The Freedom of Thinness

It's not you.

Eatwhen, we think you’re handsome! The most handsome guy in Brooklyn! Who cares if you’re obese.

You sound like you have issues and I don't say that lightly. Instead of being obsessed with the idea that thin people represent freedom I think you should talk to someone about your issues. Just saying

Fat people are ugly and sexually unattractive. There I said it.

Locked in a prison with walls of blubber, bars of ugly, and no possibility of parole. It’s everything, Le Hideux Brooklyn Seacow.

Oh yes, this guy is just SO gross and SO limited. 🙄

Oh, yes. Let's begin a new movement denouncing "thin privilege".

R6 How about this inmate? What freedoms does it enjoy?

I was naturally thin until my 40s. Skinny till my 30s. I could eat anything, wear anything, and totally took it for granted.

I never dieted until my 50s. I gained some weight in my 60s and hated it. Went on a medically supervised diet, lost the weight, and felt wonderful again. More energy, confidence, and better health. I inched back up and could lose 15 pounds, but I'm going for 10. I'm at an age now when you get too thin the skin just sags.

I'm older now, now one really cares what I look like anymore but my partner. He's really slim now, having also gained weight in his 40s. He now has to watch his diet because of his health. He's more attractive thin than fat. I know he prefers me thin, too.

I sympathize with people who struggle with their weight. It's hard to lose once gained.

[QUOTE] Instead of being obsessed with the idea that thin people represent freedom

Why do you assume I’m “obsessed” with it, R3? Maybe I just wanted to generate some topical conversation based off something I observed.

It's clear that attractive, fit people have easier lives.

But losing and gaining weight is simple math. Calories in vs calories out.

Yes, all you overweight people will have lots of excuses and you throw them around like you know what you're talking about. But you don't. Burn more calories than you ingest and you will 99 times out of 100 lose weight. It's a simple fact. Go burn some calories or eat less food. Better yet, do both.

I will refute any excuse you can make, so don't bother.

I think it’s more a money thing

You don’t need money to go out and have fun, R12.

Most fit people work at it consistently. And there is a degree of superiority backed by that sacrifice they make.

It's a freedom that's available to basically all because nearly everybody can be thin. Sure, a tiny percentage who are on meds or have some health or metabolic issue are maybe prevented from being thin - but it's a tiny fraction of the people who claim such things.

Here's a seasoned world traveler.

OP, he's not especially thin--he's a twunk.

I am thin, but I have never been a twunk. I would not feel so easy going around with my shirt off.

Even when young and thin I still found things not to like about myself. Didn't tan well, my toes were too long, knees too knobby.

I envied people who were completely comfortable in their skin. One of my friends was. Muscular physique, great tan, thick curly dark hair, blue eyes, white teeth. Perfection and completely at ease and confident.

^The guy in OP’s link has a build very much like mine. Does that make me a “twunk,” a word that’s new to me, an older guy. And yes, I have to constantly work to maintain my body. As I’m wont to say, nothing tastes as good as being thin.

[QUOTE] OP, he's not especially thin--he's a twunk.

Stop taking it so literally. Jesus. Twunk and hunk freedom too, alright, R17?

A lot of the people I’ve know think and fat hate themselves and are trapped in their own heads. It’s the human condition I guess

I take it you didn't meet them at school.

[quote]Does that make me a “twunk,” a word that’s new to me, an older guy.

No, you would have to be a younger guy.

I mean we can get away with only buying one airplane ticket instead of two + a seatbelt extender

That is pretty freeing.

OP, I regret to inform you that you haven't grasped the whole deal. There are 4 genetic gifts for a gay man, and you need 3 to be fearless, free, welcomed, liked, confident and successful.

tall

thin or ripped

very handsome

hung

white used to be on the list decades ago but not at all anymore.

I'm talking appearances.

Charm, kindness and smarts will always be winning as well.

Any size can be comfortable in their own skin.

I love being thin, not having the metabolic syndrome pot-belly I see on so many guys my age.

It does take work, but after a while you get pleasure in eating well and exercising.

I know the OP is trolling, but yes thinner people have it easier.

