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| Photo credit: luigi diamanti |
Thing is, I've been lucky enough never to struggle with weight gain over the years. When I went past the age of 30 (*cough* over 6 years ago) I finally felt normal.
Up until then, in school especially, I was always the 'skinny' one. I got teased in primary school for being thin. "Ethiopian" I'd hear them shout. Kids can be so bloody cruel! I had HUGE ridiculous glasses too which were 'all the rage' then apparently. Oddly though, I never struggled with male attention - despite looking like the off-spring of Deirdre Barlow!
In my teens I was still thin but once I turned 21 I started to fill out a lot more but I was still very slim. In my mid twenties I was happier with my body and my stomach was so toned/slim that I had a feminine 6-pack. I've never gone over a size 10-12 (38-40) and I know a lot of people, friends included, who would kill for that.
However, when I hit my late 20's/early 30's that's when I developed what's known in our family as 'The Robinson legs'. They stem from my Mums side of the family. Mum too, like me, had a great set of pins on her when she was younger but all of a sudden they filled out. The same thing has happened to me. I hate my legs. Actually, no, I loathe my legs. I hate the summer time when everyone starts wearing shorts. Most of the time you'll see me in linen trousers even when it's scorching - that's how much I hate them. They also never tan so they resemble the shade of Casper The Friendly Ghost most of the time.
People always think that thinner people are happy with their bodies - they aren't. I still squirm and get offended when someone calls me 'skinny' and I point out my thighs to them. I guess those are scars from my school days that have never really healed.
I put on 3 stone in weight when I was pregnant with Mini Cheddar. 6 months of solid breast-feeding saw the weight come straight off. Since having her my body has taking a battering. I don't have any stretch-marks but my boobs have headed south and it's my belly that's starting to become a problem. I'm forever sucking in it for fear of
I've just tried a new top on that I've bought. It's lovely but it ties under my boobs. I study myself in the mirror. In my eyes I look pregnant. I'm not sure if it's the cut of the top or the fact that most of my old maternity tops were cut in this way so I'm just paranoid that people will think I'm expecting. BMC (Before Mini Cheddar) I was always wearing tops like that.
Mind you, before I had Mini Cheddar I could sneeze without thinking I was going to pee my pants.
I guess times have changed.
