im not taking anything away from those who have lost a lot o

Why do we have to judge any size! I'm sure there is something everyone does that they deserve a pat on the back for...if you seen me you'd peg me as a "skinny person"...I am very insecure about my body (my problem, yes), I am obsessed with being healthy, it almost controls my life and when I talk about it I get strange looks and comments like "where would you even lose weight?", "you don't know how hard it is, your lucky"...but guess what I have been anywhere from 120lbs to 230lbs! I don't need to announce my struggles because I don't have to explain to anyone but it absolutely amazes me how quick people are to judge...you don't know until you live that persons life..so don't assume luck or genetics or background!! We choose our own paths...some are harder then others and thank goodness I've made it this far...patting myself on the back!

To those people who say that it is just down to luck and genetics - I say bull****.

There is very little difference in the way 2 different people metabolise food. There is a difference however in how much people eat.

I know people will disagree and never believe it to be true, but being someone who has always been thin, and having one of my best mates as someone who was over 20 stone, and having in depth discussions, we have both come to some realisations.

The main one was that I Was thin because I ate significantly less than him.

Not because I was 'lucky' or had some magical triple speed metabolism.

If it was the case that everyone's metabolism was so far apart then the calculations used to work out your BMR wouldn't work.

People have always said that I eat loads, I never stop eating and I'm so lucky that I can just eat and eat without putting on weight, whilst they hardly eat anything and yet continue to get fatter. Yet when they and I actually note down what they eat in a day and compare it against my intake the reason is clear - I was topping out at a max of around 2500 cals, they were going on to 4000. Just forgetting about that Mars bar they had and those packs of crisps, oh and that pork pie, and that McDonalds burger they called in for on the way home.

The very mentality that makes you argue the case of luck is the same that made you put on weight in the first place. This victim mentality that says it's not your fault, it's just bad luck, refusing to take responsibility for how you eat.

As I mentioned, my friend who is now just about 14 stone (196lbs) and mostly muscle, has not just eaten differently by depriving himself of what he wants - he has fundamentally changed the way he thinks about food and in doing so realised exactly what I've put above - it's not luck - he was just eating more than he should.

This is an argument that annoys me, as one of the 'lucky skinny people'. No, I do a hell of a lot of exercise and eat an appropriate amount. To call me lucky is to dismiss the healthy lifestyle I live.

Now where I have been lucky, is that in my upbringing my parents clearly gave me a natural sense of proper portion control as I have never wanted to over-eat, but that is all, not genetics or luck.

P.s.in before - medical problems etc.

Not to discount your experience but you are not every thin person so your experience doesn't mean it's the same for all thin people either.

My sister married a guy that comes from a thin family and her daughters inherited their attributes when it comes to metabolism, weight, etc. My nieces have always been extremely thin with small bone structures. They actually feel that they are too thin and have gone through periods of time when they have tried to gain weight. I remember one of them telling me that during her senior year in high school, she drank two milkshakes every day with lunch trying to put on a few pounds. Didn't work. She was also one of those who wore her pre-pregnancy jeans home from the hospital immediately after delivery and tried to gain more weight during her pregnancy because her OG/GYN was concerned about her lack of weight gain during pregnancy. I think she gained something like 18#, IIRC. So, while pregnant, she ate healthy meals but then, to try to gain weight, would also eat a lot of ice cream, cookies, chips, weight-gaining shakes, whatever and still couldn't gain. She also had to stop breastfeeding because she couldn't eat enough to keep herself from losing weight into a level that her physician considered dangerously low. I saw some of her meals during this time. She was eating huge amounts of food to the point where I got a stomach-ache just watching her eat. She also never works out. NEVER. She jokes that her only exercise is walking around in her stilettos at work.

Is she extreme? Sure, this isn't normal. But I've known a few others who are similar.

One of my always slender friends, who has never jogged a day in her life, gone to a gym, or done any kind of regular exercise recently dropped 10# by cutting out her evening snack and packing one sandwich in her lunch instead of two. It took her about 2 weeks to lose it. Not quite as extreme as my niece but she is certainly not in good fitness shape either.

Neither my niece or my friend eat a healthy diet, either.

ETA: Although this doesn't take anything away from those who have maintained a healthy weight, never having been overweight, because they have always just eaten healthy and maintained fitness through exercise. Yes, those people are to be commended.