I was fairly heavy 10+ years ago, and on a work trip to Florida, I worked in a visit to Universal Studios (Harry Potter - yes I am a gigantic nerd).

I don’t remember the ride, but it was one that they pull down a cage and “lock” you in. At the time, I wasn’t fat all over, but had a pretty large gut, and while I fit ….

I was really embarrassed. I will say that I was in the, if not majority, sizeable minority though.

Flying had also become a real pain in the ass. I was upgrading myself to 1st on work trips (on my own dime). It wasn’t that I couldn’t fit into a coach seat, but it was uncomfortable (for me and the person next to me). I didn’t “spill over” but …

I’ve since gone from fat to “dad bod”, and I actually think it is something doctors should really bring up more. People don’t care about their health. It is sad but it is true.

What they do care about is inconvenience. This is how to get (and myself) people to quit smoking. It isn’t raising taxes, putting on pictures of cigarette packs. It was making me walk, ALMOST A MILE, off my employer’s property to have a cigarette (and yes, they had cameras and would give me shit), in the summer.

It’s unselfconscious people who are free in the way you describe. Some thin people are, but plenty of thin people have body image or eating issues just like anyone else. And some fat people are at total peace with it. It’s a gift to be this way, many of us struggle our whole lives to get there.

If 6' is considered "tall," R25, I'm 4 for 4! But, alas, on DL on a Saturday night.

Here’s the thing about “thinness”. It’s almost completely in your control.

Those born beautiful or rich have their genetics or their families to thank. But anyone can be thin. You just need to want it enough to eat right and exercise.

I've thought about that since I was a pre teen. I envied those guys who would go shirtless in the summer or cut the grass shirtless. I always thought I had a feminine looking back. had an ok chest so that was good. I felt really bad for the guys with titties.

You can always go out if you want. You might have to deal with the emotional issues that prevent you from living your life as you see fit. Can you find some way not to care what other people think?

[quote]Stop taking it so literally. Jesus. Twunk and hunk freedom too, alright, [R17]? —OP

R17 is right. OP's guy is lean and fit but has a little more meat on his bones than a thin guy. He's only thin if you're fat and think that thin is simply the opposite of fat. He'd insulted to be called thin.

The guy below is thin on the left. On the right, he's thin in that he's not fat, but "thin" wouldn't describe his physique very accurately. Skinny and thin guys don't have the same pretty privilege that twunks and hunks enjoy. Slightly overweight guys like Chris Pratt can enjoy pretty privilege because they are handsome.

Few thin guys would trade to be fat, so on that point, OP is correct.

R34’s before guy, in contrast to OP’s thin guy, is skinny.

“ .. It’s a freedom I’d imagine they take for granted without realizing .. “

They realize it. Every minute of it. None of them are oblivious to their own thinness.

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”

Skinny means being able to take your shirt off in any situation. Skinny means not worrying about airplane seats, or any seats for that matter. Skinny means always finding something in your size.

[QUOTE] Skinny means being able to take your shirt off in any situation. Skinny means not worrying about airplane seats, or any seats for that matter. Skinny means always finding something in your size.

Sounds blissful.

Just quit porking out at every meal and wah lah ! Thin.

I’ve got news for you. Lots of fat guys are taking off their shirts in public too.

You’ve got news for us, alright. Fake news.

Not everyone can be thin

But everyone can be in shape

They are not the same thing

What’s the difference, R43?

I don’t care for fat or “thin” guys. And tbh I don’t think anyone who isn’t a twink chaser does either. Most straight women and gay men into masculine guys are abt a muscular and thicker man, even if that means a little body fat too.

^ As a thin (but not skinny) man, I prefer men of a similar build.

R44, have you never seen a body builder?

You guys are taking “thin” way too literally. And most people aren’t bodybuilders, R47. In fact they’re such a tiny portion that it’s not worth mentioning. Even most of those hot guys on social media are thin guys with defined muscles who may look “big” on camera at certain angles but are rather ordinary in real life wearing shirts.

[quote] But losing and gaining weight is simple math. Calories in vs calories out.

Most people SERIOUSLY underestimate how much calories they are putting in their bodies. It's been shown time and time again. People always underreport their calorie intake in surveys.

