I Do Not Want to be Thin

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  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    What's wrong with wanting to be thin, healthy AND love yourself? None of those things are mutually exclusive.
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 701 Member
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    I also never wanted to be thin, I wanted to be healthy and I still do.

    If you would have asked me when I started on this path or anytime before what size I wanted to be, I would have said a small size 8 and medium. I would have also said that I would look likely look terrible at a size 6 or anything <140 lbs. I was WRONG.

    I'm now 130 lbs and size 4/6. I'm amazed at what I've been able to do with my body. I don't just love my body, I'm a bit in awe of it. So yes, I definitely agree that aiming for health is the best goal, but becoming thin or at least thinner tends to be a byproduct of that. Don't sell yourself short by telling yourself you can't or won't be thin.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
    edited March 2015
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    When I started I wanted to be a certain size because it was the size I was for 80% of my adult life (including after kids). I also set my weight goal for 'my normal' weight range. The conclusion I came to was...

    A: It was going to be hard work.
    B: It was going to be a lifestyle change.
    C: I enjoy working out.
    D: I take a lot of pride at what my body can now do.

    I love my body and pushing my limits, more than the look though is the fact that I can lift things and do things I never thought I could do. I also figured that if I was going to work hard I might as well have the body I want. I am back to a size 6 but I weigh 20lbs more than the last time I was this size. I am technically over weight according to bmi (after the holidays, been slacking).

    I agree OP, love your body but do not dismiss others as vain. My main goal is health, my resting heart rate is lower, my bp is lower, I handle stress better and my happiness and sex life have greatly improved. None of these things were even an issue for me but the improvement of them makes me a healthier, happier person.

    My new goal is 18-19.5% body fat, should be a size 3 to 4 then with nothing jiggling unless I want it to. Call me vain but I work my *kitten* off and it is not 2-4 hrs daily, it is roughly 6 hrs a week. My other goals are purely fitness related.. 10 unassisted pull ups, squatting double body weight and benching body weight. Also mid delt strength (very weak there)

    I also agree with a post above....over weight (carrying excess fat) is not healthy, even if current tests say your good...it does not mean it is healthy. Lean is healthy and if I love my body/self and work my *kitten* off (not literally, I work hard to keep my butt) I want to not only feel good, be healthy but I want to look good too.
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I dont want to be *thin* just slender...I love having curves too much. Semantics I guess LoL but the idea of someone calling me skinny makes me cringe!

    Anyway, I set goals for myself so that I have something to work towards. An arbitrary "I want to be healthy" isnt enough...I need to have something specific that I can measure and work towards and have milestones that I can see my progress. At the moment, my defined goal is to be at the top of my healthy weight range according to my BMI, and I have mini goals along the way.

    I already love myself, so thats not a good goal for me. On a good day, I feel pretty darn good and healthy, even though I'm overweight...so thats not a good goal for me either. Honestly, I think that no matter what someone weighs or how they look, they should love themselves. Thats a psychological / emotional goal, not a weight loss / fitness goal.

    As far as health and fitness improvements go, and my reason for being on this site, I personally see no problem with setting, and reaching goals to achieve that!! :smile:

    Not sure why you see that as a bad thing and encourage people not to have something specific to work towards! Do what works for you..for others, setting and achieving defined goals is an incredible feeling and very motivating!
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    I'm "thin" by many standards. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be thin. It's great that you are working towards healthy, but suggesting that a woman only wants to be thin because of society is a form of body shaming.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    aubrey_11_baker wrote: »
    ..... 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.
    ...

    How much time do plan to spend being active?

    Fitness requires exercise of some sort. It certainly does not require 2-4 hr a day. Where do you get that idea?

    Now, if the above post is intended to say you plan to be active exercise an average of 20min a day (as per recommendations) then fine. If you are writing it to say that you are going to do NO exercise, then you are lying to yourself - health and fitness require some exercise.

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    aubrey_11_baker wrote: »
    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.

    I'm a competitive bodybuilder (and a single parent with a full time job). Fat loss happens outside the gym. Fat loss is eating appropriately for your goals. I go to the gym 4-5 days a week for 45 minutes. I do effective workouts.

