I absolutely hate my body. Anyone else?

I'm the opposite of the OP - I spent the first 14 to 15 of my life as the husky kid. My parents had terrible eating habits.

I dropped a bit of weight by my sophomore/junior year of high school but I wasn't that skinny. I didn't start running until my late 20's and became obsessed with getting skinny. I went from 6-2, 175 lbs to 155lbs and I really liked the thin look while running 60mpw. I felt good all the time.

I guess being a heavier, bigger kid and growing up bigger than everyone else ruined me. Now that I'm 40, I still feel the need to be thin, and it's never hurt my dating (I'm married now).

The only girl who didn't like my body was a girl I dated who gradually got fatter as the relationship went on. After we broke up, she married a fat guy and she's got to be over 200lbs now. I learned that some women don't want to be bigger than their spouses.

OP asked "does anybody else hate their body?" Literally half of america probably hates their body, either openly or secretly.

As long as you're a "healthy" weight for your height (not underweight on the bmi scale), I think you should feel good about not being another typical fat american. It sounds like you drive a lot of satisfaction out of your running, so keep doing that as long as you enjoy it.

I would recommend doing a little bit of strength training. Not to add size or muscle tone. Instead, I recommend it because as you get older, it will help with things like stability. It doesn't have to be a lot of lifting, doesn't have to be a lot of weight. 3 times a week of 15 minutes each time focusing on some bodyweight core exercises, some bodyweight squats (one legged and two legged), some hip mobility (not too much mobility or you can actually develop issues that way, too), etc.

Ex-runner here (2000-2007), was a 4:20/9:20/15:30 guy in high school. I still follow running though, hence why I'm here.

I've been a weightlifter/bodybuilder since 2007. I take it pretty seriously but nothing like the level of competing on stage. When I stopped running I was 160 (I'm 6' 0"). Now I'm about 190, it's a much more muscular build. I stopped running and started lifting because I was sick of burning out in running and just wanted to have a more muscular physique.

Depending on your age this may not be helpful right now, but— as a high school/college age kid being fit is great but you’re likely comparing yourself to those who are differently fit (ie those who spend more time in the weight room or train for sports that require more bulk). If you stick with running over the years your peers will eventually gravitate more toward being out of shape and as a thin adult you will look better than most. Also, to way over generalize, I found that girls in high school are into athletes/looks, girls in college are into musicians/creativity and after that women are into success/stability/intelligence. These things are all good qualities for your whole life and the best people are attracted to the personality beyond these attributes but there’ definitely more to attraction than looks especially as people mature.

I recommend you do what I did - move to europe, where the average person isn't fat, and they have a much healthier idea of what 'normal' is

also, while I've come to terms with the simple fact that a lot of - or maybe even most - women prefer a'buff' look (more so in the USA, again, because fat is normal), I've had success with some very attractive women who said they really like the super lean look (not sure if they were being entirely honest, but hey, success is success)

First off our culture does not give a crap. Look how ever you want. Mostly Americans are out of shape and over weight. But if you want muscle spend some considerable time going for gains. You can can gain muscle. Look at Ryan Hall. There are also really fast guys out there with muscle mass. Ian Iman is fast and ripped. All in all do what makes you happy and people will find it attractive.

I hear you! wrote:

When you're a prisoner of society's expectations, it's infuriating to see people walking around doing whatever they want.

This is one of the best posts I've ever read on LetsRun.

You're not in this for the "Long Run", then :)

When it comes down to it, you have a couple options. You either keep at it, even though you "hate your body", or you give up, transfer to another activity, and become one of the mass population. Which means, statistically, even if you've tried to start bodybuiding or whatever, you'll end up obese.

Chances are you'll hate what thatdoes to your body (or more, what you won't be able to do) more than you "hate" the healthy body you have now.

Simply put, I'd rather be this

https://i.insider.com/5da48be8cc4a0a4b616b702c?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp

Than this

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/nintchdbpict000287364795.jpg

Do shrooms and learn to love yourself

If you're not Asian, chances are you live in a country where one quarter, or even one third of adults are obese. I'm not attracted to guys but I definitely think a skinny guy looks 100 times better than an obese guy.

You gotta have the mindset that performance is more important than all else and being called “malnourished” or “skeletore” won’t bother you anymore. I keep the mindset of the world class cyclist and just think about how important weight is to performance and then idgaf what I look like

really now wrote:

Only slow people have time to worry about how their body looks.

This. On a shirt. On a singlet. On the back of a singlet.

Grenio wrote:

really now wrote:

Only slow people have time to worry about how their body looks.

This. On a shirt. On a singlet. On the back of a singlet.

Yeah, let me roast myself everywhere I go. Either I'm fast and weird-looking, or slow and normal-looking? See why it's better to love yourself either way???

Hey op, i feel ya. I would say try putting on about 5-10 pounds of muscle over the next year and really work on your posture or how you hold yourself, which makes a massive difference visually.

Also, the one body part that makes the biggest visual difference in terms of being skinny versus looking more muscular? Your neck! Do neck exercises like a wrestler would, but start slow!, and you'll be shocked at how much more masculine look within 3 months. 1/2 pound of muscle on your neck not only increases your ability to stay stabilized (greater athleticism), but you'll look a lot hotter to the women and/or gay men as well.

It's funny how just a few well-placed lbs of muscle can really change things. OP having 5 extra pounds with most of it on shoulders / neck and maybe a little on the back & chest probably wouldn't significantly impact running but would make a big difference in appearance

No, I cannot.

I stay around 148lbs at 6.0 ft tall.

Been up to almost 160 with the gain muscle phase post injury once loading up on TONS of push up, core and pull ups.... Meh its whatever.

I like being skinny but, toned and defined. I squat and deadlift etc 2X week. 30 pushups and 10 pull ups daily... Core 5X a week. + running workouts. All my muscles are visible and very toned. now just being skinny and soft... ugh that would be terrible. Nothing worse than a skinny untoned runner.

Not sure the weird obsession about being "jacked" never really felt the need, I see it as male insecurity.

I have a pretty face and am good looking, so maybe that's why I don't have any insecurities around it. At the end of the day its all about the face.

Pretty faces win races.

Here we go again. wrote:

Also, to way over generalize, I found that girls in high school are into athletes/looks, girls in college are into musicians/creativity and after that women are into success/stability/intelligence.

Being in my 40's, maybe 1 out of 10 guys in my social circle are in shape (whether it's lifting or running). I would say that looks don't matter at all at this point in my life and wealth is the biggest one amongst my peers.

I noticed that girls stopped talking guys looks around age 30-33 and would talk about what they did for a living: "oh...he's cute!" became "oh...he makes a lot of money."

Not giving a $hit is the only answer here. Easier said than done I know, but extremely liberating once you figure it out. Took me 30+ years!

IMO if you're a tall guy, you can be skinny af without much social detriment. If you're a short guy like me, a little extra brawn helps with social respect and influence.