Dieting & clothes sizes

[DawnHRD]

What do you think of dieting (to stay thin, not as a medical requirement)? If you are a farang woman living in Thailand, are you OK with your size, or do you feel like an elephant against Thai women?
Do you find it easy to get clothes to fit you in Thailand?

According to British Elle (September 2006):

Since the 1950's, the average British bust has gone from 37 to 38 inches, waists from 27 to 34 inches and the average dress size has crept up from a size 14 to a 16.

But in the same issue (same page actually) they state:

In the US, you can now buy the ultra petite 00, which has a scary 21 inch waist

How do you feel about statements like the above?

[Wanderlust]

Hi Dawn,
Hope you don't mind me 'crashing' this thread! Those stats tie in with what I have observed in the past as regards the UK and the US - in the latter you tend to see either massively overweight people (men, women and children) or the ridiculously super fit, with the former being the majority. In the UK there are many more people in the middle ground, but with a tendency for the larger man and woman being more common, particularly the latter. I don't think anyone should 'diet' as such but they should change their eating and exercise habits permanently for their health (something I keep promising to do...). I can understand the pressure on women to be thin, either self imposed or from the media, but it has been proven that diets do not work in the long run. As an aside from that, as long as your health isn't threatened, and you are generally happy, then don't worry about it - quite a lot of men like a 'cuddly' woman - it's just that you won't find many of them in Thailand I don't think! I have often wondered how the larger woman feels when in Thailand when comparing against the majority of slim women, but the longer I have been here the more I have noticed the larger Thai ladies, and they seem to be happy enough. Don't forget the slim Thais will be looking at you and envying your bust and white skin...

[pookie]

I don't think anyone should 'diet' as such but they should change their eating and exercise habits permanently for their health (something I keep promising to do...).

Everybody "diets" though. Its a popular misconception that people either diet, or dont diet. All a diet is, is a way of giving the body the nutrients it craves. People in The West are given a poor diet, brought on by a combintion of low quality foods, which, in turn is brought on by cuthroat competition by the supermarkets, which, in turn brings its own set of problems for the supermarkets who need to show good profits to their shareholders year over year.
This means that all manner of goodness is taken out of the food chain, to be replaced by an excess of sugars, fats and other nasties (most of which is hidden in the labeling........if indeed they are required to state the crap they put in foods on said labels) to be replaced by cheaper, although nastier alternatives.
Its a merrygoround, but with a downward spiral to obesity, disease and early death for most of us. The governments of The West go on about an "ageing population" these days. Wait about 20 - 30 years and they will be saying the opposite, as more and more of us succumb to heart disease, cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, brought on by our "desire" to spend less and less on what we feed our faces with, in order to maximise what we have left over in our pockets for "the good things" in life

Pookie

[SuperTonic]

I don't think anyone should 'diet' as such but they should change their eating and exercise habits permanently for their health (something I keep promising to do...).

Everybody "diets" though. Its a popular misconception that people either diet, or dont diet. All a diet is, is a way of giving the body the nutrients it craves. People in The West are given a poor diet, brought on by a combintion of low quality foods, which, in turn is brought on by cuthroat competition by the supermarkets, which, in turn brings its own set of problems for the supermarkets who need to show good profits to their shareholders year over year.
This means that all manner of goodness is taken out of the food chain, to be replaced by an excess of sugars, fats and other nasties (most of which is hidden in the labeling........if indeed they are required to state the crap they put in foods on said labels) to be replaced by cheaper, although nastier alternatives.
Its a merrygoround, but with a downward spiral to obesity, disease and early death for most of us. The governments of The West go on about an "ageing population" these days. Wait about 20 - 30 years and they will be saying the opposite, as more and more of us succumb to heart disease, cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, brought on by our "desire" to spend less and less on what we feed our faces with, in order to maximise what we have left over in our pockets for "the good things" in life

Pookie

I couldn't agree more, and the daft thing is that with cutthroat competition comes low inflation and thus a perception that prices are going down (when in reality you're getting less even though you're paying less) and so wages don't keep up with the cost of the higher quality foods. The end result is that all people can afford is garbage, and the old-fashioned quality fresh food gets marketed under labels like 'organic' etc and seems relatively to be hideously expensive, when in reality it's just that our wages have gone down.

</end of rant against capitalism>

[PeteC]

A lot of stuff here, no pun intended. IMHO, if you want to lose weight, go low carb for a time, not forever. I've never known it not to work, along with increased exercise.

Overweight Britts and Americans is due to AQ and friends putting substances into our water and food chain system. They are smart buggers. Fatten us up so we can't fight. Anyway, sounds better than we just like to pig out. (They don't like that term)

Anyone overweight with lower back problems? If so, try to get down the closest as possible to the weight you were when you stopped growing. Back problems will vanish in a flash. Unless injury related but even then, you'll feel relief. If you were 180 lbs and now 200, try to get close to 180 again. Pete the poompui

PS: Cuddly Thai women are becoming more and more evident. Thank you KFC, Pizza Hut etc.

[Sultry]

If you are a farang woman living in Thailand, are you OK with your size, or do you feel like an elephant against Thai women?
Do you find it easy to get clothes to fit you in Thailand?

I'm okay with my size. I'm not a supermodel but I'm not fat either. However, this place is a nightmare for a girl who needs XL T-shirts. It really is.

Before I moved here, I packed loads and loads of T-shirts so I'd be able to 'survive' here. LOL!

[DawnHRD]

Take the point that diet is simply another word for nutrition, but I meant the way that most women would use it - ie reduce intake of food to reduce weight.

I'm with Sultry, I'm OK with my weight (Well, I'd like to lose a few pounds, but can't be bothered! ) But I often feel absolutely huge next to Thai women & I must admit, I am sometimes jealous of their petite figures.

Feeling that way is ridiculous, though, as I'm about 6 inches taller than your average Thai woman and have far bigger bone structure (British size 7 to 8 feet). I once lost 10 kilos in 10 days as a result of stress. Even with losing that weight, I was still probably heavier than most Thai women, but I looked revolting. My bust disappeared (I went from 36-38B down to 34A), I looked haggard & ill, all my clothes hung from me, I even went down a shoe size but I'll admit still feeling a weird thrill at being at my lowest weight, since my early teens.

I just feel the diet culture is very dangerous to women & that farang women in LOS must be more susceptible to the feeling that they need to lose weight, due to the fact that most Thai women are so small & slim

[mozzy]

Im working on the basis that I wont want to eat cake, biscuits and bread when Im in thailand and then I might lose a pound or two. With all that exotic fruit around I should be less tempted to eat chocolate. I suppose I will make it up with the beer and gin though. 2 weeks and counting - bring it on.

[sargeant]

I dont know about diet but i am huge. mrs sarge is a bit of a pompui but unlike her i have never learnt the art of getting 10 kilos in a 2 kilo bag she does it i keep telling her it aint good for her but she no rissom even though tell her i luv her as she is

[lambella]

I know this is a long time after the original but I wanted to give my perspective for anyone who is interested.
I am officialy obese and have struggled with my weight for many years. I also have an underactive thryoid which doesn't help. I am now in my late fifties and losing weight is not a big issue for me. I think about it sometime for health reasons only. The biggest prob with my size is buying clothes to fit. I can't and I don't. They have to be made and I use a couple of seamstresses in the Pranburi area. Now for some that is a luxury but it is not the same as wondering around the shops and spotting something delicious to buy and wear the same day!
I keep thinking of opening a shop and calling it Femme Farang with clothes made to fit a Western woman in all areas ie. body length, shoulder to waist, crotch to waist length, shoulder width, underarm size etc. Dream on.