Thin=Unhealthy?

[Dogmama]

Until I went to the gym a few nights ago and easily put up 410lbs on the leg press and could have done more. Apparently that 7lbs of other based on body fat was muscle. I had stopped lifting in February and could only do 290. So on some occasions heavier can mean healthier.

Muscle begins to degrade after 3 days of non-use. You can't gain muscle by sitting around. Gaining 7 pounds of muscle in a few months without lifting weights is impossible. Heck, gaining 7 pounds of muscle in a few months is impossible unless you're on steroids.

[ACG]

I have a 22 year old daughter who is 5'4" and weighs 100 lbs. She wears a size 0, sometimes, her ring size is a 4, maybe. She has very fine bones. Versus my other daughter, 15, size 9, 5'2", is more meaty, size 8 ring. People always think my eldest must throw up all the time to keep so thin, it is kinda insulting. She is just naturally thin. I am in the middle in size of my girls. As a mom I make sure they eat healthy, I love to give them wheat pasta, juice with no sugar, turger burgers instead of beef, lots of green beans, etc. I agree with you all, society encourages women to be thin by the clothes they sell and then at the same time can't believe when someone is that thin. Or if a woman has a naturally full bosom she must have had surgery, she couldn't be born with those breasts that big! I struggle to keep my girls self image balanced all the time. It is exhausting! Be happy with who you are!.... Now back to looking at my big, muscular 2 tone legs.

[mimitabby]

haha, once my husband looked at some size two clothing and asked if that's what I wore when I was 13. Nope, I started at size 8 (weighed 105 lbs, 5'3")

now I am all growed up, 54, 125 lbs, 5'3 1/2" and I'm still a size 8.
what's changed is what a size 8 was.

There are a lot of asians in my community and they wear the bulk of the size 0's 2's and 4's. some of us are just too WIDE!

[crazybikinchic]

what sadden's me deeply is that yesterday, a girl that I work with came in with diet pills. She is 5'10 and weighs 151. When I was younger, I was a size 5 and thought that I was fat. Life then happened and circumstances beyond my control allowed me to gain weight. After the death of my daughter, I could not walk up a flight of stairs without being short of breath. I decided that that was enough. I was to young to have that problem. I was also facing my husbands health issues at the time. Exercise was and still is my escape from my problems. Yes, I am fat, but I am one that exercises. The fact that I am fat does not make me unhealthy.
My point is, it does not matter if you are fat or thin, what matters as many others have said, "Are you happy?" Unfortunately, society makes us have threads as this debating what the "ideal" weight is.

[pkq]

I've been thin most of my life. Some have said too thin 'cause I'd have to "pass twice to cast a shadow." Being active probably contributed to my size. My metabolism has been faster than most. I was continuously hungry and felt like an empty pit often so I've eaten copious amounts of food.

My worst diet, a junk food diet, only gets my cholesterol into the 190's. So genetics play a big role in this as well as age, level of physical activity, mental well being, emotional stability, etc.

When my early 40's arrived, that all changed. But I'm still happy with who I am. I have had opportunities and accomplishments in life that I never could even dream of as a child from small town Louisiana. Think below poverty level.

Unhappiness is another form of stress. Stress is very hard on the body and causes the body to do some very strange things. After I left a very stressful job, shed the beau from Hades, and completed a master's, it took months for my body to "get back to normal." Things had stressed so gradually, I hadn't noticed those changes. I thought I was handling the situations pretty well. Imagine my surprise to realize things were changing from what I thought was normal to where they had been functioning prior to all the stress.

As long as you are happy and living life to your fullest potential, don't sweat size. Stressing over size/weight is counter-productive and unhealthy from my perspective.

Life is all about balance for mental, emotional, and physical well being, which takes thought, work, and, sometimes, courage.

[Kathi]

Thanks for all of your replies.

Historically, women have done crazy things to achieve their generations ideal of beauty. In the 1800's thin waists were popular, women wore corsets so tight they endangered their organs and cut off their breathing. In the 1920's there was the flapper, the 1950's was big breasts and curves, (Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe), 1960's was Twiggy. 1980's was Jane Fonda. A few years ago it was Kate Moss. There have been tons of fad diets, the grapefruit diet, Scarsdale diet and I remember my mom and my friends moms eating cottage cheese with a half a pear or peach for lunch, they were dieting.

Teenagers are prone to self-image problems due to the changes in their bodies but women of all ages have self-image problems, specifically with breasts, hips and stomachs.

