Women, what size are you?

[Libby]

Poll.

[Libby]

You don't have to have an eating disorder to answer this. It just ended up in this forum.

I thought we'd have more size 20-something women around here, due to the med weight-gain conundrum.

[Penny Century]

You don't have to have an eating disorder to answer this. It just ended up in this forum.

I thought we'd have more size 20-something women around here, due to the med weight-gain conundrum.

i'm going to move this to the weight side effect board if it wasn't meant to be an ed related question.

[Libby]

Hey, Penney. You picked the sexual side effects board.

[wifezilla]

In my case weight gain WAS a side effect of sex....pregnancy will do that

[Tenebrae]

what gives me heartache is the fact that almost 75% of us are not content with our bodies. in another age, another time, each and everyone of us would have been the ideal weight. i hate that society indoctrinates us this way.

[Libby]

what gives me heartache is the fact that almost 75% of us are not content with our bodies. in another age, another time, each and everyone of us would have been the ideal weight. i hate that society indoctrinates us this way.

Totally agree with you, Pink.

What surprises me is that so far 75% did not gain weight from meds. Am I some kind of freak then? I thought that most AD's and AP's caused metabolism screwiness and weight gain. I was a healthy weight until I started AD's at age 28. Then I magically started gaining weight.

[SerraGeorge]

I voted that I am content with my size. That is true, however, I am not content with the flab and stretch marks and overall squishyness of my body. Size is fine, and it fits my frame perfectly. I have curves in the right places, though, I have them in the wrong places too. I'm 5'1" and I'm in the 7-8 category. I've been down into 5-6, but I start looking "too skinny" when I get down there. As far as proportion goes, I have an enormous rib cage and swimmer shoulders, not to mention D cup breasts, so tops have to be considerably bigger than the 7-8 size range I mentioned. I don't have much of a waist, and what I do have is really high up. If I were to wear pants that actually sat around my waist, they'd go up a good 2 inches above my belly button, and they'd be sitting on top of my bottom rib just about. However, I have awesome hips and legs, and my butt is sublime. So... sometimes I can wear pants that are 5-6 if they sit low on the hips. All my weight gain seems to head straight for my belly, and it's murder to get it off again!

So yeah... more info than was asked for. I do that a lot.

[wifezilla]

I never took crazy meds, and my husband had weight issues before he ever took any meds. In his case, they aren't helping, but they are not the main cause of that spare tire.

[tallulah]

i participated in the poll and i HAVE gained weight from AD's (effexor) - approximately 25-30lbs. from being put on topamax, i am one of those people who lost weight, and have lost all of the weight i put on and THEN some - which now puts me anywhere between 115-120lbs (im 5'4). my doctor is very unhappy with the weight loss but my mood has changed drastically (for the best).

i do NOT have a flat stomach whatsoever. it seems to be the only place that the weight has not dropped from...which is where i have always been heaviest. i currently fit into a size 4 or 5 depending on the make... whereas before i was wearing a size 10-11.

its funny. i can take pictures and be completely disgusted with how much weight ive lost. and yet, other times depending on certain angles i find flab and HATE my figure. ahh...its a beautiful thing.

tal

[Latin Girl]

I am 5'8" and I *did* have a flat tummy!!!!

When I was a 4. I have no one to blame but myself.

Like I said It was not Lexapro that made me gain weight. I gained weight because I started drinking alcohol on the weekends. (I didn't know it has a lot of calories) and eating to much calories. I thought I was untouchable eating anything I want.

It does not work that way. I can eat what I want, not just late at night and over consumption. Exercise is the only way I can keep the size 4.

I am a very tight 5/6. I have little love handles that a frickin' hate!!!

Even if I have to do 100 sit ups a night to get my tummy back I will.

I am already Latin so... I got my chest from my mommy and have hips, but have always had a tiny waist.

People see me as thin but I know I am not. Being a 5/6 is not thin to me. I think what makes me look thin too others is that I am tall and I am more legs than anything else.

*sigh* Sometimes being a woman sucks!!!!

But,,,,,,,,Now I know that getting back on my bike is not only healthy for me, it makes me feel better.

[Latin Girl]

And.............boyfriend being Italian he loves to cook!!!!

OMG........The Peppers, Italian Sausage, Pasta, Bruschetta

. And I eat all of it and too boot he makes killer cosmos!!!

This Sunday I meet his whole entire family cousins and everything. Even.....................THE FATHER!

Everyone was nervous. But he liked me

He even yelled at my boyfriend in Italian and said stop cussing in front of her!! (ha-ha)

So Sunday afternoon we start off with homemade Italian meatballs and homemade pasta sauce. French bread and fresh fruit and open Bar.

