Body Image in general and as a mer (share your story)

[Mermaid Melanie]

I think regarding your body image you should strive to be how you want to be - if your unhappy with your weight under or over then try something to make it the way YOU want it .... not how anyone else tells you it SHOULD be... Im very short 5ft 1" and about 3 years iago i was around 120lbs which i felt was wayyy to much for my height and I wasnt comfortable really - I started work as a diver and through exercising every day and with the physicality of my job im now 97lbs and feel great ! I have cut out a lot of junk food and tried to do at least some sort of exercise every day - I found hulahooping to be great fun and so good for the abs ! also pole fitness - when i first started pole fitness there were many larger ladies there to try and kick a few pounds off and you know what it worked ! all in all ... do whats gonna make you happy

[Usagi]

With IPL (LASER Hair Removal) it takes around 6 sessions....be prepared to pay around $100 a session.

Cheaper than a tail! (; ehehe

Melanie, I'm with you. 5' 1", and I weigh anywhere between 110-115. Because of how chunky I used to be (145 in middle school, then dropped to 125, then 120, then magically went down to 107 in 1-2 weeks lol), I freak out anytime I hit 115. I've sworn to myself I'm never going back to 120. Some people are all, "Oh boo-hoo for you" but really, at my height, and depending on where the fat decides to go, there can be some serious rolls :P I told my boyfriend that I wanted to get down to 98 and he freaked out and told me that that's way too skinny, blah blah blah. So I've decided I mostly just wanna work on my arms and abs-I don't want the butt to go byebye and I don't want my boobs to get any smaller than they already are haha I'm gonna go buy myself a hulahoop now! I was really good at it when I was younger, so maybe with my "curves" I'll be even better. What the heck is pole fitness, though? o.O

[Mermaid Melanie]

Good for you Sydthefairebrat ! Yeah i know it doesnt sound like a lot of weight but for a short person small things are big things for us haha ! well im very happy with my body image just now and my bf says i look great - he didnt notice i was a little chunkier when i was but now that ive slimed down he says he can see a difference! and for sure u dont wanna go too slim but just working on the abs and arms is a good thing ! I use a heavy metal and foam padded hula - really works the abs and if you do it to some upbeat tunes you can get a great rhythm going ! pole fitness is exercising using pole dancing ( not sleazy or provocative though - look up some vids on youtube - some beautiful performances) i have one in my bedroom and also i do some dance workouts - check out Nika Kljun on youtube for some example for intense dance fitness she is amazing ! all of these combined with stretching off i find to be very helpful in keeping my figure ! x

[roamingmer]

Whilst not directly related to Body Image; I find that the video below actually echoes most of the comments on this thread... find your line; find who you are; and be confident in yourself and enjoy nature.
http://www.adventure-journal.com/201...your-own-line/

[Sammi Ray]

Get cans of food the same weight and so arm presses. If you have a gym ball (which arm really cheap) do sit ups, then do the plank. I have the ahaun t hip hol abbs. It does really work and i wouls recamend it :-) every exercise they use you you have to tense your abbs. When i get really fit i did the shaun t workout

[Mermaid Dottie]

Phoenix, I am so so so so sorry that all that happened to you as a baby!
That is exactly why I only leave my son with family and take him to the doctor whenever I feel like something is wrong.
What a horrible nanny! If she goes to hell, I will feel justice only half served to you.
I hope God takes all your bad health experiences and pours out equal or greater pain on this woman.
I also pray that He will cause swimming in your tail to heal you, body and soul, so that one day, you'll find yourself in the water, swimming without pain.

I also wanted to mention:
My biggest insecurity is my teeth.
When I was a kid my parents could never afford braces for any of us kids, but I'm the only one with a crooked smile. I am so jealous, every time i see someone grinning with perfectly lined up teeth.
If you'll notice, all my pictures (the ones that I like) have close-mouthed smiles. I very rarely say "cheese" for the camera...

[-Annwyn-]

What a horrible nanny! If she goes to hell, I will feel justice only half served to you.

That's a very forgiving, Christian attitude you have right there...

[AniaR]

Body image debate, not religion unless you feel like starting another thread It would be kinda hypocritical for us to judge each other in this thread, since the very essence of it is about overcoming people's judgements of our own bodies.

[-Annwyn-]

Body image debate, not religion unless you feel like starting another thread It would be kinda hypocritical for us to judge each other in this thread, since the very essence of it is about overcoming people's judgements of our own bodies.

Don't look at me, I didn't start it by forcing my prayers on other users. Suggest asking Dottie to keep her faith and hate-filled, hypocritical bigotry to herself and stick to the topic of overcoming people's judgements of our own bodies, like you so aptly raised, Raina.

[AniaR]

that's not really your place to judge honestly, the comment wasn't directed at you. The whole point of this thread is to validate each other, and that's what Dottie was trying to do for Phoenix, and if it upsets Phoenix then they can discuss it. If you start judging how we support each other it undermines that validity. I get your point- but that's your interpretation , it didn't need to be stated. We can sit here and debate a better use of language to get Dottie's point across, but that undermines the whole point of this thread. This thread is to support each other and if it turns into arguing back and forth over something clearly meant as validation I'll just ask the mods to close it. If you wanted to debate that sort of language in another thread (I don't disagree with your point, but I think the statement was made innocently to validate what someone went through) or discuss it with Dottie somewhere else, that's fine. But this thread is intended for sharing our personal experiences and validating each other, not so much debating and getting too worried about word choices. It's intended to be a safe zone where people can let their guard down and don't have to worry people are going to take their statements out of context. There's lot of opportunity for that sort of discussion over a variety of topics all over mernetwork, I'd like to keep the focus of this thread as non-judgemental of each other as possible please. Thanks

