Would you rather be fit/fat or skinny/unfit ...

emmaleigh47
emmaleigh47 Posts: 1,670 Member
edited September 24 in Motivation and Support
Perhaps I am the only person who feels this way ... but at 250 pounds right now I am in the absolute best shape of my adult life.
I see alot of posts from people who are restricting their calories severely and NOT exercising... and it leads me to think...

Would I rather be fit/fat or skinny/unfit.
I was skinny unfit once in my life... in high school I was a twig... a weak twig ...
Then I got heavier...and more and more unhealthy.

Then I decided to take control... sure I restrict my calories to point (I watch what I eat) but I am ALL about getting the exercise in.
I have run a half marathon -- look at my mile counter... I can do a full plank with perfect form and hold it for 1 min... I can do 50 situps without stopping... and I can survive 2 weeks so far of P90X.

I have given up the on the scale... I dont need it. I am all about being healthy ... making good choices.. getting fitter and stronger!
Am I the only one who feels this way ... ?

Replies

  • emmaleigh47
    emmaleigh47 Posts: 1,670 Member
    Sorry I should add -- of course I would love to be skinny fit ... and in time I will get there :)
  • mara232
    mara232 Posts: 93 Member
    As someone who also eats healthy and exercises but has a lot of weight to lose (70+) let's be honest here, fat is fat and it isn't healthy for you. Sure neither are the super skinny people who eat tonnes of crap (ie. my twin sister) but being fat and fit don't belong in the same sentence. Not in my opinion anyway. I think my twin who weighs 100lbs less than I do is a lot more healthier than I can hope to be even with all of the junk food and zero exercise she does.

    That being said, I do feel like I am getting healthier and fitter - but I don't consider myself fat and fit per say.
  • sauza
    sauza Posts: 159 Member
    I NEEDED to hear that. In all honesty, right now, I'd rather be skinny and unfit :) but that is because I have forgotten what it is to be fit. Your post reminded me.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I've been skinny & unfit. I never want to be skinny again. I just want to be lean and fit.

    I felt much better, health-wise and body-image wise, when I was a tiny bit overweight. At my heaviest, at my 20th high school reunion a few months ago, I didn't feel "fat" next to my skinny former classmates. I felt strong and healthy. And like I could pick them up and snap them like twigs.

    It didn't hurt that I was in 5.5" stilettos and towered over them, too. Sure, at 5'5, I was overweight, but not at 5'10 and a half! :laugh:

    Now as I'm approaching my goal, exercising my bootie off, and getting even stronger and more fit, I feel frickin' amazing. And I look better naked than I did when I was skinny.
  • kmeekhof
    kmeekhof Posts: 456 Member
    I wouldnt say fat, but I would rather be "heavy" and fit.... than skinny and unfit.
  • hallekj
    hallekj Posts: 6
    I used to be too skinny and unfit and am now overweight, but I have been exercising like crazy and feel better than I ever have. I am stronger, have dropped a couple sizes and look much better than just a couple of months ago. I have not lost much weight but, I know it will come. So don't sweat the small stuff, focus on the long term goal of a healthier lifestyle and it will all work out.

    Btw, when I asked my doctor why I was not losing weight he told me that I should not be concerned about the weight but rather the level of fitness, the food choices and the lifestyle I chose - that is what counts for overall health.
  • Black_Swan
    Black_Swan Posts: 770 Member
    If I had to choose, then skinny and unfit. Definitely. Im sorry I know its not the best option, but it seems to me like the least of the two evils.
  • MakingAChoice
    MakingAChoice Posts: 481 Member
    If I had to choose I would choose NEITHER. It is not even a choice, being 'fat' is going to shorten your life and so will being unfit. I choose to be healthy and fit wherever that might put me on a scale. If I have a healthy BMI and can run a 3k at least than I will be happy with my efforts.
  • emmaleigh47
    emmaleigh47 Posts: 1,670 Member
    Ok lemme rephrase, because I see the comments are just. I agree that being "fat" is not good either...
    I guess what I am getting at is the people who are skinny but not fit...
    I may not be a normal weight yet ... but I am in better shape than I have been since I was 11 years old!
  • SJT75
    SJT75 Posts: 134
    Well said, i think it gives us all something to think about. Yes we are all here trying to lose the fat but when i sat back and thought about your point you are right....It isn't the number on the scales which is making me feel better and more confident in my own skin....it is the fact that i feel fitter and healthier because of the exercisei have been doing. I have only lost 10.5 lbs but i have manage to improve how far i can run from 5 mins to 5K (35mins) That feels like the greater achievement. I do hope I can loose more weight (i would rather be slim than fat) but for now i'll be concentrating on running 10k.

