With all due respect, IDBB, no one here is questioning the diffuculties you’re facing. In fact, you may find more friends in this thread than anywhere “out there”; it’s full of people whose bodies are deemed to not fit in. Just because our issues seem less significant doesn’t make them any less hurtful to us. Others have stated all this much better than I could.
Yes, thin men get grief all the time.
IB, who is 5’11 and finally back at 159, after bottoming out at 140. Eleven pounds to go…
5’6", 120 lbs soaking wet here.
It was hurtful as all hell to have all the girls in my phys ed class gather around me and count my ribs as I changed. Fending off the school nurse - I do not, and never have, suffered from anorexia.
I damn near died of ammonia poisoning, because I didn’t have any cushion when I dropped twenty pounds in three weeks. Bet that sounds like heaven to people trying to lose their extras. It isn’t, I was sicker’n hell, and it took a year to put back. I really did look like a famine victim.
I am a carpenter’s dream, flat as a board. I’d sure like to be able to wear some of the current fashions, however they seem to demand at least a B-cup.
I have the same metabolic requirements that Feynn has - I MUST eat regular meals, and snack a bit between. Dinner cannot be even an hour late, or the hypoglycemia makes me completely unfit to speak to (or even be around) until I eat. I can’t skip meals. If I do, it throws off my ability to eat properly for days.
And for final…I have heard many women say, with more than a touch of envy, “I’d love to be your weight…”. Well, sweetie, at my weight, with your build, you’d be three days away from death, and look as if you were gonna drop anytime. I have long, skinny bones. You have big, heavy bones. Bones look very very bad with only a thin covering of skin. I have more than just skin covering my bones. So should you.
I’d sure like to look just a little sturdier. I’m awfully tired of “Are you sure you can get/do that?” Yeah, I’m sure, and I can hike you into the ground, buddy.
I think I’d rather be shieldmaiden than sylph. 
Skinny people who can eat whatever they want and stay thin are like people who can levitate - they defy the laws of nature.
Speaking as a skinny person who can eat whatever I want, I would say that nature catches up with me in other ways. Ever spent weeks in bed from pneumonia? Ever do it again two months later? Laws of nature indeed.
I’m an extremely comfortable 145 lbs at 5’7", by the way. I don’t get sick nearly as often as I used to.
OK 5"1 and I weigh approx 6 stone
Finally people that I can agree with, Iyou do get sick with hearing reports on the tv about how the media should be more careful about how they portray body image, so as not to cause some people distress over their size. This is perfectly right, and I agree with it, but they only seem to focus on larger people. I have also heard some reports mention unheathy and unattractive thin models that some may try to copy. This really annoys me as a naturallr thin person. It seem as though the media can not say a bad word about overweight people for fear of offending, but it is alright to slate the thin figure.
And I also agree, it is not much fun, with very small breasts myself I had a very difficult time trying to find a nice ball dress last year. I also had the embarrasment of my mother telling everyone who would listen that " and she’s got no bust ":o
And another thing, it can get really painfull sitting down for long periods, watched The Two Towers and got cramp in my ass.
But I can admit to using my size for other to take pity on me, so I’m not helping the cause too much!
I’ll have to agree with most everyone here. I’m barely 5’ and have never weighed more than double digits in my life. I’m currently the heaviest I’ve ever been – a whopping curvy 98 lbs.
I’ve never been rude or demeaning to anyone with a weight problem of any kind, yet I’m constantly barraged with comments about my weight and size. My current office has become so intolerable that I can’t even stand to eat lunch in the office. The few times I’ve dared to, I’ve become a freak show, as women huddle around me, their mouths agape at the fact that I actually eat. Not to mention the playful remarks on windy days (She might get blown away!) and witty banter regarding my fate should I decide to get pregnant (That’s the only way she’ll ever gain any weight).
I’ll second the complaints of medical problems and irregular periods. My doctor put me on birth control pills when I was 13 just to control my cycle. I started my period when I was 11, and would sometimes go three months without one, and then would have one that lasted two weeks. It got so bad some months that I would pass out on a daily basis.
I’m sick of feeling guilty when I order steak at a restaurant, and the waiter asks if I need a doggy bag.
I’m sick of asking a clerk for help in finding a nice suit and being directed instead to the children’s department.
I’m sick of always being the first to catch the flu/ a cold/ strep throat/ a stomach virus and not being able to take full strength medication to cure it.
I’m sick of larger people declaring a field day on my appearance, and being labelled callous and cruel if I dare to contradict them.
I’m sick of being called inconsiderate if I dare to offer a guest dessert. (Can’t you tell I’m on a diet?)