To the degree that thin or lean is associated with being fit, absolutely and one of the keys to quality of life at all stages of life.

For me thinness means freedom from pain. I worked a corporate job 60+ hours a week and the pounds came on slowly. Before I knew it I was 65 lbs overweight and had constant back and feet pain. Left that life and became healthier about 15 years ago and the pain gradually went away. I'm 58 now and 70 lbs lighter and I'm getting getting the aches, pain and stiffness associated with aging. I can't imagine how painful it would be if I was still hauling all that extra weight around.

Congrats, R51. And I’m sure you look 38, of course.

I’m fat and I’ve been to Waikiki.

But you would’ve had a much better time there if you weren’t fat, R53.

“Could thin be in again?” Like it was ever out.

Fuck no. My fat ass was flopping in the sea right there in Waikiki this January, OP, and soon will be rocking the pools and beaches in Cancun.

Being overweight sucks but I’m married and happy and am well past the fat kid with a tshirt on in the pool meme. I work hard to take a vacation and I am going to SWIM dammit!

I am so jealous of skinny people and twunks. I get so angry whenever I see beautiful people because I will never be beautiful.

[quote] I am so jealous of skinny people and twunks.

I'm up early EVERY morning to workout (with light weights) for 2 hours. That's in part why I'm able to stay thin.

Light weights?

2 hours?

I've seen plenty of videos of Egyptian camels trying to stand up with a couple of obese tourists on their back - so fat people do get around.

Yes, OP.

This is the meaning behind the phrase "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels."

[quote]Just quit porking out at every meal and wah lah !

Oh, Dear!

I hear a great many people say it like this and you just KNOW they are spelling it that way too!

You can never be too rich or too thin.

PS-My sister-in-law was a porker.

I think you are conflating thinness with self-confidence.

Not all thin people are self-confident, and not all fat people lack self-confidence.

Yes, light weights, R59. The goal is to keep lean & lithe, not get bigger.

^ do you also do Jazzercise and step aerobics? Lol 2 hours in the gym every day with just light weights means you’re probably not working out efficiently, at all. (Also, being worried about getting “bigger” is really silly - guys spend 2 hours slamming HEAVY weights, eating like crazy and still have trouble getting big. Not to mention, unless you’re a woman that’s kind of a weird thing to be worried about in the first place…..)

Yes, people who are considered conventionally attractive are forgiven more and welcomed in more places.

But if you aren't conventionally attractive, don't let that stop you from getting out and living your life! Follow your dreams, look for love, see the world, have adventures, be the best version of yourself you can be. If you want to be more conventionally attractive make reasonable efforts to look better, but never let your looks define your life. Let your selfhood define your life!

R67, I work out at home. I’d be laughed out of any gym with my routine! And I make no claim that my routine is efficient. I’m (very much) a creature of habit, though, &, at the same weight as I was, many years ago, in my twenties, with a flat stomach & being told I have a “fabulous physique,” I’m loath to tinker with what’s working.

Well, OP, they can fit in a car. That’ll get you places.

Having been a healthy weight and overweight, life is better when slimmer, but it's because of my own attitude. I have more energy and vigor when I keep myself healthy and have more desire to explore the world. At a higher weight, I just want to lie at home, watch telly, and eat cheese.

Yes, I think you're right.

I lost a lot of weight more than once. ALl the new attention and compliments made me uncomfortable. I even felt angry sometimes. Why couldn't they just like me a little more when I was obese, and spare me all the advances now? Men are always wanting something from you. Not everyone appreciates that shit, you know? I didn't like being the Prey of the Day to unfamiliar people. I felt insulted that I couldn't be liked when I was fat. Those negative feelings never went away until I eventually gained weight again. I'm shy. I don't like extra attention, or attention from most acquaintances.

Yes. Its freeing in a whole bunch of ways, not least financially. Dont have to constantly buy new clothes to accomodate changing size, I wear them until they are worn out. And I can get new clothes most anywhere from Kmart and Walmart to fancy expensive places I dont know anything about. When I had a 26-27 in waist a few years back sometimes I couldnt find stuff small enough though, now I'm at 28 its more easier.

