Are you happy with how your body looks?

No, not really.

eh, no, but i’ve tried exercising more and doing different things and it never really changes. im not overweight but i could use some work. nothing seems to work though so ive become discouraged. oh well, i like to eat.

My body, yes. My energy level, no. I’m blessed with good genes and have always been around the same size. In the last year, though, I haven’t really exercised as much I’d like (and should) and, thus, I lack energy.

A friend of mine joined a running club. The plan for me is to get back into my morning runs and when my body is up to snuff, I’m gonna join the club.

what @deni said. ^^

Yea i mean i could lose a few pounds but i’m thick, i got nice boobs and a nice donk so i like how I look

I’m with @LuhvKiller. I’m a little thicker around the middle than I’d like but my boobs are gorgeous and I don’t want to rock that boat.

No, but then I have arthritis, a herniated disk, bad feet, and torn ACLs, and I need to lose a lot of weight (down about 30 pounds so far, though). Nevertheless, I go to the gym three times a week and do some other form of exercise the other days of the week.

I’ve got great abs. They are just protected by a warm insulating layer of fat.

Several years ago I lost about 200 lbs, which was a big health improvement, but left me in a deflated suit of saggy skin that will never re-conform to my body without surgical intervention, which I cannot afford and am not sure I want, so perversely, something that one would imagine would have made me more conventionally attractive left me feeling embarrassed about going around without a shirt.

I do the Tae-Bo thing! It makes me feel pretty good when I do it. But no I don’t like my body!

Yea, i cant complain.

im lucky enough to have a really good metabolism.

Nope. I think that I have a defective mirror. It tries to pretend that I am looking more and more like my father. I am sure that I am not that old.

Looks don’t mean anything to me, but I will be healthier when I lose 50 pounds.

Yep.

Generally satisfied. I’m pretty skinny, but it’s not a problem. I’m not muscular, but I’m not wimpy either. I’m just small: short, skinny, and don’t weigh very much. Some people would might not be satisfied with that, but it’s never bothered me. As for looks, I’ve never had a problem with my looks.

<shrugs>
Could be worse

Not particularly. Having three kids wreaked havoc on my figure. Plus, I love to cook and I love to eat. I finally stopped hoping I’d magically wake up in shape one day and started working out with a personal trainer. It’s been 2 months, and I’ve lost a little over 10 pounds. Also lost a total of 14 inches off my measurements (2 each on my hips and waist!). I’m being more careful about what I eat and how much, but not super-crazy with the diet. Progress is being made, clothes I haven’t worn for quite a while are being worn, and I like the feeling of accomplishment when I think of what I was capable of the first time I met with my trainer compared to what I’m capable of now.

@DarkScribe From what you’ve shared about your father’s life and health, you wouldn’t be doing badly if you emulate him!

@pdworkin a deflated suit of saggy skin that will never re-conform to my body without surgical intervention

Isn’t it improving as time goes past? In areas where there has been major starvation or in concentration camps, no one, even those who started out fat, seem to retain that loose skin. It is something that I have noticed and been curious about. I did not lose as much as you, but when I got cancer I lost seventy-plus pounds and had some loose skin but it went before I began putting any weight back on (Four years.)

I have very good eyesight, thank you very much.

When I was younger my skin was more elastic, but I was in my 50s this time, and I have pretty much looked saggy for the last 7 years or so.

No, not particularly. By my own standards, I am quite out of shape. I also have scars on my breasts from a breast reduction that didn’t “take” so that sucks. I’m hoping a surgeon can effectively help my out with that. Um, I also have acne scars on my back and face. I’m working on all that though I’ll be perfect one day

@pdworkin When I was younger my skin was more elastic, but I was in my 50s this time, and I have pretty much looked saggy for the last 7 years or so.

Possible with me it was partly because I worked to lose the weight in order to control medically acquired diabetes without drugs – as well as the cancer. I ate a carb reduced calorie controlled dirt and exercised daily. I burned off even the immediate subcutaneous fat. A fold of skin was less that five or six mm (1/8 inch) – I looked like a skeleton draped in flannel – and once I reached that level my skin began to shrink – probably as there was no more fat to burn and I was working out to reduce muscle atrophy.

I suppose, I am a tall and skinny guy.

Do you?

Yeah. Like @uberbatman, thank God for fast metabolisms…

Getting there. My hope is that others will too.

@le_inferno

Seriously. But what’s gonna happen it suddenly slows down? I don’t wanna get fat later in life… :\

Some days I think I look good. Other days, not so much. I guess it just kind of depends.