    I think your perception on how to get a lean body is skewed.
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
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    I was only 45 lbs overweight, but losing that weight got me off of blood pressure meds, and diabetic meds. My resting heart rate went from 80 to 60. So even though now I am a size 2-4, for me it is not just about aesthetics. (thought that is a great perk) I believe being overweight will eventually catch up to you and effect your health.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
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    DopeItUp wrote: »
    What's wrong with wanting to be thin, healthy AND love yourself? None of those things are mutually exclusive.

    This^
  • Ridley2011
    Ridley2011 Posts: 10 Member
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    One more thought. For some people healthy does equate to thin. As a breast cancer survivor, my goal of being at a normal BMI is because fat cells produce estrogen and my cancer was sensitive to estrogen. There are some studies suggesting that a lower BMI supports longer survival times. Otherwise I'm healthy - on no drugs except for the ones associated with cancer, and I can and do walk for miles each week. So perhaps this Is more of an individual determination, and have others have said, does not need to be an either or decision.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    I'd like to be healthy. I already love myself. Thin is a pretty relative term that I'm not going to bother commenting on.

    My goal is to get to a healthy BMI, so my chances of being healthy are maximized. I don't want to be overweight because the more weight you have, the more at risk you are. So it makes sense that people have goal weights in mind.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    edited March 2015
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    aubrey_11_baker wrote: »
    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.
    Oh sweet jeebezus, am I ever sick of this stupid stereotype! The VAST majority of thin people don't spend 2-4 hours at the gym every day. We're not making ourselves sick or miserable, eating only lettuce and running on hamster wheels. If you assume that you have to endanger your health and hate yourself in order to be thin, of course nobody would want to do that. It is a very convenient excuse for not making changes, though.

    I'm considered thin by most standards. I love myself and love what my body can do. I eat WAY more and exercise less than most people assume. I don't live on lettuce or rice cakes -- ice cream is a food group in my world, and I eat REAL dessert every day (cookies, chocolate, ice cream, etc.).

    If you're going to pull the HAES card, you have to remember that the E stands for every. It includes thin people too.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    aubrey_11_baker wrote: »
    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 see jealousy and excuses in your writing.
  • CObluegrass
    CObluegrass Posts: 61 Member
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    I want to be as small as I can for my joints. Approaching 50 in a couple of years and my feet, ankles, knees, hips and back feel every pound, especially after having surgery on two of those body parts. I don't need to be a size 0, or even a 2 or 4 but I want to be as small as I can healthily be. This is for the rest of my life, I don't have a goal line, a goal weight, an end date. It's just every day. Not sure when I'll switch to maintenance eating...when I feel it's right.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I want to be thin and healthy. Why? Because I'm faster with less weight. And then there are aesthetic reasons. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be thin.
  • KnM0107
    KnM0107 Posts: 355 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Well, I Do Not Want To Be Fat...

    I have always loved myself, which is why I lost weight. I feel better physically and I am happier now that I don't have excess weight crushing my knees and preventing me from being as active as I wanted to be.

  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    edited March 2015
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  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    What is your definition of thin?

    I am relatively lean. Being lean has nothing to do with whether I love myself or whether I a trying to conform to any stereotype. In fact, I do not conform to the stereotype of my demographic and I am perfectly good with that.

    OP, your post makes a lot of rather ignorant assumptions and is condescending and, basically, pretty terrible. People can have preferences regarding aesthetics and, shocking, I know, they can be different to others, as can motivations and reasons as to why they doe something. Stop trying to put everyone in your box. I would not like being in it at all. My athletic performance would be negatively impacted, potentially my health and well being, and I would have aesthetics that I would be less happy with if I were to settle for being rather overweight (and no, preference for a certain BF% =/= hating yourself if not at that BF%).
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
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    i agree with you, and just to add my personal goal is 185lbs and my healthy BMI max limit starts at 160lbs so yeah.. B) i'm planing to rock the hell a lot 185 lbs of deliciousness overweight
  • 2snakeswoman
    2snakeswoman Posts: 655 Member
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    I want to get rid of the horrible habit I have of stuffing myself silly over things that have nothing to do with hunger. In the process I will become thinner; I trust in the process. I don't have a particular weight in mind. I do want to shrink out of the obese category; I know that for sure.
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