I can keep my old gas guzzling tank of a car, dont have to go buy some fancy new lectric or hybrid thing because I simply use my bicycle to go anywhere thats not too far off - anything less than 20 kms is fine, and often more. That's be much harder or impossible if I was a fat fuck.

Flying is easier of course, I can go cattle class cos I can fit in the small seat easy and trains, buses and other public transport dont present me with problems neither. Walk round a city all day? No problem. Climb a hill or a mountain to get a view or get signal on my budget phone - again no problem.

Yeah its real freeing. But I dont take it for granted, I make sure I stay thin cos it pays off health wise too, and I dont like medical shit so anything I can do to avoid having to deal with it I'll get right on it, with healthy diet, exercise, whatever it takes. Fuck being fat and sick.

And it doesnt cost money, it SAVES money! Less medical bills specially if you in the USA, fuck all money spent on alcohol, and good food can be cheap and easy if you're smart about it. Dont need trainers or coaches or whatever, I cant afford none of that anyways. Cycling and walking saves gas money and bus/train fares and gets you fit

[quote]You can never be too rich or too thin.

Please see the frightening pics at R16.

I am a supporter an ally of anybody that wants to be healthy. Losing weight and becoming thin can be freeing if a person was dealing with medical limitations that prevented them from exercising or generally participating in main stream society.

Another perspective to consider is that there are some people that are thin or even underweight that have the opposite problem, they can’t gain weight and they need to constantly try to maintain their weight to avoid becoming too thin.

That’s why I think if a person is overweight and they become thin it’s a freeing experience, but if a person is just under weight all the time it’s not really helpful because if you get sick you become seriously compromised. I’m one of those extremely skinny people that has to attempt to gain weight constantly

[QUOTE]there are some people that are thin or even underweight that have the opposite problem, they can’t gain weight and they need to constantly try to maintain their weight to avoid becoming too thin.

I’d love to have that problem.

Must be nice going shirtless at the beach.

I work with a morbidly obese man who says he just goes to work and back home. And from his anecdotes, just plays video games and binge-watches sci fi shows. He's in his mid-30s and lives with his mom and stepdad.

Freedom comes in many forms. I've found that people will also feel free to ask A. If I'm sick? 2. If I starve myself? 3. Do you want more to eat (ok, not THAT intrusive but it's always after one of the first two)

I eat! I also have major anxiety so it doesn't seem to stick, and I also consume additional nutrition from supplements.

But getting to wear slim fit pants makes it all worth it

Thin privilege.

If people would just walk more, it makes such a difference. I walk about 7-9 miles a day and can pretty much eat candy and cake if I want to. It's so easy, that's all you have to do. I've always been thin and now am more athletic looking, I guess. Walking gave me good obliques too!

<- the Catch-22 is that fat people can't walk for very long. So they become prisoners of their own body.

But when you think about it: if they walked just a couple blocks per day, hauling that lard would be the equivalent of a fit person carrying two 50-100 lb. sandbags on each shoulder. They are carrying around their own 'gym'.

Walking is great if you’re in a city somewhere and use it as a mode of transportation. But walking for the sake of walking is boring as fuck.

Yeah I agree with that R84, as Larry David said on Curb, I can't do pointless walking. I work on a big campus and walk around work all the time, other people take golf carts but I walk.

I would rather die of a massive coronary brought on by morbid obesity than engage in purposeless walking.

Ha! Yes R86, I feel the same but luckily I can walk around a lot at work. I would never do it at home.

Where do you go R82? I walk a lot—most days 5+ miles. But 7-9 per day seems like a lot of miles to rack up if have a desk job.

All of you - STOP EATING SO MUCH!

Said in exactly the same manner as "SNAP OUT OF IT".

JFC...

R88 I work at a big rehab, it's huge and a lot of my job is checking on people, walking around to see where they are and what they're up to. A lot of people take golf carts but I feel like I may as well walk and get paid for it. When they go to bed I'm at the desk but while they're up I am walking around checking on them.

Confidence = more freedom

R11 It only took 11 posts for the lecturer to show up. Follwed by R14, R15, R31, R37, R38, etc.

