It isn’t polite to ask a woman her age or her weight. This is something I was fairly clueless about until I hit college. I’ve never minded sharing my age or my weight, but then I’ve always been on the young/thin end of the scale which might have something to do with it. Now that I’m Thirty-One years old, my opinion that “age makes better” actually seems to have credence. I intend to continue to age and avoid the ridiculousness of celebrating anniversaries of 29th birthdays. On the matter of weight my opinion does not meet with so much acceptance. My opinion on matters of weight tends to be discounted simply because the genetic fairy hit me with the Wand of Thinness. If I try to join a conversation where women are discussing weight loss I get a scowl and a comment along the lines of “Like you’ve ever had a problem.” Slam. No more conversation for me. That hurts and so I’ve learned to keep my mouth shut.
In some ways the conversation-door-slammers are right. I’ve had four kids and I’m only 10 lbs heavier than I was when I got married. I’d like to trade some of that fat for muscle, but I know that there are women out there who have had no children at all and would be thrilled to weigh 128 lbs. Most of them are also significantly taller than I am. I’m short. Just under 5′ 3″. This means that if I want clothes to fit I have to buy petite sizes. (“petite” means “short”, not “small” by the way. I had that confused for years.)
On the other hand, the conversation-door-slammers are wrong. I’ve had four kids. My weight has been up close to 170 lbs. Only 10 lbs of that was baby and assorted liquid packaging. The remaining 40 lbs did not just melt away by itself. I had to learn how to control my diet and exercise regularly. The reason I haven’t lost those last 10 lbs is because it just hasn’t been important enough to me. If it was, I’d be exercising daily and eating more salad. I actually do have useful and important information about weight management. Like any information it may not apply to all situations, but he conversation-door-slammers will never get from me. They’ve taught me to keep my mouth shut.
Because you have four kids, I assumed you were older.
I started having kids relatively young. I was 22 when Kiki was born.
Hey, their loss!
Sometimes when people are in a position where they are often judged, they learn to judge others. It’s not fair, and it’s not nice.
I’ve gotten attitude too, about losing weight, about not losing weight, about being too thin, too fat, too hippy. I’m sorry that you have to go through it.
But I do know communities where your imput would be appreciated, no matter what weight you are. It’s just a matter of finding the right people sometimes. 🙂
Congrats on the weight loss by the way. You look great.
Nobody wants advice on weight loss
All right, not “nobody”. But far more people want sympathy than advice when it comes to talking about their weight. Because you hear so much about it in this counry that you get overdosed on it. After a while, the advice doesn’t sound like “advice”, it sounds like “what you’re doing to lose weight is WRONG! You need to do it MY way!” Regardless of what the person offering it actually says or means. It’s all rather depressing.
On a side note — it amuses me that you and I are quite close in height/weight/age. (I’m between 5’2″ & 5’3″, 136 lbs, and 34.) And it amazes me that I’m actually chronologically older than you are. Because you are, like, grown up and mature and stuff, and I know I’m just a kid. 😀
Re: Nobody wants advice on weight loss
It’s just the baggage that makes me seem grown up. Four little baggages in assorted sizes.