What is your earliest memory of being called fat?

ejsmith7 · February 2011

I had this idea of having sort of a therapy session of bad childhood memories of being made fun of for being overweight...

I have 2 that I have always carried with me.

The first time I was ever called fat was in the second grade(7 years old) and a boy in my class said to me "hey fatso, quit hogging the water fountain" Goes to show how hurtful these comments can be when I can still remember exactly what was said 22 years later...

The other was in the 5th grade. The school nurse came to our class to do our annual weight and scoli test. I was always nervous at these b/c I was the biggest out of all my friends. I quietly asked the nurse not to announce my weight like she did with the other girls, but she did anyway. So the whole group of girls heard that I weighed in at 140 lbs. They of course told everyone else, I was so embarrassed.

Anyone else want to share??

kbryanmc · February 2011

4th grade and 5th grade. Hit puberty in 6th grade and shot up like a weed and that helped even me out. 7th grade I was teased tremendously for being "fat" by 3 boys but when I look back at pictures, I wasn't fat at all! I was athletic looking, but I carried that painful memory with me for a very long time. It may be petty but it makes me happy that the 3 boys that harassed me in middle school still work their highschool jobs and haven't gone anywhere in life...karma?

maureak · February 2011

I was always one of the bigger girls as a kid and into high school. I don't remember a specific incident, but I do recall my mom frequently telling me I was "round". Of course, I knew that was a code word for 'fat' and she was trying to soften the blow.

cmo115 · February 2011

2nd grade I remember "feeling" fat. I don't know if anyone called me fat. Then by 3rd grade I was called fat. 5th grade exact same thing happened to me...only I weighed like 150... was the tall fat girl and everyone else was sharing weights and I didn't want to and they all started laughing and saying "that is because you are fat!!"

Enigmatica · February 2011

Wow, that school nurse has some wicked karma on the way for that nonsense.

I wasn't a heavy kid, was very athletic and active, but my dad thought it great fun to tease me about my well developed butt. (Hey, I needed that butt to stay on some of the crazy horses I rode!) Anyway, he called me the "Crisco Kid" and always followed it up with the oh so (NOT) clever line, "You know why I call you the Crisco Kid? Because you're fat in the can!" Oh ha ha. I was 5'3" and weighed 120 at most at the time. But I started thinking I was fat then. ::sigh::

velix · February 2011

I was in high school, a size 7 maybe, and my father told my I'd never get a boyfriend with "those thighs" .... looking back, I was no where near large ... but it has always stuck with me and really affected the way I perceived my body...

ChefJenn · February 2011

that I can remember since its been a while was 8th grade in health class. I was sitting in front of this girl and I had on a cream colored top and I guess it made my little fat pouch around the top of my bra on my back show bad , and she took her pencil and poked on my and said WHEW, DO YOU HAVE A TUMOR?? then she asked the health teacher to please look at it to make sure she was not going to get cancer from me. ( btw: she got knocked up that year too , shows she was not smart at all)
no offense to anyone out there who might have had a child then, just she went around picking on everyone and then she was the talk of school walking around preggers.

do unto others as you would want them to do to you

wiggleroom · February 2011

My dad used to pinch my chubbiness because he thought it was cute; and my mom called me "pleasingly plump." Um. What pleasing about plump?! They honestly thought it made me cuter -- didn't realize how it affected me.

In high school, a certain boy called me Thunder Thighs, and I got comments about my copious derriere.

It's certainly not fun. =(

chillyrodent · February 2011

Also seven. My "best friend" told me my long hair made me look like a fat hippy. In school there was one girl heavier than i was, and I was secretly relieved that I wasn't the fattest. I didn't pick on her - somehow I knew there was a slippery karmic slope there - but I was glad to have her take the brunt of the cruelty.

And pretty much daily from then until I was 14 and started starving myself. Once in a dressing room trying on clothes. My mother was so exasperated because nothing fit, and she screamed out YOU'RE FAT!! Way to be in my corner, Mom!

dreamc08 · February 2011

Oh, there are too many to list

Some of the ones that stand out: being in 4th grade some kid on the playground asking me if I was pregnant because my belly was so big, and never being able to wear jeans throughout elementary school because none fit. I had to wear stretchy pants, which just made things worse.

sandi50lock · February 2011

You look good

tammydspice · February 2011

My sister was very thin and tiny growing up...not so much anymore, I cannot remember the first time I was called fat, but I was always compared to my sister. Can remember holding in my belly from about 5 years old and it was always in my mind. I did a lot of closet eating because I was always hungry and would not eat in front of my family.

I do remember one time at my uncles house, there were about 10 kids there for something or other and we were given a bag of cookies to choose one from and my sister took her time a picked over for her choice, I stuck my hand in , got the one I wanted and walked away. My uncle piped up..."well, Tammy doesn't care which one she got as long as she got one" I was so sad, I really think I was about 4 or early 5 years old. I have a 7 years old girl now, she is about 80lbs, tall and slim, horse back rider, loves being outside and I would never let anyone get away with saying anything about her weight in front of her. I worry about it just because what I grew up with and do not want her to go through any of that. At 7 I hated my self and my body because it was not my sisters! So sad what we have to go through!

BreakingUpWithObesity2013 · February 2011

I have many..but one that really stuck with me was when I was 15 and I got my learners permit...I was so excited to go tell my grandpa and when I did he said "well you better lose some weight because elephants don't drive cars..." I cried for weeks!! I still remember that day...

ninyagwa · February 2011

I remember when I was around 5 or 6 my first stepdad used to make fun of my "bubble-butt" my maiden name has the word a-s-s in it in the middle so he'd repeat that specific syllable/word to remind me I had a big butt.