I’m sick of people looking at me and my husband like we’re a freak show. (He’s 6’2", 180lbs)
So, I’d like to take this opportunity to say to anyone who’s ever teased a thin person: Bite me (That is, if it doesn’t interfere with your diet)
Next time, just grin back and reply, “Actually, I was hoping you’d bring me another steak!” 
IDBB, my mother is naturally thin. She tends to get anemic, and sometimes she gets dizzy. She can’t help it. As for eating more, I’d say she eats well, but she also has a very sensitive stomach, and can’t eat very spicy, salty or fatty foods because they give her terrible indigestion and gas. My sister is the same way.
My mother remembers getting off the bus in tears because of how she used to be made fun of for being skinny. She tells me she would LOVE to have my figure (I’m about average, not skinny, not fat). She’s always cold and she’s extremely self-conscious about clothes because she’s so bony. She HATES it.
As for celebrities, Audrey Hepburn was another famous thinnie. Know why she was so thin?
Because of malnutrition during WWII, when she sometimes had to eat tulip bulbs and grass, and suffered from severe dehydration and colitis. She never DID become any healthier and eventually these problems contributed to her developing colon cancer which killed her. :rolleyes:
Who the FUCK are you to tell people that they don’t have anything to fucking bitch about?
I have been both thin enough and fat enough for people to comment on my weight in both conditions, but it hasn’t bothered me because I don’t consider weight to be a moral issue.
Ahem… I mostly ignore them now.
[sub] thank you Feynn. Please note that pictures HAVE been selected for viewability… mostly.[/sub]
ok so skinny people (like myself) get comments/jokes, fat people do, ugly people do, tall people do, short people do, there is no person exempt from having the piss taken from them. who cares what anyone thinks about your appearance?
to quote big daddy kane on this weighty matter:
Yeah I called you fat
look at me I’m skinny
it never stopped me from gettin’ busy
I’m a freak
I like the girls with the boom
I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom
I’m crazy
allow me to amaze thee
they say I’m ugly but it just don’t phase me
OK, Skinny person checking in. I eat. I eat more than my SO, who is a large man. I have an incredibly high metabolism rate, always running a slight fever and am constantly cold. I’m only 22, and hoping I slow down a bit in a few years. My SO and I eat the same foods everyday. He’s gained weight and I have lost some, for some odd reason.
I no longer get insulted when people tell me to eat, because most of the time it shows they care. But being called anorexic for most of my life, I know where all y’all are coming from.
Morelin
(BTW, 5’5" and 110-120 lbs for those interested in knowing)
Thanks, cichlidiot. I was kind of hoping for a pitting though. It seems like we’re way off the topic of Lara Flynn Boyle. I mean, Kalhoun, you do realize that I don’t know her and have never made any comments to her about her weight, right?
I never realized that my high body temperature was caused by my high metabolism. (It was pretty cool when I got sent home from school with a mild fever when I had been faking being sick!) I also never made the connection between my tendency to get grumpy if I don’t eat and my high metabolism (though I guess that’s pretty obvious). You learn something new every day.
So what are you ladies eating to gain weight and/or maintain weight. Specific foods that add weight. I stick with a case of ensure to add extra calories. Could I get some feedback on what works for you to keep the weight on that would be great.
Ive always been thin and short, most of my sisters have the same body shape, but I have smaller bones so it makes me look thinner then them. It doesnt bother me anymore for people to wonder what I eat, if I’m anorexic or the name calling… because you cant please everyone with your body shape and sometimes keeping on the weight is just as hard. Sometimes I try to explain that my mom is tiny and I guess I’ve taken after her. I dont know I guess I’m used to it now but I would like to gain more weight if I could but it seems like I burn it off.
This thread is a real eye-opener. I have always gained weight easily and it never occurred to me that women today would be sensitive about being thin.
When I was growing up, calling someone “skinny” was used to insult someone, but I thought those days were gone forever. If someone says that you are so thin it is disgusting, very often they think they are paying you a compliment. As for myself, I will make it a point to be more sensitive to the feelings of thin people.
from XJETGIRLX:
The waiter is showing you a courtesy. The reason that they were called “doggy” bags is that people were too ashamed to let waiters know that they wanted to take food home to eat later. Asking for a “doggy” bag implied that you had a dog at home that would enjoy that steak.
Thank goodness that people feel more comfortable about taking food home these days. The portions have become out-rageously large! I used to weigh twice as much as I weigh now. When I have left a lot of food on my plate and the waiter asks me if I would like that to go, I feel so relieved to be able to say, “Yes, thank you.”
Often people with eating disorders do not see themselves as they really are. That is especially true for anorexics. They can be at the point of truly being emaciated and still see themselves as fat. (Keep in mind when you look at celebrities on television that the cameras add about ten pounds of weight.)
That doesn’t, however, make it our business to bring up the subject.