(His uncle lives in 2.5 million dollar house in Huntington Beach by the ocean)

So I am thinking this is nice..........But........wait................Into the Evening they bring out steaks to BBQ and fresh hugh tomatoes cut open with pesto and Parma gain cheese baked inside, bruschetta, figs, bread, sataude mushrooms and wine, wine,wine.( I know I am leaving stuff out, too much to remember)

For dessert

they bring out every fresh fruit everything you can think of................finished? No!

Then Gourmet coffee with yummy little Italian cakes. I swear I was going to pass out!!!!!

His family is lovely......And I know its a big deal when some brings a so over to meet the Italian family for approval.

And I just love how they kiss you good bye on each check! (no jokes please)

I GOT A STAR ON MY FOREHEAD.

[Libby]

Happy news about the boyfriend's family, LG!

...and, in bad news, I'm fatter than most of the women of CB who answered the poll. Oh friggin well. I'm workin' on it and fighting Seroquel every step of the way.

[Loon-A-TiK]

i've been as slim as a 0-2 (on effexor, which made me throw up all the time), and as "heavy" as a 10 (on zyprexa). i actually liked my body more at the 10. the 0-2 was just gross to me, considering that i'm a muscular woman and i'm also curvy.

i'm 5'4 and right now weigh 120lbs. i wear a size 5/6 with room. i'm not flat- 34D, and i do have a bit of a stomach/hips/butt (in my opinion). as i said, i'm curvy, not rail-thin or straight.

when i put on weight it is hard to tell because i gain it in proportion everywhere. no one really notices.

i feel weird at larger weights because i can't wear my going-out clothes, which are all smaller. i start to notice my weight when my clothes don't fit. i had a total freak fit when i couldn't wear my clothes due to zyprexa weight. it was like a national emergency. call the President- loon is wearing a size 10!

that is unreasonable and i know it. i don't look at other women that way- actually, i find "small" women unattractive and like women who are at LEAST a size 8. so why am i so weird about myself? the world may never know.

loon

[Tenebrae]

wow, Serra! I think we have the same body! Only mine is super sized! My shoulders are a size larger than my waist (which is high and thick), which is a size larger than my hips. pants that fit my waist, are poofy around the hips, unless like you said, they are low ... <sigh> so i voted i am a size 16, but my hips are a 14, and my shoulders are an 18. it's a bitch to buy clothes. specially with a 36" inseam.

i want to like my body, but i don't. i guess i could care less about my size, except, when i was in junior high, and we were walkign to school, and i was wearing levis, and this girl doreen burst out. OMG! YOu have a 30 WAIST! and i was so mortified i never got over it. i still have to buy men's pants to get the length, and i use my dremel to get the waist size off. silly huh. i'm almost 6 feet tall. but i still want to be 36/24/36.

meh.

<wanders off>

[olga]

i want to like my body, but i don't. i guess i could care less about my size, except, when i was in junior high, and we were walkign to school, and i was wearing levis, and this girl doreen burst out. OMG! YOu have a 30 WAIST! and i was so mortified i never got over it.

he he he Pinky, I was in Jr. High and had bought a black turtleneck sweater. Thought I was SO cool. Sitting in a class minding my own business, when I heard all the boys in back of me whispering and giggling.

I had left a little staple-on size label on the back hem of the sweater---and the boys were all elbowing each other and whispering "olga is a 40 on top!!!" jeez......

You don't forget that crap.

olga

[luli2]

My weight might be a little more since not doing smokes....

and yeah, waist is almost same size as hips....and bigger on top. My pants pouf at my hips if the waist fits. But I'm with SerraGeorge about the size being ok, but the flab and droop that has appeared with aging, blech. I have the choice to exercise....

Luli

[vunja]

I think I beat everyone in unreasonable size expectations. I'm 5'1 and 96 pounds. I usually wear 7-9 but those are huge on me (on purpose -- I like my clothes baggy). I think I could fit in something a lot smaller, but I don't. I'm still really obsessive about my weight, although I have gotten better about it and started to accept myself, at least a little. I've started eating a lot more healthier, although that had very little to do with my weight, and as a nice side effect, I've lost some pounds. the highest I've ever been was 5'0 and 89 pounds, and the heaviest was probably 5'0 and 107 pounds, before I became semi anorexic.

I have no reason to feel fat, I know that, but I still do. I like my body but I don't like what the scale says. it's all dependent on the numbers, not so much on how I look. that's bizarre, too. right now I'm still wanting to be 88 pounds, because according to my BMI that's when I'll become technically underweight and that will make me feel better, even though my therapist has threatened bad things if I go below 96... eh.

is anyone else here obsessive about the numbers and not so much about how they look? I've never met anyone like that, and I don't even think my pdoc or my tdoc believe me when I tell them that I'm just concerned about the numbers on the scale.

I'm a very bizarre little cookie...

[Latin Girl]

Believe or Not................I know this sounds strange.