Just because someone is thin due to genetics or what have you does not equate health. I may still be 40 lbs overweight but I am healthier and can run circles around most of my "skinny" friends. I'm not going to congratulate someone that stuffs themselves with processed crap, the only squat they do is to sit on the couch and the heaviest thing they lift is the remote. I will how ever admire and respect someone who is healthy, chooses to eat healthy foods and exercises to their full potential regardless of their size.

The already skinny people have their cheerleaders... They get all the attention in magazines, tv, movies, in clubs, dating, social events, high average wages, and in generally being treated better. Let the struggling have a moment....

The kid who grew up with a lot of temptation, who stayed in school, who never took drugs, who every day made the decision to keep on a path, we never celebrate that kid, and perhaps we should.

I see your point.

HOWEVER..... Then should we say kudos to those who never smoked a cigarette, never tried a joint, never drank alcohol, never mainlined.... etc.

It IS an achievement to do it right in the first place, but it's hard to pick and choose every little thing someone did right. It is much easier to notice a dramatic change.

.

Actually, personally I think we SHOULD celebrate not just people who come back from addictions, but also those (esp. kids) who consistently make good choices all along.

As a culture, we do a lot of glorifying people in recovery. I'm not saying we shouldn't celebrate them, but I think there's also an element of gory "rubbernecking" that we do in listening to their stories. It seems the gorier, the farther down they fell, the more we like to hear about it (as a culture, not necessarily as an individual).

The kid who grew up with a lot of temptation, who stayed in school, who never took drugs, who every day made the decision to keep on a path, we never celebrate that kid, and perhaps we should.

It's not that I don't see your point in celebrating those who did it right in the first place, it's just that it's hard to find the right time and right way for every single instance. If someone says to me "I've never tried alcohol in my life and I really don't want any" I'll say "Good for you!" Same if it's meat, cigarettes, drugs....
But overall, on a site where people are trying to improve their health, yes, we are going to cheer for improvements rather than for staying awesome.

i think its amazing and i couldnt have more respect for people who do it, it takes a lot of strength to overcome your own body etc, but what about those people who have never been overweigt or underweight? surely thats an achievement in the society we live in?

Are you serous, do you celebrate one year being single and ask your friend to come to you single shower......don't think so.....think before you post wanting us to give you a compliment

I see your point.

HOWEVER..... Then should we say kudos to those who never smoked a cigarette, never tried a joint, never drank alcohol, never mainlined.... etc.

It IS an achievement to do it right in the first place, but it's hard to pick and choose every little thing someone did right. It is much easier to notice a dramatic change.

.

Go and read OP's profile. She has copped her fair share of negativity from the other direction. She is now a healthy weight and here she is still copping it.

Teensy bit hard to do this since the profile is private.... A bit unfair to expect people to know alllllll about her under these circumstances?

To those people who say that it is just down to luck and genetics - I say bull****.

There is very little difference in the way 2 different people metabolise food. There is a difference however in how much people eat.

I know people will disagree and never believe it to be true, but being someone who has always been thin, and having one of my best mates as someone who was over 20 stone, and having in depth discussions, we have both come to some realisations.

The main one was that I Was thin because I ate significantly less than him.

Not because I was 'lucky' or had some magical triple speed metabolism.

If it was the case that everyone's metabolism was so far apart then the calculations used to work out your BMR wouldn't work.

People have always said that I eat loads, I never stop eating and I'm so lucky that I can just eat and eat without putting on weight, whilst they hardly eat anything and yet continue to get fatter. Yet when they and I actually note down what they eat in a day and compare it against my intake the reason is clear - I was topping out at a max of around 2500 cals, they were going on to 4000. Just forgetting about that Mars bar they had and those packs of crisps, oh and that pork pie, and that McDonalds burger they called in for on the way home.

The very mentality that makes you argue the case of luck is the same that made you put on weight in the first place. This victim mentality that says it's not your fault, it's just bad luck, refusing to take responsibility for how you eat.

As I mentioned, my friend who is now just about 14 stone (196lbs) and mostly muscle, has not just eaten differently by depriving himself of what he wants - he has fundamentally changed the way he thinks about food and in doing so realised exactly what I've put above - it's not luck - he was just eating more than he should.

This is an argument that annoys me, as one of the 'lucky skinny people'. No, I do a hell of a lot of exercise and eat an appropriate amount. To call me lucky is to dismiss the healthy lifestyle I live.

Now where I have been lucky, is that in my upbringing my parents clearly gave me a natural sense of proper portion control as I have never wanted to over-eat, but that is all, not genetics or luck.

P.s.in before - medical problems etc.