How often do you hear girls or women talking about either being–or trying to get–thick?
In a society where we praise women for being curvaceous and shapely, it’s hard not to put women with these body types on a pedestal, even if it’s subconscious.
As a skinny girl and someone who has struggled with accepting my weight since I was little when I wouldwear jackets in the spring just to cover up my boney arms, I’ve carried this insecurity with methroughout most of my life.
Upon entering into my freshman year of college, I, like some of my peers began experiencing theinfamous “freshman 15”, which ended up carrying over into my sophomore year. While others dreaded the extra weight gain, I couldn’t help but feel like I was finally growing into the body I always wanted. With a newfound confidence in my appearance, coupled with the fact that I was away from home, I finally had the freedom to wear what I wanted and began wearing clothes that emphasized my figure alot more.
Coming into my sophomore year, for the first time ever, I was being praised for my shape, often receiving compliments for having a nice booty. So caught up in my newfound confidence, I almost forgot about how it felt before I became the girl with the body that so many of my friends wanted. Unfortunately, as the summertime came along, I slowly but surely began to lose the weight I was so eager to gain. Since the change was gradual, I didn’t notice until I attended a family gathering when a relative, who often makes a habit of pointing out my weight fluctuations, highlighted my thinner figure.
As I entered my junior year last semester, I was about 15-20 lbs. lighter, almost the same weight that I was in high school. Now in the second semester of my junior year, I can’t help but feel like I’ve started back a square one. Back in high school I never thought I would’ve been classified as “thick” like I was sophomore year, but having experienced a few years of not being the skinny girl for once, it’s something I find much harder to deal with. Whether it’s the “Oh my gosh have you lost weight? You look so much thinner!” comments from my friends and family, or not being able to fit in my dresses as well anymore or simply not even wanting to wear certain clothing anymore, my weight is something I think about often.
While I definitely love my body and know that I’m beautiful, becoming accustomed to the changes has been challenging. Nevertheless, everyday I’m working on becoming that much more confident in myself. I’ve found comfort in becoming more knowledgeable about why unintentional weight loss can happen and have set goals to continue working on getting my figure back by increasing my calorie intake and hitting the gym. I’ve also had to learn to comfort myself in realizing that I have to love the body I’m in no matter how thick (or not thick) I am.
If you have experienced similar struggles gaining weight, here are a few helpful resources I’ve found on natural ways go about gaining weight:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-gain-weight
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/high-calorie-vegan-foods#section5