The Beautiful People

I participate on those threads. And yeah, they are a confidence booster. A few years ago I was borderline morbidly obese. My husband was embarrassed to be seen with me, and made that very clear. I felt horrible about myself, and who I saw in the mirror.

So I started working out. Slowly at first. I did the Couch 2-5k. Some of the weight started dropping off. I started running races. I started going to the gym. I was still fat. Very fat. But less fat than I had been.

Then my husband left me. Rocked my world. Turned it upside down. He hooked up with this tiny little blonde girl, literally half my size, and 15 years younger than him. For the first time since high school, I was alone.

I hit the gym with a vengeance. And you know what, I came through it. I think I look pretty damn good. I feel confident in showing off all that hard work. Piss and moan about all you want about the "narcissistic asshats". But I worked goddamn hard for this. And I'll show it off any time.

Today I'm working out twice, because I can, and because I still have more hard work to put in. Stop cry babying about it, and put the hard work in yourself.

I don't think your last statement was very fair. While I do agree that hard work pays off and you should feel proud and be able to show it off, it's not cool to tell someone to stop cry babying. Just because someone has a moment where they are feeling defeated doesn't mean they are giving up. Just because someone looks at themselves in the mirror and feels ashamed of what they see, doesn't mean they are being a cry baby.
Allowing someone to recognize their faults and pointing out their strengths is far more motivating than telling them they are a cry baby. Good for you for having that drive. Good for you for getting it done and bettering yourself. You do look fantastic, but other people may not have the same strength you have. Some need to be uplifted a bit to get past their heart aches.

We all have a story to tell and we all deserve to show off.

We all have a story to tell and we all deserve to show off.

Exactly

asshat

We all have a story to tell and we all deserve to show off.

Exactly

asshat

Don't make me kick your *kitten*, E

I love your face like a fat kid loves cake

I participate on those threads. And yeah, they are a confidence booster. A few years ago I was borderline morbidly obese. My husband was embarrassed to be seen with me, and made that very clear. I felt horrible about myself, and who I saw in the mirror.

So I started working out. Slowly at first. I did the Couch 2-5k. Some of the weight started dropping off. I started running races. I started going to the gym. I was still fat. Very fat. But less fat than I had been.

Then my husband left me. Rocked my world. Turned it upside down. He hooked up with this tiny little blonde girl, literally half my size, and 15 years younger than him. For the first time since high school, I was alone.

I hit the gym with a vengeance. And you know what, I came through it. I think I look pretty damn good. I feel confident in showing off all that hard work. Piss and moan about all you want about the "narcissistic asshats". But I worked goddamn hard for this. And I'll show it off any time.

Today I'm working out twice, because I can, and because I still have more hard work to put in. Stop cry babying about it, and put the hard work in yourself.

I don't think your last statement was very fair. While I do agree that hard work pays off and you should feel proud and be able to show it off, it's not cool to tell someone to stop cry babying. Just because someone has a moment where they are feeling defeated doesn't mean they are giving up. Just because someone looks at themselves in the mirror and feels ashamed of what they see, doesn't mean they are being a cry baby.
Allowing someone to recognize their faults and pointing out their strengths is far more motivating than telling them they are a cry baby. Good for you for having that drive. Good for you for getting it done and bettering yourself. You do look fantastic, but other people may not have the same strength you have. Some need to be uplifted a bit to get past their heart aches.

It was in response to the narcissistic asshat comment thrown out there. I do think that's crybaby behavior.

Believe me, I totally understand how hard it is. I was overweight for YEARS. I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and PCOS. I've had two kids. I convinced myself that no matter what I did, it was impossible to lose anything. I let myself stay fat. But I didn't shame other people who did work hard and who did look fantastic. My issues were mine. And ultimately I was the only one responsible for both gaining the weight, and losing it.

I agree. Those threads are meant to make people feel like ****

I have been having a converstaion over the past 2 days with a fellow MFP friend. I won't call him out, but I will say that in a way, the eye candy threads have kind of brought his mood down a bit. He mentioned that there are a bunch of beauitful people talking about how hot they all are. I am not one for pity parties and refused to let him stay there too long.

They're anonymous people on the internet. How do we know that's their picture? We don't.

And if someone needs to tell me how hot they are, they aren't hot. They're narcissistic asshats.

Wow really ?? So people are not allowed to be proud of themselves? They aren't allowed to show what their hard work has done for them and feel great about it? Jealous is very very ugly my friend.

I'm not shaming those who,work hard and got a rocking bod. I'm shaming those who that's all they have going on in their life. And if all you (not you personally, the generic you) can talk about is how hot you are, you are a narcissist.

Girlfriend, you need to stop hating. And shaming. It's sad, really. Who are you to say that because anyone posts in a thread like that it's all they have going on in their lives? You really think you can tell that much about a person from such a small snippet of a comment? C'mon. People work hard, no matter if they've been in great shape all their lives, or they've got a brand new physique. Hard work always deserves kudos.

^This all day everyday

No one here needs to feel as if the body they have isn't good enough. At the same time, those who can't help but to feel that way need to understand that things go much deeper than a picture in a thread on a forum on some website. Obviously this isn't all a person has going on because they are showing off some bodies they worked hard for. There were many different bodies being shared in those threads, all of them fantastic! All of them deserving of kudos.

The point of this thread was to point out that yes, there are pics of beautiful people, but there is a story behind that body. A picture is worth 1,000 words.

I used to weigh 365lbs the first time around when I used MFP. I'm about 240 now (didn't gain anything back, just making another push to go lower). It was a lot of work for me to lose a whole person basically. However, all you have to do to completely discount all that work is put me next time an ab guy from one of those beautiful people threads. Some guy who's lost a couple pounds to go from mildly fit to more fit will always be worth more than the guy who's lost 125lbs until the second guy ends up with abs. I'm sure that's just some karmatic punishment for getting fat in the first place so I accept it. Kissing some pretty persons butt though because you think they've worked so hard is just silly though. I've worked hard too. I just didn't get the same result.

The point of my OP was missed. The point was to look beyond those looks and see what that person has worked for. There is one guy in there, I think his user name is littlebutbig who worked really damn hard for what he has. Not to mention, some men (and women) aren't going to lose a ton because they are gaining muscle. I have only lost 9lbs but I have dropped 3 pant sizes. That's a big deal! It IS a lot of work, and when you get there, you may want to show off as well.

OP had the best of intentions, but it seems like some people took that original intention and took it and twisted to a shaming, hateful thread. Seriously, folks, it's too bad that some fun threads like the 'eye candy' threads cause hurt feelings, but they really are just silly, superficial things for fun. No one thinks that posting a bod picture is the heart and soul of a person. For the record, my profile picutre really is me, and I posted it because I am proud of the work I've done on my body. Does that define me? In the aspect that I'm a driven person who has found the will power to work out and stick to eating a certain diet, yes. In the aspect that a picture of my body shows what kind of a person I am, no. I am a wife, a mother, a friend, a boss, an employee, a citizen of earth. I try to be a nice person, and a friendly stranger. It's just a picture and the threads are just meant to be fun. Because I participate in them does not make me an asshat or a bad person. It just means I like to have a little fun. It doesn't define me.

This is exactly what I have been trying to get at. You look amazing and you have worked for it. Nothing wrong with showing what you've got, and nothing wrong with wanting to hear positive feed back. At the same time, a person who isn't to their goals shouldn't feel put off by it, it should give them the will power and motivation to keep going; seeing it is attainable.