Why do you Want to be Skinny?

there are people on this site who want to be thin or super skinny even when they're already in shape or "normal" in the teen community.

why?

can you feel excess fat in unwanted places?

would you feel more attractive/confidant if you were thinner?  if so, then you're just losing fat to be more appealing to others?

I think it really depends on if you are an unhealthy weight.  If you are overweight, then it's great to lose a couple of pounds and feel good about it and gain confidence ... but otherwise its a bit pointless, especially if you are a healthy normal weight because the weight's going to come back eventually. :/ unless you keep it off using unhealthy ways

 Also it depends on your definition of skinny.  To most girls, especially teenagers, being skinny means being like a victoria secret super model...which i dont know if any one else agrees, but i think most of them look grossly skinny and sick.  Why want to be that skinny? ^^" you dont get to eat anything

Original Post by lighterrose:

its not a trap. its what i think. how is wanting to be happier with myself a trap?

it IS a trap.

lose 10 pounds? youll want to lose another more to be "happy with yourself"

 

it WONT end.

Original Post by lighterrose:



If you say that no matter what you look like, you still feel that same, thats not true. I'm pretty sure that if an overweight person became thin they'd feel better about themselves.

yea, but take a look at yourself. are you even remotely overweight?

It's an unfortunate fact, but cute clothes come in small sizes. The thinner I am, the more wardrobe options I have.

Also, it's a mind thing. One, five, or even ten pounds doesn't make that much of a difference, but when I see a number one, five, or ten pounds lower on the scale, I feel proud of myself, and thus more confident, and attractive. It is a social construction; if I were in a cave somewhere, or even if I didn't weigh myself, it wouldn't have any effect.

i just want to feel confident in a bathing suit for once in my life, and not wear a shirt over it.

 

The only reason young teenagers want to lose weight when they are already skinny and fit is because they have an ED problem that they haven't acknowledged or refuse to acknowledge.

Now for those who are reading this who do have an ED problem, i just want you to know that you have a mental disease that needs to be acknowledge and helped with. This ED problem will affect you and those around you for worse. 

Becoming more skinny will eventually make you depressed, lower your self-esteem, etc. You don't become more confident and feel good.

For the normal teens, like myself currently, losing excess fat and toning up will make you feel confident that you don't have flab hanging, your legs aren't juggling when you walk, and feel better becuase when you sit you don't feel the extra roll on your tummy, and you don't feel bloated and stuffed.

One thing for me is this - I'm technically well into healthy BMI and on the high end of healthy body fat % for a guy.  But I have lost almost 100 lbs, and those of us who have lost that much know that there is some sagging involved.  A lot of people refer to this as "exess skin"  There is not such thing as "excess skin, but what there is very stubborn deposits of fat that hang, and then stretch marks on the skin itself.  If you can pinch it and it's an inch or two thick, it's not "excess skin, it's fat inside of distended skin.  Remember that skin is only 1/4 inch thick tops.  In my case it's not too bad, but there is this flabbiness that I really want to get rid of.  A "muffin top" around my waistband and enough flab on my thighs that they still rub together.

 

So in my case, I'll know I've reached my goal when my thighs no longer rub together.  I don't want to be skeletal, but having thighs that don't rub together has been something I've wanted and never achieved since I was a teen.  Even though people tell me I look good, I really want to get rid of that last bit of thigh flab.  

 

I still eat enough and do lift weights, BTW... 

Love handles. They bug the crap out of me and Im not talking I have little tiny ones Id like to get rid of meaning they are unporpotionate to my legs...My legs are reletively small they could use some toning. My stomach is also flat if you look from teh side veiw Im just REALLY wide the other way and have big love handles.


I hate having to buy high-rise pants to suck them in. I would love to be able to wear lower pants without spilling out the top even though I am classified as normal I think I could lose 10-15 pounds.

I had to post a reply to this, only because I really, really believe that these kinds of situations are circumstantial.

Yes, some people fool themselves into believing that if they could lost just a couple more pounds they'd find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... and then they weigh 60 pounds.

And then there are some people who are just sick of wanting to break every mirror in their house because they want to burst into tears everytime they see their reflection.

You can't tell someone that they're sick because they want to look their best.

I'm 5'2" inches, and all those BMI calculators tell me that 108 pounds is a healthy weight. I weighed 100 pounds, had absolutely no desire to lose anymore, was extremely happy with the way I looked and felt. I ate several healthy meals a day and for the first time IN MY LIFE I felt attractive.

If I feel healthy, eat healthy, look healthy, and my doctors all tell me I'm healthy... I'm missing how this is a bad thing.

BTW... I've been both severely under and overweight due to circumstances outside of my control, so I know both sides of the spectrum.

Wow Luna! Good job for fighting cancer! You look great!

I am also 5'2 and about 100 lbs. I feel great and look good in clothes. But, in a swimsuit, I have excess fat on my butt and thighs, so that is what I am working on. I don't wnat to be "skinny", just more muscular and fit, with less fat. 

