Since when is a "size 6" overweight?

[freckles and boo]

I wear a size six and could stand to lose ten pounds (or at least to tone up a bit). Having said that, I can't imagine criticizing my children's bodies. They are little peanuts now, but eventually they will grow up. I am one of the two people who is committed to loving them unconditionally. Their bodies are no reflection on their character, which is far more important. Yes, I want them to be physically healthy, but I also want them to be emotionally healthy. The mom needs to back off.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I could only dream of a size 6.

 

[Handbag Lady]

If a size six needs to diet, I think I'll just go off myself now.

 

[staley7580]

My mom does the same thing. I have always been chubby growing up, and after having my first, I really got fat. But she is on me like nobodies business. And YES.. she is quite overweight herself. I am now pregnant with twins, and I am having a really hard time keeping weight on, and the dr. is concerned about it... But my mom is like.. oh good! Maybe you will finally lose some weight. Uh-huh.. and maybe I will get really sick, and have unhealthy babies. but who cares, as long as I am skinny, right? Drives me nuts.

 

[mjkacmom]

Believe me, it's starting earlier too. DD13 is 5'2" and weighs around 115. She thinks she's fat as a cow. Some of these 8th grade girls are literally skin and bones and still are on the "diet bandwagon" . DH is an Internist so we keep an eye on her, luckily she's not into the binge/purge stuff or the laxatives, but she has a friend (also 13) that's already spent one week in inpatient care, three weeks out patient for "cutting issues" That child looked like she had been in Auschwitz for Petes sake and was still talking about being fat and unattractive. What has our world come to?

Dd12 is 5'3", 107 pounds, and is on a diet every other day. However, on the day in between, she pigs out, so it's even. The girl enjoys food too much for anorexia to be an issue - she loves to eat (like her mom!) If she wore a 6, she'd be a little chubby, but as long as she's happy with herself.

 

[DawnCt1]

My mom does the same thing. I have always been chubby growing up, and after having my first, I really got fat. But she is on me like nobodies business. And YES.. she is quite overweight herself. I am now pregnant with twins, and I am having a really hard time keeping weight on, and the dr. is concerned about it... But my mom is like.. oh good! Maybe you will finally lose some weight. Uh-huh.. and maybe I will get really sick, and have unhealthy babies. but who cares, as long as I am skinny, right? Drives me nuts.

Keep eating! With twins you will need your strength. Bless you! That is exciting.

 

[rcraw45425]

Dd12 is 5'3", 107 pounds, and is on a diet every other day. However, on the day in between, she pigs out, so it's even. The girl enjoys food too much for anorexia to be an issue - she loves to eat (like her mom!) If she wore a 6, she'd be a little chubby, but as long as she's happy with herself.

Well, Kelly wears a 0-1, thanks to these new vanity sizes. I don't know what that would translate to but she bought some jeans in Buckle the other day that are a size 25, so I guess a 25" waist. Puberty is just kicking in (she's going to kill me if she sees this) so she had a little growth spurt. She still has more growing to go, her Dad is 6'2", (I'm 5'1") and his mom is 5'10". SHe is very self conscious of the little belly though.

 

[staley7580]

Keep eating! With twins you will need your strength. Bless you! That is exciting.

Thank you! Trust me, I eat like its going out of style.. just nothing is sticking. My husband was shocked at the last appt.. But.. But... You never stop eating!

 

[Cindyluwho]

Gosh, this stuff makes me cringe. Jessica Simpson is getting a ton of criticism and being call full-figured for being a size 8. What is wrong with our society?

She is setting her daughter up for future issues if she makes her feel bad for being a 6.

But isn't Jessica Simpson all of 5 foot nothing tall? So yes, that could be considered full figured but certainly not unhealthy in any way. As you state, the real issue here is the way the mother is projecting this unhealthy image on her daughter. It's scary!

 

[Christine]

Well, Kelly wears a 0-1, thanks to these new vanity sizes. I don't know what that would translate to but she bought some jeans in Buckle the other day that are a size 25, so I guess a 25" waist. Puberty is just kicking in (she's going to kill me if she sees this) so she had a little growth spurt. She still has more growing to go, her Dad is 6'2", (I'm 5'1") and his mom is 5'10". SHe is very self conscious of the little belly though.

My 17 y/o DD generally wears a 25 when she buys that way. She has a pair of jeans from both Madewell and Martin&Osa that are size 25. She is about 5'5" and weighs about 105 lbs. In other stores, she is about a size 2.

 

[Christine]

But isn't Jessica Simpson all of 5 foot nothing tall? So yes, that could be considered full figured but certainly not unhealthy in any way. As you state, the real issue here is the way the mother is projecting this unhealthy image on her daughter. It's scary!

Something is going on with Jessica Simpson. Saw her in a magazine this weekend and she has put on some weight. Instead of being drop dead, physically perfect (I never thought she was one of those "skinny" girls), she kind of looks like most women do.

 

[TennisGirl80]

I was a bit overweight when I was younger, and my mother was like this to me growing up - made me feel like crap at every chance she got. Did she intend to do that..... looking back, I don't think so, but all I knew at the time was that I was fat, ugly, and not worth anything.
Now my niece is a stick, and she does something else to her. She trys to make her fat!!!! At every chance she gets, if they are out to eat, or in the foodstore or whatever, she will buy her some sort of chocolate, or fried food, no matter what her mother (my mothers daughter) tells her. She used to buy her chocolates all the time by the pound and sneek them to her. My mother, by the way, is very large - about 275, but swears she about 215.....

