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?

After reading all these posts I thought I would let y'all know that I found a "sexy" swimsuit that covers my stretch marks and bit of a belly. It is called a "mono-tini" (Bisou-Bisou) I ordered it from JC Penney. It looks like a bikini from the back and in the front the bottom and top come together like a one piece. It has a bandeau top, but I took the skinny little strap, cut it in half and sewed it to the sides of the bra cups so it holds up my boobs better.

When we went to the beach both my hubby and my sons (ages 21 & 23) thought it looked really great. This was confirmed when my boys asked me to walk across the beach to a bar with them. I said, "wait let me grab a wrap to cover my butt" they said- "No, mom you look great, let's go!" So I walked across the beach in flip-flops and my mono-tini, that was it! --FIRST TIME EVER!

Bless your hearts-what a great thread!

OK I want a bikini body! I also want a million dollars. Last I looked-gravity happened. Ten pound babies happened. Varicosities happened.

Even when I was 125 and 5'11', I was not really comfortable in a bikini.

So do I want to look hot. Damn skippee I do! One of the reasons that I want this surgery is because my body really does "feel right". My sexiness is from within but I can't feel my "groove" at this weight. I don't carry my weight well (just NOT a big beautiful woman).

I am not sure what weight I will end up-I have no specific goal. I am more interested in how I feel-almost anything would feel better than this.

Can I just emote:angry -can I just say that Desperate housewives and media women just set up some really unrealistic expectations for the rest of us. Of course, some of them have really great genetics. But there is a entire trade of folks in the media just to maintain women in crazy good appearance. In the real world in the Midwest-I know no women that look like that-OK except for maybe some stay at home very wealthy moms. But I know lots of women who look really great. And when I think what I want to look like it is more like these women.

Is Plastic surgery out of the question? Of course not-I am getting a lapband. And I really want a tummy tuck-my belly was always poochy and babies did not help at all. Oh my god, and I am getting seriously jowly.

Hot is in the heart.

Wearing a bikini is not a big part of my life.

I love that today's swimsuits have all sorts of mix and match options - I do love those boyleg styles, but like Kel said, boardies are just the best.

Not many women out of their 20's truly have a bikini body. A bikini body to me also means a lovely even tan and we all know that if you have that at 35, you'll be covering up and being mistaken for somebody's grandma by the time you're 45 not to mention having all your melanomas removed. It comes at a price.

Skin wise I've not done badly but I have no idea bout what my stomach will look like when I'm 150lb. I'm not sure that I'd ever have a tummy tuck, I cant imagine taking money from the family finances to do it - we need a new house, our kids need to be educated.

I didnt have a bikini body when I was young.

I want to look HOT! For sure but with the amount of time I spend on the beach or swimming, I couldnt give a toss about wearing a bikini. As long as I can buy great clothes I'll be happy. I'm beautiful because I'm ME! And I really believe that. I'm hot to my hubby, my friends love my, my family loves me, so I really dont care about bikinis.

I had a bikini bod once. I'd love to have it back, but for the life of me.. the body I traded in at 19 is simply NOT the body I'm getting back after losing weight. Our bodies adjust to carry the additional weight, bones re-shape, etc. Now, I do wear a suit to do my aqua aerobics. I'm still a fluffy mama and wouldn't wear it out on my yard washing my car, but yea, IF I ever got back to the 118 lb little minx I once was...sigh.. that WAS um 30 yrs ago. I think at this stage I'd look pretty silly to alot of folks trying to go back to something that once was... :grouphug: I'm just darn lucky to be alive and in much better health and I'm okay with that.

I had a bikini bod once. I'd love to have it back, but for the life of me.. the body I traded in at 19 is simply NOT the body I'm getting back after losing weight.

Ain't that the truth? Well said!

For me, at a size 6 or 8 I think I would be all bones... I have a big frame, In all honesty no one beleives me when I say I weigh 260 lbs. They just dont believe I weigh that much. So I think I would look best at a 10 or 12. I dont wanna be thin anyway I wanna have a little bit of fat left!! I guess Ill see when I get there though!!!:grouphug:

Funny this thread was started - I just told this guy I was going to be beach body ready by next summer, for sure! Of course, I have goals along the way. But I think I'm on a high right now and have no doubt in my mind that I'll reach that goal. I think super skinny, for me, is a size 8 or 10. I was a size 12 in high school and I think I looked really good, but I remember thinking I wanted to be a size 10.

I wish I could be okay with my size. I really do.