[caliyah]

sigh...I stick out like a sore thumb whenever I get together with my parents and siblings...

[Ariannag]

YEP I know how you feel. I am the only fat one. I was thinner before the baby and now its like they dont even notice that ive been trying to lose the weight. theyre just like, oh arianna you need to get back to it, what is that belly doing there? im like dude.. p*ss off.

[twinieten]

For years, I felt like the fat one... the fat twin and one of the fatter family members in comparison to others. I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb, and felt inferior to thinner members.

Now, though, I'm one of the skinny ones! Everyone else is on the larger side, and I'm much happier this way. I'd rather be the thin one or one of the thin ones.

[munchievictim]

UGH.
My mom is TINY. A size 2 her whole life except when she was pregnant with me and then with my brother she got pretty big and never could lose the belly so she's, like, a roomy 6 now. My dad always had weight problems because he has a ton of food allergies and stuff, but he's a really clean eating body builder now, and so is his wife. My mom's mom was heavy and everyone says I look like her. Sigh. On my dad's side, both my grandparents are fit and my grandpa's the kind of guy who will say embarassing things to you about your weight. None of my uncles or cousins are overweight, in fact they're all gorgeous. My step brother and sister are really popular athletic people, as is my stepdad. My half-brother, my mom's son, is the only one who's chubby and I can see exactly why- my mom eats very little, but what she eats is crap, and so there are always doritos oreos pizzas any number of high quality junk food available. At least he plays sports. But yeah I'm definitely the only one since my grandmother passed to have any kind of weight issues at all- my brother will probably get insanely tall he's only 12 so he's definitely got time to grow out of the baby fat. I just never did. It's awful.

[kaplods]

While there are a few overweight members in my family, they weren't overweight until their late 20's to early 30's. I'm the only person to have been overweight as a child (beginning in kindergarten and became severely obese by junior high). My highest weight outweighs any other family member's highest weight by almost 150 lbs.

It does make me wonder about possible genetic factors (because I'm adopted - and even more curious my parents two bio-kids follow my parents weight issues. One has no problem maintaining a healthy weight like Dad and the other started gaining weight in her late 20's. My brother, also adopted but not bio-related to me - follows an even different pattern Until his early 20's he was extremely slender and had difficulty gaining weight, when he did start gaining it was all muscle. Now in early retirement from the military, he has a small spare tire, but still looks fairly buff).

[January Snow]

It's not necessarily easier being on the other side of this one. My mother, brother and sister are all obese. There's always plenty of mostly unhealthy food being pushed at me and my (very slender) husband whenever we visit my family. They're all big eaters and try to pressure us to eat that way as well. My grandma (ironically now a very slender woman) is the worst food pusher of all. She always prepares far too much and tries to force someone to consume any leftovers.

My husband's parents are generally healthy eaters who stock only high quality mostly whole foods. My in-laws aren't particularly slender, but everyone serves themselves at their house. Almost everyone's portions are smaller than my families' and no one pushes food. Unsurprisingly my husband's never had a weight problem (except maybe weighing too little).

[chrissycoe]

I know exactly how it feels! My ENTIRE family is a whole tinier then me in their size 9s. I feel like a blimp next to them... it doesn't help that they tell me I'm different. Haha, it's okay though. I can't wait to show up at my house one day and show them that I'm a whole different person!

[Unna]

I was severely overweight growing up and into my early teens. No one else in my family had a weight problem - 10lbs extra, perhaps, but nothing to write home about.

Now, when I go home, it has changed dramatically. They have all gained weight and I am the slimmest one there. They are really eating a lot of crap (that they think is healthy, because someone on TV said it was) and eating larger portions than they need. They also go out to eat almost on a daily basis.

I do remember growing up next to my skinny/borderline anorexic, athletic sister. I was in her wedding when I was 13 - she was around 110 lbs and I was about 230lbs! I remember seeing the photos later and wondering why I was so big and why she was so thin. It was really hard.

My Mother would always put me on diets to make me thin. They never ever worked. Even worse, I could always hear her talking to her friends over coffee about the diet she was putting me on, as if I were some sort of house pet that had become too fat.

It is interesting to see things from both angles.

[Alwaysbeenbig]

I am the only overweight member of my entire family. Yes I stick out like a sore thumb, but I have been this way my entire life so I suppose they are kind of used to it.