This is for anyone who has been insulted because of their size or is uncomfortable with their size: Don't feel inferior. You look just as good as anyone else does and just because one person thinks you are "too big", doesn't mean everyone you meet will feel the same way. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. Besides skinny is not for everybody. I myself prefer larger sized males, but this is not about me. Please remember that you are beautiful no matter how many people say otherwise and there will always be someone who thinks you are perfect, but first you have to believe it. I hope I have been inspirational to anyone reading this who isn't confident about their size. If you have a reply email it to babystace11212@yahoo.com

believe

I've always been a "big girl"; everyone always said, "its okay, you're just big-boned." as i got older, i got bigger, fatter. I've tried different things, to no avail. When I'me feeling down, or someone has the audacity to insult me, I just close my eyes and begin repeating (chanting) "They're just jealous. I'm a big beautiful woman. They're just mad that they'll never be/have anything like me!" It helps a little bit. well, that's my 2 bits, eat 'em up!!

As someone who's been through the ups and downs of eating disorders, I just want to say, even if you think being thin will make you happier, it won't. The only way to be happy, is to except yourself as you are. Although, it's important to have a healthy diet, if you are naturally over weight, then there's nothing wrong with that. Just because you aren't as thin as the girl from Ally McBeal, doesn't make you any less of a woman. It's impossible to be happy when you're starving yourself, or vomitting everything you eat. That's a terrible way to go. Last winter I weighed about 100 pounds, and got bronchitis 4 times. Does that sound like the happy life? It's not, trust me.

Well, what if traditional diet and exercise do not work?

I was very, very thin until I turned 11 or 12 and (forgive me, all you guys who post on here) started the process of becoming a woman. Then, all of a sudden, with absolutely NO change in my eating habits, I gained over 20 pounds in a month, and continued to gain at that rate for about 3 or 4 months. This was no "Chee-Tohs"- only diet, Snatch. I don't appreciate your little insinuation there. It is in some way connected to genetic changes that happen to the women in my family during puberty. It happened to my mother, my two older cousins, and both of my grandmothers. I've seen younger pictures of myself where you can see every bone in my body. I was 10 then, and weighed 95 pounds. By age 11, I weighed 145. WHAT THE HE11 HAPPENED? I don't know, but it's like a switch gets flicked off, and all of a sudden you're fat. All of a sudden, you burst your pants wide open. All of a sudden, you have people like Snatch thinking you sit around and snack all day when really you've starved yourself completely, no food at all, for almost a full week in a desperate attempt to GET THOSE GOD-DARNED POUNDS OFF.

But enough of that. Today, I am a happily-settled 273 pounds. I am a fairly tall woman (about 5'8"), so I don't really look that fat. It surprised me when the doctors' office scale was reading that. But I have realized that most of that weight is muscle, gained over the summer when I walked so much at Governor's School for six weeks. Sure, I have a poochy tummy. It symbolizes wealth, prosperity, and good fortune to some cultures. I like to think that if I had been born in the Renaissance time period, I would have been considered beautiful. But why not now, huh? "No Fat Chicks" indeed.

Peace,

Birdy

i think being bigger is fine. i mean, some people are naturally big and some are small, so sometimes its not ur fault either. and i agree somewhat with snatch. if ur dont like being big or getting teased, why dont u do something about it?

-ME

Living with anorexia and not being able to talk to your Mom must be terrible for you. We would like to offer a hotline number for you to call,1-800-931-2237 which is the number for The National Eating Disorders Association and is a hotline where you can request more information on any topic relating to eating disorders. The Renfrew Center Foundation also has a hotline you can call and get tons of information on eating disorders and treatment. Their number is 1-800-RENFREW.

We'd also like to encourage you to check out an article we featured on eating disorders, Be the Solution: Eating Disorders

Im overweight, I have no fears about showing myself to the world, if Im fat then I have had something to get all those friends around there!! Dont be ashamed of yourself!!!

it is hard to stop i need some one to talk to
i cant talk to my mom she whould get mad and i dont wont her to worry about me

snatch41, you really need to get a clue. Some people are just naturally heavy. Maybe they're wide-hipped and look big, maybe they have a glandular problem, you never know. I have a friend who was always big, but she was very healthy and in great shape. She ran, swam, biked, roller-bladed, hiked, etc. all the time; she was the most active person I know. However, she was constantly harrassed about her weight, and ended up with an eating disorder. She became obsessive about exercise, counted calories before eating anything, and would starve herself until she passed out. Now she's down to a size 5, but has no energy, looks ill, and feels terrible about herself. Thanks to people with ignorant comments like yours.