I think it is hard being a teen. I of course, am not one anymore, but I do remember that is where I first became obsessed with my body.  In my situation I had a mother that was completely obsessed with weight, and she still is. So from as far as I can remember, I saw her looking in the mirrors everyday telling herself she was fat and gross(at like 100-115lbs, weird that I actually know my moms weight range from childhood). So when I started "changing" and my body didn't even look like hers, I thought I was disgusting. I think a seed gets planted in your head, and your teenage years that can turn into something scary. In my case, I weighed 85lbs through most of Jr high and high school. I didn't gain much weight until I met my husband. then I put on like 40lbs more. Now I am trying to lose a lot of it, I definitely never want to be 85lbs again, but it is strange how many times I have caught myself saying destructive things about my body just like my mom has always done.

But on the side of why everyone strives to be skinny. Well I can tell you that even at my biggest weight so far, people would tell me how I still looked great and so on, but now that I have lost 30lbs, those same folks that said I already looked good, can't stop talking about my body changes, and want tips.. So what does that tell me? Well that I DO look better skinnier, so why would I want to have extra fat? Ok, now I have just rambled, but I have thought a lot about this over time. 

Honestly, the reason I want to loose weight is my own personal need for motivation. Most of the time, I'm about 120 pounds. I enjoy being at that place on the scale, and I feel accomplished because I didn't gain much or loose much.

 But, as of late, I've gained 20 pounds. It took about a month to put it on, and I've been trying to loose it for three. I know it sounds silly to you guys, because I'm already 'skinny', but the point is that most of my day is spent sitting around on my behind, and I really want to accomplish one goal- loose the extra weight and get myself back to physically fit. I noticed my weight gain- my belly sticks out more than ever, and my thighs are bigger than they've ever been. It bothers me, too.

 I'm not so much doing it out of a want to look good for others (My boyfriend doesn't care if the weight is on or off, he says I look the same. I do still want to loo nice for him, a bit, though.), but I am aiming to do this on my own terms, and be back to the way I was before I left school. (I was much more muscular then. Now..my muscles are just..wasting away and turning into fat.)

I'd love to be 14lb less than i am, although i do realise i'm already at a healthy weight. I am not big anywhere other than my belly, which is disgusting. Atm i'm 5ft 3 and weight around 123lb. Recently i've varied from 117lb to 126lb and it seems whenever i get to my lowest when i feel slightly comfortable i binge and gain it all back.

I try and work out a few times a week if i can but i'm busy quite often. I do drama + dance outside of school, walk to and from school (half an hour) and do my workout video a couple of nights a week.

 I find weekends a hell of a lot harder when i'm not in my normal routine. I seem to crave take aways and as everyone around me isn't dieting it makes it even harder.

 I want to be under 112lb for my birthday on April 26th, so i can buy clothes in a size 6/8 instead of a 6.

I don't think it's necesarily a trap if you can be realistic and like yourself. I lost 10 lbs since January, and I am actually much happier with my physical self. I am now 145, and, although my original goal is 135, I would be okay if I stayed here. The problem is body image issues, not human nature.

meh, i dont want to be "skinny." i just want to get rid of this stomach as much as i can so i dont get diabetes.

I see something wrong with a 14 year old being so obsessed with her weight.  I remember 14 as never being worried about my weight, just playing sports and having fun with my friends.  I wasn't all worried about what other people thought of me because I like myself.  It's not just on here, its when I drive by my old high school, and you see these sickly waiflike girls who just sip on their diet soda battling it out with their friends to see who can live off of diet soda alone. 

 

Is the innocence of being BARELY A TEENAGER totally gone?

 

WHO GIVES A RATS ABOUT BEING SKINNY? ENJOY BEING YOUNG! Slender, trim, fit are all different than skinny.  I will tell you no dude (or girl) wants to hug a bony figure much less anything else.   

Quite simply, I do modelling- it's my job to maintain a thin image. I am about as thin as a Victoria's Secret model, and I eat to do it. My goals are to maintain a healthy lifestyle with minimal fish and no other meats or animal products. My eating habits have to do with my own beliefs and worries about what is going into my body, not out of a desire to be thinner. Calorie Count helps me maintain an awareness of how many calories I am consuming- so I won't lose or gain. If my agent tells me to 'tone up' I tone up at the gym and eat a good snack after to give me back calories, I do not starve myself.

I'm 5'11" and 130lbs, fluctuating 2lbs either way depending on the day. I exercise 3-4 times a week and I eat around 2000 calories a day, adding extra if I feel I need it post workout. Post workout snacks tend to be a banana and a mini soymilk. I also always eat a granola bar before hand. My weight is low for my height, but I would not try to maintain it if it were difficult or unhealthy. 

I hope that girls who are starving themselves to be super thin will consider that it is only some bodies that are healthy at that size. Those who are still determined to try must understand that being your lowest healthy weight can be achieved EASILY with a healthy lifestyle and yes... chocolate doesn't have to be given up, enjoy in moderation. 

My reason is similar to kodou's, however I'm not quite lucky enough to have it as my job just yet. Another reason is I would like to be the weight I was before I became inactive. And if not that weight, at least more toned. I've picked up horrible eating habits, and I've decided to rid myself of (most) of them.

It has never been about what someone else has wanted, yet. Perhaps when or if I go visit the agency it will depend more on what someone else says but until then it is of my wish to look a certain way that I know is possible, because that was how I was prior to dropping all sports and working out practices.

I want to see how far I can push myself.

I want to feel like I accomplished something.

I want people to take notice. 

I want to be the smallest size in the store when I go shopping for clothes.