An unofficial, unauthorized poll

ORIGINAL: sharismom

I agree, I know Im not fat but that doesnt mean I dont feel crappy when I compare myself to some perfect looking person in a magazine. 

You do realize that these "perfect looking" people have professional make up artists, personal trainers and cooks, drugs (a la Kate Moss), things like colonics (a super-cleansing 3-day enema), not to mention photoshop to make themselves look the way they do. 

Try not to compare - you will never live up to the illusion these people create.

 
 
I know.  Its still hard.  These people's JOB is to look great.  Im just honest about it... as much as I try not to... I find it hard not to compare myself to them and strive to look as good as possible.
 
I know Im not fat and I agree with whats said about, when I ask DH "if I look fat in this" it mainly means is this unflattering?  But generally I already know the answer.  I think its just in our nature to ask even though we know.  Just for confirmation even.
 
I have been working on not comparing myself to anyone... its hard when as Christina said.. men are visual, they like the way those girls look... heck, I like the way they look... I want to look like that... that sort of thing.  DH compliments me all the time, its me getting myself to think what he does is what Im working on. 
 
Its funny to me that most men dont seem to care one way or the other if they look fat.

Its funny to me that most men dont seem to care one way or the other if they look fat.

Someone once said that women can be equal to men if they can walk down the street with their belly hanging out, smoking a cigar, and still think they are sexy.

Women can be visual, too. The first thing my wife noticed about me on December 19, 1993 was my hair. I'm not a pretty guy. In fact, I've been told more often than not that I look like a younger, thinner version of Hulk Hogan. If you ever see him without the bleach in his hair or his stage make-up, we look more like brothers than my own brother. I look like all the biker friends she had in the 70's and 80's. Then, she happened to like my husky blue eyes. And I do have the quintessential biker look. The long, wild hair. Light blues eyes with the thousand yard stare. The next thing she liked about me was that I had a cat. That, to her, meant I was gentle. She was, however, intimidated the first time she watched me workout. With free-weights, I was butterflying 110 lbs. Now, I'm down to 100 because my schedule has impacte my workout schedule. Ah, the decrepitude of old age.

I always wonder if men are the same as us because most women dont care if the guys not in the greatest shape... but, in my head at least, I think men care a lot whether a woman is or not (excluding their wives).
 
From the pictures Ive seen of you Ron your a great looking guy, very handsome.  I have a thing for long hair and BEG DH to grow his... he had long hair when I met him.. but hes started balding and wont do it, although I think it would look better.  That runs in his family though.  Only one of his brothers still has all of his hair. 
 
My dad usually has long hair until my mom makes him cut it.. hell always come to me and tell me to go tell her he looks better that way.
 
All of my friends are male... probably why Ive become so addicted to this place... a place to talk about something Im interested in lol.  Anyway, one night while chit chatting, you know after a ton of beers I was shocked as heck to hear one of them say he does care a lot about his weight.  But for the most part, yall lucked out and dont have to care one way or the other.
 
I guess us women are just not as superficial. 
 
(hhahaha, IM KIDDING, please, no attacks, I thought it a good time for a bit of humor...[8D]) 
 
 

I'm with sillysally....I know I am overweight so never ask if I am fat in something. I only ask DH if what I am wearing is not appropriate for public since it might not fit me just right yet.
 
But I am working on my weight. I am 5'3", and currently 184lbs. I was up to 196 back in April and thats when I decided enough is enough. I have lost 12lbs and my goal weight is 130lbs. I was that weight in high school and wore a size 9. I know it will take awhile but I know I can do it.....and then I can quit asking DH if I look ok in what I am wearing!! []

We're here to support you and wish you all the luck. But I would say do it for yourself and your health, not the size 9, though I'm sure you will like getting to that size.

ORIGINAL: ron2

We're here to support you and wish you all the luck. But I would say do it for yourself and your health, not the size 9, though I'm sure you will like getting to that size.

 
Trust me, I'm doing it for myself. I am 26 and diabetes runs heavily on my dad's side of the family and slightly on my mom's side. To have a BMI of 32 at this age is horrible. I don't want to die the way my grandma did. I don't want to huff and puff just walking up 1/2 flight of stairs anymore. I don't want to struggle to get up off the couch anymore. I want my husband to lust after me, not just enjoy having sex with me. I want to go backpacking again. I want to wear a bikini. I want to be able to play 3 sets or more of tennis. I want to join a softball league....I want to do so much.
 
I'm too young to succumb to the new plague of this country...obesity.

You could try what I did.  After I got hurt and lost every bit of my exercise.....slowly but surely I no longer was allowed to do this that or even the other thing.....I tried everything to loose weight.  Nothing worked.  I finally gave up, gave away all my smaller clothes, and bingo!  The weight started melting off.  Lost about 60 lbs and really was NOT trying.

I am 5'8".  I weight 165 pounds.  I would like to lose 10 pounds, but am finding it difficult.  I don't wear a dress or a bra very often so I have no idea what size I wear.  I have really tiny boobs.  My panties are size 34.

I have really tiny boobs

[sm=biggrin.gif] - Man-boobs are not attractive.

I don't know...even I "feel" fat sometimes even though I'm a size 4 and 5'6"....I ask my boyfriend if I look fat in something and he just looks at me and shakes his head.....I never know how to interpret that, LOL

Both my BF and I have gotten FAT! From eating out too much and not doing enough activity. For the last 4 years I've been at a desk job instead of on my feet, moving around a lot when I was a vet tech. We were on the South Beach diet and loosing lots of weight until we went to Vegas for Xmas.. omg. 10 days in Vegas will put the pounds on just about anyone, even with all the walking you do! I gained more weight than I had when I started the South Beach [:@]. We're back on the diet again, trying to eat smaller portions too. We call each other fatty and squeeze the 'too-much-to-love handles'.

Yes I have asked Chris if I look too fat in something. I totally expect him to answer honestly because I don't wanna go out looking like a fat tub of lard. He does answer me honestly. I'd really hate going out with a muffintop oozing over the top of my pants! EW! But he will also tell me when something looks really good on me too (without me asking! woohoo!). Sometimes he will ask me if something he is wearing is 'fitting properly' which is man speak for the whole do I look fat question.

Billy - you would be a size 12/14, depending on how full your hips are.  []
(Generally, you take a women's size and add 21 to it to get the men's size.  So the reverse should hold true.)
Now don't go beating yourself up over not being a size 6, ok?!  And forget about size 0 or2 - those models are airbrushed!![8D]

I started a thread a bit ago for Tyler's MS Walk pictures.  I posted a photo of our team too....the young woman standing next to me is a size ZERO, and her Mom, on her fat days, is a size 2.  No air brushing, I promise.  Had I done THAT, it would have been ME...the size 6 or 8 sister feeling like an OX next to those two!  Geeeze, even my great niece is a twig!