As I posted on Monday, I was motivated to lose a few pounds this week that I had gained in Australia and during my Birthday week. After a week of mindful eating, I said to roomie last night, “I ate so well today.”
He looked at me and asked, “Who keeps track of that?”
“I do! My readers do. Writing down what you eat is like the top tip for losing weight. You are one of those annoyingly naturally skinny people who has no idea what it’s like to want to lose weight or have to work at maintaining your weight. You don’t think about it because you don’t need or care to,” I snapped back.
“Well then, don’t think about.”
“Seriously?” I realized he just did not understand and stopped at that.
This was not an eye opening experience for me but rather a frustrating one. I admit it’s hard work to maintain my weight. Most of you know, I love cocktails and cupcakes. If I ate how I wanted 24-7, I would be much heavier. My weight fluctuates 5-10 lbs on a regular basis. Roomie on the other hand, wants to gain weight and has never had to watch his diet a day in his life. We all wish we were like this, right?
Who doesn’t want to be naturally healthy, skinny, fit or lean?
I never thought twice about what I ate until 7th grade health class. I didn’t really restrict myself but was mindful of what I was eating and stopped getting the Dunkin’ Donuts maple glazed coffee roll for breakfast every Sunday on the way to church. I don’t think I kept track of eating well at this point.
Then one warm April afternoon Sophomore year, a best friend of mine said to me while tanning in our sports bra’s on my deck, “Kate’s sister said I was skinnier than you.”
From that day on, I was officially no longer naturally thin. I began to keep track of how well I ate. Pizza and chicken fingers were no longer apart of my world without the stigma of not eating well. I still ate them, but they caused me to feel guilty. And truth be told looking back, I might have weighed more but I had much less fat and more muscle. I actually have a picture from that day still and I’m baffled to think I cared so much. Above is a picture from Senior year. Just like in Glee we wore our uniforms to school… but only on game day.
So who cares, right? I had a friend that had her own eating issues. My point is that maybe while we are tackling this obesity epidemic, we are also creating a body image self-hatred norm.
Education creates awareness but does it change a persons behavior? Caitlin at Operation Beautiful has a good thing going on building girls’ self-esteem. It’s a small step in a positive direction but still there are a growing number of children who are obese. Where is the line where we educate children how to make healthy decisions but do not cross a line that changes their naturally skinny mentality?
I wish I was still naturally thin, and although the hopes of ever finding it again may be lost, I’d like to think that one day, when I have a daughter I’ll be able to preserve hers.
Do you think you are naturally healthy? Can you remember an exact time when your perspective on food changed like mine? Let me know in the comments below.
Also, thank you to Garlic Gold for sending me a few samples. I am officially obsessed with the parmesan/garlic on my steamed veggies. Yes, steamed veggies were a staple this week in my efforts to get back down to my happy weight.