Haha, yeah @DominicX, especially after I have kids :X… I’m just trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

I’m very happy that my body works the way I want it to. Very. It looks OK, and after how it look earlier the year, I’m pleased with it, though I know I have a few lbs. to go to where I’d like it to be. I’m not worried that I’ll get there. It still works well, is the most important thing.

Are you kidding?!?!?! Look. There are industries built around the idea that everyone is unhappy with how their bodies look. If you can grow up in today’s culture without ever being unhappy with your body, then you’re one in a million.

Companies make billions because of this. So do shrinks, who get to try to help people with poor self image. It causes all kinds of ailments and stress.

Frankly, we’d probably all be better off if we could wear selective blindfolds that didn’t allow us to see each others bodies all that well. I think that the day I feel good about how I look will be the day after I die.

I’m pretty happy with my current body. I am gaining more than I’d like during this pregnancy, but I know I’m not overeating or eating too many unhealthy things…my doctor thinks I’m just a “gainer” during pregnancy. Lame.
I know I’ll lose it though. I love going for really long walks, and doing pilates. After I have this baby, I’ll do what I can to lose the weight. But, it’s not just about losing the weight..I have to get in shape, which is different and takes core muscle exercise. I like doing that though.

@Daloon You’re absolutely right.

@le_inferno It’s not always that bad after having children. I was at my healthiest after having my second child. I was in better shape at the age of 30 than I was when I was 18. :)

@jonsblond haha, I seriously don’t understand why people think having a child completely ruins you. Yes it may suck for those 9 months and some time after, but I was totally in the best shape of my life after my son. I was a healthy weight and exercising so much because of my son. Having a kid isn’t the end of the world people, geez! Oh and I hope I bounce back after my second like you did! Was it as easy after the third?

@casheroo No. sigh I blame Fluther! ;) Seriously though, if I would get off of the computer and exercised like I used to I could easily lose the weight that I need to.

@casheroo I guess that’s true, it’s just a scary thought to think of how much your body is stretched out. Like everything is so saggy and deflated and stretch-marked afterwards.

Interesting question. I love how I look. Didn’t always. Insofar as how my feelings appropriate real life… all I can really know is that I began to measure up more to my idea of what looks good. I love loving how I look now after not liking my looks as a teen. I like measuring up.

I know I ought to divorce myself from that sort of thinking in preparation for the day when I look in the mirror and wonder who this old woman is. And because, as a few above have pointed out, looks oughtn’t matter. I shouldn’t be so pleased that I somewhat approximate the current standard for sexiness that our culture has propagated.

Or maybe I shouldn’t mind so much that I am, in fact, pleased – after all, isn’t being anti-establishment, as a reactionary stance, still acting in response to the establishment and thus being controlled by it to some extent? Neurotic logic-circles aside, I have become fairly self-voyeuristic over the past few years, especially when I shed a few pounds. Perhaps vanity is something I can only accept about myself.

@DominicX I had an amazingly fast metabolism in college, but then my stomach went crazy and I’ve now started to experience the beginnings of the slowing metabolism. It is a bit tricky, but I’ve found that adjusting to it is a matter of two things: smaller portioning (Americans are trained to eat as much as is in front of them), and eating slowly in order to pay attention to how hungry you are as you continue to eat. It’s easy to overshoot the fullness-feeling and end up feeling like a log unless I eat in stages. I imagine this will get much worse in the future, as I am only in my mid-twenties.

@le_inferno My body is not saggy or deflated.

nope, but since the part I am most unhappy with involves bone structure, there ain’t much I can afford to do about it. There are a couple of particular body areas I am not happy with, but the surgery is much more dangerous than the supposed defect, so I just have to live with it, I guess.

@jonsblond come to the party, we’ll scare the fat right off you. hee hee

Although the BMI says I weigh too much, I’ve never had a doctor tell me I weigh too much, and visually, I am not overweight. (I’m not skinny, though.) I’ve got curves in all the right places (or so I’ve been told). At least my butt’s not flat. :P

For the most part, I am okay with how I look, although I’d love to be a bit thinner (especially in the areas where I carry my weight). However, my weight stays very constant, no matter what I do (or don’t). So I try not to worry about it. :D

And I’d love to be a few inches taller: it’s hard being only a little over 5 ft.

I often wonder who that old broad in the mirror could be. But all in all it’s not that bad. I have lost about 5 k over the last couple of months and without the elasticity of youth (& hormones) my skin doesn’t fit as well as it used to. I am pretty fit and I am healthy, what more could I ask for! (although in my next life, I am going to be 5’10, and willowy).

@evegrimm Be glad you’re not under five foot, like me (4’11.5”) or my bf’s sister (4’10”). Though actually, I’ve always kind of enjoyed my height. It’s kind of a kick being so small. However, it does make going to concerts quite annoying.

