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tephraOne of the forums I frequent is in the midst of a mudslinging bitchfest on the possibility/impossibility of being both overweight/fat and healthy. I'm not going to bother with generalizations like that. It just got me thinking about my own personal history and my recent apparent weight loss (such as it is).
The lightest I can remember weighing was 193 pounds. I can remember the number because I was so damned proud that I had lost 15 pounds. I was down to a size 14, I remember because I found some awesome robin's egg blue jeans with totally useless zippers in the pockets (useless in the design sense, they served no purpose at all) and they had a 34" waist. I was 5'4" and hadn't yet had to look for "tall" jeans. I was 12.
The smallest size I can remember wearing in my adult life was when I was 21, I was 5'9" and a size 24. I remember because I was having to get new clothing of some sort almost every weekend because of how quickly I was dropping sizes. I went from a size 32 to the 24 in just a semester or so, probably due to walking on average 5 miles a day 5 days a week with one weekend of all day hikes once a month. My bra size went nuts, from a 50B to a 38DD/36DDD and I was buying every bright color and wild print I could get my hands on because I could. No more plain beige, white, or black bras! I discovered that underwires were actually pretty damned awesome if they fit right. It was the first time that my bust became the fit issue with clothing rather than my belly.
I went from an estimated 360 pounds to 325. I know because I actually joined a gym and stood on a scale. I was bench pressing 197 pounds, curling 45, and resorted to the pneumatic leg press machine because it offered 790 pounds of resistance. I started training with the vague idea of making getting into power lifting competitions. I also developed a hatred for bikes and treadmills that had nothing to do with my aerobic abilities and everything to do with my still being very large and tall. Bikes never had a seat adjustment that made pedaling comfortable (and we will not discuss the comfort of the seats) and treadmills are made remarkably narrow for a device encouraged to be used for weight loss. Stairclimbers are of the devil.
Now, as of today, I am 327 pounds (if the scale is to be believed) and I have no clue what my actual size is. Based on the jeans that I have on hand it's probably a 28/30. I'm a lot less muscular than I was, alas. I can, in stretch knits and empire waisted styles with ample fabric below the bust, wear a size 24/26 shirt. I tend toward 2X tees that show that "yes, I do have boobs, thanks, stop calling me sir" rather than going immediately for the loose 3Xs. I find myself fairly comfortable about my size and body with the exception of my belly. The T&A are looking rather nice lately, in my opinion.
Thankfully, I know, if the trend in weight lost continues, the belly will solve itself. I have always lost weight in a certain pattern, under the bust for a while, from the face and neck, and then back to the underbust and belly, then thighs. I don't know after that because I haven't ever managed to get that far. Hopefully the boobs never get on the list because I've always, always been cheated in that department. A woman hauling around as many pounds as I do should have a RACK, goddammit!
The lightest I can remember weighing was 193 pounds. I can remember the number because I was so damned proud that I had lost 15 pounds. I was down to a size 14, I remember because I found some awesome robin's egg blue jeans with totally useless zippers in the pockets (useless in the design sense, they served no purpose at all) and they had a 34" waist. I was 5'4" and hadn't yet had to look for "tall" jeans. I was 12.
The smallest size I can remember wearing in my adult life was when I was 21, I was 5'9" and a size 24. I remember because I was having to get new clothing of some sort almost every weekend because of how quickly I was dropping sizes. I went from a size 32 to the 24 in just a semester or so, probably due to walking on average 5 miles a day 5 days a week with one weekend of all day hikes once a month. My bra size went nuts, from a 50B to a 38DD/36DDD and I was buying every bright color and wild print I could get my hands on because I could. No more plain beige, white, or black bras! I discovered that underwires were actually pretty damned awesome if they fit right. It was the first time that my bust became the fit issue with clothing rather than my belly.
I went from an estimated 360 pounds to 325. I know because I actually joined a gym and stood on a scale. I was bench pressing 197 pounds, curling 45, and resorted to the pneumatic leg press machine because it offered 790 pounds of resistance. I started training with the vague idea of making getting into power lifting competitions. I also developed a hatred for bikes and treadmills that had nothing to do with my aerobic abilities and everything to do with my still being very large and tall. Bikes never had a seat adjustment that made pedaling comfortable (and we will not discuss the comfort of the seats) and treadmills are made remarkably narrow for a device encouraged to be used for weight loss. Stairclimbers are of the devil.
