American Perceptions?

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  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    Hun, I am 185.6 lbs and even at 250 you could see my collar bones!! Do yourself a favour and don't let anyone else tell you how to look, feel, or be!

    +1

    You couldn't see my collar bone 'til I was under 200 but pretty much this, yeah.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    It's not a perception issue. It's a projection issue. Nobody thinks that being obese is normal. It's just easier to point at a "normal" person and say "you're too thin" than it is to look at yourself and say "I'm too fat."
  • WonderWhitney11
    WonderWhitney11 Posts: 78 Member
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    Yeah... I don't know. I just know I was mortified when I read the label in my Reebok running leggings... a US size Large is equal to a 4XL in Japan. I guess all that tells me is that if I ever travel to Japan, I shouldn't expect to do any clothes shopping!

    I'm 5'1", 175 pounds. My collar bones show... and I'm definitely not too skinny. :)

    BTW... what the heck is a Bikini Bridge? Lol...

    A bikini bridge is when your hipbones stick out far enough that they create a gap between your lower stomach skin and the fabric of your bikini. A bridge of bikini from hipbone to hipbone. Apparently it's a thing now...

    Soooo... like wouldn't your bottom fall off? lol... that's a silly thing to want!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Yeah...just look around you. Being fat is "normal". Of course it skews perceptions. I was just over the line of overweight to obese as per my BF% when I started...most people I know didn't think I really needed to lose any weight and that I was just a "normal" 38 y.o. who's metabolism had slowed a bit...while clinically, I was obese (though at the low end).
  • mank32
    mank32 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    while i agree, generally, that many
    ...humans are coded to desire plumpness

    ...i think there are also humans coded to desire fitness (myself included), and there may be plenty of overlap. sometimes people are coded to desire lots of different things.

    if you look like you can run 10k carrying me away from warzone, my ovaries want you to come over and play.

    it boggles my mind that a fit body could be unattractive to anyone. yet it happens. part of it is our 'coding', and another part of it is skewed perceptions. it's kind of weirdly socially-unacceptible to be fit in this fatphillic society.
  • StrongHealthyPowerful
    StrongHealthyPowerful Posts: 98 Member
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    I also am getting a little sick of the numbers, at least when one person thinks that what another person's number are should pertain to them as well. I know that even in my own life, a weight like 135 can mean different things. It all has to do with how much muscle I have, how many sweets vs veggies I'm eating, how much water I drink. All of it! If there's so much variation even in my personal experience with my body, why should anyone else's number have any bearing on my experience? I definitely find myself comparing my weight and height with others, but I'm trying to break that habit...
  • CaddieMay
    CaddieMay Posts: 356 Member
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    I used to have a FB friend (some chick from high school) who would post stuff like "Curvy girls are the best girls" and "Real women have curves" and "Men like to have something to hold onto." That kind of stuff. Then she'd post questions like, "How many calories are in hot dogs? Because I just ate 5 of them." If I posted a photo of myself, she'd call me a "skinny *****." All she was doing was trying to fatten up the rest of her social circle so she wouldn't feel so bad about her own condition. She was a fad dieter who hated thin people, so she resorted to stupid memes that justified obesity. This is so prevalent in America. Pick on the thin people.
  • PrincessEliNa
    PrincessEliNa Posts: 524 Member
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    One of my best friends is French. When she came to visit the good ol' US, she was completely SHOCKED by the bigger sizes! She'd say things like "I've never seen anyone that big in my life!"
    I thought it was interesting.
    After 12 months into her stay, she had gained weight, and was completely horrified at herself. (We were the exact same weight. Lol)

    Anyway, I'm 5'5" ,137lbs, and I have POINTY bones. Everything sticks out! Collar bones, hip bones, ribs.
    Doesn't mean I'm "skinny". I hate when people say that it's gross, it's not like I can help it! :(
  • GeordieGirl80s
    GeordieGirl80s Posts: 120 Member
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    I haven't read through all the replies so someone else may have said this......................... I think perception of what is a normal/healthy weight is skewed the world over, not just in the USA. I've told quite a few people that my goal is between 119 & 126lbs and almost all of them have said that they consider that to be too low/unhealthy. I'm 5ft 2" and currently 209lbs

    Saying that, at ages 13-16 I weighed 112lbs or under and thought I was fat :-/
  • liveagain
    liveagain Posts: 97 Member
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    I have also noticed that clothing sizes have scaled up a bit. I have a size 12 pants from 10 years ago (no idea why I held on to them...) and tried to put them on. I was really excited to be able to button them even though they are still a bit too snug. I curiously wanted to know how many sizes I went down, so I looked at a pair I have been wearing which are now too big and I was surprised to see them labeled as a 12 as well!

    That said, I was really happy when I noticed my collar bones finally showing :)
  • Eyesee
    Eyesee Posts: 111 Member
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    BTW... what the heck is a Bikini Bridge? Lol...

    A bikini bridge is when your hipbones stick out far enough that they create a gap between your lower stomach skin and the fabric of your bikini. A bridge of bikini from hipbone to hipbone. Apparently it's a thing now...

    Soooo... like wouldn't your bottom fall off? lol... that's a silly thing to want!

    It's actually a fake thing some trolls started to get girls to feel bad about themselves and/or take pictures of themselves in bikinis: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/a-bunch-of-internet-trolls-are-trying-to-make-bikinibridges

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