My skinny friends

Suzy12
Suzy12 Posts: 284
edited September 23 in Health and Weight Loss
I need to lose 15-17 pounds. I'm about a size 10 in jeans. Not the expensive jeans -- in those I could probably be an 8 :-)
But it's not worth the price to me!

So here's my problem. I have friends who are at a nice healthy weight, or maybe just a smidge over. Truth is, they wear single-digit clothing. Size 6, size 8. Yet they tell me that I look good and that I certainly don't need to lose that much weight. I don't get it. They are skinny! Why don't they want me to be skinny????

Any suggestions?

Replies

  • sillygoose1977
    sillygoose1977 Posts: 2,151 Member
    They are just trying to be nice and make you feel better about where you are right now. It sounds like you are small enough to be considered one of your "skinny friends".
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    Im not sure what you look like but it could just be you look great the way you are.it seems like no one really sees themselves the way the outside world or loved ones see them.
  • jheller
    jheller Posts: 194
    I was a size 10 once - a long long time ago :smile: and I thought of myself as skinny so I guess its all what you bring to the table. Maybe they are just being supportive and nice. But ask yourself - do you want to lose 10lbs to be healthier or just to say you wear a size 6?
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    I understand the frustration in feeling like they aren't supporting you. But it sounds like they ARE trying to be supportive, in a sense, but maybe aren't going about it the right way. And remember, the people who see us everyday, are more inclined to "not see" our weight issues very objectively, especially if we don't have much to lose.

    But I have to say, I had to chuckle a little when I looked at your profile and saw your quote "Never measure yourself with someone else's yardstick."

    Because it sounds like you might be ignoring that quote a bit, in two ways.
    1. Don't measure yourself by what sizes your friends fit into. Go with what feels healthy and is a good size for YOU.
    2. Don't go by what they say - go by how you feel physically. If you feel you'd be in better shape and healthier if you lost a few poinds and toned up, then by all means, work on it. But do it for yourself, no one else.

    At any rate, don't let anyone discourage you, as long as you're making a healthy lifestyle change. Use MFP as your support if you don't feel it coming from others. And good luck!
  • joygwen
    joygwen Posts: 30 Member
    You would be one of my skinny friends, lol. But I agree, they probably just love you the way you are. One of my skinny friends (we're talking like I don't know 4ish) and I were exercising and she told me that she didn't see me as fat, I'm just her Joy. She just loves me and thinks I'm beautiful not matter what size. I love her for that, and told her that, but, from a health perspective (we were in nursing school together) no matter how beautiful I am, I NEED to lose weight. Your weight probably isn't terribly unhealthy but it's best to keep it under control and stay in your healthy weight range an not weight till you have 100+ lbs to lose.

    Now if they aren't being supportive, that's another thing but it sounds like they just love you the way you are.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    Don't put so much emphasis on the sizes. Two of my good friends are sisters, one about a year older than the other. The older one is a size 8 but is noticeably thinner than the other, who wears a 6 (narrow hips, no butt).

    As far as why they tell you that you don't need to lose as much weight as you think, it's a self-image thing. I'm the same way. I'm in a smaller size now than I have worn since junior high, but I still can't see myself as "skinny." I was shopping with my mom and sister-in-law over the weekend, and we walked past a mirror in the store, and I said "hey, I don't look fat in that mirror!" like it was some great revelation. My mom said "Um, that's because you're not fat." And believe me, if my mom thought I was fat, she'd tell me. We have a very honest relationship, especially with regard to weight because we've both struggled with it for a long time.

    So it's not that they don't want you to be skinny. They probably think you already are, and to them, 15 to 17 lbs sounds like a lot.
  • I have a skinnyminny friend who, upon hearing I was planning to lose weight, said "you don't need to lose any weight!" She didn't say that because she wanted to 'keep me fat' or anything, in her eyes she just saw me as me and weight didn't come into it. She loves me and wants me to be healthy of course, but she doesn't see me as fat. (I could have cried, to be honest, it was such a nice thing)
  • I can only dream of being size 10. I'm a size 16 and have been that way for as long as I can remember. I know how you feel though about your friends not supporting you. My girlfriend is always telling me that i look beautiful the way I am now but I just want to be a skinny friend too. lol. Whatever you do though, you should do for you. It's not about making your skinny friends happy it's your body, and it's you who should be setting the standard for yourself.
  • I started my journey at about 350. I had a cousin who sent me one time one of those pictures of the morbidly obese women looking sexy that everyone laughs at. I e-mailed her back and told her I wished that she wouldn't send those to me because it hit just a little too close to home. She said she never saw me that way. There are two things here - - Ok your friends don't see you naked and clothes cover a lot! Second, we look at people through our own lenses - your friends through the lenses of love - they probably honestly don't think you look like you need to loose weight. I have also found sizes are deceiving body shape plays such a huge role in size - really a lot more than weight does. Two people weight the same often wear totally different sizes.
  • Suzy12
    Suzy12 Posts: 284
    Thanks everyone! Great advice all the way around. No - I'm not obsessing over the number. But I have gained weight and that's why I'm here. I used the numbers more as a point of comparison than to indicate I was "size crazy!"

    My doc has also told me I have to lose at least 10 (pre-diabetic, even though I eat as healthy as anyone out there!). Unfortunately fall of genes I'm guessing.

    But regardless....thanks again for all the feedback. Y'all have a wonderful day!
  • Competition maybe??
  • spuzo
    spuzo Posts: 50
    Yet they tell me that I look good and that I certainly don't need to lose that much weight. I don't get it. They are skinny! Why don't they want me to be skinny????

    Any suggestions?

    No suggestion, but maybe this'll make you laugh...

    I'm 345lbs and I get told that!

    I think sometimes people think they're being supportive when they say that. Sometimes I want to tell people that I want to GAIN weight just to see the reaction. LOL!
  • Suzy12
    Suzy12 Posts: 284
    Yet they tell me that I look good and that I certainly don't need to lose that much weight. I don't get it. They are skinny! Why don't they want me to be skinny????

    Any suggestions?

    No suggestion, but maybe this'll make you laugh...

    I'm 345lbs and I get told that!

    I think sometimes people think they're being supportive when they say that. Sometimes I want to tell people that I want to GAIN weight just to see the reaction. LOL!

    Maybe people don't want to hurt feelings? That could be part of it too, I guess. I dunno.....but these responses have been great!!!
  • Suzy12
    Suzy12 Posts: 284
    Ok, I'm not done yet. After the post directly above, I got to thinking. And I pondered it for the whole drive home....and........what really bothers me about that is that I feel as though they are B.S.- ing me. You know??? Now granted, their reasons may be honorable (not want to hurt feelings or whatever), but these sure aren't the people I'm going to ask if my hair looks ok!! LOL!!!

    Thanks again folks!
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