was an aerobics instructor in my early 20's. I used to bike to the gym (30 min.) in the morning before work, swim 100 laps (40 min.), work all day, bike home (30 min.) and then go teach at least 1 aerobics class, sometimes 2. Then I got married and it all fell apart. I started eating like crap and then all but stopped exercising. Over the years, my weight crept up from 145 lbs at my most fit to 220 lbs after 2 babies. So yes, I know what it's like to be in shape and on the slim side (I'm 5'10", so at 145, I look "good").

    I'm trying to get back to that, although now at 45 years old, it's certainly not as easy. But I WILL do it. It's my promise to myself. :)

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