Having a skinny mom/sister/best friend...and dealing with those emotions
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Let me tell you a story about two women I know. Jenn probably weighs close to 300#, but she's the most beautiful woman I know. She loves everyone she meets, volunteers at her church's food pantry on weekends and week nights, and she's funny as h***. She's one of my best friends. I went to high school with Robin. She was gorgeous, built like a supermodel, and smart. She wasn't one of my best friends or anything, but we hung out. Now that we're grown up, she's miserable. She still doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, but she's been to a zillion different schools for different careers. Right now, she's 46, divorced, and studying to be a funeral director. She's proof that looking good doesn't mean you've got it together.
Don't worry about other people being skinnier than you. That doesn't mean crap. Look at yourself honestly, objectively. I know you've got good qualities. You don't have to compete with anyone -- just be the best you that you can be. I don't know if they're contributing to these feelings. It doesn't sound like it, but, maybe, if you have the means to move out on your own or with a roommate that would help you? You could get out of their shadows and just focus on doing you for awhile.5 -
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I think funeral director is easily one of the most interesting and necessary jobs right now.
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seltzermint555 wrote: »nettiklive wrote: »jennydelgado09 wrote: »I'm 4'11 and my sister is probably 5'0. I'm 145lbs and on her heaviest days she's 100lbs. My heaviest was 180lbs. My mom was also very thin all her life. My brothers also have been thin. I was always the fat one in my family and growing up it sucked. I got mean comments from my brothers. I was compared to my sister.
My sister eats whatever she wants. She'll eat chocolate frosting straight from the tub. She never gains.
But you know what? She wishes she could gain weight. And she has tried to gain weight and she just can't. So i use to be jealous of her until finding that out. Now we joke that we'll trade bodies.
I think it would also help if you find something you love to do that's yours. I might not be as skinny as my mom or sister but I can definitely lift more weight than them.
It's funny how it's so common to see people like this, yet this forum seems convinced they are unicorns and don't exist
OH man I agree so much. Everyone's like "You don't see them 24/7 and they're probably super active and don't eat frequently". But I think they exist. I've known plenty of people who never exercise, eat HUGE amounts of food that is primarily "junk food", and stay very thin their whole lives or at least until a certain age.
Eh...I get what you're saying. Even at an average weight I've had that happen too...at a Halloween party I was enjoying cupcakes and chocolate and my friends were whining about how "unfair" it is that I've lost weight and kept it off "eating like that". I had eggs, a small sandwich, and a salad that day before the Halloween party while some of them went out to brunch AND a pizza buffet later. But they didn't know that.
Anyway, I know we're not all gonna agree on this particular thing.
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I married into a family where everyone is thin--even middle aged and sedentary, they are not overweight. They probably appear like they eat crazy amounts of food, because at restaurants they get appetizers and desserts and wine, and seconds at social settings.
When they are not out socially, though, they are VERY different from how I grew up eating and how most Americans probably eat. They only eat when hungry, often skip meals, and don't really eat for pleasure but just to avoid passing out so they can get back into things.
Like my husband grabs a bag of pistachios and a yogurt and eats it while he is driving to work, often skips lunch, and eats a normal dinner and ice cream for dessert. He's not a gym rat, but exercises a few times a week in a really moderate kind of way while reading (elliptical and weights.) BUT he is on his feet all day long and never sits down. He will sit down to watch TV and get up 40 times because he forgot something. He has only gained 5 lbs since I met him in 1995, when he was in his early 20s.
His mom is the same way. She often forgets to eat till well after noon, then eats something like a tuna fish sandwich without thinking about it (I've seen her eat a few bites and forget about it for hours). She never stops moving.
But when they are out to enjoy themselves, they eat insane amounts of food.
I wish this were how I were programmed, but I enjoy eating. I like my breakfast and coffee, my lunches, and can't imagine forgetting to eat. I'd never forget I was in the middle of lunch because the doorbell rang!
Just my 2 cents on the unicorn of the naturally thin!4 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »
I think funeral director is easily one of the most interesting and necessary jobs right now.
I wasn’t hating on her job, I felt bad that her ‘friend’ was using her as an example like that.4 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »nettiklive wrote: »jennydelgado09 wrote: »I'm 4'11 and my sister is probably 5'0. I'm 145lbs and on her heaviest days she's 100lbs. My heaviest was 180lbs. My mom was also very thin all her life. My brothers also have been thin. I was always the fat one in my family and growing up it sucked. I got mean comments from my brothers. I was compared to my sister.
My sister eats whatever she wants. She'll eat chocolate frosting straight from the tub. She never gains.
But you know what? She wishes she could gain weight. And she has tried to gain weight and she just can't. So i use to be jealous of her until finding that out. Now we joke that we'll trade bodies.
I think it would also help if you find something you love to do that's yours. I might not be as skinny as my mom or sister but I can definitely lift more weight than them.
It's funny how it's so common to see people like this, yet this forum seems convinced they are unicorns and don't exist
OH man I agree so much. Everyone's like "You don't see them 24/7 and they're probably super active and don't eat frequently". But I think they exist. I've known plenty of people who never exercise, eat HUGE amounts of food that is primarily "junk food", and stay very thin their whole lives or at least until a certain age.
People who eat Thanksgiving dinner with my tiny mom talk about her being "naturally thin" and/or her "wonderful metabolism." But if they were to follow her around for a day, they would see she is incredibly active and skips meals.4 -
@popsicles876 I probably could have written your post. Easily.
When you're young, the comparisons and comments within the family shape how you think about yourself. As you get older, you have to shake those things off. Honestly? I avoided my mom for a couple years after I moved out because she always managed to make me feel terrible about myself every time I saw her.
And then I got older. More confident and sure of myself as a human. And I stopped caring so much. And I think my mom mellowed out a lot, too.
Now that Im thinner, my mom is always telling me I look amazing (she's the fat one now, LOL) and my sister is happy to have someone to do all the active things she's always loved with. I can do them now that Im not lugging an extra 30% of my body weight around.
In other words, do this for you. Forget what they think, they don't matter. You do. Get healthy and get happy for yourself! You can do it2 -
I have the opposite problem. I'm the only person in my extended family that's not overweight or obese.
It's tough being the odd person who doesn't fit in.
They are constantly pushing food and sweets and junk calories my way.
Plus, most of them are super condescending about my being a healthy weight. Like it happens magically. I work out every single day, generally twice a day. I track what I eat every single day, except for vacations. I have been doing this eat healthy and workout thing for 21 years. They constantly tell me things like "you are so lucky", "you got all the skinny genes in the family", "if I were built like you, I wouldn't be so fat".
It's kind of horrible because I get no kind of credit and I have worked really hard. Plus, they are never going to strive to take better care of themselves as long as they can keep believing that it's some kind of magic genes.
They keep digging their graves with their forks, I keep trying not to follow their lead.
On the plus side, I know exactly what genetics has in store for me, and seeing it in my parents, grandparents, and siblings helps to motivate me to take good care of myself and teach my children good eating habits.6
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