I have always found it interesting that the term portly was historically assigned to the male gender. Merriam- Webster first definition for the word is 1.dignified, stately followed by 2.rotund or round of body.

Men get to be portly while women are just called fat. Not fair so I think it is great you have chosen to describe yourself as also portly.

I am also "portly" and fighting every step of the way. Having been on massive doses of Prednisone over this last month I am happy to report I kept to my goal of not gaining any weight. WW is the only thing that works for me but I prefer the original food exchange program. Although the points program is very good for those who just do it I tend to pick things scientifically apart and see too many ways to legally tweak the system and end up gaining weight. So I will stick to food exchanges for me.

Sigh....my name is Dottie and I'm......*choke* portly. Ashamed to say I'm not doing a lot about it, but have been more diligent about watching the carbs to try and control Diabetes, I have lost 20 lbs in the past few months. Some days I get do depressed and disgusted with my self about the way I look, then when I go out and look around....well, I'm not a lone ranger. Which is also sad. I admire your grit, Ruthieg...TX, and wish you much success.

Thanks Ladies, I too am on a medicine that causes weight gain but I'm hoping I can continue to lose weight and still take the meds because I really need the medicine. Dotty I know what you mean when you say I look around and there are so many others but I think that is really what sparked my renewal. Ny husband is not any help because he keeps reassuring me that he loves all this port...Ok he doesn't say it like that but it is what he means and we all know it.

Dotmom, My daughter is pre...diabetic and needs to lose weight so I am encouraging her to check out weight watchers.

Wildchild, I have heard others say that about the exchanges but I only know counting points. Even the newer program is taking me a bit of time to catch on but like you, I know weight watchers works so I'll stick with it.

Thank you both for commenting........

Portly is for men. Let's say you are fluffy. I'm fluffy too. Weight Watchers is the best plan, but it only works when the member is properly motivated, and it sounds like you are. Good luck with that.

Well, I'm still fairly fluffy. Portly, like socks says, is more a manly term....I weigh about 137 and am only 5 foot 1. My thighs and stomach are still fat and my arms are still flabby and probably always will be. I hate when someone comments on how much weight I keep losing and how skinny I am. I've only lost 3 pounds in the past four or five months! The same people every other day comment on how I'm going to disappear if I keep losing weight, it's really annoying. I'd like to lose another 15 or so pounds but not sure that's going to happen unless I get a lot of free time to exercise.

Fluffy here too, and if I keep making apple pies, I'm adding on more fluff!!

LOL!! Fluffy here too!! A few years ago I dropped 70# but due to meds and my RA changing my life around I gained 35 or so back....am on the road to getting rid of it. WW doesn't work for me for weight loss nor for controlling my diabetes, so it isn't always 'best'. I don't think that any one program is best.

Well, yes I'm "portly, overweight, heavy, or as DH says- big boned". Yuck! So out of desperation in late July I started the controversial diet HCG. So far have lost 24lbs. and hopefully by November will be down another 15 or so. When I looked in the mirror before I started, I couldn't believe that was me! I honestly didn't feel that heavy. Funny what the mind can do :( I'll probably start back up with WW after I'm done to help keep me in check. Sigh.

Count me among the fluffy ones,but i'm mostly fluffy around the stomach area.I lose it,then my sweet tooth gets the best of me,and i cave and it goes straight to my stomach.My upper arms are swollen all the time,so they look ugly to me as well.Like some of the rest of you,the meds don't make it easy to keep the weight off either.

I told my dr's,why is it that every thing you give me in meds,says the side effects is weight gain.I'd like to have at least one that said weight loss so i could balance out.

Oh well at my age,73,i'm not in the market for any fancy clothes,don't go out a lot,so i can deal with it!!As long as i can still move and get around and play in the dirt with my gardens,that's ok,i'm happy.

Actually i get more upset about my hair,and how thin it is and the bald spots since the chemo.It's been almost 3 years since i finished,so i doubt it will ever come back like it was,and that's the one thing that people always comment about,how it's changed and how thin it is.

Yet when i wake up every morning,i'm grateful for another day.
Kathi

Dear Ruthie.....as the greeting card says "Ewes not fat, ewes fluffy". Alfred Hitchcock was portly.

Another fluffy one here who has always had a weight problem. It comes and goes but mostly lately it has stayed. Thank goodness for elastic!

Good luck with your endeavors.

Rose from Mississippi

Sigh.... me too. I'm portly and fluffy and can't seem to get motivated. One of these days, I hope. Matronly is the word I use, in my own mind. I don't feel all that overweight until I look in a full length mirror or see a picture of myself.

If you look around or just watch TV news...fat Americans are *everywhere*. I'm afraid it is 'normalizing' to see so many overweight people. Hooray for those of you who are looking beyond that!

I'm not overweight (5'6", 115lbs.) but my waist has disappeared! I don't like it, but AFAIK there is no 'Waist Finders'!

Interesting. The definition pertaining to males notwithstanding, as I was growing up portly generally referred to women around here. Males were called stocky, husky, big, chunky or other terms. Of course now most all of them are politically incorrect, especially any reference toward the big girls.

A close friend who is 73 was sent to WW by her doctor last Feb. My friend has lost 45 pounds so far and walks 3 miles a day. When it is too hot or too cold to walk outside, she goes to the mall and walks indoors. Her doctor wants her to lose another 40. She told me this is the first time in 30 years that she has weighed under 200.

I was slim until my early 30's and sadly, it is now a never-ending battle (which I am NOT winning) to keep my weight down.

Story:

In my early 30's I attended a family reunion and met lots of relatives who were previously unknown to me. We are of German descent, so if you can, put that accent on the statement an aunt made to me upon our meeting. She said, "Yah, Donna, you are a hardy girl".

My husband says I am an "easy keeper"....

My husband says I am an "easy keeper"....

Ooops, sorry about the double post...it said my message was rejected, so I posted again

Loved the quote Donna.......I can do the accent which makes it so funny. I think portly describes me because my heaviness is of course all over my body but particularly my middle section. I have a belly in other words. I have always been small and at an ideal weight most of my life.

I have never been heavy until I

1. Quit smoking
2. Did the breast cancer
3. Started taking so much meds.
4. I think age has a bit to do with it too.

It's easy to make excuses and I am good at it but the truth is, I have eaten too much and too much of the wrong foods. I eat better foods, higher quality and more of it on WW's than when I am not doing it and I lose weight.