Keep in mind when you look at celebrities on television that the cameras add about ten pounds of weight.
Big Daddy Kane?? That’s Shock G. aka Humpty Hump of Digital Underground.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Morelin *
**OK, Skinny person checking in. I eat. I eat more than my SO, who is a large man. I have an incredibly high metabolism rate, always running a slight fever and am constantly cold. I’m only 22, and hoping I slow down a bit in a few years. My SO and I eat the same foods everyday. He’s gained weight and I have lost some, for some odd reason.
**QUOTE]
Cherry this response might ansewr your post a bit too.
When I was younger I actually found that whereas everyone gained weight over the Christmas holidays, I would lose it. Best guess is that if you have an absurdly high metabolism where food=fuel you just become “Turbo Charged Doper” and run around burning off the food you ate and any fat stores you may have. I was always bouncy and hyper during the holidays because I ate so much and there were so many sugary treats too.
It’s hard to generalize what will work for putting on weight because it depends largely on why you are so skinny and how your body processes carbohydrates. At 5’4" when I’m at my most healthy weight, I’m between 120-125 lbs. Those charts at the doctors office are full of shit and would put me, IIRC, 10-15 lbs lighter – I would be sickly thin! Nope, I go with what my body tells me and a more muscular 120 is pretty much ideal for me (your body may be different, listen carefully to what it tells you.)
(Note: I’m am now entering my families “panda bear” phase, so my eating patterns have been changed to control my imminent rolly-polly body-type)
To gain weight, I used a high protein, mostly vegetarian diet (which sounds like a contradiction, but it’s not, really), a pretty heavy-duty workout regimen, and lotsa fluids. A high protein vegetarian diet is complicated, so I’ll tell give you a couple related non-veggie suggestions. Note: High protein , does not mean all-meat or shunning fruits and veggies. Fruits and veggies were the bulk of my meals, but I would always have one portion of a high protein food.
“Fatty fish” like salmon are incredibly healthy. The fats they contain are actually very good for you and fish is high in protein. Bake it, never fry. You don’t want to pick up bad habits that will have unhealthy conseqences if you’re metabolism slows down in the future. In vegetarian stir-fry dishes I wold use different types of nuts as a protein source because they are also fatty in a good way. And I would make those fancy powedered shakes using additional egg whites (egg whites have little to no cholesterol). You can’t consume raw egg whites for extended periods of time because it interferes with your body’s ability to absorb certain vitamins.
Stay away from simple carbohydrates and sugars. They aren’t helpful if you your weight is too high, and they aren’t helpful if your weight is too low. Bad, empty calories!
My fat intake from “bad fat” sources was very low. Maybe 20-40 grams a day. The healthy veggie-protein diet eventually allowed me to start putting on muscle weight – first time in my life that ever happened. It gave me the extra padding I needed, and helped control my overly-quick metabolism.
There are books you can get on food combining and that illustrate the differences between “good fats” and “bad fats.”
I’d still recommed you talk to a doctor or nutritionist first to determine what your dietary needs are and to see if you can get an idea why you are so thin. (Just super-high metabolisn? Thyroid issue? Illness that you’re unaware of?)
Hon, my point is that I’m usually offered a doggy bag as soon as I order. Like, before the food even gets to the table. As in, they don’t think I can finish a whole portion. As in, ‘Here little girl let me help you out with that’. I don’t mind that it’s offered, I just think it’s rude to assume that I’m not going to finish a whole portion before I’ve even begun my meal. I usually clean my plate quite nicely.
Cherry, to gain weight, I once ate 7 bananas a night for a week.
It put on about 10 pounds, but I didn’t eat them again for a loong time!
Forget weight gain powders, they are too expensive and i know they don’t work.
My public service message for the day:
I work with a guy who for years was incredibly thin, his diet was excellent and he was physically active. Still… he couldn’t gain any weight, would get fatigued really easily, and suffered from chronic stomach upset.
So he finally goes to the doctor and has some tests done and it turns out he has Celiac disease.
This is an auto-immune reaction to gluten, a protien found in wheat and other grains as well as a whole bunch of foods you wouldn’t expect. It causes the small intestine to shut down thereby preventing a person from absorbing nutrients. It can lead to other diseases such as diabetes and stomach cancer.
It can be treated by adhering to a rigid diet that has no trace of glutenous products whatsoever. Utensils and cookware must be kept from contacting anything that may have been used to prepare glutenous foods.
So after adopting the preceding regimen he’s gained 35 pounds in the last year and now has to watch his diet really carefully to prevent himself from becoming overweight.
The reason I mention this?
This disease is thought to be more widespread than numbers suggest and because of this and the fact I almost match the description of my friend, I’ll be having tests done to make sure all I have is a wickedly high metabolism and not something far worse like Celiac disease.