In my case, I weighed 85lbs when I graduated from high school in 1966. I had terrible a self image because I was constantly being told how I had no figure, no breasts, hips, etc. When Twiggy appeared I finally had someone to identify with. And about that time my Aunt told me "don't worry about gaining weight, you'll gain it when you get older" So, I just started accepting myself as I was.

I remember my freshman year in high school my friend had gotten big enough to wear a Junior size 7. That was so exciting! No more kids clothes and I couldn't wait. There were no petite sizes. During those years my mom made my clothes or everything had to be altered to fit. I learned to sew and I made my prom dress so I had something that fit decently. Not only that, I learned to alter the patterns because they were to big for me.

Junior petite clothing surfaced around my senior year but the smallest size was a 5. Still too big, but getting closer. In my mid twenties size 3's came on the market and they fit perfectly. From then on, I had plenty of clothes to chose from and so I stopped making my own.

Today, even though I'm 15lbs heavier than those high school days, I wear a size 0 or an XS and sometimes they are too big. Waistlines are too big, shoulders run to wide, pants are too long. I'm almost back to making my own clothes for proper fit!

In my late 30's, I started exercising, Jane Fonda influence. I didn't do it for my health, to lose weight, etc. I started because it was the "thing to do". I continued because I love movement. I spent hours as a kid riding my bike, jumping rope, roller skating, dancing. So aerobics reminded me of all this. I also felt better, handled the stress at work better, skied and biked stronger.

At the same time, my friends chose not to exercise, ignored their weight gains, bought into the over indulged life of alcohol and to much food. Now they're approaching 60 and they are facing the problems of too much weight and the problems that go along with it. One friend, who was a phenomenal skier, now weighs so much and is so out of shape that she has to help herself to stand up. This year, I didn't get to ski with her but a male friend who did commented on how out of shape she is.

From these people I keep hearing, "I know I should exercise, lose weight, eat healthy, etc. but they make no changes". They yo-yo diet for a while or start to exercise, lose a little, but then gain the weight back and add on more pounds. I can't help them because they assume I don't eat. They don't think about how maintaining weight is a commitment, a lifestyle, and feeling good about who you are.

And I'm back where I started from, "you're to thin, you don't eat, that's how you stay thin", and clothes don't fit. But, I'm healthy, have muscle, average 4,000 miles a year on my bike and ski over 50 days a year, and hike. And, yes, I eat! I'm retired, so I don't need fashionable clothes.

I rehabbed very quickly from my ACL surgery which amazes my overweight friends and my physical therapist. 2 friends have stopped skiing after having acl surgery, 1 friend did not ski for 2 years. I'm riding my bike, I started 2 months before the acl protocol recommended and will ski next winter.

Oh, and have you noticed that in magazines for women over 40, it's not about weight loss, but now it's "anti-aging diets"!

[snapdragen]

Oh, and have you noticed that in magazines for women over 40, it's not about weight loss, but now it's "anti-aging diets"!

Noooooo! Let's not go there!!!

ps - Kathi, I remember having to take in every pair of pants I bought in high school; was shaped similarly to you. Finally just started making my own!

[Kathi]

Muscle begins to degrade after 3 days of non-use. You can't gain muscle by sitting around. Gaining 7 pounds of muscle in a few months without lifting weights is impossible. Heck, gaining 7 pounds of muscle in a few months is impossible unless you're on steroids.

Dogmama, I'm with you on this one. All it takes is an injury to demonstrate how quickly muscle is lost. When I tore my MCL/ACL in Jan. within 2 weeks the injured leg had lost all muscle tone. My leg shunk in size and looked horrible. PT brought back some of the strength and shape but ACL surgery slowed the progress. The uninjured leg also lost shape and strength but not as much.

While I did not lose as much muscle after surgery, I started PT immediately, it has taken a long time to regain the strength in the injured leg. At the end of April I had 85% of the strength of the uninjured leg. My injured quad still does not have the same shape as my uninjured quad, the vastus medialis muscle is not back 100% yet and I don't have the cardio or muscle endurance that I had before my injury. My hamstrings and glutes also lost strength so I'm doing specific exercises to strengthen them.

Sometimes I do leg presses and I can do about half amount of weight with my uninjured leg as I could do before the injury.

Next week, I'll be 3 months from surgery and progress is slower than what I'd like it to be, although, considering what I've been though, I've come a long way in a short time.

