Skinny = bad, Fit = good!

M

mtnmom99

Cathlete
After reading the thread about rude comments of a MIL, I wondered what comments you percieve as positive about your physique, and what comments are percieved as negative.

The best compliment I had was from a BF. It was that I had a "tight little body". Now maybe, that's slightly sexual and you would think it weird if you heard it from a family member, but it made my day!

Diane
 
HA! Diane...I was JUST thinking about this also, after reading the other post! And, like you, my best comment came from my CURRENT BF. The other day I was telling him about the 12 week challenge I've taken on and that I'm shooting for a 20# loss. He said something along the lines of, "you're fine the way you are...tight and toned".

And yes....I have to agree that people are so BLUNT to me when they see me eating a clean meal or snack!

oh well.

Gayle
 
Well, I don't mind if people call me skinny, because I know I'm really not :) One of my DD's male friend said to her that "OK, this is going to sound weird, but your mom is really buff" keep in mind that these are 14 yr. olds. Weird, but at least someone notices! My DH comments a lot too, on how Cathe has really firmed me up etc. Yea, I guess i like it ;)
 
I personally don't care for 'skinny.' Maybe it is just my experience but it always has a negative connotation for me. I certainly don't mind receiving compliments but think all remarks concerning anyone's weight are innappropriate. If someone said to me you look really toned or fit or in good shape, I'd have no problem with it. But saying, "you're so thin, or skinny, etc." is just rude to me. My weight, whatever it may be, is no one else's business and is NOT a topic of discussion.:)
 
I think a lot of times it depends on the source. One of my closest friends saw me the other day and said I looked "skinny" and while I don't think I actually am skinny I appreciated it as a compliment coming from her as we have struggled through weight issues and recovering pre-pregnancy weight together before. And I knew I had lost a little weight since she last saw me. However, if someone you are not close to says it and says it in a certain tone, I can definitely see skinny as being a negative comment.

[font face="comic sans ms" font color=teal]***Lainie***

My fitness blog: http://web.mac.com/lainiefig/iWeb/Site/Exercise/Exercise.html
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"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself." -- Mark Twain
 
Just the other day I had a comment on my arms. Ive had numerous comments since having my son. Alot of people tell me how "tiny" I am and I take that as a good thing b/c they usually end it with " but you look good though".
The weirdest comment happened when I was out the other night. There were a bunch of girls out that I knew and with them was a girl who use to live her. She gave me a big hug and asked how I was, I said "good" And she said " you feel good to" I thought that was really weird! Then when I was at the bar someone kept grabbing my butt. I knew it wasn't a guy b/c my girlfriends were all behind me. When it happened again, I caught on, it was the same girl who told me I felt good. With that I had the sneaky suspicion that I was getting hit on!!!! BY A WOMEN! I was talking to a friend the yesterday who told me she heard that she was bi. Who knows???


Lori:)
 
The word "skinny" can have so many connotations. If someone is striving to lose weight and is told they look "skinny", then that is obviously a desireable thing. It's a goal. They don't necessarily mean the person looks too thin, just that they look smaller thlan before.

On the other hand, when people start calling slender people too skinny and talk about giving them a cheeseburger, I find that extremely offensive. I don't think that is any more acceptable than talking about how fat someone is.

It seems to be completely fine to discuss skinny people, critique them and call their arms "sticks" and say they need to eat more and gain some weight. Yet on the other hand, if someone is overweight, heaven forbid we call them on it and discuss it in a disparaging way. The double standard baffles me... mainly I guess because I am on the slender side. When someone calls an instructor's arms "toothpicks", I look in the mirror and see that my arms are the same size. Honestly, I don't care what anyone else thinks, but where's the compassion? Just WHY is it okay to say things like that about my (or other people's) body, yet not okay in reverse?

I guess it's an age old double standard that isn't going away anytime soon. My personal philosophy is, "if you can't say something NICE, don't say anything at all!"
 
I most like the comments about how fit I am. I'm definitely not skinny, but I have toned up and I'm gotten down to the high end of the healthy weight range for my height.

I was at the feed store the other day buying feed for the horses. I carried a 40# bag of feed to the counter. The inevitable "do you need help with that" question. I grin and say no thank you and throw the bag lightly over my shoulder. The cashier (a guy) and the two customers behind me (also guys) all went, "Whoa! Don't mess with her!" LOL. I thought it was awesome.

Another comment I found amusing was a co-worker said if I keep losing weight the wind will blow me off my horse when I'm out riding. Could be construed as negative, but I just thought it was funny.

April
 
I was telling someone at work about Cathe and she looked at the website. Later on, she said to me "no wonder your upper body is so firm."

Marcy
 
I don't mind being called skinny. I was on a business trip once and me and some co-workers went to a bar to play pool. Afterwards I was talking to a some guy and we were talking about business travel and meal perdiems. He said "we'll yours probably isn't too much, you're so skinny". I remember looking behind me to see if he was talking to someone else. I had just dropped 35 pounds so that felt good.

Also in my bootcamp class one the guy instructors came up to me and said that he could see my stomach muscles under my shirt. That made me feel REALLY good especially for a 46-year old!!!!
 
I personally don't mind being called skinny:) For someone who struggles with weight issues(a lot of it mentally), skinny is a good thing! But my biggest supporter is my DH. He has a comment for me every day which boosts my esteem on the cloudiest days:) But I have to say, my college aged DD was around her friends at registration one day and the boys saw me and asked quietly who I was. And they made a comment saying how good I looked. I know these were little college kids but for someone my age, it put me on cloud nine for the day:7
 
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