I was born and raised down there, it is definitely a regional thing! I always hated being made out to be fat at a healthy weight, it gave me a major complex growing up. Here in Alaska I am pretty much average. I noticed when I was at Costco one day that I didn't stand out in a crowd at all! All of the sudden I wasn't the biggest person in the room, or even close. Just normal.

I imagine it will be even better at my goal weight

I am going to weigh in here (no pun intended) and come down on blaming the media. Yes, it is true that one is probably most "healthy" in a normal BMI range, but that does not mean that being outside it suddenly means you are going to drop dead from a heart attack. But the media has gone absolutely crazy lately with stories telling us that we are all in imminent danger of death. They are even considering lowering the minimum BMI one must have to get the lap band. I read another article that said that basically even just 5 pounds overweight can put you in serious danger. Come on guys..give us a break, okay?

Wow, I'm also shocked that you're getting those comments too! Maybe it's the way you dress or carry your weight (sorry, not trying to be critical but I just can't figure it out!). Pre-pregnancy I was 175lbs and 5'6" and the doc was very happy with my weight (but I used to be an hourglass too, so maybe that played a role? Now I'm a banana ).

It could be that they are remembering the old you at 200lbs? I've lost about 20lbs since I saw some of my friends last and NOBODY has reacted... at all. So I think it's either not noticeable (but it definitely is to me) or I'm just put into the "fat category" since I've been this way for a couple of years now.

I can so relate! I chalk it up to so many things, being ignorant is right up there. Also, I think some people truly have warped perceptions based on media and what is popular in society.

For example, I am Jamaican by birth, grew up there and came to the U.S. as a teen. Jamaica does not have problems of super obesity as in the U.S. but ofcourse there are tons of fat/plus sized and according to BMI standards, obese people. BMI in and of itself is a whole other discussion. Anyway, a lot of women from rural areas would be considered overweight or obese by their appearance, but many of these women FARM which is HARD work, they carry lots of heavy loads daily when they go to the market to sell their goods and other daily chores and in NO WAY live a sedentary lifestyle. They carry pails of water on their head AND in their hands (at the same time even), they climb trees, walk up and down hills, dig, hand wash clothes and the list goes on. Things MANY skinny people and the average person do not do on a daily basis if at all. They are FIT! But their size doesn't correspond to what Americans would call fit...as fit is slender/lean with abs and a chiseled body. In Jamaica, a lot of thicker women are given the nickname "Strong body" or "Healthy body" in fact, because of the association that a lot of women built that way, do a lot of work that does require strength and endurance and they are not out of breath while doing it.

So with that said, you have to be happy with YOUR body and focus on being healthy because a society cannot dictate it to you. Lots of things are cultural and factually false and have no bearing on whether or not you are infact healthy and strong and if you live in a society that bombards you with a certain image as strong and healthy and another as not, then you never see the shades of gray and you will have people like your neighbor and YES doctors too are part of a system of culture, that will be shocked that you don't fit the "mold".