Question for women: do you feel pressure to maintain your looks for your husband?

[Anonymous]

I jog, work out, and eat right so that I can stay a size 2. It's not for my spouse or "for myself" exactly. Aside from liking feeling healthy, I am aware that being thin and attractive has brought me success and an ease in life that overweight people are denied. The assumption that all fat people are lazy and have poor nutrition is such complete bullshit in so many people's cases. I have friends who are fat because their husbands don't do a damn thing to help so they do it all and don't have time to work out. Or they suffer disease or disability that limits their physical abilities, or have to take meds that cause weight gain. And most of them are kinder, harder working, and more resilient people than I am.

I'm not fat because I'm terrified of being fat.

[Anonymous]

It is so hard to be a woman. Our culture has really stripped all dignity from aging (for women). We are all doing our best.

[Anonymous]

No pressure from my husband just myself. I am 36 and 5 foot 2, and I maintain a weight of about 115-118. Right now I'm losing the baby weight from # 2, which has been super difficult for some reason. I'm down to 122, finally, and I know I could just stop here but I'm determined to get back to where I was. I don't even know why, I've just always been vain and enjoy looking good. But on a darker level, I really think it is just one more example of my Type A, people-pleasing personality. My DH is overweight, although very muscular and to me that is super hot--I've always liked big masculine guys. So it's kind of ridiculous that I insist on staying so small. But there you have it.