oh, i apologize i just realized after posting my previous message about eating disorders that the topic wasn't that at all, but rather about prejudices about weight.
well i guess i'll redeem myself by saying my view on that topic as well;lol.hope you forgive me, anyways
usa is a country which blooms on advertisements. everywhere you look you see an ad board, or in stores all these magazines, in malls dressed up dolls which have perfect figures, on and on. what's sad is that all of those that i just mentioned are filled with unrealistic looking figures of people who live to look like that so that they can make money off of what they do as a model. (that choice of career is sad too if you ask me) anyways, every day people don't have time to worry about their figure 24/7 because they have hectic lives that don't only revolve around eating and working out so that those intaken calorise get burned off. in any case, it's hard though when everwhere you look all you see is these superstars that serve as rolemodels who look so perfect and therefore of course we look up to them or admire them and so we want to look like them. no, i am not saying that the way to solve the problem is to have fat superstars,no. what i am saying is that our society needs to face the reality and start putting some real average looking people up on those ads, because really so far all they've created is a "Twiggy"obsessed society that believes people like Gesele or Claudia Shiffer are how every girl should like like. BS!! sorry about my language but seriously, teens need to wake up and look beyond the superficiality of life and stereotypes but actually try and look further then that when looking at someone or meeting them for the first time. anyways, talk to you later b'bye

ok, well i've been reading some of the message boards that people put up about eating disorders and i wanted to participate in it by sharing what i know about it.
for the last three years i've been dealing with eating disorders. First it was anorexia for about 6 months and then extreme obsessions about how much i eat and what i eat and if i do eat then i'd excersice compulsivelly. In any case, about a year ago i began having bulimia nervousa. Recently i've come to terms with my eating habits, but still no matter what the desire to be thin and feel more confident and in control of my life will always linger in my mind.
In any case, during these past 3 colmotuous years i've read,listened to and watched a lot of informative things about eating disorders. What i can say is that in all my research and experiences with it, it is correct to say how it all boils down to control, although not quite. For, believe me if it was that simple then i wouldn't have this problem. Rather,i heard one psychiatrist once say "people with eating disorders have lost the sense of self; not only do they long for control of something physically consequental, but also some type of meaning in their lives." That right there is the core of it all. People like me and so many others who deal with this every day, truly do consume themselves in only food and how much they eat and when they eat. Yes, of course we go on with our every day lives, but we wake up and go to bed worrying constantly about the way we look and food. That doesn't sound like someone who know's their place in the world and function to fulfill. No matter how perfect we may seem on the outside, eventually the inside will crack through. anyhow, that's it for tonight, good night
EuroTamara

Hey everybody, I know how it feels to be made fun of or disliked by people who were cruel and ignorant. But that was back in Elementary. I don't take that kinda crap. And you know what? People DO grow up. If ur in High School or even older and still making fun of people for the things they already feel insecure about, then maybe you should check ur own insecurities and think about them for a while. GROW UP! And for those who are being made fun of, you deserve as much respect as anybody. Demand it!

I am a pretty average girl.I have medium thighs,but big hips and a big butt.I look "thick" but I am quite skinny.I have a flat stomach.I don't think size matters.I have two plus size friends and they do not care about their size but they exerscise a lot like I do.I have a exerscise bike and I walk and run and all those other things.One of my friend is in a dance class.I think people who treat overweight people wrong need to change.America is becoming more overweight.If you don't accept it then you never know,those people could slim down and you could be in their old shoes.Treat others the way you want to be treated.Some girls are insecure at some ages and during jr. high and High School.Some have commited suicide because people make fun of them.It needs to stop.

PEACE!!!!!!!


**Courtney**
Daddy's Girl
Momma's Girl
I am a Only Child!

Listen, everyone has problems. Whether you are too fat, too skinny, too short or too tall. But you should realize that people who judge you based on your looks aren't worth your time anyway. You need to like the person you are before anyone else can. And if you have confidence in yourself, it reflects and people see it. But don't pity yourself....and don't expect a whole lot of pity from others, everyone has problems like I said before and we all just have to learn how to grow and deal w/ them!

Instead of sitting at your computer eating cheetohs and complaining...you could you know, do something about it. Get an exercise bike or something. Diet, stuff like that. I found the only weigh to NOT be an out of shape slightly overweight person like I was, was to not complain and work out. Getting into school athletics is a really good start. At one point I only weighed 138 pounds after one year of a brutal athletic program, down from 160. Now I weigh 160 again but it's muscle. Get up off your duff and go jogging.

I am an overweight teen too., but I don't suffer the way you do. When I moved here, I was instantly accepted and have great friends who love me for who I am. I had hata's too, but I gave them a peice of my mind and we tight now. Maybe instead of letting the comments slide, show them what a good person you are. That will make them feel ashamed for what they've done and change them for the better.

I am constantly asked if I have an eating disorder, even by my best friend. I eat enough for me - I never make myself feel hungry. However a lot of the time I overeat with friends to prove to them that I don't have a disorder. This is no fun either.

You have probobly heard this many times but there is no problem with you. I am nly 15 so don't think I am just some adult trying to give good advice. People who make comments like you are too fat are the ones with the problem because it takes someone who has one in order to ever say something like that. If you are comfortable with the way you are then except it and don't let what anyone says about you affect you. Remember, even the most beautiful and talented people in the world have enemies who despise them for one reason or another but others still admire them for what they do and who they are.

Well it depends how "skinny" you are! I have a REALLY skinny friend but shes just really athletic she eats all the time! so it all depends! im skinny and ppl jusst comment on if i have a eating disorder or i need to gain weight i like how i am and i wouldnt change!

Skinny people can have it hard as well. I'm constantly being asked if I have some sort of eating disorder, which I don't. It makes me uncomfortable when someone asks me something like that. I'm also tall, so for me, shopping is hell. I hate it. I can never find pants that fit. Either they are too big, or too short. I wish I could put on some weight, but this is just the way I am. I eat like an average teenage girl. My excercise consists of dance classes, twice a week. Everyone in this world is different, we all have our problems. The important thing is to understand this diversity, and learn how to respect each and every person on earth.