Secrets!

Let's talk about some "secrets" of being thin. Since I started this blog I've spent more time on Google looking up these dieting tips, wondering at some of the things diet "experts" tell people. This morning I'm looking at "secrets" on HowToBeFit.com. I think what bothers me most here is this paragraph in the introduction:

"Dr. Dorie is quick to point out there’s a big difference between being thin and being a naturally thin person. There are those who struggle with anorexia or rely on starvation to avoid weight gain. These people are engaging in unhealthy physical and mental behaviors. When it comes to weight loss, one size does not fit all, she says."

She seems to be saying that if someone is thin, it's either natural or unhealthy. What about the people who are conscious of how much they eat and exercise, staying thin in a healthy way using self-control? She probably didn't mean that there are only two types of thin people, but I wish the writing made it clear.

Okay, let's tackle some of these secrets.

"Naturally thin people dont weigh, measure or otherwise keep track of their bodies dimensions. You wont even find a bathroom scale at the naturally thin persons house."

False. I weigh myself regularly, especially after vacations or other changes in my activity level. My scale is analog, so I don't obsess about every half-pound, but I can always tell you, accurate to within two pounds, how much I weigh.

"Naturally thin people stop eating before they get too full... A naturally thin person can even take a spoon and eat right from the container -- then put the container away when theyve had enough."

False. You should see me attack a pint of Haagen-Dazs. Four servings in one sitting, not realizing it until I'm scraping the bottom of the box. I eat like it's addiction... if there's food in front of me, I eat and eat and eat until either my stomach hurts or there's no food left. The feeling of fullness comes from volume, not nutrition, so eating a pint of ice cream feels the same as having a 6" Subway sandwich or a big salad. That's why portion control is so important to me. Without it, I eat too much of the wrong food and gain weight.

"Regardless of their level of conditioning, [thin people] all have some level of commitment to making fitness a part of their lives."

False. This is going to change for me in the next year, but right now, exercise isn't something I do regularly. Occasionally (once or twice a month) I'll walk two or three miles, and on vacations I usually work myself pretty hard for an hour or so (snowshoeing in March, 11-mile bike ride earlier this month, etc.), but for the most part I spend my time in front of the computer or television. Being in a blue-collar trade means that when I have a job I'm more physically active, but when I'm between jobs (like for the last five months), I'm a couch potato.

"Naturally thin people have a positive view of themselves and their lives... They have a wonderful self-image, because they have not allowed societys pressure to influence them."

False. I have struggled with Bi-Polar Disorder for over 15 years, and attempted suicide about five years ago. When I'm in the depressed phase of the disorder, I feel ugly and worthless, and I'm sure nobody would miss me if I disappeared. A little of that feeling lingers even when I'm not in the depressed phase, but I've learned coping skills that help me remember that it's the disorder talking, and that I can trust the people who care about me to give a more accurate assessment of my worth.

"Naturally thin people eat exactly what they are hungry for... Theyll go out of their way to get what they are hungry for, even if it means making a shopping trip."

True! The supermarket two miles from my house is open 24 hours. Nuff said.

Next time: more secrets!

Bodies In Motion

For the last many months I've been leading a fairly sedentary life. I gained five pounds over a week-long vacation back in March... when my sweetie and I are on vacation, he makes french toast and bacon for breakfast, and we spend a lot of time basking in the glow of a cathode ray tube, so the altered fat intake throws off my metabolism a little. During our last vacation a few weeks ago, we compensated for the different diet by going on an 11-mile bike ride one afternoon. The calories balanced out, and I'm proud to say that my muscles were only sore for a few hours. I haven't done any strenuous exercise in ages and haven't been on a bicycle in at least five years, so I'm pretty happy with how I did.

Now, just because I don't exercise much these days doesn't mean I'm not constantly burning calories. Sitting still isn't something I do well. If you see me sitting, there's a good chance I'm also bouncing my leg, talking with my hands, fidgeting with something, wiggling to the beat of the music, or knitting. Always being in motion burns calories and helps me feel active, even when I'm parked in front of the television set for a 14-hour Firefly marathon.

Or curled up in a comfy chair at the coffeehouse for the four-hour Saturday knitting circle. Hee!

To The King

Dear Burger King,

Using two bratty teens in burger costumes who make fun of healthier alternatives like Subway is not a good way to sell your product.

Sincerely,
A girl who eats at Subway and Wendy's.

Thin Myths, Part 2

Myth: Thin People Drink Water

I drink hot chocolate. A lot of hot chocolate. It's the super-sweet Mexican kind, and I make it with whole milk. It comes out to about 375 calories per mug. I also drink Glaceau Vitamin Water (125 calories per bottle, about one bottle every other day) and Juicy Juice (120 calories per cup, about one cup every week), but my primary drink is hot chocolate, and I drink about two mugs of it every day.

Should I drink more water? Probably. Will I? Nah. Plain water isn't satisfying for me. I want something with flavor. I want something that will make my stomach feel happy for more than ten minutes. Water doesn't do that.

I also don't like drinks with artificial sugars. Aspartame is bad for the body and counteracts the medication I take, and most artificial sugars leave a bitter, acidic aftertaste in my mouth. Yes, even Splenda.