I am my worst critic when it comes to my body.

But, I find women with "Great" Personalities to be very attractive and are envious.

(and even though she does not think she pretty she is very pretty I hope you know who I am talking about)

But someone who has a great shape and is obnoxious and a whiner is the most unattractive person there is.

Does make sense to anyone???

[Sunshine]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I'm not happy with my size because I don't weigh enough and my meds make me lose weight (Adderall). Don't get me wrong... if I have to pick being underweight or overweight, I'd definitely take underweight, but it really can be as "big" of a problem as being overweight.

I'm extremely limited in where I can buy clothes (especially high-quality ones)... pretty much only retailers that cater to the teeny-bopper crowd. And while I have the body (or lack of) to pull off ultra low-rise jeans, they aren't particularly appropriate for work!

Curves? I don't have any. I started wearing padded bras for the first time a few years ago and now I'm starting to wish they made padded panties (I have no ass to speak of).

But I'll stop bitching because I'm probably pissing off 80% of the people who are reading this thread. Sorry.

[Libby]

So far, here at cb, we are:

size 0-10 =14 total

size 12-18 =16 total

size 20's =4 total

What does it mean? I dunno.

[Becca]

Well, right now I'm wearing a 12. But clothes don't ever really fit me right. Especially pants. I think I probably have a 27 or 28 inch inseam. I'm just under 5 feet tall. And my hips are much wider than my waist (I have a pretty hourglass-y figure, but my boobs are 34DDDs, so I have hips to match). So I end up buying pants that fit around my hips and fall down all day long. I used to have belts, but I can't find them here. I think I lost a box somewhere.

Buying clothes is just basically a ridiculous venture.

And I'm soft. I have a belly. But I don't think I'm really that "fat".

I want to lose weight. I think that my weight makes me less attractive than I could be. But I know that realistically, I'm completely normal-sized.

[Latin Girl]

I now love this Thread.

Size 0-2 or Size 26

Boobs, No Boobs, Hips, No Hips..................

We are all women who have issues with our bodies at one time or another.

But the common thread that we all have is that we are women looking to be happier, healthier.

And to just get through life with out going insane

[NYPaintLady]

But I'll stop bitching because I'm probably pissing off 80% of the people who are reading this thread. Sorry.

Not pissed off here, I have friends that can't gain weight. One girl's nickname in high school was "the girl with 2 backs". I watched a show not too long ago about a girl who got butt implants because she had a flat hiney.

And, LG, I have a friend who is thin like you and one time she was telling me how she'd gained 6 lbs since she'd started working. I teased her, of course, but really, on a person that thin, that will put you in a different size clothing and leave you with nothing to wear. She's tall, too... just naturally thin.

[Libby]

So far, here at cb, we are:

size 0-10 = 15 total

size 12-18 = 20 total

size 20's = 5 total

What does it mean? I dunno.

[praxis]

I think it means crazy beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

[SerraGeorge]

I understand you LG. I have friends who I think are the most beautiful people in the world! I want to hug them and kiss them and just love them all the time. I've shown people pictures of these friends and I've gotten some very repulsed, (not to mention RUDE) responses as to their looks. But I know where every line and bulge came from on them. I know their hearts, and that is what shines from them in my eyes.

I've also known people who were physically beautiful, but their personalities ruined it. Ugly words, ugly deeds, ugly thoughts... eventually, that makes it's way to the face and figure. Such people, despite any physical beauty they may possess, are ugly to me.

[Loon-A-TiK]

SG-

so true! i have a coworker like that. she's not conventionally attractive. most people would look at her and say she's "ugly". however, from the moment i met her, i knew she was really special. she's the coolest person there is! her personality just shines no matter what.

let all the "good looking" snobs have their day. in the end it is the people with real hearts who have real friends. you're a real friend by not being suckered into how shallow some people can be!

libby- you don't know what the poll means? lol. i think it means there are a lot of CB women who wear a size 12-18! i'd be interested in age distribution too, as usually people put on a few pounds as they get a little older.

what meds are known for major weight gain? we know about zyprexa (well, i know about zyprexa and dairy queen!), and SSRIs, what else?

does the weight stabilize after an initial gain from meds or does it keep going up?

[Maddy]

I answered this poll a while back but was resistant to mention my size.

The only answer I could answer in the poll was 0-1, but I wear mostly girls clothes. My size in girls is anywhere between 12-16.

My meds also make me lose weight instead of gain. I get tired of being called anorexic or getting treated different just because I'm skinny.

I'm 5'7" and my BMI hovers around 16 or 17 for the most part.

[Loon-A-TiK]

i'm with maddy. i've lost weight with my meds. the new ones are really taking off any weight i had. i'm down to a size 2.

[cockers.everywhere]

I'm a size 24 and content with my size. It's just not going to change, I don't think. Years and years of lithium have taken their toll on my thyroid and my liver.