The worst was a hand made sweater my grandfather's wife gave me, it was light green and I remember wearing it to school when I was in middle school and over hearing someone say "she looks like a giant green-whale" of course I was meant to hear it. I threw that sweater out when I got home.

Although this stuff is really negative, I remember a "lighter" time so to speak when I was in a summer program with a bunch of high school students, where no one picked on anyone because we made the golden rule priority, and I recall a bunch of us larger high school girls, and some of the larger female staff formed the "Fat Girls Club" and we all loved & supported each other and it gave us a sense of belonging. We didn't go out and binge together or anything, we just enjoyed being confident together knowing we had each other and we shared our struggles.

taiyola · February 2011

I developed an eating disorder at 8, but until around 10 I was skinny. Since that, I've always been self-conscious about my body. I don't really remember an incident of anyone calling me fat, it was always just myself saying it. Nothing much changed there, then!

HW2Hottie · February 2011

Once in 6th grade all the athletic boys chased me and called me fat. That was bad, I didn't think I was fat, just not as thin as the other girls. Never had it happen again until my 30's when recently I saw my brother after a couple of years and the first thing he said was, "omg you got fat!" I couldn't blame it on child birth, my kid was 2! I have always been the smallest in the family so that stung!

jmlitton33 · February 2011

ugh, this brings up a lot of bad memories. I was terrorized in elementary school. I was chubby, had carrot colored hair, and freckles. not to mention the not so latest clothing. I'd say I remember being made fun of since the beginning of kindergarten up until about 6th or 7th grade. I hated school, but my parents never called me anything. they always told me I was beautiful and that they'd all be sorry, one day, for making fun of me. blah. kids are mean, and I never understood that. if I ever found out my child were making fun of someone, I don't know what I'd do. I certainly wouldn't say that they're just being kids. bullying is no joke at all.

Nailrep · February 2011

I don't remember the earliest. But I remember hurtful remarks that go way back. My mom told me I was a fat baby when she got me (I'm adopted). Said she had to cut my baby food in half so I would lose weight. Wow, my first diet when I was 6 months old. Very sad.

ejsmith7 · February 2011

Thanks for sharing!! It's nice to see that we are not alone in our experiences and though they bring up bad memories, I think now that we are committed to changing our lives, it is good to relive some of these memories and see how they have affected all of us. I am amazed to see all of the comments about the parents!! I never had that problem, however my parents are overweight as well. Good luck to you all with your goals and keep up the great work!! :happy:

chazsucks · February 2011

I remember walking home from the bus stop after school and down my road there were a bunch of kids that used to follow me throwing stones calling me a fat c*nt. It was a 10 minute walk but I ended up taking a detour and walking 40 minutes every day just to avoid them so I would be coming to my house from the other end of my road. Ironically I ended up losing weight with all the walking..

mandaroni58 · February 2011

I didn't really get teased for being overweight as a kid, I was always the funny girl...but one instance from 7th or 8th grade has stuck with me my whole life! I had a boy tell me "you'd be so pretty if you were skinny" and I replied "you'd be so handsome if you didn't have all of those zits". I have no idea why that particular memory sticks with me but it does. Then my (thin) sister and I once asked my Grandma (who is brutally honest to a fault) who was prettier, me or my sister--she actually answered to our surprise that I was prettier but my sister had the better body. I have spent most of my life being the one who has a pretty face but never the whole package.

time2runnn · February 2011

Age 5 in kindergarten. I had long wavy dirty blonde hair and was about 75lbs then, so a girl named Erin thought I looked like Miss Piggy and nicknamed me so.:grumble: In that same year we were playing the rhyming name and I was embarrassed and sad when someone jokingly said Tabby Flabby and everyone laughed (even the teacher had to catch herself). I also remember my mom complaining constantly when I was little that my "big bubble butt" made it so I could not share a wardrobe with my sisters and she hated having to buy me bigger sizes when money was tight.

In high school I moved back in here to discover lil Erin had gained weight over the years was literally so big she sat across 2 stools at the lunch table. I was shocked, but you know what-- i didn't need to say anything to her-- and said to myself what goes around comes around. And as for my butt I accept it. I will always have junk in the trunk cause that is how I'm built-- just as long as the scale keeps going down and I am a smaller version on my body type I am fine

jamaka1 · February 2011

I was always considered "big boned", as a kid growing up i cant say i was fat, i was bigger than my sister who was skinny. I can recall i was very active and love to play alot. As i grew up i had a round end but in jamaica thats considered sexy so i did not feel fat. I came to this country and omg it's all about diets and being fat. I did gr8 until i started driving, there are still ppl who will say you dont need to lose weight but being 226lbs on a 5" 6" frame is unhealthy especially when i was on the verge of diabetes & hypertension. I got even smarter once i started nursing school and see all the risks i'm putting myself at being overwgt. The most important thing for me on this journey is to be healthy; by the way the dr had prescribed diabetes meds and blood pressure pills which i've beaten both. 2day i'm down to 195lbs with 20 more to go. GOOD LUCK EVERY1, 4get about those mindless ppl and look at it to keep you motivated

rnd789 · February 2011

When I was in third grade, I dressed as a genie for Halloween, so my belly was showing. There was a picture of myself and a friend of mine in class, and I was showing it to my mom's best friend. She said something like, "Oh, you're getting a little belly there, aren't ya?" After that, I went home and cut the picture in half because I was so embarrassed.

What is your earliest memory of being called fat?

Replies

Categories