I Do Not Want to be Thin
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aubrey_11_baker
Posts: 14 Member
All too often at the beginning of weight loss journeys I hear people say (mostly women) that they want to be thin. Or, I want to lose XX amount of weight and be a size X. Why is this their ultimate goal? Why isn't the goal, instead, to be healthy? Why isn't the goal to love yourself?
I currently weight in at 232 pounds (13 pounds less than when I first started!). My goal is not to be thin. I love myself and I love my body, but my main goal is to become a healthier version of what already exists; losing weight is part of that process. I'll say it again: my goal is not to be thin.
If that is your goal, please assess why. If you are attempting to conform to pressures put on by the media, health magazines, and fitness nuts, then maybe you should take a step back and re-evaluate your goals. If you are attempting to look like them, chances are you will fail. Simply put, most of us do not have the time or motivation to be at the gym 2-4 hours a day to achieve a body like those we all envy.
Love yourself. Embrace the changes that you see in your body and use that as motivation. Find the ideal proportions for you. Not all of us will look good as a size 4.
I do not want to be thin. I want to find MY perfect size.
I currently weight in at 232 pounds (13 pounds less than when I first started!). My goal is not to be thin. I love myself and I love my body, but my main goal is to become a healthier version of what already exists; losing weight is part of that process. I'll say it again: my goal is not to be thin.
If that is your goal, please assess why. If you are attempting to conform to pressures put on by the media, health magazines, and fitness nuts, then maybe you should take a step back and re-evaluate your goals. If you are attempting to look like them, chances are you will fail. Simply put, most of us do not have the time or motivation to be at the gym 2-4 hours a day to achieve a body like those we all envy.
Love yourself. Embrace the changes that you see in your body and use that as motivation. Find the ideal proportions for you. Not all of us will look good as a size 4.
I do not want to be thin. I want to find MY perfect size.
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Replies
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I agree with you 100%!0
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I'm very much like you. When I started this weight loss plan nineteen months ago, I completed an extensive survey. I was asked why I wanted to do this and it was to get my mobility back. It was my mobility gains that have thrilled me the most. I am so much more agile and energetic. I am doing things I did not think possible a year ago.
My belly will NEVER bounce back to flat. I'm OK with that.0 -
Awesome! Agree 100 percent and it's also my goal to be healthy! My goal is to lose weight to be healthy and feel good in my own skin! Happy you feel that way too!0
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I'll be honest with you... why do people want to be "thin"? Because you cannot be truly healthy and be fat. H.A.E.S. does not exist; it just doesn't.
You dont have to be "skinny" but our bodies were designed to be lean and strong, period. And that isn't something that requires 2-4 hours in the gym.
Edited to add: I'm not even talking about aesthetics here, just the fact that our bodies were not designed to hold excess amounts of fat for an extended period of time. Since your post seemed to focus on the "look" of being skinny.
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rainbowbow wrote: »I'll be honest with you... why do people want to be "thin"? Because you cannot be truly healthy and be fat. H.A.E.S. does not exist; it just doesn't.
You dont have to be "skinny" but our bodies were designed to be lean and strong, period. And that isn't something that requires 2-4 hours in the gym.
This.
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My goal was never to be thin. I can see the trainers at the gym resisting rolling their eyes when they ask for my weight loss goal and I tell them that getting healthy is my goal; if weight loss happens as a side effect then I'm happy with that, too.0
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Why can't I love myself AND want to be thin? Why can't I want to be thin AND healthy? Why can't I want to get down to a BMI of 19.4 because it looks good AND it will help me become a better dancer and improve my aerobic performance? I aspire to be thin BECAUSE I love myself. I care a lot about what I do to my body. It's the only one I've got. I want to be at the best possible performance level.
People are more likely to pursue and achieve a measurable goal than an abstract one. "I want to get into the Normal BMI range" is going to be easier to track and monitor than, "I want to love myself." Loving yourself should come with ANY goal, but it doesn't have to be the only goal.
People talk about their goals in terms of lbs lost or ideal sizes because it's very personal to say, "My goal is to stop hating my body." People share goals that are weight related because that's how you set goals here and that's how you find other people with similar goals.
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OK. I'll say it.
It sounds like you're already making excuses for yourself, because you don't truly believe that you can get down to a healthy - slim - weight.
I recognize this, because I used to be that person, with those thought processes.
It's true that some people are aiming for "thin at any cost, who cares about health". But it's also true that in order to be healthy, you need to be not-fat. If you are serious about getting healthy, you are also serious about getting slim.0 -
I think because of things like what rainbowbow wrote, we confuse weight with health. Just because someone is thin does not mean they are healthy, and just because someone is overweight does not mean they are unhealthy. But people continually try to act like someone is either in perfect shape or else they are morbidly obese and most are too unintelligent to consider all of the possibilities in between those two extremes.0
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britishbroccoli wrote: »Why can't I love myself AND want to be thin? Why can't I want to be thin AND healthy? Why can't I want to get down to a BMI of 19.4 because it looks good AND it will help me become a better dancer and improve my aerobic performance? I aspire to be thin BECAUSE I love myself. I care a lot about what I do to my body. It's the only one I've got. I want to be at the best possible performance level.
People are more likely to pursue and achieve a measurable goal than an abstract one. "I want to get into the Normal BMI range" is going to be easier to track and monitor than, "I want to love myself." Loving yourself should come with ANY goal, but it doesn't have to be the only goal.
People talk about their goals in terms of lbs lost or ideal sizes because it's very personal to say, "My goal is to stop hating my body." People share goals that are weight related because that's how you set goals here and that's how you find other people with similar goals.
This. I'm glad you feel the way you do about your body, OP.