My husband and children still love me. That's what matters.

[Guest]

I'm a UK size 16-18, depending on the cut of the clothes. All I can say is thank god for stretch denim and roomy combat trousers. I'm trying to lose weight, but no more than a dress size and it's more because I want to move around better at dance and martial arts classes than it is for appearance.

[barn owl]

Ummmm I'm having a problem here. My top size is 3 sizes bigger than my trouser size, which do i tick?

[scatty]

I am a size 16. I weigh more now than I did when I was 9 months pregnant. I used to be a size 7 after having 3 kids. These last few years have been rough, I eat more than I should and some meds have caused some of the gain. I still feel attractive though, thank god for my hubbys love of big asses and tits.

[Alice]

I am a size 10. Sometimes an 8 depending on where I'm shopping, but I don't like my clothes to fit too tight.

I weigh 140 lbs. I'm 5' 10". My main goal is to stay fit and energetic. To keep my muscle tone and feel healthy and able to bike.

It's hard to fit that in with all the other demands that life puts on you, but I do what I can.

On a good day I have to say I'm not bad for an old girl.

Alice

[Loon-A-TiK]

i've anwered this before i think, but my weight changed, so i'll answer it again.

i guess it is life stress and maybe med changes, but i've dropped to 113 and a size 2. i hate it when i go to the second hand store where i'm not allowed to try on stuff, buy size 2 jeans, and they fit bigger than most 4 jeans. there is vanity sizing going on or something. do i need to start shopping in the little girl's dept. or something? i'm 5'4 so those things may be a bit short! lol

for shits and giggles, i'm going to go try some girls' 16 clothes, just to see. since they do vanity sizing at the Limited Too and there are such chunky little kids out there, i suspect i'd fit into the size 16 clothes. unbelieveable. i could at least wear a 0 in this type of sizing! i'll do the experiment and tell you if the clothes fit and are too short i think they're made to be up to 5'2, but i'm not sure.

loon

[Sophia85]

I'm a 16 and at this point in my life I'm pretty content with my size. I'm in recovery from bulimia so my weight has been up and down and up and down and up again. I was on Seroquel for about a year and that put about 50 lbs on me. That was really hard for me to accept. But like I said I think I'm finally at peace with my size.

[Penny Century]

sizes are so.... i dunno. i wish all the brands could come to a consensus.

[Ophelia]

sizes are so.... i dunno. i wish all the brands could come to a consensus.

amen to that...

[Angelwhore]

I'm size 14 (UK size), which I find deeply misery-making. I know it's not actually that big - the average UK woman is apparently size 16 - but I've always been a size 10-12 without having to even think about what I ate. Then came crazy drugs......*sigh* I am now trying to fight my way back down to at least a 12, but all I really want for Christmas is to lose my fat stomach....

[Dee]

I think I am pushing a size 666 now.

[HaloGirl66]

Poll.

One of my sleep meds caused me a 40lb weight gain. Evil evil Doxepin.

[checkerboards]

i answered this poll a long time ago, but i never wrote anything about it...until now!

right now i'm 23 years old, five-four and i weigh 165. i think i look good, except for my hips and thighs. (someone else please tell me they have this problem: violin hips. Warning: naked bottoms! i have it and it irritates the hell out of me.) oh, oh, and i have to wear tights under skirts so that my disproportionately large inner thighs don't rub together. ow. but it's not so much an aesthetic problem, more of an annoyance.

everyone keeps telling me i'm losing weight all the time. i don't really see it. i don't think it's a med thing, i think it's because i only eat once or twice a day and i exercise. meds did make my chest grow, however, which was a pretty rad side effect.

[~nestling~]

I'm UK size 8-10. I think that's 2-4ish. ?

I am 5 foot 1, and weigh just over 7 stone. [42ish kilos]

I have always been underweight, and also have borderline anorexia/ED NOS.

I am pretty happy with my size. I just want to be taller. No chance of that though.

I went down to 6 stone 12 whilst on efexor. I was just about 7 stone before I started on it, and then lost my appetite completely.

I am on remeron now, and am pretty stable at just over 7 stone. I got my appetite back, but the weight gain has been pretty minimal, although I tend to restrict, missing the occasional lunch and/or breakfast here or there too.

[ChemistryExperiment]

eh... Im too fat.

I wish I was more comfortable with my body. I just always compair others to me. I want people to notice me, and not the fat. To also notice me, and not the illness.

Currently Ive lost enough weight to be down a size since I answered the poll. Im hoping to keep going down.

[About:blank]

I'm 5'4" and was at a healthy weight until 3 years ago when I started taking Depakote (for BP1). It worked really well for my mood, but I put on 40 pounds within a few months. I quickly switched to different meds, but I haven't been able to take off the weight since then. Is it just me, or is med-induced weight gain more stubborn than other types?

