i hope I dont make anyone mad but a few lbs overweight is not fat...

I know everyone is here for their own reasons and everyone has their own personal weight loss goals but sometimes I wonder WHY some of the people are even on here. If you weigh 120 and your upset cuz you want to weigh 115, your not even the slighest bit over weight so why get so stressed out over a couple of pounds? I wish I only had 5 or so pounds to lose but I have over 60! I am not trying to be mean to anyone who is in this boat, it just almost makes me feel bad. When people say "I weigh 122 i am so fat"...it makes me wonder what people must think of me at 198 pounds. Does anyone else at all feel this way or am I just overly sensitive and making people mad at me right now? Maybe I am just full of jealousy cuz I wish I was the one posting i need to lose 5 pounds not 68! Everyone has a right to be here and utilize this fantastic weight loss program it just seems to me it is more of a support group and program for people who are really struggling hard to lose a lot of weight...not just a couple pounds. If i only had to lose a few pounds I dont even think I would consider looking for a support group. Its kinds like walking in weight watchers and saying I need to lose 5 pounds...they would look at you like hello what are you doing here??? i dont know....I want everyone to be healthy and happy so I guess if this is what it takes then I should just shut up now!

Its okay, I feel the same way sometimes.  I just have to remember that they are unhappy with the way they look and they come here looking for advice on how to make it better.  A lot of the times the encouragement they get is to not lose but tone. 

sorry you feel this way, and while 60 pounds to lose is a whole lot more than my current eight, it feels just as bad not being able to reach your goal weight desite the number difference.

being unsatisfied with your body isn't any less intense of a feeling just because what seems like a mere 5 or 10 pds stands in the way. unsatisfaction is still unsatisfaction, and i can gurantee you i probably feel as bad or worse than you at points even.

when i started out 20 pds heavier i felt much better about myself than now. sometimes the less you have to lose the worse you feel. atleast this is how it is for me currently. its like theres more pressure or something.

Some of the non-overweight people are here because they have a disordered view of their body, some are here to brag in a way--to get attention, some have serious eating disorders, some may have tried to lose those last 5 lb for years, and some may be nearing the end of their active weight loss journey.

i see what you are all saying...if someone was trying to lose 50 pounds and they have been here since the beginning and have 5 to go that is one thing (and great)...but to sign up knowing you only have 5 pounds to lose is different in my opinion. You all have good points and I should of just kept my mouth shut but I just felt I needed to say it.

I am here to maintain my current weight and control my eating quality.  While i am not overweight, i do have to watch what I eat due to family history of weight issues, heart disease, diabetes, etc.) 

I also use the site to run my client's intakes (i'm a personal trainer). 

im not mad at you!

i only joined cc when my weight loss stopped after 17lbs and i needed motivation to keep going. yeah, ive only got a little way to go compared to others, but a targets still a target and we are all aiming for our magic number.

Hi, Of course I would like to be the one on here saying I have 5 whole pounds to lose, I'm so fat. But  no matter how much any of us have to lose, we are all here to encourage each other. Most important thing tho is remembering we all need to lift up  one another to be healthy. Some people who "only" have to lose 5 pounds have horrible eating habits and maybe don't excercise and have an unhealthy attitude about weight and how they look. So this could be a first start in changing some of that. Eating healthy, excercising is a life long change I'm making in myself, and when I am at my goal I will still come here for the encouragement and support and I won't have any weight to lose at that time. I'm not mad at anyone, but lets just help one another. We are here for various reasons. linda

plus a person shouldnt have to qualify as obese to show concern in their weight. weight gained should be prevented before its a true problem.  people looking to take off a few before theres a huge problem should be praised really..

I understand and I apologize to everyone I may have offended! I will probably use this site when I am to the maintaining point in my weight loss and try to help people out if I can, but I dont think I will be posting things about how fat I am at 135 when my goal is 130. BUT maybe I am wrong...I am not there yet so I dont know what I will do. I am thinking now that I posted this I better not post about having 5 pounds to lose cuz then I will be a big HYPOCRIT!!!! sorry everyone and wish you all the best in acheving your goals whether it is 5 pounds or a 100!

I see what you are saying but trust me sometimes it's harder for those of us that don't have that much to lose. I only have about 10 pound sto lose and I work my butt off and the last time I lost took me like 4 months where as a person who has 100 lbs to lose can lose 10 lbs in a month or so. Everyone is here for their own reasons so please don't judge people. I want to lose 10 lbs and i work very hard and am here for the right reasons, it isn't my fault that you have 68 lbs to lose. we are all here to lose weight whether its 5 or 50 lbs.

I could be wrong, but I think what's annoying kcnae3 more is the "omg i'm sooo fat i'm like 5'8" and i'm 120" posts.

I understand the comments in the original post.  But...

I have only about 5 pounds left to go myself.  I dont usually post on the forums about it, but my journal is a big whine-fest about these last 5 pounds!  I honestly thing these are the hardest and most emotional ones to deal with.

Its hard not being able to reach your goal, its hard knowing you are so close, and for me, its hard dealing with all the emotional issues that I should have confronted ages ago.  I dont know if I will ever have a healthy self image, so even though its 5 pounds, they are probably the hardest to deal with.

Oh, and when I started CC I weighed almost 70 pounds more than I do now, so I do know what its like to have a long way to go, too. :)

I want to preface my comment with the fact that this is a *regular* feeling that is posted about frequently.  So you are most certainly not alone! 