Staying hydrated is good. But you don't need to drink plain water to do it. I'm not going to eat or drink things I don't like if I can get the same benefits from things I *do* like.

Time for more cocoa.

Confession #2

I slip.

That Western Burger with hash browns and mozzarella sticks at Denny's last night to celebrate my sister's safe return to New England? Totally a slip. Easily three times more than I should have eaten in one sitting.

Burgers are my nemesis. I love them, but they tend to make me sick, and portion control goes against logic (and structural integrity). Because of this, I don't have them very often.

Mozzarella sticks, though? Gifts from the gods.

Confession #1

I haven't always been this thin.

Seven years ago I weighed 160 pounds and wore size 10-12 jeans. I bought XL t-shirts and sweatshirts so I could hide my body. I hated the way I looked.

I got depressed. Very depressed. I barely ate for six months. One day I stepped on the scale and the needle stopped at 130 pounds. I'd lost 30 pounds by accident. Go ahead, hate me. It's okay this time.

My weight has fluctuated since then. I've weighed anywhere from 125 to 145 and worn anything from a size 6 to a size 9. With the exception of a few months after I started a new job (and forgot that regular activity raises metabolism), I've been stable at 130 pounds for about two years.

Maintaining this weight is something I do consciously. I watch what I eat and make sure I'm not taking in more calories than I burn. I'm not like this naturally. If I eat too much, I gain weight, just like everybody else.

The way I got to this weight was not healthy. The way I stay at it is.

Don't Be Hatin'

"You see them. Your rail-thin coworker who seems to live on pizza and never exercises. The skinny sibling whose best friends are Ben & Jerry. The svelte buddy who never met a second helping he didn't like. We hate these people."

(Brian Good, May &June 2006, AARP Magazine)

Thanks, Brian. We hate you, too.

Obesity has been called an epidemic. The National Center for Health Statistics 2003-2004 data indicates that approximately 32 percent of adults in the United States are obese. Add people who are overweight, and the total jumps to 66 percent.

Let me say that again.

Two-thirds of the adults in the United States are overweight or obese.

I guess it's no wonder thin people are hated. We're the healthy minority; the ones with self-control and/or the right genes to keep us at healthy weights. Don't blame genetics too much, though. Even Brian Good admits that DNA is only part of the cause of obesity. He says, "it turns out that lifelong-lean people just have better control over what they put in their mouths."

Um...duh.

Ditch the snarky comments, stop asking me if I want more to eat, and turn your hatred into motivation to improve your health.

And Brian? Shut up.

Thin Myths, Part 1

There must be a secret to staying thin. If it were just common sense, everyone would "get it" and everyone would be thin. Everyone isn't thin, so that means there's a secret. Tell me the secret so I can be thin!

This is the logic that sells diet books. The book I discovered yesterday is especially appealing to the "normal" person because it not only covers one secret per chapter, it's very title is one of the secrets: Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates by Jill Fleming. Some of the chapter headings are included in the book's description, and nearly every one made me roll my eyes.

Today we'll tackle the title secret: thin people don't clean their plates.

If I didn't clean my plate, I'd have to sit at the table until my mother decided it was time for me to either do chores or go to bed. It's tough to shake seventeen years of that kind of training... so I haven't tried. I clean my plate. I may clean some of it into a doggie bag when I eat out, but for the most part I will eat everything on my plate.

The trouble with telling "normal" people that thin people always leave food on their plates is that... we don't. So when someone hears that we do, and then sees me licking everything but the pattern off the china, they get upset. She wants a body like mine, so she does what someone told her I do, believing it will give her what she wants. I prove the secret wrong, her belief is shattered, and she gets upset.

I think what Ms. Fleming is getting at is the idea of portion control, which is, from what I can see, the biggest problem people have when it comes to eating in this country. So call it portion control. If you see me at a buffet, look at what I put on my plate. Macaroni and cheese, bread pudding, seafood salad, lasagna, and maybe a little salad with hard-boiled eggs and cheese. I take very small amounts of all of these. Everything fits on one 10-inch buffet plate with no stacking, and I don't go back for seconds. (I do, however, go back for dessert: a serving-spoonful of apple cobbler with a little vanilla ice cream.)

Do you see a trend in what I put on my plate? Lots of carbs, and as much protein as I can stand without gnawing on a cow. (I like meat, but don't eat much of it, so I find my protein in things like eggs and dairy.) Carbohydrates give you energy. If you have energy, you can be more active, and if you're active, you burn more calories and speed up your metabolism, which makes it easier for you to lose weight and be healthy. Protein feeds your brain, so not only are you more active, you're more focused, too.

These are not secrets. These are the results of a few Google searches, logic, and experience.

Hello World

Here it is, the birth of another blog. Exciting, no?

When I joined a "thin chicks" group on one of my favorite forums, I didn't expect to have much to talk about. I'm thin, I'm happy with it, and I don't catch much flak about it. Talking with these other women opened my eyes to the anti-thin attitude in this country, though. Still, it wasn't until this morning, when I saw a book with a title that made me bristle, that I decided to create a place for some ranting.

So here I am. I just ate a whole box of mac-n-cheese, I'm fully clothed, and the scale says 130 pounds. I'm 5'5" tall. I wear size 6 pants, size 8 dresses (because I have broad shoulders), and size 38-nearly-A bras.

Welcome to my world.