Body Shaming|Health

Careful How You Talk to Skinny People

We have feelings too.

I’ve always been on the thin side. My dad called me “skinny” all my life, but I wonder if that’s just because he forgot my name. My sisters used to tease me and call me ‘big head little body’ because I had this big fro hair and a skinny little body.

My whole life, I’ve been small. I’ve also always been into fitness. I was a Personal Trainer and Aerobics Instructor at the local YMCA and eventually got into bodybuilding. I was in my early 40s, I think, when I did the latter.

It was a great way for me to push my body past ‘being skinny’ and into ‘being fit.’

People just called me skinny anyway.

When I was pregnant, I only gained baby weight and then lost it all after he was born. I was back in a bikini in no time. I’ve just never had to worry about my weight.

And then I got sick.

My entire life, I’ve sat comfortably between 125 and 128 lbs, but last year, I got very sick and dropped down to 115. That’s a lot for me. At that low weight, I look dangerously ill, and I don’t feel healthy at all.

Once I started feeling better again, the real struggle began...put some weight back on.