You look so skinny! (Page 4)

"Damn Laura, your muscular legs are HOT!!!!!!!!

Why even say that you want to lose MORE weight?? Just leave it at answering the question about how much weight you've lost without elaborating,  then feeling you have to justify yourself.

Thank you Jessica! Like Laura I've literally worked my a$$ off! Unfortunately I do have to monitor every morsel because it isn't natural for me to be thin. So I completely understand. In fact the only reason I'm as thin as I am is that I had a very serious surgery in 2003 and it left me underweight (96 pounds) and as I regained I decided I really liked 115 so I worked VERY hard to stay there. However, in training for triathlons and marathons, I've gained 5 pounds of muscle. I was SO frustrated at first, but a BFA reassured me. (The fact that my clothes still fit should have, but when you have weight issues, the scale is your friend and enemy.) I have to stay between a net of 1200 and 1400 calories per day...which is why I train. I eat, therefore I train.

I have had people compliment me on my legs but it's always other athletes. I had one woman pace behind me on a 30k, because, she said, I had great calves and she figured I would give her a good run.  That is a HUGE compliment to me because so much of my muscle used to be hidden under fat. It proves that my efforts are paying off and others can see it.

Skinny - Good

Scrawny - Bad 

TEECHUR:  Can I apply for the job?

MsCullen:  Hot Legs!!  Okay send a pic and then I will see them.

Aikidoman:  You are "Skinny"  almost lost you behind that flat tire....LOL. 

This happens to me way too often.  Your response is so perfect that I'm afraid I may need to USE it next time. 

I think about this a lot since I lost about 30 lbs since Jan of 2006.  I am now a "super thin" size 8  -  I say this with sarcasm, of course.  But I have a few girlfriends and my mom that obsess about how thin I am, even describing it as "exceptionally" thin.  I still qualify for the Athena division, I'm not that thin.    My mother actually makes negative comments about my training, reminding me how dangerous running and biking can be for injuries and accidents.   She even threw in some crap about how it raises insurance rates, after she heard about a coworker's son who had the audacity to break an arm while snowboarding and rack up big medical medical bills.  Yes, much worse than heart bypass surgery I am sure...

The people who say it with a tone of derision, are always heavier and usually the type that swear they just can't lose weight no matter how much they try.  So I am somehow suspect because I used the tricky formula of more activity and less food.  How dare I?

In the end I also blame the societal norm of the new average.  Last I heard, the average adult American woman is a size 14 and weighs 145 (which must be a lie, but whatever).  I bet that's gone up even in the last few years.  I feel that Old Navy is a good barometer.  Now they carry sizes up to 20+ and I now wear a small top.  That's just plain wacked.

Just so everybody knows:

I have found that the reply "Yeah, well training for 5 to 10 hours a week and skipping dessert for 6 months will do that," while it may be the honest answer, is not always the reply that the complimenter was seeking.

Here's my story:  I am 5 feet tall and currently weigh 158#.  When I first started swimming (2004) I was at 178# and then tri training a year later, 168#.  I dropped down to 148 by November 2006.  I am built like a fire plug, I am short but thick.  During this time we had a new person start in the department.  One day while talking in a major intersection at work, there must have been at least 10 people come by and comment about how good I looked or how different I looked, or how skinny I was now.  After about 6 of these comments, the new girl looks at me and says "my god, you must have been a cow!". 

I will continue to work to not ever be a "cow" again.

I'm 6' 2-1/2" tall, and weigh 160 lbs.  A lumberjack-looking friend of mine told me once to "turn sideways", then said, "Now, stick out your tongue".  Then he laughingly said, "you look like a zipper!  How about gaining some weight?".

I was laughing.   It was all in good humor.

Whenever someone pokes at me about my being skinny, I just tell them what my friend said, and then ask if they want to go train with me.  The usual response is an emphatic "No".

I just happen to have fast metabolism and was always active.  I have never used drugs nor care to ever be near them.  I like being healthy, even though I wonder if I could put on some muscle.

To anyone who is working out, eating the right stuff, being healthy (AND enjoying it), regardless of your size,  then more power to you!

Happy training! 

Let's face it we "Skinny" people are now the new fat. When I went to school It was all the fat kids that got teased. Given the current upsizing of the American and worldwide population we are rapidly heading into the minority. I can see my kids being teased for being skinny.

I have in the last 12 months gone from 6'3 215lbs to 188lbs only 3lbs off my college weight. It amazes me how many people call me skinny and look at me like I have cancer. I have a BMI now of 24.5 which is perfectly healthy and I went for check up and the doctor told me all of my BP and HR etc were equivalent to some one 10 years younger. I say Fk'em there payback will be an early death and health problems..