Now, as of today, I am 327 pounds (if the scale is to be believed) and I have no clue what my actual size is. Based on the jeans that I have on hand it's probably a 28/30. I'm a lot less muscular than I was, alas. I can, in stretch knits and empire waisted styles with ample fabric below the bust, wear a size 24/26 shirt. I tend toward 2X tees that show that "yes, I do have boobs, thanks, stop calling me sir" rather than going immediately for the loose 3Xs. I find myself fairly comfortable about my size and body with the exception of my belly. The T&A are looking rather nice lately, in my opinion.
Thankfully, I know, if the trend in weight lost continues, the belly will solve itself. I have always lost weight in a certain pattern, under the bust for a while, from the face and neck, and then back to the underbust and belly, then thighs. I don't know after that because I haven't ever managed to get that far. Hopefully the boobs never get on the list because I've always, always been cheated in that department. A woman hauling around as many pounds as I do should have a RACK, goddammit!
no subject
Date: 2008-11-12 08:43 pm (UTC)In Los Angeles at this weight I was a "big girl". In Wisconsin? Not so much. I get, "You're lucky to be tall and fit."
I am so not fit right now, but I've got anime chicks that I'm looking at. EVERYONE looks fat next to "The Major" in GiTS.
Right now I'm working on GETTING back into yoga and Pilates, for my own peace of mind. (AND I'd like to play Izumi Curtis at ACen and I WILL be buff... and for me to get cut/bulk? I have to weight train.)
I will NOT be getting Radical Edward skinny anytime soon. It scares the hell out of my parents after all the anorexia.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-12 08:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-12 09:45 pm (UTC)People forget that the Major is a cyborg, she can have an obscenely tiny waist because she has no internal organs to speak of. Cyborgs do eat to maintain their biological parts, but it's highly nutrient concentrated and low volume, and if Batou is to be believed, NASTY tasting.
Real Drive (RD Sennō Chōsashitsu), also by Shirow Masamune, has the plumpest females I have ever seen in anime. Though I suspect that's all Production I.G.'s work and not Shirow himself. All of them are well rounded and it just delights me to watch them (and they adore food). Of course this means that the fanboys are all bitchy about the "fat chicks" so I just stay out of the fandom and enjoy the anime.
Interesting, I was looking at yoga and pilates videos at Amazon today. I've done yoga before, in college, and I've yet to find a video that suits me. Yoga should not be aerobics in my opinion and it seems to be the focus of most videos to get as many asanas into a short workout as humanly possible. *ugh* I'm considering "MegaYoga" and "Yoga: Just My Size" for the fact they are aimed at large people and have adaptions for things like the belly that gets in the way. Then there's Peggy Campy's videos (Yoga for the Rest of Us) which I know take mobility issues into consideration since she teaches yoga to senior citizens. Then there's "Yoga for Inflexible People" which pretty much describes me these days. :D
I have no experience with pilates, but "Plus Size Pilates" was recommended before the mudslinging got going in that forum. "Pilates for Inflexible People" seems like it might be useful too. I'm not sure if pilates would suit me either, so back to the yoga first I suppose.
All of which is moot if I don't haul myself off my ass and just do it though. :P
I look at a weight sideways and I bulk, fortunately I don't mind that. Back when I was training I thought that if I managed to get a figure like Vasquez in Aliens I'd be rocking it so hard. Only, you know, significantly taller, and probably a bit bulkier all considered. :D
I think the only people that can manage the Radical Edward look are pre-teen girls and teen boys, both in the lanky "I grew six inches and haven't put on the weight to match yet" stage. Scary thin. O.O
no subject
Date: 2008-11-12 09:49 pm (UTC)Yeah, when I did Radical Edward I was 5'9" and 135. Too low for anyone's comfort.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-12 10:07 pm (UTC)That is scary, scary skinny. O.O