This time I realized it when my largest clothing started getting tight.
But there have been several in the past.
Like when my son was small and rode an elephant at the zoo. I was shocked to read on the sign that I was too fat to ride an elephant. (I think it said you had to be under 250 lbs) At that time it really bothered me not so much now though I'm still too fat to ride that elephant :( edited to say I would never want to ride one anyway
Or the time my mom was telling me how much weight someone had gained that she hadn't seen in a while. "Oh she was great big!!!" then looking me over said "about your size".
Oh there's more but no time for it all here LOL

Wow! Makes you really think of what others are going through.

I have three moments.

1) The first time for me was after I had my youngest. He was only 6 months old and I had to be a bridesmaid in my sisters wedding. Let's just say I am 1 of 5 girls and I look huge in all the pictures. Now that I think about I can't believe I didn't cut myself any slack for just having a baby. I was still nursing for goodness sakes.

2) I went out with a bunch of girlfriends to a burlesque show. I spent so much time getting ready. Had on a beige Banana Republic dress and Jimmy Choos. I thought I looked pretty good. Then my friend posted pictures on Facebook and tagged me. I looked like a stuffed sausage sitting down. I immediately untagged myself and changed the settings on my facebook. Now people have to get my approval before I am allowed to be tagged.

3) The last year I had to live with my sister. She came to stay with us in Houston. We have a carriage house, so she had her space. Anyways, she lost 30 pounds last year and I never felt so fat as I did then. I was at my heaviest which is 150. I still remember her saying that she deprived herself of eating lots of things to stay thin. I am not sure if that was directed at me, but all I could think about was never being able to do that.

ETA: There is nothing like laying out by your pool and having to see your sister looking hot in a bikini to ruin your self esteem. Ugh!

BTW, I do love my sister, it's pure jealousy on my part. In fact out of five, she is my favorite.

Zut alors!

I've just read through all of these and it's so sad to see the way that we've all been treated. By ourselves and others. It's awful not fitting in to the "normal" area of life.

I've had about 10 million realisations throughout my life over how overweight I am.

When I was much younger, I went on a field trip and 4 of us were riding in my teacher's car. One of the girls yelled out "front seat!" and my teacher--right in front of me--pulled her aside and said "You had better let Jess sit in the front seat. I don't think she can fit in the back with the other two." That was the first time I saw that my weight wasn't a big secret that only I could see.

Lately, though, I've heard about my weight from my father (who looks about 11 months pregnant so give me a break), my mother; and my best friend and I often joke about how "we're the fat kids." It used to be a first-person declaration, but then it turned in to "we."

Not to mention, my own realisation that none of my clothes fit anymore. I refused to go up a size. REFUSED.

I was fat my whole life so ther are many. A few that stick in my head :

1. My third grade teacher was doing opposites and used me and another girl for examples. I was "fat' and the other girl was "thin"...I still can not believe a teacher did that...

2. When my dad one time told me after he hugged me that he would love me no matter how big I got, and held out wide arms...then said even if I get as big as Aunt L (his very obese sister)...he has since made rude remarks about me being too skinny at time when I have gotten down near goal weight before getting pregnant.

3. When my "friends" (guys) from high school told me that I was a really nice friend, but not the kind of girl that guys date or take to prom, because I was fat. This was in response to me not going to prom because I couldnt get a date...a little perspective, I was a freaking size 14....yeah, but that was way too fat apparently...

And in response the the "too fat to ride an elephant story, a male friend of mine (not one of the a holes from high school) who makes lite of his weight issues, decided to lose some weight awhile back because he wanted to go sky diving, but there was a weight limit...I think it was also like 250 lbs (he's on the shorter side so over 250 lbs was a lot on his frame)...anyway he told me it was time when he realized he was "too fat to fall."...lol

I saw a pic of myself at 210 lbs and also was just squeezing in to a size 18... Now I am 145 and a size 6-8 but some days it is still hard to remember how far I have come. I have been overweight since I was a kid. I try to embrace eating healthy and exercising. At age 43 I am in the best shape of my life and ran a marathon in May so i guess it's all relative. I want to keep going 20 more lbs, but in honesty, I am learning to love myself as long as I am healthy.