@wildpotato, that’s a good point!

My aunt is the same height as me, but much much much thinner, and she’s always pegged as “short” and somewhat “dainty”, whereas people don’t even realise I’m short, most of the time.

However, I don’t really mind being short, it’s just that, given the choice, I’d rather be my mom’s height (5’4”).

(And being short, gaining weight is much more apparent than on a taller person; similarly, taller people can get away with being heavier and it’s still considered “healthy”.)

No, I don’t feel good and even though I’ve tried over the years to go on a diet and lose some weight, the best I can achieve is stay stable at around 10kg (20lb) heavier than I’d like to be.

Just as an aside, I don’t think I’m alone in saying that a woman is never more beautiful than she is when pregnant. I think a pregnant woman’s body is just an absolutely arresting sight, and if you think you looked bad during your pregnancy, I beg to differ.

@daloon You make a good point. I think, however, there’s a difference between being unhappy with your looks overall and wanting to improve on things that are easily within your control. There are things I didn’t like about my body when I was younger and didn’t know what a great thing I had going on like my very fair skin and freckles. I used to be very self-conscious about wearing shorts and would never wear a bikini. Now, I could care less how white my legs are. If it’s hot, I’m wearing shorts. If you don’t want to get blinded by the glare, avert your eyes!

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to look your best, unless it is an unhealthy preoccupation or your own happiness depends on how others see you. I’m basically a content and happy person. I just want to have fun shopping for clothes again. ;)

For the most part, yes I do feel happy with my body. Of course there are certain things I would change (I wish I was taller for example) but it’s not the end of the world and I am certainly not hung up about it. My issues tend to be with my personality and worrying about how others find my personality rather than the physical part of myself.

Absolutely. I’ve been training hard since I was a kid and I look like a Greek statue. But the interesting question that I ask myself in philosophical moments is, “Does it actually improve my life?” And to be honest, I’m not sure. It’s good to feel energetic all the time, and (some) women like it, but most men just seem kind of intimidated. I think it really does interfere with making normal (non-gym rat) male friends.

@Brahmaviharas I’ve been training hard since I was a kid and I look like a Greek statue

All pale and white and with bits broken off?

(Just kidding.)

It’s a mixed bag for me, I’m at a good weight, I eat healthy and stay active, but I have stretch marks on my stomach from two 9+lb kids… they’re getting lighter as the years go by, and the skin has tightened, but it’s still incredibly unsightly to me. (If I could afford a ‘tummy tuck’ I’d have one in a heart-beat!)

@DarkScribe, “I ate a carb reduced calorie controlled dirt” LOL! That would certainly do it for me!
Seriously, though, my husband has a family history of diabetes, and a low-carb diet has helped him not only take off 40+ pounds, but keep it off. As for me, I weigh about 10 pounds more than I’d like (although he tells me I look great for an old broad!) but if I get back on the exercise plan & quit eating Butterfingers I can take care of that.
So, yeah, I’m pretty much ok with how I look.

No. I had pneumonia for the last few years in a row mixed in with bouts of bronchitis and each time my body ate itself faster than I could feed it which wrecked havoc on my boobs which I used to love and also my arms and legs pretty much lost all muscle tone and went to just skin. Firming up and filling out is a pain.

@pdworkin I agree, pregnant women look awesome. @YARNLADY , i have about the exact same answer for this.

Yes I like my body a lot and I hope it stays this way for as long as possible!

Yes.

I feel blessed to be slightly chubby but with the chub evenly distributed into an hour glass shape. It’s all about how you carry it, no?

sigh. with a name like chubbychu? I don’t think so. :sigh:

Mostly. I’m about 6 ft tall and weigh between 148 and 152 pounds.But I have my good days and bad days.You just have to learn to care care of yourself by feeding the body with nutritious food and doing exercise you actually LIKE everyday AND NOT COMPARING YOURSELF TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NATURALLY THIN AND WOULDN’T KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE WHEN YOU HAVE TO WATCH WHAT YOU EAT AND CAN’T EAT AHYTHING UNDER THE SUN BECAUSE OF THAT AND ALL THE HEALTH ISSUES THAT RUN IN YOUR FAMILY.

I’m happy with my weight and the way I look with clothes on. I weigh about the same as I always have and I pretty much stopped growing at age 16. I’m about 42 now and I weigh 120 at 5’4”. What I’m not happy with is the stretchmarks, thin breasts and small varicose veins on my thighs due to pregnancy/breastfeeding. I have thought about getting it surgically fixed (cosmetic surgery) but I’m afraid of the actual cutting and drugs involved in the procedure. I would love to see myself in a bikini for once in my life.