What’s more attractive: fit/athletic or just thin?

[Anonymous]

No agenda here, I’m just curious what your perspective is, whether you’re a straight man or a woman with insights from men. I happen to be in the “fit/athletic” category, but I can see how some men might prefer more traditionally slender and feminine.

Do men prefer women who are fit and toned from exercising, or do they prefer thin women who eat less?

[Anonymous]

All body types are attractive to someone. I think being fit is more attractive to younger generations, but just being thin is important to the Gen X and older crowd.

[Anonymous]

Stop trying to change your body to attract a man.

If you like being fit/athletic as opposed to thin do tgat and find someone who likes that.

[Anonymous]

Just as there is no universal body, there is no universal body preference.

[Anonymous]

I am naturally thin (not a result of diet/exercise) and have been very fit and athletic at times in my life, and also not fit at times in my life. But always thing because that's my natural body type.

I have had a couple boyfriends tell me explicitly during my "not fit" eras that they liked that I was thin without being super hard bodied. They liked that my body was "soft" so to speak. It had never occurred to me that this was a distinction a man might make, but I do understand it. A soft body feels different than a hard body, especially when you are intimate. There is also a power dynamic here. Most men like to feel like the more physically strong partner in a heterosexual relationship (not all) and a small, soft body is therefor their ideal. This is not a humblebrag, by the way -- this was a disturbing discovery for me to make because it is uncomfortable to realize that the man you are with values your physical weakness. It's a mind f***. I didn't marry one of those men, fyi.

However, especially as we age, there are fewer and fewer people who can be thin but soft. And so most men have to choose. Some choose soft, and actually like women who are curvier with more cushioning. They are okay with a woman who is bigger, and might even like it, because what they really like is that softness. And some choose thin, accepting this means a harder body. But I don't think most men really like a harder a body, most of the time.

IME, the men who actively prefer a hard bodied woman tend to be very fit themselves, and are often very physically imposing. They can be with hard bodied women and still feel like the strong one.

There is a tiny minority of straight (so not including bi men) guys who don't feel the need to be the physically dominant partner, for whom these rules don't apply. They are rare.

[Anonymous]

I've always been thin and then had an eating disorder and was even thinner for a few years. DH got REALLY excited when I got more toned and athletic.

[Anonymous]

People who are fit and athletic usually have a glow and vigor which are much more attractive than just being slim.

[Anonymous]

Fit and toned, but not super muscular is preferable.

[Anonymous]

thin and athletic

[Anonymous]

I asked, and he said he prefers in the middle: fit and thin but with curves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who are fit and athletic usually have a glow and vigor which are much more attractive than just being slim.

+1

The advice i was given from a personal trainer: if you’re purely motivated by looking hot, you will look hotter by gaining 5 lbs of muscle than you will losing 5 lbs of fat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I asked, and he said he prefers in the middle: fit and thin but with curves.

Bingo.

Too muscular get a little masculine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am naturally thin (not a result of diet/exercise) and have been very fit and athletic at times in my life, and also not fit at times in my life. But always thing because that's my natural body type.

I have had a couple boyfriends tell me explicitly during my "not fit" eras that they liked that I was thin without being super hard bodied. They liked that my body was "soft" so to speak. It had never occurred to me that this was a distinction a man might make, but I do understand it. A soft body feels different than a hard body, especially when you are intimate. There is also a power dynamic here. Most men like to feel like the more physically strong partner in a heterosexual relationship (not all) and a small, soft body is therefor their ideal. This is not a humblebrag, by the way -- this was a disturbing discovery for me to make because it is uncomfortable to realize that the man you are with values your physical weakness. It's a mind f***. I didn't marry one of those men, fyi.

However, especially as we age, there are fewer and fewer people who can be thin but soft. And so most men have to choose. Some choose soft, and actually like women who are curvier with more cushioning. They are okay with a woman who is bigger, and might even like it, because what they really like is that softness. And some choose thin, accepting this means a harder body. But I don't think most men really like a harder a body, most of the time.

IME, the men who actively prefer a hard bodied woman tend to be very fit themselves, and are often very physically imposing. They can be with hard bodied women and still feel like the strong one.

There is a tiny minority of straight (so not including bi men) guys who don't feel the need to be the physically dominant partner, for whom these rules don't apply. They are rare.

Hmm. I think you are taking too dark a view of why many men like their female partners to have some softness to them. Some people just appreciate the contrast or the cozy feel of some curves.

[Anonymous]

I know they say women can’t bulk up from weightlifting, but I disagree, especially if she has a larger build to start from, you can see the chunk. And if she’s short the effect is magnified even further on her proportions. I think in a classical sense, naturally shapely courtesy of a healthy hormonal profile is what’s most attractive. But men are attracted to women with a pulse if they’re around them long enough, so who cares what they think.

[Anonymous]

Meth addicts are thin but are they attractive?
https://www.methproject.org/answers/will-using-meth-change-how-i-look.html#Mug-Shot-Match-Up