I was even heavier than this between 98-2000 but it was because I had undiagnosed hypothyroidism. Once I had that diagnosed and treated, the weight came off without much effort on my part, and it also took no effort to maintain for the next four years, even with some not-so-great eating habits. The Depakote changed that, unfortunately.

I've been on a big mission again just recently to get the weight off but I can never seem to get my appetite under control, so thus far, my attempts to get back to my pre-Depakote weight always fail. I keep trying, though. Who knows, maybe this will be the time I succeed.

[LisaSCA]

interesting poll.

I've recently lost 50 lbs due to topamax. of course much of the previous weight gain was due to other meds for my migraines *sigh* . I wasn't really upset with the weight gain since it wasn't extremely rapid, but i am ticked with the rapid weight loss of topamax. the 50+lbs has been since october 2006, so in one year i've lost that. not a pretty picture, not to mention the cost of buying a wardrobe each season.

oh and what's with women's sizing these days? seriously, at 168 lbs I'm so not a size 10, but the tags say I am. serious size manipulation, all to try and make us women feel good. I'm old enough to remember that a current size 10 would have been a size 14-16 about 15 years ago. so stupid...

anyway, my size dissatisfaction isn't really with my current size, it's with the fact that I'm unhappy with my weight loss- I can't stabilize my weight. I'm trying not to lose any more. for me, anything lower than 140 (I'm 5'8" with really long legs) looks just icky. people will start to tell me that I look sickly at that size. at the rate I'm losing weight, I'll be at that size in the spring. so I'm stuffing myself with food (feel totally nauseous most of the time cuz of it) in an effort to get the vitamins and minerals my body needs, not to mention protein and carbs.

never thought I'd be in this position, lol.

[withing]

Okay, it's an old thread, but I've never answered it. I lost about 65 pounds, and I'm a size 18 (from a size 24). The only reason I'm *not* happy with my body is all of this loose skin I have flopping around from all of the weight I've lost. It's really ugly! I mean, yuck! According to the doctors, I still have a few pounds to lose, but I'm not sure I want to since my skin isn't as elastic as it once was, and well, under the smaller clothes, I just look - blah!

[liveoak]

Okay, it's an old thread, but I've never answered it. I lost about 65 pounds, and I'm a size 18 (from a size 24). The only reason I'm *not* happy with my body is all of this loose skin I have flopping around from all of the weight I've lost. It's really ugly! I mean, yuck! According to the doctors, I still have a few pounds to lose, but I'm not sure I want to since my skin isn't as elastic as it once was, and well, under the smaller clothes, I just look - blah!

wow, congrats, patheral! how did you do it?

[lysergia]

Okay, it's an old thread, but I've never answered it. I lost about 65 pounds, and I'm a size 18 (from a size 24). The only reason I'm *not* happy with my body is all of this loose skin I have flopping around from all of the weight I've lost. It's really ugly! I mean, yuck! According to the doctors, I still have a few pounds to lose, but I'm not sure I want to since my skin isn't as elastic as it once was, and well, under the smaller clothes, I just look - blah!

thanks for reminding me i'm not the only one

in the last ten years, due to meds, i've weighed everything from 190 to 110 (i'm 5'4). i'm a size 4 now, maintining near a healthy bmi, but it doesn't matter anymore what the scales say. the way my skin hangs off my body is something i can't fix, and it looks horrible. maybe yours isn't as bad, i don't know, but it really messes with my self-image.

i fantasize about plastic surgery. i need a winning lottery ticket first.

good topic. don't admit this often, probably needs to get out there.

[dangergirl]

I love that show the biggest loser...and when I see their transformations, that's the one thing that I notice about a lot of the people - their skin not snapping back...and really the only way to fix it is plastic surgery - maybe you guys can get on Montel or some other show and have them pay for it?? It really is heart breaking that you've done all that hard work to slim down and still have this constant reminder...I have horrible stretch marks from bouncing up and down the scale - I've gone from a size 0 (although, back in THAT day it was a 6...lol) to an 8 (in today's sizes)...which is about where I am now ...and I feel HUGE.

[Anelize]

I hadn't seen this before. I gained a huge amount of weight on seroquel--about 100 lbs. I had significant co-morbidities with that--hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes, asthma. I tried several times, and several different ways to lose it, but finally, after much research, decided to have a RNY gastric bypass. I've lost all the weight that I gained, am below 200lbs for the first time in several years, and am still losing. I no longer have high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes or asthma. I feel better than I've felt in .... forever. Was it the easy way out? Hell no. But I'm alive to tell the tale, and I honestly didn't think I would be if I hadn't had the surgery.

I'm down to a 14 from a 30W, and if I stopped losing now, I'd be ok with that.