Very young guy in that picture btw

From a female perspective, the clothes for larger sizes are not attractive. They are there to cover the bulk. I used to wear high heels but, with the extra pounds, I find that my equilibrium is off. I’m afraid I’ll fall. I have 3 inch heels I can no longer wear until the weight is lost.

Having gained weight during COVID, after losing 30 lbs. just before they closed the WW studio near me, has been distressing. I would say I’ve gained 60 lbs over the last 17 years. I am working on getting back to healthy eating and recently joined a gym. I feel like I’m getting back on track.

Traveling is tough on the *cough* not thin. Since Covid I have put on weight and recently traveled and I noticed I can't walk as far, my feet get tired waiting in line, and fitting in small airline seats is not fun. I need to get back in shape!

I mean, I'm a fat fuck, and I still travel the world - much more so than my thin friends and relatives. I can fit in a seat, walk up stairs, run through an airport, etc.

MONEY is the greater barrier to travel, I find. That, and morons who let kids or pets get in the way of their plans.

I’M GONNA DO THIN THINGS!

Thin tastes better.

No one going to mention Waikiki Beach, Hawaii in OP's picture? Lovely place and shockingly you can see obese, portly, fat, plump, chunky monkeys, average, skinny as well as thin people there, very diverse.

No new "My man brought me some delicious food?" posts?

The freedom of thinness as regards OP's picture is that the guy with his red hair and pasty skin is probably slathered in 100 SPF sun block and wearing sunglasses because his blue eyes cannot deal with the tropical sun. So freedom is a relative term. We all have some aspects that limit our freedom.

Yes, blue eyes can't deal with "the tropical sun".

LOL

The vast majority of us have the option not to be fat.

Who tf cares abt “thin” when you got muscles? 💪🏽

🌊

🐄

🧵

Most people with muscles are thin, R104.

^ I guess we define “thin” fundamentally differently. I don’t think of a muscular guy as “thin.”

Thin is fine, but I still want a thick round ass to sink my face into!

Most guys you think are “muscular,” R107, likely on social media, are just thin guys with well defined muscles who look big at certain angles under low lighting.

Now I see on Tik Tok some big women bragging about being on Mounjaro to lose weight, sounds like another Ozempic

R110 yes it has been for a while

Thin people have PRIVILEGE! Fat is literal violence!

I admire fit fat dad bods.

[QUOTE] Most fit people work at it consistently.

I don’t think so. I think it just comes to them naturally.

I use to be soooo self conscious about being skinny until I started aging and realized just with minimal working out and a balanced diet I could maintain the body of a male model. It’s great now that I’m thirty something.

[quote] Is 2022 the new 2015 on Datalounge?

I've gained a lot of weight this year, and I really go out of my way to avoid people now. I start to panic over how fat I feel.

I grew up very thin. Until my 20s. Then I got into great shape, very toned And all that time I hated myself. Thin or fat I hated myself. That's because the guys at school called me a sissy and my parents hated me for being a sissy. But my Dr says I now have to lose weight for my health.

But honestly I feel no different than when I was young and felt comfortable on a nude beach. It was nice but it did not improve my attitude towards myself. When you grow up with such disdain coming your way nothing can change that. It is seared into your brain and I will always be insecure and keep to myself.

[quote]I am so jealous of skinny people and twunks. I get so angry whenever I see beautiful people because I will never be beautiful.

Someone whose life is ruined by petty jealousies and anger has had problems that even beauty won't fix.

What happened to the Brooklyn Seacow? It hasn't been heard from in a good while. I'm assuming gone from diabetes-related complications?

[quote] I've gained a lot of weight this year, and I really go out of my way to avoid people now. I start to panic over how fat I feel.

All of that extra food you gluttonously ate didn’t provide you the happiness you thought it would?

Somebody above already said it: everyone undercounts calories. Do the math. It’s like in the Andre Talley documentary when he demands to know from the dietician how many calories are in a biscuit. He didn’t realize a pan of buttermilk biscuits is 5,000 calories.

6’1”. 171 lbs. Great posture. People say nice things.