    Sam
  • kbloodworth
    kbloodworth Posts: 107 Member
    This won't be popular but: skinny/unfit.

    I've been healthy and fat for a long time. It doesn't get me into a size 2.

    If I never exercised again, and could lie on the couch/beach for 8 hours a day and still be skinny- I would be okay with that.
  • mara232
    mara232 Posts: 93 Member
    Thanks for clarifying. I myself do feel healthier than I have in years but I have over 70lbs to lose and am considered obese so I cannot say I am even remotely fit. True, I am better than I was but I still have a way to go. As for skinny/unfit people - they may not eat healthy nor exercise but they still will have a longer life than someone who is 100lbs heavier and eats healthy and exercises.

    I will say that I can see someone being 15 - 20lbs overweight who eats healthy and exercises being healthier than a skinny, junk food non-exerciser. I cannot say that about an obese person.

    I do want to say good for you eating healthy and running - it definitely is a lot harder for someone who has a lot of weight to lose to run than someone who has a bit of weight to lose. I too have a lot of weight to lose so I appreciate how much work is involved. Keep it up!

    ETA: I'd rather be skinny and unfit because it would not take so much effort to start eating healthy and working out.
  • ruthie3110
    ruthie3110 Posts: 160 Member
    Skiiny and unfit.
    I'll never be fit to be honest. I'm too broken lol. Missing a lung, flat arches that insoles don't help, clicky joints and hips, a touch of hypermobility....
    So yeah it's basically fat or skinny.. and I choose skinny!!!
  • bjshooter
    bjshooter Posts: 1,174 Member
    I would of said skinny/unfit in fact I still would. But I must admit I am liking this fitness thing and how it is making me feel. It is close to a 50/50 toss up.
  • GirlPower1018
    GirlPower1018 Posts: 11
    Emma I would want to be fat/fit! That is how I feel I am now and I think that is how you are now.
    Now I am headed to good weight/fit! - I don't want to be skinny I want to be althletic.
    :)
    Your doing GREAT!!!! And inspire so many.
  • sassyg
    sassyg Posts: 393
    I am happy to be "overweight" and fit & strong. BMI is flawed, and puts me bordering on obese, but in a size 9-10 US. So I'll take 'fat and fit' as quite honestly, I'm never going to be 'skinny'.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Well, I'm pretty darn sure my overweight husband is a lot healthier (not to mention loads sexier!) than my skinny, chain smoking ex-boyfriend. His bloodwork, heart rate, etc. are always perfect. He's strong and active, but not athletic. Very rarely sick. The only thing wrong with him is asthma he's had since childhood, and that's well-controlled with an inhaler. And the sprained ankle that has him on crutches at the moment.

    But he'd definitely out-live my ex in a zombie apocalypse. :wink:

    I'm also thinking about me at 160 lbs vs my cousin who's currently under 100 lbs. We're the same age. But she's always sick. Always going to the doctor for one thing or another... on IV antibiotic now for a long-term infection in her lung. Probably anorexic, and has a list of things a mile long she refuses to eat. No muscle tone at all. But she's afraid to weigh more than 98 lbs. I weighed that when I was 12, and I was a very skinny 12 year old. We're both almost 39. We shouldn't be the size of preteens.
  • LeAnn_Mae
    LeAnn_Mae Posts: 263 Member
    Skinny and unfit, definitely. As a lifetime 'fat girl' there was a time that I would do ANYTHING to be skinny. To be the one that people look at when you walk in the room and not because you're so freakishly HUGE. There's a bit of desperation involved when your obese. It's funny when I think of it now because at my highest weight I would have done anything to be skinny but apparently eating right and exercising was not part of that 'anything'. I had to overcome a mental block and just convince myself that there is no magic pill, it comes with hard work and sacrifice. But I'm still fat and still a bit desperate so if someone were to give me the option of being skinny but I'd have to be unfit...I'd take it!
  • emmaleigh47
    emmaleigh47 Posts: 1,670 Member
    Thanks for all the view points... I may not perfectly fit but I am sure busting my butt to work there.
    I can do lots of things my thin friends cant... and I am just getting better and better.
  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
    I have given up the on the scale... I dont need it. I am all about being healthy ... making good choices.. getting fitter and stronger!
    Am I the only one who feels this way ... ?

    Amen I am on this path as well to health being my primary goal, the skinny part can follow if it likes.
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    You are an inspiration. I agree with all those things that make you fit. I love to exercise as well and while I have a small frame I love my curves. I've been working on my endurance, speed, and starting weight lifting again. I'm all about health and will maintain the weight that I lose with food and activities that I love.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    I'd rather be overweight by standard defitions and fit (with no weight-related health problems) than skinny/normal weight and unfit.

    Being thin is emphasized too much in our society. If you feel good, are active, eat well, and are healthy - that is what matters. There are actually many people out there who are overweight by common measurements but who have perfectly healthy blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc. and who exercise regularly.

    Some food for thought:
    "Can you be fat & healthy?" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1066937,00.html
    "Fat but Fit? Big Grey Area Confounds Scientists" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39466130/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/
    "Can you be healthy at any size?" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39466130/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/
    "Skinny Fat Masks Obesity" (Video) http://www.clicker.com/tv/today-show/Skinny-fat-masks-obesity-743319/
    "Overweight but still healthy" http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008106890_obesity12.html
  • remembertheharddrive
    remembertheharddrive Posts: 133 Member
    I want to be fit and muscular. I thought that I was cool with being "overweight" as long as I was fit and muscular - but after a while, I started to feel like it was holding me back in terms of my fitness. Like if I just shed another 5-10lbs, I would be able to run easier and faster. I could feel those extra pounds holding me back.

    So if those are the two options, I'd certainly rather be fit --- but it wasn't remotely ideal in terms of my fitness goals.
  • Stefani74
    Stefani74 Posts: 448 Member
    I have lost weight before without exercise and not a really healthy diet. I was skinny, but flabby. I couldn't run, didn't have any engery and the weight came right back! So no I don't want to be just "skinny/unfit". I am heavier than I want to be right now, but I am in better shape that I have ever been. I have more muscle tone and have more energy. I am eating healthier than I ever have. So I don't mind that I am heavier...I will get there eventually.
  • Candiceg13
    Candiceg13 Posts: 218
    I am working toward Large/FIT!!! I weigh 169 now, and I am 5'4, but have a large body frame and am becoming ok with it for the first time in 25+ years!!!!

    I am muscular, and strong, so i do not look like I weigh 169, but I still want to shrink size wise, I beleive a 8/10 is perfect for me, and that will still be considered "overweight", but my health and body image are whats importantm not some ridiculous chart that says I sould weigh no more than 125!

    My Goal is approx 150lbs and a fit size 8/10.... never gonna be a size 0, not where i would want to be for me anyways (nothing against those who do!)...
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
    I am still over 200 pounds, but I'm fitter, firmer and stronger than most of my peers. So, fit it is. :tongue:
  • BryanAir
    BryanAir Posts: 434
    I don't want to sound like I want to take the easy path because I am dedicated to weight loss through exercise and lifestyle change. That being said, it would probably be easier to become skinny/fit when starting from skinny/unfit than fat/fit, so I guess I would have to go with skinny/unfit. Although I could be wrong about which is easier.
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