[crushed_violets]

oh and what's with women's sizing these days? seriously, at 168 lbs I'm so not a size 10, but the tags say I am. serious size manipulation, all to try and make us women feel good. I'm old enough to remember that a current size 10 would have been a size 14-16 about 15 years ago. so stupid...

I'm 5'9 and 144 lbs. I can fit anything from a size six to a size ten; I mostly wear 8's. It really is crazy how sizes can differ from brand to brand and even within a brand itself. That's why I tell people not to buy me clothes...even if I tell them I take a medium top and size 8 pants it can really vary a lot.

[withing]

Okay, it's an old thread, but I've never answered it. I lost about 65 pounds, and I'm a size 18 (from a size 24). The only reason I'm *not* happy with my body is all of this loose skin I have flopping around from all of the weight I've lost. It's really ugly! I mean, yuck! According to the doctors, I still have a few pounds to lose, but I'm not sure I want to since my skin isn't as elastic as it once was, and well, under the smaller clothes, I just look - blah!

wow, congrats, patheral! how did you do it?

Eh... portion control. That's the basic concept. I eat what I want, I just eat a serving size. Doesn't really take that much self-control when you think about it because I'm not really depriving myself of anything. If I'm still hungry after half an hour, I have another serving... If I know I can't control myself (and I can't with chocolate), then I don't bring more than a portion at a time into the house. For example, I only buy one candybar at a time. The harder it is to get to- the less I'll eat.

Yeah, Topamax making anything carobonated taste like crap helped. That, and I found out that once I cut the high fructose corn syrup out of my diet, my migraines all but left. I didn't exercise for a long time, but I'm starting to do that now - mostly out of boredom, but it might help me break out of my plateau. I've been at 210 for about a year and a half now. Was 285.

I gained most of my weight when I was on Depakote. I didn't gain anything on Seroquel. But, I was on Seroquel and Topamax at the same time, so maybe they cancelled each other out? I don't think the Topamax had anything to do with my weight loss because I didn't start losing weight until several months after I started Topamax. I've been on it for years, and I've been at the same weight forever - even with the portion control. Actually, that's not true, I've been losing, but way slower than I did in the beginning, like a half a pound every month or so not even noticable until five are gone for good. Ya know?

Anyway, I don't know if they're messing around with the women's sizes too, but I'm in an 18 now for the first time in years. I'm hoping it's the same size 18 that I used to wear four years ago, because it made me feel better to buy them instead of 20's.

[wake me when i'm dead]

5'6", 125 lbs. the only time i have normalish eating habits/eating schedule is when i'm hanging out with others. or cohabitating with someone for a while. (something i try not to make a habit of). my appetite is easily killed. when i get depressed, i don't eat. when i get manicy, i don't eat. when i'm stressed out, i don't eat. when i'm spitting nails, i don't eat. and then there are times when i just forget to eat. i'm a mess.

i probably should gain some weight for health reasons. aside from not having much of an appetite these days,

a) i like the few articles of clothing that i wear

b) i'm too poor and have expensive tastes. and yes, those tastes extend to food as well. if it's going to be some low-budge imitation of what i really want to eat, i'll just skip it. lobster with drawn butter and a side of truffle macaroni and cheese doesn't come cheap these days.

c) i'm my own harshest critic. there's enough self-loathing going on inside here without having one more thing to beat myself up over

and i really really really really am sick of people commenting on my weight.

"OMG ... do you EAT???" yes, i eat. i don't have much of an appetite much of the time, so i just eat until i'm full or i feel like stopping. i don't belong to the clean plate club just because mommy said i should.

"OMG ... how do you EAT and not gain WEIGHT!" i don't practice the see food diet. and actually, i prefer fruits and veggies to most other foods. of course, the little debbie nutty bar is something NOT to be scoffed at, but ask me what i want to munch on, and 9 times out of ten it will be something raw and fresh.

"what do you mean, you don't want ice cream??? are you ANOREXIC??? no, asshat. i don't particularly like ice cream. or other sweet with refined sugar for that matter. see above. naturally sweet foods yank my crank. i would love to own my own strawberry patch.

"you barely touched your food at ALL!" well, i'm not that hungry. at least i sat down and was polite and shoved a few bites into my mouth before pushing the rest of the monstrous portion served to me around my plate.

trust me, when i'm hungry i eat. when i'm not, i don't. don't try to put more labels on me please. i'm already twisted enough.

and here's something that really SUCKS for some thin folks ... it's freezing in here! i can't be the only chick in her office who freezes her assless backside off in the summer when they blast the ac. can i get a witness????

[lysergia]

"you barely touched your food at ALL!" well, i'm not that hungry. at least i sat down and was polite and shoved a few bites into my mouth before pushing the rest of the monstrous portion served to me around my plate.