That being said - I consider this very similar to the people who are always trying to prove they are busier than someone else.  Because being busy somehow makes them nobler or worthier or some other quality.

Weight is a very personal subject, which means the reasons are as varied as the people.

CC is a site dedicated to healthy living.  Whether that means losing weight, gaining weight, or maintaining, anyone who is looking to be healthy or healthier is welcome.  :)

all I have to say is that so far I've lost 41 lbs and when I get down to my last 5 lbs I hope everyone who was with me when I had 60 to lose is still with me to see me through the last 5 also.

"When people say "I weigh 122 i am so fat"...it makes me wonder what people must think of me at 198 pounds."

I believe they are too focused on their own negative body image to really pay any attention to yours. :-)

Personally, I don't care what you weigh, you seem like a really nice person and I just want you to be happy and feel good about yourself. :-)

As to why they'd be here for five pounds...

Some people have medical conditions that make it hard to lose even five pounds... maybe they can't exercise... maybe they have heart conditions or medication that helps bring the pounds on.

On short, small boned people, an extra five pounds sticks out like a sore thumb. On someone who is taller, an additional five pounds is nothing. Take five boxes of butter, duct tape them to a tiny person, and you'll see what I mean.

Some of the people may have been slender all their lives, and have just recently begun to keep weight on because they're getting older... and they need to learn how to diet... so they come here.

Some might be here because they are nipping the gain in the bud;  they want it to stop before it gets so much worse that they have to lose one hundred pounds.

I'm here because I gained weight from quitting smoking. I've only got 14 more pounds to go...  if it was only five pounds, I doubt I would consider myself fat. The person who believes that the five pounds makes them fat has issues other than weight...

But we also have to remember that the last few pounds are supposedly the hardest to get rid of.

There could be lots of reasons...

I see this website as a weight-loss place, yes, but really more importantly as a healthy living website. And I believe, regardless of whether it's one pound or one hundred, everyone could benefit from learning how to eat and exercise properly.

At first, I was embarrassed to join up, because so many have further to go than I do, and are so much more brave and stong than I am... but! this was the best place to learn how to get rid of my measly 23 pounds. :-)

I hear you... because I understand the frustration is greater for someone who has been struggling for a long time against a larger amount of weight. It's much harder. That's what makes you so brave, in my eyes.

Oh and i am not offended at all.  I agree that there are some people who post and might be using this form of 'complaining' to look for some attention, reinforcement for negative behaviors or goals, etc.  And there are others who are honestly looking for support and encouragement for the last 5 or 10 or whatever.

I know that its hard when you first start losing weight to hear people complaining about being a weight you would DREAM to get to!  In Jan 06, I was over 215 pounds and thought that if I could just get to 175 I would be skinny and happy. 

Well, here I am at 147 and I still think I am fat (but I think that is due to self image issues) and I am NOT happy with myself, my relationships, even my work.  So, for me, I have a lot of issues that I need to deal with.  Loosing weight is just the start, but now I have to work on improving my self image, setting goals, and workign on making myself happy.

I wish everyone the best of luck in their weigh loss, no matter how much you have to lose.

I am not judging anyone at all....the person who wrote I am 5'8 and 120 pounds I am so fat seems to be the only person who is understanding what I am talking about. I am not judging someone cuz they have 5 pounds to lose, in fact I think its great. Its just the ones who say they are sooooooo fat when they are about as big as my arm! They know they are not fat but yet say it anyway. It makes me feel like a big fat heffer! No it isnt anyone elses fault but my own that I have 68 pounds to lose and I am not blaming it on anyone else either. like I said everyone has a right and a reason to be here, it is just one of those things that I cant understand. Also I said in an earlier post if you are here all along and are on your last 5 pounds than that is one thing but to sign up knowing you only have 5 pounds to lose doesnt make sense to me! I will be here when I have 5 pounds to lose to and I will be congratulating myself not saying how fat i am...i know what fat is!

we all agree that everyone deserves support in their health goals, as long they are healthy, regardless of 5 to go, or 100 to go

People who don't have much weight to lose (I have now lost more than the 10 I needed to lose when I joined - thanks cancer treatment!) are not realizing that when they call themselves FAT, the truly fat people are seeing that statement and feeling even worse about themselves

If she thinks she's fat, she must think I'm a cow

Two things:

1. In reality, the person who is thin, but moaning about being fat doesn't think anything about you. She is far too self-absorbed to realize that you even exist or that your problems are different from hers.

2. It shouldn't matter what she thinks anyway.  You're doing this for you, not for her, or anyone else.  There will always be people who want to judge you.  Let it go in one ear and out the other and just take care of yourself. No one else will.

I understand what the orignal poster is saying.  I read one girls post that was entitled "everyone tells me i'm tiny, but I still feel fat".  It is weird for people to ask for support in losing 5 lbs, but at the same time it is their right to post and maybe us bigger people (i weigh 231) can help them see that they really are okay. 

I wasnt expecting so much response to this post. I still feel like my words didnt come out the way I meant them to and now you all think I am this big B*%$#H! but I am not...just venting i guess. I will be the first to admit like I said before...maybe I am just jealous that I have such a long way to go and others dont. I hope everyone lives a happy healthy lifestyle and is losing weight, maintaining or toning for the right reasons in the right ways. For yourself not for someone else.