i just remember being kind of in denial about it. i'd always get made fun of, there'd always be comments from family members, but i tended to internalize and block it out pretty well. then one day i just kind of woke up and thought, "jesus, i'm fat. i am a fat person. i am one of those people."

i mean, since i've learned that big is beautiful too and i don't think of fat people as "those" people anymore, but there was a lot of self loathing wrapped up in all of those thoughts i was having about myself and others.

i still occasionally feel fat around others. the other day someone told me, "wow, you're so beautiful! you'd have been the ideal back in [such and such time]." then she said, "you know, because your skin is porcelain. you look like a porcelain doll." it just kinda felt odd because she was obviously talking about my curves and then felt uncomfortable about it afterward.

i like my body, but sometimes when i compare it to other peoples', i still feel huge.

- When I was about 13, my friend Marina and I went for a swim in my pool. Afterwards we went into my room and sat on the bed. Our suits were still wet. When we got up, we left wet butt prints on my bed cover. Marina's butt print was tiny... mine was gigantic.

- When I was 25, I was involved in a car accident. The firemen strapped me to a board and had to lift me out. When it was time to lift one fireman yelled, "We need more men!"

- Recently I had a lunch time makeout session with a friend. We were in my car and he suggested we get into the back seat. I have a two door. When I tried to get into the back... I couldn't fit through. We had to move back up front.

When I realized there was another chin that showed up to the party. Go away. You're not invited.

I've always known I was chubby, but it really hit home when I was steadily gaining weight and was almost to 200 pounds. Also, mom told me that the stretch marks on my lower stomach look like someone tried to cut me open with a knife.

I usto be thin and real active when I was younger.. in cheerleading wrestling than I got jumped by 5 girls in 8th grade and that's when I got put onto depression pills. and the doctor put me on phentermine to help regulate thing.. also birth control for regulating my periods. after a year I just stopped taking everything because I didn't need that and BAM I got bigger

I also remember my dad telling me if u get any bigger your going to look like a blimp

these last few years I noticed the double chin in pictures.. im more sluggish.. and no energy to do anything..

My heart breaks for each of you ladies experiences. I have had many of them, from the "bathing suit butt" to the verbally abusive parent. Being overweight/obese from a young age, it's not just any single event for me, just a general way I was treated or ignored throughout my life. When I was in middle school I really started seeing the inequities between how my thin friends (and sisters) were treated and how I was treated. I hate that any child should have to suffer the things we did, it's so unfair, it just kills me. Each of you are beautiful and strong in unique ways, thank you for sharing your stories.

It was one particular day shopping with my little sister and I ran into an old co-worker who said I was getting so big she didn't recognize me although she was the one who recognized me first! And then later my father making a comment about my size being big. My little sister defended me saying "Dad don't call her big! She's not fat."

WTF! People are so rude! It all happened in the same day within hours of each other. I just know that my mother wasn't pleased either with how I looked and everyone was just so disapproving and rude.

I concluded nobody loves you when you're fat.

I'm a side sleeper, and my first wakeup moment was at 183lbs when I couldn't breathe properly on my side because my tummy was so heavy it pulled my diaphragm down.

The second time it was a trip to buy a new bathing suit (just recently, at about 160lbs) where I realized how much weight I've gained back.

@Amy Remixed: your first two made me laugh!

My dad told me I was getting fat and should slim down some, when I was 11.
I couldn't fit in the safety restraint on a ride at the amusement park.
I think the last one was, I was too fat to go horseback riding while on vacation.

I knew I was fat and I knew I needed to lose weight, but I was very very depressed and didn't care so I kept eating. The only thing that slapped me into reality was when I started to have marriage problems. When I have really deep problems, that's when I can't eat. And I automatically used the first few days of not eating as the start of my diet. Of course it eventually took off into a full fledged "I am going to lose weight to look and feel great diet". I am still having marriage problems, but I look awesome and if I get a divorce, I am going to look fabulous not only for myself but my next boyfriend lol