You look so skinny!

Are you saying that they never mean it as a compliment?  I love it when people tell me I look skinny.

Body image judgement statements suck, perceived or intentional.  They also cut both ways, skinny and not so skinny.

Irritate me? Not really, but since it is OK for them to tell me I look so skinny, I'll begin replying to those with a few extra pounds from now on: "thanks I train a lot; although, I must say WOW... you look quite chubby!"

Easy solution: Eat 2 quarts of ice cream per day, and cut your training volume in half.

It annoys me, because usually the comment is followed by "...because you exercise so much," or "...are you eating enough with all your training?" The worst is that I haven't really lost much weight, I've always been on the somewhat-skinny side. I just look skinnier than I used to. And, I am not even that skinny. On any given day, I see dozens of girls way skinnier than me, but they aren't "health nuts" and "gym rats" like me. Those two terms annoy the heck out me. I don't even go to a gym! And, I eat junk food!

Wow...I don't know where all that came from . LOL.

Well, where I come from 5'11" and 150 is practically emaciated and skinny is an insult. However, in the Tri Community, smaller is better and I'm sure the person that tells you that you are skinny means it as a compliment.

And trust me, when Brad Pitt in Fight Club (5'10" @ 160) is the poster boy for ripped bodies and all young guys care about is abs and arms? You are right there. That look IS what most would consider the male ideal.

Hmm... 6' and 255, ain't never heards about no skinny? [but I'ma trainin' too one day :]

 I'm sure you're very fit. But I'm 5'11" as well and if i lost another 40lbs i would definately be skinny, and likely ill.  Of course I'll love to be carrying around such a light engine.    then again at 8% BF i'd weigh just a little more than you do so maybe you're on to something.... now I'm gonna get something to eat...

Yes .. from my wife!!  We started dating when I was falling off the training wagon from cycling burn-out and the weight was starting to come on.  Then after two kids, working full time and grad school took its toll I was up to around 215 or so.

Now that I fully have the fitness bug back and am passionate about training again I'm dack down into the low 170's and about 6-7% body fat and she's always complaining about nothing left to hold onto.  (No comments from the peanut gallery you sickos).

But I saw a picture of me at the beach when I was at my peak of weight gain, and it wasn't a pretty sight!  I'm quite happy where I am now (as long as I hit my race weight on race day that is!!).

I actually had a friend of mine who I had not seen in a while ask me if I was sick (Like Cancer or something) 

That was the only thing he could think of that would make me lose so much weight even after he watched me destroy a big plate of Putanesca and Garlic Bread like I had not eaten in a week. (I had just finished up a 15 mile run before heading out to dinner)

For the record, I have lost a total of 50 pounds over the last 4 years. I was only about 25 pounds overweight and have been working dilegently since then to keep from losing any more. Now at 6' and 165 Pounds.

None of my clothes or even my wedding ring fit me anymore. What makes me look really skinny is when I wear something new that actually fits me. What gets really scary is to see what I look like after a long workout or a long hard race. (Losing 6-7% of my body weight makes me look pretty drawn down)

When someone calls me Skinny, it does not really bother me. What drives my workouts has very little to do with body image. (I like to train and love to race)

This is so funny because when I first told my husband that he was looking 'svelte' and meant it as a compliment, he had no idea what that word meant. Now he does and he's okay with it.

I get it too and I still don't know how to respond. I wasn't overweight for my height before I started tri'ing but I guess now I'm more fit and trim. When I get a compliment about how great I look now I think, "was I huge before?" And like another poster, I'm super psyched about definition in my arms and shoulders. (it's a girl thing)