When it comes to being skinny, it can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s the only body type where you can eat whatever you want without worrying about too many consequences but it’s also the body type that is least resistant to cold and isn’t the best in terms of strength. Since I was a skinny guy myself, people would always come up to me and ask me an interesting question, “Does being skinny hurt?”
Although being skinny doesn’t hurt physically, it can have some psychological repercussions. Most skinny people tend to develop a lot of insecurities about their bodies and the way they look which can affect mental health.
In this article, we’ll talk about if being skinny can hurt physically and psychologically.
Table of Contents
Does Being Skinny Hurt Physically?
In order to answer this question, I’ll talk about my own experience of growing up as a really skinny kid and I’m not even exaggerating. I used to be 15, 5 foot 9 tall, and weighed about 100 pounds. At one point in my life, people could literally see my ribs all over my body especially if I was stretching, that’s how skinny I was.
But did being skinny really hurt me physically? Not necessarily since you get used to it and it becomes a part of your daily life. Apart from some minor exceptions:
Sitting Hurts
This may sound as odd to you but most skinny people tend to have some difficulties when it comes to sitting. It’s very common for people with lower body fat percentages to find chairs a little bit less comfortable to sit on. Since their lower region has no cushion or layers of fat to ease up sitting. When I was skinny, I used to experience this all the time. I would spend countless hours trying to find a chair that would suit me but with no satisfying results. This can also develop some spinal alignment issues in the long term.
You Get Sick Easily
Getting sick way too often and super easily can really put a heavy toll on your body which hurts in the long term. The main reason behind this is that the immune system doesn’t work to its full capacity when you’re underweight. That’s why skinny people are more likely to catch a cold, flu, and other sicknesses. I remember I used to get sick all the time and it really wasn’t enjoyable. If you ever manage to gain weight or build some muscle mass which results in getting sick less often, that’s when you really feel the difference.
You have Less Strength
Although some skinny people tend to be stronger than average, the reality is, that most of them are much weaker than normal people and that’s typical when you have less body fat and muscle mass. In this case, you’re more likely to get injured which hurts. This can also lead to having weaker bones and joints which can cause pain.
Does Being Skinny Hurt Psychologically?
Just like I did in the first part, I’ll talk about my own experience growing up skinny. One of the worst things that can happen when you’re underweight is that you tend to develop a lot of insecurities about your body and the way you look which has a heavy toll on your mental health.
Since I grew up as a skinny kid, I was always getting bullied and made fun of in school. You know how people come up to you and put their fingers around your wrist to emphasize how skinny you are? That was always the case for me. I used to laugh it out but deep down, it really got to me emotionally.
I also had a lot of trouble talking to girls since most of them would ignore me due to how I looked. Who would want to date a scrawny-looking kid that would probably make all your friends laugh at you?
People would literally come up to me and ask if I was malnourished or going through some problems and would offer me help if something required physical strength since they assumed I was really weak. This made me develop a lot of insecurities to the point that I refused to leave the house most of the time just to avoid interactions with people that would probably end up being negative.
However, surprisingly enough, this social pressure that I went through was one of the best things that happened to me and was the main reason why I decided to start my fitness transformation journey (you can check it here). I managed to gain a lot of weight, build muscle mass, and most importantly, develop a healthy lifestyle that’s still lasting to this day.
So based on my story, here are the main psychological and hurtful effects of being skinny:
- You tend to develop a lot of insecurities and you become self-conscious about your appearance
- You’re more likely to get bullied and made fun of
- You’ll have a lot of trouble talking to girls or finding a partner
- People will make all sorts of assumptions about you
Conclusion:
Even though being skinny does hurt both physically (not that much) and psychologically, it’s a great source of motivation that will make you consider starting your own fitness transformation journey just as it did for me. Hitting the lowest point of your life is usually followed by the highest.
Take all the bullying, the “making fun of”, the assumptions, and the physical pain and use it as a source of energy to start some form of resistance training that will help you change your body forever and develop one of the best lifestyles out there.