This is piggyback on a post in the "what size do you want to be" thread.

Why is everyone here shooting for 10-12'ish? Why not single digits? We have the ability to be as skinny as we want. Why not shoot for a size similar to the people you see laying out in the sun in Miami or Malibu. Come on people, imagine being a size where you fit in with the people getting a sun tan on the beach. That's my goal, I want to be a size where I can run around the beach in a pair of shorts and not be embarrassed.

This got me thinking. Many of us are resigned to the fact that we will never be thin. I don't mean underweight like a model or thin as compared to obese. I'm talking about "looking good in a swimsuit because you don't have any rolls or thunder thighs" thin.

Why is this? Sometimes it feels like it would be settling for less than what I could accomplish if I were willing to work hard enough. Other times I think that coming from 268 pounds, I should be thankful if I can shop somewhere besides Lane Bryant and who cares if I'm still a bit chubby by "normal" standards? I mean, if you were obese does that mean that even if you lose the weight, you will still be...ahem..."fluffier" than many of your peers?

Maybe it's a vanity thing. I mean, I want to be healthy, but I'll admit it - I want to look good too! As good as I possibly can, anyway.

Do you guys ever go back and forth on this too?

No, I don't go back and forth - I DEFINITELY want a bikini bod. Size 6 or 8 would be wonderful! I take that back - I want to be a 6.

Now getting there could prove a little tricky, especially without the help of my little "friend"...

I'm not aiming for a "bikini bod". I have too many scars on both my abdomen and hips for that. :eek:

But, I AM aiming for a weight range that is considered within normal limits for a person my height. I don't think that's unattainable. It may take me a while to get there and I'm prepared to settle in for the long haul. I've lost over 70lbs in the first year and right now I'm at a long plateau. Once I break through it, get my head on right I'm sure I'll be back on the road to success.

I haven't really paid attention to others' goals. Call me self-centered, but I figure I've got enough to deal with. Is this really a pattern? I know my surgeon's goal for me was about 25 lbs higher than I had set for myself. Maybe the doctors are setting us up for failure.

For people, like me, who have a lot of weight to lose, looking to the finish line can be overwhelming. Therefore, it makes sense to set short term, achievable goals. I look at weight loss in terms of small goals of 10 pound blocks and that's also how I look at clothes sizes. Rather that dreaming about what it would be like to fit into a bikini, I concentrate on just being able to fit back into the clothes I have that are several sizes too small.

My ultimate goal is to get to a healthy weight. Perhaps when I get THERE, I'll make a new goal of being able to one day wear a bikini in public. For now, that thought is too scary. LOL.

If I were at a point where I had a tummy tuck and inner thigh lift, then, yes, I would wear a bikini. However, I'm not aiming for a size 6, 8, or even 10. I'm aiming for a size 12. I like my curves and don't want to lose them. Personally, I think if I were smaller than a size 12, I would no longer have a booty or birthing hips (of which I'm quite fond). Just my personal opinion, of course. To each their own.

I am 40 and have been overweight all my life. I am also almost 6 feet tall and have a large frame even without the fat. I don't think a bikini bod is realistic for me. I want to be in a normal weight range - or if that doesn't work I want to be at a weight where I can fit in a restaurant booth, airplane seat, etc comfortably. I would also like to buy clothes at a regular store, although with my frame and height that may not be possible all the time. When you are overweight for a long time like me, you body compensates by widening the hips, etc. That never goes back! Good luck to you ladies who want bikini bods. I'm sure it is very possible.

Everyone has different priorities, and there's nothing wrong with that! I'm like Fiveholts, having carried a minimum of 50-60 extra pounds on my 5'10" frame since reaching that height in 8th grade. I wouldn't know how to be "thin."

MY priority was and remains not gaining weight. I don't care about clothing sizes or having a bikini body. I want to be healthy, active, and able to live life without my weight dictating every action. I'm not about to change my goals and let getting to someone else's "ideal" become a priority.

I really want a bikini bod just once more in my life... I guess I'm one of the lucky ones because I have been there and I know how good it feels. I use to play beach volleyball, run around in a bikini, shorts, halters... I have to say it was a great feeling.

