Weighty Stuff
What is a nice way to say, "a little bit fat but not totally gazungo-mungous?"
A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, just described me to someone this way:
She' s tall (5'6" or thereabouts), a little on the hefty side (by her own admission - so am I) and has short blonde hair and glasses.
(My friend is a senior citizen, a fellow blogger, and I don`t want anyone to say "get new friends" in the comments, because she`s really great and was just trying to accurately describe me to someone who`s never met me before.)
Actually, I`m only about 5'3" -- close to 5'4" on a tall day, when I`m standing up straight, which is never. My hair is closer to light brown, and.....hefty?
"Hefty" sounds like "heifer." "Hefty" sounds like a brand of trash bag -- oh, wait, it is! That must be why it sounds like someone so big she has to clothe herself in black plastic trash bags.
I`ve always preferred "chubby." Or, even more accurately, "voluptous," since so much of my "heft" is right above my rib cage.
But now, have I crossed the line from "chubby" to "hefty?" Dear god.....! I can still fit in normal sizes! And I`m still a size "medium" in Target clothes! Really!
I`ve started swimming in recent weeks, since we joined the Y. While I am still just as "hefty" as ever, I have noticed that my "heft" no longer jiggles.
Hub poked me in the stomach the other day, and asked, "Why is it so hard? You`re not.....pregnant, are you?"
I pointed out to him that it would be biologically impossible for me to be pregnant at this particular point in time unless I were cheating on him, and all he said was, "Yeah, right."
But it`s true -- my stomach still sticks out a little bit, but it`s no longer squishy. I could pass for someone in early pregnancy with a "baby bump." Damn, I`d better be careful how I dress, or else strangers will ask when my due date is.
"I like you better squishy," said Hub sadly.
Sorry, Hub, but if I`m going to be a big ol` hefty middle-aged woman, I need nice strong muscles to support my heft.
But isn`t there something better to call it?
A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, just described me to someone this way:
She' s tall (5'6" or thereabouts), a little on the hefty side (by her own admission - so am I) and has short blonde hair and glasses.
(My friend is a senior citizen, a fellow blogger, and I don`t want anyone to say "get new friends" in the comments, because she`s really great and was just trying to accurately describe me to someone who`s never met me before.)
Actually, I`m only about 5'3" -- close to 5'4" on a tall day, when I`m standing up straight, which is never. My hair is closer to light brown, and.....hefty?
"Hefty" sounds like "heifer." "Hefty" sounds like a brand of trash bag -- oh, wait, it is! That must be why it sounds like someone so big she has to clothe herself in black plastic trash bags.
I`ve always preferred "chubby." Or, even more accurately, "voluptous," since so much of my "heft" is right above my rib cage.
But now, have I crossed the line from "chubby" to "hefty?" Dear god.....! I can still fit in normal sizes! And I`m still a size "medium" in Target clothes! Really!
I`ve started swimming in recent weeks, since we joined the Y. While I am still just as "hefty" as ever, I have noticed that my "heft" no longer jiggles.
Hub poked me in the stomach the other day, and asked, "Why is it so hard? You`re not.....pregnant, are you?"
I pointed out to him that it would be biologically impossible for me to be pregnant at this particular point in time unless I were cheating on him, and all he said was, "Yeah, right."
But it`s true -- my stomach still sticks out a little bit, but it`s no longer squishy. I could pass for someone in early pregnancy with a "baby bump." Damn, I`d better be careful how I dress, or else strangers will ask when my due date is.
"I like you better squishy," said Hub sadly.
Sorry, Hub, but if I`m going to be a big ol` hefty middle-aged woman, I need nice strong muscles to support my heft.
But isn`t there something better to call it?
posted by L. at 4:29 PM
17 Comments:
Zaftig
How about 'comfortable'? Your husband's comment is just sweet.
If you keep going to the "Y" we will have to describe you as "athletic."
Zaftig, I'd never heard that before. Google search shows 221,000 hits. Various definitions look good, bad, and ugly. Use with caution.
Two points:
1. You were nowhere near hefty when I met you. For Pete's sake!
2. People in California tend to have unrealistic body images. This applies to weight, aging, etc. and was one of the big reasons, after my two years in California, I don't think I'd ever live there again. Everyone is trying to be too thin, too young, whatever. It was so fake.
My husband, when we were just dating, once described me as "chunky". I was completely insulted, so he backpedaled like a madman, saying that "chunky" was thinner than "chubby" and that he was in no way calling me fat. Chunky, to me, is worse than chubby. Chunky implies that I have chunks
Eleven years later, I still won't let him forget it. I don't think the word chunky will ever pass his lips again.
Since the average American woman is supposed to be 5'4" and about 140-145, I like to describe myself as 1 inch shorter and a couple pounds lighter than average.
I always say "a little on the bigger side," which doesn't necessarily limit itself to any particular part of the body, doesn't describe the firmness or jiggliness of anyone's body and could easily be used to describe anyone who is tall and legitimately big-boned. I think chunky, chubby, hefty, etc, all imply rolls of squishy fat in places where it's not wanted. "On the bigger side" leaves open the idea that you could be firmed up but just a little larger than average.
How about a little on the plump side? Or pleasingly plump?
Congratulations on the swimming. I used to be a competitive swimmer when I was a kid and now swimming a 100 is difficult to do without stopping to rest in the middle. *sigh*
My darling husband described me once to someone, so they could find me in a crowd and they didn't know me...
She has dark blond hair, glasses and she is heavy set.
Heavy set.
Hmmm.
He kept saying he meant that I was well endowed in the chest region.
Hmmm.
Curvy!
I like voluptuous. Hefty is for glad bags.
My original radiation oncologist described me as "well-nourished"... Dontcha love it???
Ummm, let's see..... heavy-set works. Or chubby, or pleasantly plump. Hefty sounds like a big load someone needs to carry around for you. How about well rounded?
I don't know. I guess it just bugs me that you can describe someone as skinny and no one gets upset, but if someone should dare to say fat, then everyone gets offended.
Personally, I am a rubenesque goddess (in my own mind anyway - lol).
I've been described as a "big girl" since jr. high. People will swear up and down they mean I'm tall (and I am - 5-10") but I still don't like it.
actually...i once said to a friend in college, 'you're so lucky to be skinny.' and the poor girl was insulted (maybe a breast issue??) so i took to calling her willowy.
as for being on the heavy side...i don't think there's any way for someone else to describe my weight and me be ok with it. i mean, i could tell you i'm a blubbery whale and not blink an eye but if someone else did i'd probably cry...
I like zaftig best.
Hefty. What an awful word. Whoever said that should crawl under a rock and never, ever come out.
My husband suggests "with more cushion for the pushin'"
And unless something crazy happened since last night, I have to say "voluptuous." Definitely. I am not above girl crushes, either, so don't push me.
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