YES! thank you!!!!

people just don't realize how hard it is for some of us to even get those few bites down - and keep them there - even when we would like to be able to eat like normal people. i am so sick to death of all the "is that all you are eating???" comments, i know they're meant well, but aaarrgh!

the monstrous portions thing really made me laugh

and here's something that really SUCKS for some thin folks ... it's freezing in here! i can't be the only chick in her office who freezes her assless backside off in the summer when they blast the ac. can i get a witness????

i hear you there, too! i live in the chilly winter nowadays and people keep calling me a wimp for wanting to turn the heat up all the time :/

-lysergia

[dangergirl]

and here's something that really SUCKS for some thin folks ... it's freezing in here! i can't be the only chick in her office who freezes her assless backside off in the summer when they blast the ac. can i get a witness????

This baby got back and I STILL hate that - why can't they keep a building a normal temp all year round? It's so obnoxious that I have to wear a wool sweater to work in the summer.

[zsepthenne]

I've had it. I'm done. With Lithium. I'm only on 300mg currently and have titrated up to 100mg of lamactil. I dropped my lithium once before on oct 16th weighing 168lbs, by oct 29th I weighed 155lbs! I started taking it again untill I was higher on the lam. But I can't take the weight gain anymore. I'm 5'8" and am at 160 now. Nothing I do seems to help. I don't drink sodas, i have only one meal a day, i have a snack or two of lower fat things and that's it. I was always very thin usually, 130 at my high end, so 160 isn't easy for me . I want to get down to 150 or 145 just to have some wiggle room.

And yes the sizes now suck! In some pants I'm a 13, then a 12, then 15,17 wth?! The shirts are all wonky too! All those baby tee's screwed everything up!

I especially love my measurements 35-32-43. Yes that's one big booty . I especially like the waist to breast ratio . Poor girls have always been small.

And yes I use to be the skinny girl who was freezing, now I'm the heavy one in 40 degree temps with a tank top on and breathing heavily . My how things change...

[Maychild]

I just saw this poll.

When I started this whole roller coaster, I was a size 12 and very unhappy with the way that I looked.

After Seroquel (gained 45 pounds) and being taken off of it (lost 15 pounds), then put on Lithium (gained back the 15 pounds in water weight), I miss how I looked before. It has all made me appreciate my body and what I put into it. I have made a concerted effort to eat healthy and now I have the energy to exercise.

I also went veggie, which I think is helping. Lots of fruits and vegetables along with my thyroid med. I got off of Lithium a week ago and can already tell a difference (lost a dress size, now down to a 14 from a 16).

I have had body issues since childhood and finally I have come to a point of accepting how I look no matter what. I know the reason why my body is retaining water and whatever else due to meds, everyone else can think what they want. Although if one more person asks me when I'm due, I will deck them.

[Artemisia]

I actually wear U.S. sizes 0-4, depending on the brand of clothes, the cut, etc.

Meds and/or reduction of depression actually made me lose weight. I guess I was lucky in that way.

I'm 5'2.5" and weigh ~100 lbs. Basically, I weigh so little because I have next to no muscle (next to no upper body strength). I know that I should work on gaining muscle weight (both through strength training and diet), but I'm just too busy/lazy/unmotivated.

[Stasis]

I realize this is more for

Women,as men don't have sizes

that way.

For years I could just buy 501s

with out trying them on,

At 21yrs-29x36 extra long

for keeping the wind out while riding,

very gradually I went to a 30 waist,

the on up to 36x36 and stayed there for ten years,

and 205lbs

When I was chosing whether or

not

to suicide,I lost 10 lbs,then another 5.

My first use of seroquel caused(?)

no weight gain.

now this round of seroquel I have gained 15lbs,

And I'm between sizes

36 too tight

38 too big,

when Iwas in peak condition

I needed an 18 collar(tight)

xxl shoulders

the rest just hung on me.

now It's frustrating feeling like I'll never get back

to where I liked my weight @ 205lbs,

Whine.It's probably more,since I only weigh myself at my MDs

every 6 weeks or so,

yeah so us guys have weight trips too.

Stasis ,lumbering along,klomp klomp

[Whirrled Peas]

I wear an 18 and think I look fabulous, but I know I am not at a healthy weight.

[isis]

I'm 5'8 and 63kg. so, about 140 i think, pounds. In Australian sizing i'm about a 10-12, although i'm wearing size 9 jeans at the moment. in american sizing i think im about between a 6 and 10. Its kinda hard to tell though - some places i can take a much smaller size, other places its normal - so i have to try everything on which is really annoying.

I put on weight with valproate, last year. probably about 5kg which is, significant for me. At one point i was only 50kg and that was really quite uncomfortably thin so I am hoping to lose weight, but not that much. I'm not intending to change what i eat (its pretty good) but i should do more exercise.