[QUOTE] It’s like in the Andre Talley documentary when he demands to know from the dietician how many calories are in a biscuit. He didn’t realize a pan of buttermilk biscuits is 5,000 calories.

And then Andre proceeded to eat the entire pan of biscuits.

[quote]Most people SERIOUSLY underestimate how much calories they are putting in their bodies.

I don't imagine most people have a fucking clue. I have only that vaguest idea of the relative caloric values of different foods and preparation methods (but then I've always been thin and never had to contemplate a diet.)

Intentional underreporting is probably less a problem than avoidance/ignorance about the calories of different foods: that one Big Mac is 1/4 if the recommended daily caloric intake, and one buttermilk biscuit 1/10, and one McDonald's Grilled Chicken salad with 1 packet of McDonald's Ranch Dressing is 31% of an adult's recommended daily intake of calories.

My memory was faulty on the recommended daily intake. It's 2000, whereas I didn't know if it was 2000 or as much as 3500. Fatties who love eating...I don't think many of them are counting or undercounting calories at all.

I wish fat people were banned from planes. They just don't fit....in the seats, in the aisles. They are fucking annoying, either jabbing your ribs or hitting you with their fat hips.

R101 Yes the thin, finely muscled young man at OP isn't so free in sex. Potential partners frequently turn him down due to his steel hard mega thick 9+ inch cock.

Yes, Andre admitted to eating entire pans of biscuits for Sunday breakfast as a child.

They certainly have better options when it comes to clothes shopping.

Rubbish

[QUOTE] They certainly have better options when it comes to clothes shopping.

They can literally buy clothes anywhere.

Or get by with no clothes at all!

I lost 95lbs on semaglutide and there are definitely perks not mentioned here. One thing that I miss tho is my invisibility. In the past I smiled and sometimes said hello to the people who I made eye contact with, I've learned not to do that. Some guys are downright predatory

It’s more like they have more options for styles, etc., and certain styles of clothing just look better on thin people. You still have designers that sell up to only certain sizes.

R134 name one menswear designer who does not sell up to at least "fat" size.

Your mother, R135.

I thought so. Just pull any old bullshit out of your fetid fat ass.

In the water I'm a very skinny lady.

[QUOTE] name one menswear designer who does not sell up to at least "fat" size.

It doesn’t matter if they sell up to it. What matters is whether or not the store carries it. And that clothing item was most likely designed for smaller sizes, so simply scaling it up leads to awkward, unflattering cuts. Larger sizes are largely an afterthought.

There's always the tall and fat store, hun. Being a great big person comes with inconveniences that won't be solved by society. Only by the fat pig losing weight.

Op, I've lived in Chicago for close to 6 years, I'm in my early-30s. I have yet to visit Hollywood Beach because every time I consider a visit I think about how unfit I'd look around my gay peers. I'm actually average in the body but I can't get over that hill. Outside of Chicago, I'll happily go to the beach or pool, but I have a mental block when it comes to my home town and people I know are all around.

My thinner friends, don't have those hangups and it seems so wonderful. Don't worry, once my laundry is done, I'm going to the gym this afternoon. Maybe next summer I'll be ready.

You know, there is a middle ground between a six pack and the thousand pound sisters.

Years ago there was a guy at my gym who worked out religiously and he was something like 6'-0"/205lbs, and maybe 10% BF max. Hot. No supps, no drugs. I asked him if he worked out that much to get that big, and he said, no, he was the only one in his family that wasn't at least 300(!) lbs. So there he was, killing himself to get small.

[quote] killing himself to get small

How dramatic, fatty at r143

The man is “free because he’s thin” or “thin because he’s free”?

R143 thankfully not your problem Tiny.

Obesity is a diagnosed medical problem. Posters who justify their fatness are not just physically but mentally ill. Right.

Freedom from diabeetus

[QUOTE] I have yet to visit Hollywood Beach because every time I consider a visit I think about how unfit I'd look around my gay peers.

[QUOTE] My thinner friends, don't have those hangups and it seems so wonderful.

Yes, I’m sure your thin friends have their own problems like everyone else. But going to the beach isn’t one of them. That’s thin freedom.