[AniaR]

I think you might all enjoy this Ted Talk from a working well known model, along with the additional article at this link: http://blog.ted.com/2013/01/16/model...unning-photos/ food for thought

[Sammi Ray]

Its so nice to see everyone sharinging their problems. Often people are too worried but because we have such a great support on here its great. I have had lazer treatment and they do say about 6 treatments. But i the dark hair over the treatments turned white so now they want me to have electrolosis.. but i still need continuous lazor treatments. They might advertise it as permenent, but they mean reduction. So you will need top up treatments. Pain not bad got a cooling jet on the lazer

[Ariel-Starfish]

I have struggled with my body/weight ever science i was getting in my teens. I always liked food, going out for dinner etc; Even trough I always have been eaten healthy, not fat. But now, after all these years (and 1000 diets later) i can finally tell u the i'm happy with myself/body etc. last year i tried Weight Watchers. I started with 72 kg (I'm 1,68 meters tall) and now I reached my goal weight from 65 kg. I still cant believe I've done this! (But I couldn't have done it without my moms support and coaching!!)

It made me a total different person, outside AND inside.

This is one of the reasons I had the currage to buy a realistic mermaid tail. Wich I'm doing now.

xxx

[AptaMer]

Its so nice to see everyone sharinging their problems. Often people are too worried but because we have such a great support on here its great. I have had lazer treatment and they do say about 6 treatments. But i the dark hair over the treatments turned white so now they want me to have electrolosis.. but i still need continuous lazor treatments. They might advertise it as permenent, but they mean reduction. So you will need top up treatments. Pain not bad got a cooling jet on the lazer

So maybe electrolysis is the only truly permanent hair removal? Do you even have hair growing back if you do electrolysis?

[Sammi Ray]

They say 'hair reduction'. Sometimes it can on different people be permenant but not me so far! Had seven treatments and just seen a reduction of hair growth. Electrolosis is for white hairs - sometimes during lazor treatments, it turns the hair white, and the lazor machine can not pick up white hairs so you need to start electrolosis as its a machine specefic for the conduction of white hairs. All results are from the person being treated! But my experiance i would still keep going for both treatments even though it will cost me £20 more as a reduction is better than nothing. If you have the treatment you can not wax, pluck or any other form of haor removal other than shaving. Its one treatment per month as your hair folicle needs to regrow. So its very lengthy but depending what you have done it is pricky quick. Im only in there for 15 minute.

[Zelly]

Even when I was belly dancing, before I had my baby, I never had a flat tummy. I have always had image issues. Most of them are psychological. I was a size 6 and I still thought I was fat. Even though I knew I wasn't.

Now I am trying to get back down to that size, near 130. (currently I'm 150, full term pregnancy was 180) My body is short so I should be around 110 but I have never seen that number on the scale. I have a curvy body, big hips, big boobs. So the smallest I have ever been was 115 - 120. Still in a size 6 even then and always with a belly pouch.

People on the internet don't know our stories or why we are the way we are. I've seen people look at me funny when I cosplay, especially if they recognize me from the year before. They get that "that girl got fat this year" look on their face. Of course they wouldn't know I just had a baby. So I've been refraining from wearing tight clothing and spending most of my time at home refining my dance again.

It's probably not going to stop talk, and I will still have a belly pouch in the end. And of course, I am always going to be short with tiny feet and a voice like a kid. But I love me. Flaws included.

edit: I also wanted to point out that I have recently acquired stretch marks. This is a new flaw I am still coming to terms with. I'm sensitive about them right now, but I'm sure I will learn to love them one day.

[Mia]

I've been overweight since childhood, and weigh between 200 and 220 lbs. I have premature greys, and a small chest, due to a hormonal issue that caused me to go through menopause at 14, so I'm a bit underdeveloped in the chest area and my body holds onto weight more. I've never felt good about how I looked, but I had a very hostile attitude growing up because I was teased and bullied. At some point, I hit a rediculous low where I discovered that, though I gag pretty quickly, I cannot be bulimic because that's not the way my throat works and I have a limited amount of willpower.
However, once I developed a very strong anti-confidence, and I suspect some form of mental instability, I started doing nude modeling because screw your eyes, you're an art student and you will deal with it. Obviously, I'm not happy with myself, but it wasn't until I got into mermaiding that I actually decided that I want to loose weight.
I'm at my usual low weight, which is about 205, and I intend to loose something beyond that (I don't fluctuate except when I attempt to diet). I want to loose enough weight to be a decent mermaid, not just because of oh, look, it's a whale (I have cruel, sarcastic friends who know the limits of my temper) but because swimming with as much weight as I have is ridiculous.

[AptaMer]

They say 'hair reduction'. Sometimes it can on different people be permenant but not me so far! Had seven treatments and just seen a reduction of hair growth. Electrolosis is for white hairs - sometimes during lazor treatments, it turns the hair white, and the lazor machine can not pick up white hairs so you need to start electrolosis as its a machine specefic for the conduction of white hairs. All results are from the person being treated! But my experiance i would still keep going for both treatments even though it will cost me £20 more as a reduction is better than nothing. If you have the treatment you can not wax, pluck or any other form of haor removal other than shaving. Its one treatment per month as your hair folicle needs to regrow. So its very lengthy but depending what you have done it is pricky quick. Im only in there for 15 minute.

Thanks for the info, Pebbles! that was very helpful.