Can you tell the difference between naturally thin and unhealthy thin?

[Anonymous]

I'm under my target body weight and constantly wonder what people are thinking -- it wasn't my fault, I went thru a hard time, was depressed, and ended up losing a lot for an already thin person.

I'm working on gaining it back, but problem is I have stomach issues. So when I go out to eat with someone, I'm SO careful about what I eat and how much I eat bc I don't want to feel sick. To me going out is about sitting around and talking, but I honestly feel like other women watch what/how much I'm meeting and then make comments about -- oh, you never eat.

I can see how it must look. But I eat when/what I want to eat as long as I'm feeling well -- if I want a burger I have a burger; I have no problems eating high calorie things like candy. So I hope people realize that it's more of a health issue I'm working out that I don't want to discuss, yet I feel like many women don't give anyone the benefit of the doubt. If you're too skinny you're automatically disordered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:sallow complexion vs. rosy complexion

thin, dry hair vs. shiny thicker hair

low muscle tone vs. tighter muscles.

dark circles that are not hereditary

Poor posture while standing and sitting. someone who has a strong core will sit up straight and walk with shoulders back and lots of confidence. Someone with a weak core will shuffle when they walk, hunched over a bit.

This seems wrong to me too. I am naturally thin and do not exercise. I have a weak core, bad posture, low muscle tone (genetically speaking), dry skin and hair.

[Anonymous]

I am laughing through this ridiculous thread. All of a sudden, thin is bad, and what's more, obesity is KILLING Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You guys sound crazy, I am in healthcare and you have no idea what you're talking about.

Enlighten us then. What are the markers to look for?

Stop looking!
First of all, many thin people who are "unhealthy" are just that. They might be suffering from an irreversible illness like scleroderma, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and a host of other conditions. So, yes there are unhealthy thin people, they don't need gawking.
Second, there are many many more unhealthy obese people.
Third, there is usually very little downside to being thin, or model thin, or what ever. As long as the person is not suffering from protein loss, they are fine.
Ultimately in women, if they are able to reproduce, they are generally fine. I am not saying that runners and other athletes who are amenorrheic are unhealthy.
Thin people are always going to feel colder. Less body fat means less insulation. So what?
Get over your ideas about slamming thin people. Just focus on your own lives.

You clearly have are unnaturally thin and quite defensive.

[Anonymous]

I'm naturally very thin - now that I'm almost 40 I do think having a bit more meat on my bones would be good.

My old boss, an older woman who was pretty aggressive about everything and was a yeller which is always fun in a professional setting, seemed to like me but would pick on my weight and used to question my weight all the time, it was embarrassing. But if you look at my wrists, they are tiny. I have a very small frame and I'm not meant to carry a lot of weight. I eat healthy, a lot of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, lots of olive oil, avocado, nuts and peanut butter, mostly plant based but not vegetarian and I get plenty of protein. I'm a light exerciser - a fair bit of walking, some light weight training at home when I can squeeze in squats etc.

I eat when I am hungry and probably take in more calories than a lot of women my age, though again I do eat healthy. We will see what my metabolism does in the next few years.

[Anonymous]

i cannot gain weight if I try. Freshman year of college, I basically ate nothing but cookies, peanut butter, and beer, and I gained no weight. I now eat decently balanced/healthy food, and I gain no weight. I exercise, and I do not lose/gain weight. My body just adjusts, I guess.

Disappointing that apparently people are hypothesizing about eating disorders behind my back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not always the case but you can usually tell when someone isn't naturally thin because of their face. For some reason, their face stays pudgy in a way (kinda hard for me to describe) like Kelly Ripa or Maria Menounos. They're both thin but their face really doesn't fit their thin bodies.

Bulimia or fillers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like people on this board assume all skinny people have disordered eating habits. However I feel like I can usually tell, even if two people are the same size, which one comes about it naturally and which one starves, does coke, over exercises, etc. The hair, musculature, skin, and around the eyes gives it away for me.

When she's invisible in silhouette she's too thin. When she can hide behind a fence post she's too thin. When she has to buy her clothes in the childrens' department she's too thin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am laughing through this ridiculous thread. All of a sudden, thin is bad, and what's more, obesity is KILLING Americans.

Nice try, but no one said that, and being too thin is a worse health risk than all forms of overweight except the most morbid obesity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:sallow complexion vs. rosy complexion

thin, dry hair vs. shiny thicker hair

low muscle tone vs. tighter muscles.

dark circles that are not hereditary

Poor posture while standing and sitting. someone who has a strong core will sit up straight and walk with shoulders back and lots of confidence. Someone with a weak core will shuffle when they walk, hunched over a bit.

This seems wrong to me too. I am naturally thin and do not exercise. I have a weak core, bad posture, low muscle tone (genetically speaking), dry skin and hair.

Then you're not healthy. What's so unbelievable about that?

Sorry but good health shows in your outward appearance. Sick people don't look good on the outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You look at certain bones, like the ones around the wrist. You watch behaviors, especially around food. As a recovered anorexic, I can watch some people and know exactly what they're doing.

While I think most movie stars have disordered relationships to food simply by the nature of their business and the requirements they face, not all have illnesses.

Agree... I think the elbow bones sometimes look weird on people I assume have disorders (but I don't know).

Re: the bolded part above: What are they doing?

[Anonymous]

Why are people looking at wrist bones? How do they differ for someone who is naturally say 5'6 and 110 lb vs. someone who has dieted to get to that weight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two of the most naturally thin women I know both have the start of hunchbacks.

That's from osteoporosis. It creates tiny fractures in the vertebrae, which causes the vertebrae to collapse. These compression fractures create the hunchback. There is actually a treatment for it (kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty) but you have to have it done pretty soon after the fracture.
Moral: do what you can to avoid osteoporosis.

[Anonymous]

OP, your obsession with others' weights is unhealthy. Get a life.

[Anonymous]

Two words: lollipop heads. Look at pics of Callista Flockheart from Her very skinny period. Head looked proportionally much bigger than her body. I've often seen this look on unnaturally skinny women.