I know i'm not overweight but it just feels a bit uncomfortable to me being like this so that makes me think its ok to lose a bit. now i just have to find some motivation to do the exercise!!

[Gwen]

I haven't stood on a scale in a couple of years so I have no idea what my actual weight is. My mother and grandmother weigh themselves every few days or so, and are both preoccupied with their weight. My mom especially always seems to be on some sort of diet and gets really depressed when she puts on a couple of pounds. I do not want to become a slave to the bathroom scale so I use the fit of my clothing to determine how thin or heavy I am. Right now I'm about a size 10-12, which is a little on the plump side for me.

[EchoEchoEcho]

what is the point of this poll? i'm sure there is a point... but could you share it please.

thanks!!

[Stars]

I'm a fan of Erma Bopmbeck. She's gone now, but her books live on. She wrote about being a mother and all the things that go with it. I recall one chapter on her trying to get ready for swimsuit season. She makes a bit of fun of weight watchers. She and others were taking fluid pills, and removing jewelry etc prior weigh in. She also felt that having ow weighing public is sort of public humiliation. I think one of her books shows her with a ball and chin to her leg and her doing some kind of penance if she gained or did not lose. funny stuff. I agree.

It is all relative- something you probably won't understand until you are quite a bit older and look back and realize how small you really were, and would give anything to be that size again.

[MaryPoppins]

When I went in the hospital last year I think I weighed in at 138. When I left 10 days later I was 124. I just didn't eat while I was there. Over the winter I went on an entirely new regimen of meds and I lost more weight. I'm 5'4" and weighed 100 lbs. I looked horrible and my husband was convinced that I had an eating disorder. I just wasn't hungry. I started gaining and got up to 110 lbs. just recently and after a monthlong beer binge I'm up to 120lbs. Which I'll be losing 10 lbs VERY quickly as I'm done drinking with all of the meds I'm taking, it's just not the brightest idea I've ever head. And so it goes....I hope to stay at 110lbs, and maintain.

[isis]

my scales are out so i don't actually weigh myself - but i had to do my height and weight in one of my classes - we were figuring out BMI and talking about measurments.

does anyone have a nintendo wii? I am getting one soon - but they have this game, Wii fit - and it (based on BMI) tells you that you are wii fat if you are overweight!! people are getting offended apparently.

[graduation day]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I'm not happy with my size because I don't weigh enough and my meds make me lose weight (Adderall). Don't get me wrong... if I have to pick being underweight or overweight, I'd definitely take underweight, but it really can be as "big" of a problem as being overweight.

I'm extremely limited in where I can buy clothes (especially high-quality ones)... pretty much only retailers that cater to the teeny-bopper crowd. And while I have the body (or lack of) to pull off ultra low-rise jeans, they aren't particularly appropriate for work!

Curves? I don't have any. I started wearing padded bras for the first time a few years ago and now I'm starting to wish they made padded panties (I have no ass to speak of).

But I'll stop bitching because I'm probably pissing off 80% of the people who are reading this thread. Sorry.

Same here. I think I could actually be content with my body if I didn't get those worried looks from people who think I have an ED. I don't get nasty comments (anymore), but people seem to be constantly worried about my weight when I'm not. I've tried gaining, but I'd have to eat all day, everyday for anything to happen.

[withing]

...But I'll stop bitching because I'm probably pissing off 80% of the people who are reading this thread. Sorry.

Same here. I think I could actually be content with my body if I didn't get those worried looks from people who think I have an ED. I don't get nasty comments (anymore), but people seem to be constantly worried about my weight when I'm not. I've tried gaining, but I'd have to eat all day, everyday for anything to happen.

Y'all haven't pissed me off, though I'm the exact opposite. I eat less than 1800 calories a day just to maintain my weight, and I've had to do that for over three years - less than 1600 if I want to lose anything. However, I know that there are people out there with super high metabolisms just as mine seems to be super low. I've had my thyroids checked - they're fine. I just seem to be one of those people who looks a food and gains weight.

It's just sad that you have to put up with nasty comments. It's sad that I have to put up with pitying looks if I want to enjoy an ice-cream cone every once in a while too. But that's the way people are; they just can't let other people be because they're not happy with themselves. It sucks.

BTW - I'm smaller than I was when I filled out this poll. Does that mean the results are skewed now?

[Ophelia]

It's just sad that you have to put up with nasty comments. It's sad that I have to put up with pitying looks if I want to enjoy an ice-cream cone every once in a while too. But that's the way people are; they just can't let other people be because they're not happy with themselves. It sucks.

BTW - I'm smaller than I was when I filled out this poll. Does that mean the results are skewed now?

this poll was started 2 years ago, so i would think that a lot of the results might be off. i know that mine have changed. i have gone through a huge down and up since then... so, yeah... i dont know...