[Kathi]

Noooooo! Let's not go there!!!

ps - Kathi, I remember having to take in every pair of pants I bought in high school; was shaped similarly to you. Finally just started making my own!

Snapdragen, it's not only clothes but bras too! My Dr. told me it was not good to go braless but bras were so uncomfortable, I'd take them off as soon as I got home and since I've been retired only wore them when I exercised or went out.

It was probably due to the changes in my body, and boredom, after my ACL injury but my breasts were looking saggier than normal. I started searching the internet for an exercise bra that would be comfortable enough to wear all day. Instead, I found out I was wearing the wrong size bra! Instead of a 32C I should have been in a 30D. The only thing I can figure is that when I was measured for bras size 32 bands were the smallest so that's what they sold me.

I found an online company that sells odd sized bras, they charged for shipping but not for returns, so I tried a couple of 30D's. I love them, they are not uncomfortable, I can wear them all day right up until bedtime. Now I have a collection of pretty bras that I love wearing, my clothes look better and I don't feel old and saggy any more.

BTW, I kept noticing the low cut clothing worn by the women on the TV show's, specifically, Sex and the City, and how good they looked. So, sometimes, the media is not all bad. I may not look as good as those women but I'm now very comfortable wearing a bra!

[RoadRaven]

My Dr. told me it was not good to go braless but bras were so uncomfortable, I'd take them off as soon as I got home...

Hey there Kathi, very interesting post - thank you for sharing...

I just wanted to add in here re your bra comment, that a sports crop top is an excellent alternative to a bra. I really dislike bras too, and tend to shed them as soon as I get home. But my breasts get cold - so I pop on a crop top, warm and supportive.

Glad you have found the right thing for you though.

[Kathi]

Hey there Kathi, very interesting post - thank you for sharing...

I just wanted to add in here re your bra comment, that a sports crop top is an excellent alternative to a bra. I really dislike bras too, and tend to shed them as soon as I get home. But my breasts get cold - so I pop on a crop top, warm and supportive.

Glad you have found the right thing for you though.

RoadRaven, I actually wore a Moving Comfort Sports bra as an everyday bra but what I didn't realize is that bras stretch over time so when you buy a bra it should hook in the first hook from the end not the last hook as mine were doing. As the bra stretches then you can move to the 2nd and 3rd hooks. Also, bras only last about 6 mos and you should not wash them in the washing machine. I read pros and cons about the washing machine but decided to go back the hand washing method and hope that these last longer than 6 mos.

I also read that something like 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bras.
It's funny that I've worn the wrong size bra for about 30 years!

[RoadRaven]

OMG... hand wash bras?

Fraid I don't have the time for that - although I do remember my ma telling me that a loooong time ago... hmmm, maybe I should have listened.

[donnambr]

Also, bras only last about 6 mos and you should not wash them in the washing machine. I read pros and cons about the washing machine but decided to go back the hand washing method and hope that these last longer than 6 mos.

If you have a front loader, you can usually machine wash them in bags without very much damage. A front loader's delicate cycle is very, very gentle.

[ladyjai]

6 month life span?! oh dear.. I had bras last a good 7 years at the least! and they were not expensive I take everything through the washing machine, though i rarely use anything heavier than the gentle cycle.

I'd rather be healthy, though to hear some of the folks here, I'd be considered thin! though certainly not as much as you kathy.
i think there is a preconceived notion that thin=unhealthy, and thick=unhealthy. but folks get real hazy where perfect is. if you as as thin as a super model, folks will tell you to gain weight, but yet, they desire to look that thin themselves.... the media sucks.

Like these wonderful gals have taught me, it's about being healthy and active. If you can get on your bike and put in the time and distance, and you are not hindered significantly by your weight, be it too little or too much, then you're probably just right.

[Dogmama]

Don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat. Post surgery, I lost about 7 pounds very quickly - mainly muscles in my legs. I'll never forget looking at my legs on the leg press machine first day in the gym & thinking "Whose skinny legs are those?"

Also, "thin" women can have a higher body fat percentage than normal weight women. Fat doesn't need any calories to exist. Many women gain & lose the same 20 pounds over & over - except that each time it gets harder to take off because metabolism is all messed up.

Muscles need 50 calories/day/per pound to exist. It pays to get into the weight room. Your bones will get stronger, you'll get definition and you'll be sprinting up hills before you know it!! AND - (here's the best part) your metabolism will be raised throughout the day so you can toss back that extra Hershey's kiss (or two...three.. ) and not feel guilty - or think "I'll ride it off tomorrow."