We don’t care what you think, and you should not care what we think. Our bodies, our business.

Most people are not in the obese zone where I live (in the DMV) and when I drive a little ways away I suddenly feel very svelte with my 23 BMI.

Personally, I’ve been in the overweight zone post partum and then again as menopause ramped up, and I just felt horrible—like I was wearing a fat suit. I work hard to maintain my current weight because that’s the current weight that feels right. I can’t imagine what I’d need to do to get to a 17/18 BMI and I don’t know anyone who is trying to achieve that.

Society (and a lot of parents) start shaming young women for putting on the extra fat that naturally comes with puberty. The media reinforces. It’s an ingrained self-loathing that’s hard to shake.

I think a key part here is that being very thin looks much better on a 20 year old than a 50 year old. In middle age you lose the fat in the face and neck and end up looking very bony and stringy. Being slightly overweight (not obese) can be more attractive then.

Anonymous wrote:Most women in the DMV are overweight or obese.

Hence the popularity of the Skinny Jeans!

Well I work decently hard to be a 21.5, so not sure who is a 17!

Most women in the DMV are overweight or obese.

Anonymous wrote:I never understood woman who want to maintain a BMI 17-18 even if it makes them look haggard , thin hair , lose their curves , etc. .

Unless you are a petite woman who risks looking like a bowling pin , most woman look good with extra 10 lbs of fat especially in the hips /thighs .

this is not where my extra 10 goes. It goes to face and belly. Notta good look, believe me.

Anonymous wrote:Women in America suffer from high rates of obesity, according to the CDC

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data-and-statistics/index.html

It’s 41.3%

Women in America suffer from high rates of obesity, according to the CDC

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data-and-statistics/index.html

Anonymous wrote:You don’t see women with BMI of 17/18. Most women in DMV are 30+.

True.

I'm living in Asia for my job, and women here tend to be BMI 17-18. They have thick hair and perfect skin, and even the elderly seem to be so much more active and healthy than the old people back in the US.

You don’t see women with BMI of 17/18. Most women in DMV are 30+.

Anonymous wrote:I never understood woman who want to maintain a BMI 17-18 even if it makes them look haggard , thin hair , lose their curves , etc. .

Unless you are a petite woman who risks looking like a bowling pin , most woman look good with extra 10 lbs of fat especially in the hips /thighs .

Not everyone puts weight on their hips and thighs. I can put on weight until I'm huge, but its all above the waist, horrible.

I never understood woman who want to maintain a BMI 17-18 even if it makes them look haggard , thin hair , lose their curves , etc. .

Unless you are a petite woman who risks looking like a bowling pin , most woman look good with extra 10 lbs of fat especially in the hips /thighs .