Me, I want a measurable goal to set, because if I wanted to be "healthy," I'm there, but my goal keeps me going to where I know I'll be even happier.0 -
britishbroccoli wrote: »Loving yourself should come with ANY goal, but it doesn't have to be the only goal.
This. Wanting to be a healthy weight with healthy habits IS self loving. Caring for your one and only body doesn't mean you "hate yourself" or are vain.
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Since when is "thin" unhealthy and just pressured by media? Why is this assumed? What about "I just don't like feeling like a fatass"?
You worry about your goals and let others worry about their own. Don't tell others how to determine their goals. Live and let live.0 -
AllonsYtotheTardis wrote: »OK. I'll say it.
It sounds like you're already making excuses for yourself, because you don't truly believe that you can get down to a healthy - slim - weight.
I recognize this, because I used to be that person, with those thought processes.
It's true that some people are aiming for "thin at any cost, who cares about health". But it's also true that in order to be healthy, you need to be not-fat. If you are serious about getting healthy, you are also serious about getting slim.
This.
I used to be in your shoes, OP. Similar starting weight, similar thought that I could be overweight and healthy at the same time. And, at 230lbs, I didn't know how bad I felt. I thought that those random aches and pains were part of life. I thought that it was normal to get out of breath when I walked up the stairs. I thought everyone who was a size 8 or smaller was killing themselves in the gym and surviving on lettuce. "I'd rather be fat and happy than thin and miserable" was something I said often.
Then, I started losing weight. And I found that the more I lost, the better I felt. The more fit I became, the more I was able to do. And it's awesome to be leaner, lighter and healthier. And it doesn't take hours and hours in the gym or a diet of lettuce to achieve.
I'm not at my goal weight. I've been maintaining for a year or so, but I'm getting back into cutting so I can lose the last 20-25lbs. I'm thrilled with what I've achieved so far, but I'm excited to see what's next. I don't want to be burdened with health issues, so it's important to me to get to my goal weight.
Accepting your body and trying to create the best version of you is a worthwhile goal. But you should recognize that, over the long term, staying overweight will be a hindrance to your health.
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AllonsYtotheTardis wrote: »OK. I'll say it.
It sounds like you're already making excuses for yourself, because you don't truly believe that you can get down to a healthy - slim - weight.
I recognize this, because I used to be that person, with those thought processes.
It's true that some people are aiming for "thin at any cost, who cares about health". But it's also true that in order to be healthy, you need to be not-fat. If you are serious about getting healthy, you are also serious about getting slim.
Agree with this.
Make your goal to improve your health for sure, but your best health will come when you are strong and slim.0 -
I want to be thin and strong. I want to look good naked and fit in my skinny jeans again. I want to look as hot as I have ever been closer to 40 yo than in my 20s. I want to have enough energy to play with my kids. And I love myself.0
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AllonsYtotheTardis wrote: »OK. I'll say it.
It sounds like you're already making excuses for yourself, because you don't truly believe that you can get down to a healthy - slim - weight.
I recognize this, because I used to be that person, with those thought processes.
It's true that some people are aiming for "thin at any cost, who cares about health". But it's also true that in order to be healthy, you need to be not-fat. If you are serious about getting healthy, you are also serious about getting slim.
This.
I used to be in your shoes, OP. Similar starting weight, similar thought that I could be overweight and healthy at the same time. And, at 230lbs, I didn't know how bad I felt. I thought that those random aches and pains were part of life. I thought that it was normal to get out of breath when I walked up the stairs. I thought everyone who was a size 8 or smaller was killing themselves in the gym and surviving on lettuce. "I'd rather be fat and happy than thin and miserable" was something I said often.
Then, I started losing weight. And I found that the more I lost, the better I felt. The more fit I became, the more I was able to do. And it's awesome to be leaner, lighter and healthier. And it doesn't take hours and hours in the gym or a diet of lettuce to achieve.
I'm not at my goal weight. I've been maintaining for a year or so, but I'm getting back into cutting so I can lose the last 20-25lbs. I'm thrilled with what I've achieved so far, but I'm excited to see what's next. I don't want to be burdened with health issues, so it's important to me to get to my goal weight.
Accepting your body and trying to create the best version of you is a worthwhile goal. But you should recognize that, over the long term, staying overweight will be a hindrance to your health.
^QFT (Both posts above)0 -
Luckily being thin doesn't require 2-4 hours at the gym, just a few less minutes putting food in the mouth.
Having a fitness body could take that long but just being thin? Not so much.0 -
Luckily being thin doesn't require 2-4 hours at the gym, just a few less minutes putting food in the mouth.
Having a fitness body could take that long but just being thin? Not so much.
Agreed. I know that I used to say things like that as an excuse to give up and to "justify" why I couldn't change.0 -
One can be overweight and very healthy.
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That's not the same as HIAS, but as this graph shows, being slightly overweight is an advantage.
My goal is to achieve the overweight category and out of the obese range. My current BMI is 32 and all I have to drop is fifteen pounds to make the overweight range.
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I started at 280lbs, and got to a weight around 245 kind of naturally (stress of writing a thesis stopped and student loans coming due as a postdoc made penny pinching necessary and food was a good place to cut). Once I consciously made a decision to lose weight, I set a goal of 180. I hadn't been that weight since probably middle school, and it felt TINY.
Then, I got to 182, and I still felt fat. I've put on some weight since then thanks to the holidays and some issues with binging, but I figure I still have another 30lbs to lose. But, it's not about a specific size or weight (hell, my original goal was to be a size 12 just so I could shop in "normal" stores). Now I want to work on getting stronger, I'd like to be firm but balance my weight goal with what is a reasonable amount for me to eat to maintain that weight.
I have no clue what my actual goal will be, but I'm hoping I know it when I get close (I figure at some point I will just stop trying to lose and instead work on body composition).0
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