[quote]But losing and gaining weight is simple math. Calories in vs calories out.

No one can deny this basic fact. However, no one can deny that human beings process calories at different rates. I know. I have extremely low calorie requirements to maintain my ideal body weight. If the average daily intake for a 60-year-old male who is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds is approximately 2000-2400 calories per day, I fall about a third below that calorie intake for maintenance and if I eat 2400 calories in a day, I gain weight. Yet I consistently get a minimum of 10,000 steps per day, I'm active, in good health, and purposefully exercise at least 3 days a week and I seek out activities that burn calories. If there's stairs, I don't take the elevator. If I can walk, and even when it's a bit too far, I do. I swim, ski, and lift weights. And I enjoy it all, but it comes after a lifetime of fighting my weight.

I was born fat, weighing almost 10 pounds when the average male newborn came in at 7 pounds 6 ounces. I am shaped exactly like my father and uncles, one of whom had the same weight syndrome and fought being obese his entire life. Let me tell you all about how difficult it was as a kid to be doing the same things as all the other kids, but watching them eat candy, cake and ice cream and not gaining an ounce. By the time I was 13, I was 40 pounds overweight.

My pediatrician decided I needed to lose weight, so put me on a diet that was hell on Earth. I did lose 25 pounds over the course of a year, but it got to the point of ridiculousness when I was eating less than half the food my brother did and would plateau for a month or 6 weeks whilst starving myself. But I was dedicated and even in the face of torment, I stuck to it. In one of those defining moments of life, I went in for my next annual physical, weighed in and my doctor just berated me for not adhering to the diet he had prescribed, of course not believing me (or my mother) that I had been diligent and faithful to the diet. It never occurred to the jackass that I might have some problem or issue, which I found out in my 30s (!) that I in fact did have low testosterone which prevented me from putting on muscle.

How I found out about having Low-T was when I moved across the country and went to a new doctor. In taking my history, we talked about the weight issues and he asked if I'd ever been tested, so he sent me to the lab. He put me on testosterone replacement when I was 34 and made me come back to see him once a month to maintain the prescription. He also advised that I must work out or would simply gain fat, so I redoubled my effort and spent a couple hours per day in the gym. For the first time in my life, I quickly lost weight but was so hungry it was driving me mad — and after the dieting I had done up to that point, that's saying something. After the second month, he told me to increase my calorie intake focusing on protein, and I visibly grew some muscle. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

After the third month, the weight loss slowed but I could see the difference and where the weight was going. My shoulders and pecs filled out. After 6 months and for the first time in my life, my shoulders were bigger than my gut. My butt started to get round and my pants fit better than I had ever experienced. I was eating a "normal" diet. I'll never forget ordering a four-course meal, eating it all, and not walking away thinking I was going to gain 5 pounds. It was awesome. It was also troubling because hair started sprouting everywhere except my head.

And then he took me off the testosterone therapy, and within a matter of months I was right back to where I'd always been as the muscle melted off and the gut returned despite maintaining the same workout regimen. Without the T, I couldn't eat more than 1600 calories a day. My doctor was sympathetic, and I'd go on and off testosterone therapy for years, until my heart doctor said no more or I'd be dead by 50.

But my late-30s were a gay boy's dream come true.

[quote] They can literally buy clothes anywhere.

I wear slim-fit shirts and pants and they are not available everywhere. Low cost stores sell regular and maybe fattie fits.

R151 that was a rough road and I'm sorry you had to walk it.

OP- Based on your photo the title of your thread should be

The Freedom Of Twinkness

[QUOTE] I wear slim-fit shirts and pants and they are not available everywhere. Low cost stores sell regular and maybe fattie fits.

What is this, a humblebrag? The fucking clothes are available to you. You can fit them. You just choose not to wear them. But at least you have the option.

R71- Are you a mouse 🐭?

R73- If you’re tall and lost weight the seat 💺 in economy will still always be uncomfortable from lack of leg room.

In Flyoverstan it can sometimes be isolating when every other group event requires you to eat something deep fried or covered in cheese sauce.

With insane portions!

R155, if the regular fit is too big then it doesn’t “fit”.