 

[gottaluvPluto]

Well, without seeing the girl, what can I say?

I will say this: Vanity sizing is here. I know that a size 6 sounds good, right? Well, I could stand to lose 10 lbs and YES, I am wearing a size 6, and NO, I do not have an eating disorder.

I'm telling you, you cannot pat yourself on the back anymore for being a size 6. Most of my adult life, I have been a size 10 to 12 until about 7 years ago, when I noticed I was all of sudden an 8-10 and I hadn't lost weight. In fact, gained weight. I am now the same weight and am fitting in most sizes 6's with a few 8's thrown in. A 6 is really no longer "tiny" like it used to be. I could have never dreamed of being a 6. Now, I am 45 years old and wouldn't think of a bikini but based on my size and not my age, no I am not bikini ready.

Having said all that, it does seem like the mom is a bit obsessed by it all.

The sizes of clothes depends on where you shop. A size 6 in the teen section is different than a size 6 in the women section. However, a size 6 is still small and not considered overweight.

I feel sorry for the girl because she will most likely end up with a eating disorder. Shame on the mom!

 

[autumnpalm]

I am almost 5"8 and wear a size 4. Growing up, I was a skinny little thing and I thought I was fat. I look back on pictures now and think to myself how much time I wasted trying to change who I was. I hated what I looked like, I thought I was chubby, and I probably could've stood to gain some weight!

Now, like I said, I am 5"8 and a size 4. I weigh just over 130 pounds. This is the weight my body likes, and I maintain it eating almost 2,500 calories a day. Less than that and I start to lose weight, but I also find myself becoming more tired, irritable, depressed, etc.

Society's ideas of body image drive me crazy. I hate, hate, hate the emphasis put on thinness. I would love nothing more than for all women (and men!) of all body types to be valued and accepted for who they are, not what they look like.

 

[onelilspark]

I recently lost weight due to a medicine I was taking. My Nana told me that I looked "fantastic" and that it was a good thing I lost weight because I was starting to look chubby (I was all of a size 10 at 5'7"...granted I needed to lose a bit of weight, but I wasn't at a size that anyone was about to call me chubby.) Then at dinner that night...so after I lost the weight...she told me I wasn't eating enough and that I was too thin.

I've dealt with hearing that I was either a) too heavy or b) too thin all my life from her. Luckily my Mom always tried to shield me from it or made sure that I knew it was just my Nana being "Nana" and that she meant well. (i.e. notice she called me "chubby" and not fat?) I honestly couldn't imagine growing up without that shield of my Mom to make sure I knew that as long as I was a healthy weight, that's what mattered. My heart goes out to this girl.

 

[mjkacmom]

I am almost 5"8 and wear a size 4. Growing up, I was a skinny little thing and I thought I was fat. I look back on pictures now and think to myself how much time I wasted trying to change who I was. I hated what I looked like, I thought I was chubby, and I probably could've stood to gain some weight!

Now, like I said, I am 5"8 and a size 4. I weigh just over 130 pounds. This is the weight my body likes, and I maintain it eating almost 2,500 calories a day. Less than that and I start to lose weight, but I also find myself becoming more tired, irritable, depressed, etc.

Society's ideas of body image drive me crazy. I hate, hate, hate the emphasis put on thinness. I would love nothing more than for all women (and men!) of all body types to be valued and accepted for who they are, not what they look like.

Okay, although I hate you because you can eat so much, I am 5'8", and on my wedding day, 14 years ago, I weighed 128 pounds, and was very fit (2 hours a day at the gym), and wore a size 8 - I was thin enough, but there was NO WAY I could wear a 4. I also realize the size 12 I wear today is probably the same as a size 16 back in the day... Gotta love vanity sizing!

There is a difference in the junior department - although dd is a 0 or 2 in misses, she's a 3 or 5 in juniors.

 

[TennisGirl80]

Now, like I said, I am 5"8 and a size 4. I weigh just over 130 pounds. This is the weight my body likes, and I maintain it eating almost 2,500 calories a day. Less than that and I start to lose weight.....

Can I just say that I hate you!!!!

 

[HookdonWDW]

People also need to remember to think about body type when they're looking at sizing. Depending on where I shop, I'm somewhere between a 2 - 6. I generally wear 4's.

I have a gf who gets green when we shop together and she's an 8 - 10!!! I finally got tired of it one day, and pointed out that the reason I wear such a small size is that I'm built like a guy from the waist down. If you really look at me, my figure is out of whack. According to my doctor, my bodyshape is more of an inverted tree than an inverted triangle, lol. That means I'm tiny at the shoulders, huge at the chest (36DDD - all me!), with no butt and narrow hips. Buying a dress is a nightmare.

Oh, and with that said, I'm NOT a twig. Even though most people wouldn't guess, I hover between around 125 - 136 depending on how much the chips and chocolate are calling...

 

[yeartolate]

We had a diser long past who insisted that any woman who wore a size 12 was morbidly obese. He went as far as try on a pair of womens size 12 jeans to prove the point.

I do have a very small friend who wears size 0 without being cachectic. If she were to blossum to a size 6, she would probably look "chunky".

But most women at a size 6 would not be fat.

I think the mom probably has issues and needs psychological help before her daughter suffers.

 

[RitaZ.]

We had a diser long past who insisted that any woman who wore a size 12 was morbidly obese. He went as far as try on a pair of womens size 12 jeans to prove the point.

I always miss the good stuff!