As I age I know my skin won't look like that again but I still want to be small enough to be comfortable in most outfits.... I know I'm not "old" at 36 but I do want every chance I have left to be "HOT" just a bit more.

Also, about the skin thing - I do think that even if I'm skinny enough I won't show a lot of skin unless it looks good... I saw Farah recently and I think she needs to quit wearing sleevless.

My goal is a size 4 - 6...

I do think that even if I'm skinny enough I won't show a lot of skin unless it looks good... I saw Farah recently and I think she needs to quit wearing sleevless.

LOL! And, as far as I know, she was never even heavy!

I think that each person needs to look at what motivates or frustrates them... I am motivated by the thought of being a size 12. I am 36 years old, 260 lbs and 5'7", and gave birth to 4 kids. I know that a size 12 feels great! It is a goal that I know will take alot of work and dedication to attain, and the payoff will be awesome WHEN I get there. I am certain that I can reach that goal.

I know that if I set a goal to be a completely unrealistic size 6 or 8, that I would be frustrated with myself because I couldn't make the goal. Frustrated for me = eating too much. Punishing myself and a self defeated attitude. I believe that if I chose to have an unrealistic goal then I would be setting myself up for a failure.

BUT... Of course I would like to be a 6 or 8, who wouldn't????

My size goal is basically a ten. I would LOVE to be an 8, but that will definately take surgery at the end to get the last bit of fat and skin out of the way, and I haven't decided if I want to have my tummy done.

Of course, problem B is that even if I am "skinny enough" to wear a bikini, will *I* ever feel like I look it??

I just bought my first bathing suit in yearsssssss & it was a tank-kinni. The top needs to be adjusted w/a seamstress for more support. I am a 36 DD+. But after that I would feel comfortable in about 15 pds to wear for this summer & plan on doing it!!! I will be a 14 by than I think! My goal is a 10.

I wore a low cut, one piece without a skirt on the front at Disney just a few short weeks ago, and I actually removed my coverup and walked around the pool to get to the stairs. Every other trip I have picked a chair close to the pool slipped out of my coverup and made a mad dash for the pool, my suits have either been the kind with the shorts for bottoms or had a skirt to cover me. Not this year, when we finished swimming I even sat on the lounge chair and watched my husband and little one continue swimming. I also wore short shorts this trip...~Mandy

I am sure that I will be thin, which I consider to be a size 12 at my height (5'10.5".) However I don't expect to ever have a bikini bod thanks to my years of yo-yoing. The skin on my legs looks like it belongs to a woman 30 or so years older than I am (39) and I know it won't ever look good enough for a bathing suit. So far the surgical procedures for legs aren't all that spectacular. Even the lower body lift can only do so much and the inner thigh lift leaves scars you wouldn't want to show off in a swimsuit so it is better now if I accept that I am just going to have to do my looking "hot" fully clothed.

Serena

About 10 years ago, my son and I were at a Water park, and we met a woman in a black and white polkadot bekini. Her husband looked like he adorded her, and her kids obviously loved her.

She weighed about 350 pounds.

This woman is one of the heros of my life.

She didn't give a rat's ass what anyone thought of her or her polkadot bekini.

Just who are these people who think they get to be the arbiters of our lives? My current bathing suit is a tankini, and I don't care if my tummy showes. My tummy has done nothing wrong and shouldn't be embarrassed.

I am a woman, I have curves... Even when I was younger I was a muscular girl, not an ounce of fat on my body, but I was never skinny. I am just not built that way.

I am weighing in at 160lbs now, and am wearing a AU size 12 (I think that is a US 10) I am starting to look like I did when I was a kid (but I have huge breasts now, I am a H cup :faint:) I look strong and healthy. I look like a woman. I don't really wan't to get into a size 6 (That would be about a size 8AU) On *me* that would look far too thin (despite only being 5ft 4in) I have bones sticking out everywhere already. I look great now (to me, anyway :dance:) And if I get slimmer from here, great. But if I do not, I look better than I have in my whole adult life, and am healither than I have been since I had my son. Being a bikini is not really a priority in my life.