Skinny is overrated...please eat (CONCERNED RANT!)

larnsperger

Commenting on food diaries isn't something I would do unless asked specifically. I find it equally exasperating when the "eat more" crowd posts about all us 1200 calorie people, and when you look at some of their journals their food choices are high protein bars, shakes etc. It's not my business how other people choose to follow their path unless asked directly I know what works for me and that's all I'm an expert on. As for the "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" quote, I heard that 25 years ago from my Diet Workshop instructor long before those crazy websites came along. Skinny is a relative term and there's nothing wrong with being skinny.

Sqeekyjojo

One of the quotes I see on here drives me up the wall. Something like "Nothing tastes as good as skinny looks." This is a totally pro-ana quote. I'm pretty sure I saw it on the pro-ana websites when I was doing a research paper.

It's a bastardization of the quote "nothing tastes as good as being lean feels". Whoever once read the word 'lean' and interpreted it as 'skinny' deserves a claw hammer to the face.

I'm sure this will come as no surprise, but that's a Kate Moss quote.

Don't flatter her. She just parroted the kind of crap dieting stuff that's been around for much longer than she has.

Used to read it in UK teen magazines, diet magazines, that kind of thing. As she's from the same town as me, and almost the same age, she'd have been exposed to the same influences as a kid. Although I seemed to miss the influences that suggested cocaine could form a part of the diet.

tomg33

What really gets me is when young girls (and some guys) in their teens are under-eating so that they're quite literally malnourished through their growing years. This can result in a whole host of health problems, not the least of which are stunted growth, metabolic disorders and fertility problems. And I do use the word 'malnourished' literally -- as ridiculous as it seems in this day and age when we're on this website using this tool to lose weight, amidst an obesity epidemic...

kingofcrunk

There is no point telling people over and over again to eat more. People will eat what they want to eat...and you can't really do much about it. I am really struggling at the moment to up my calories - I regularly eat below 800 which I am well aware is awful and I need to eat more to be good to my body. It is nice that people care about me enough to comment and tell me I need to eat more but it isn't going to make me actually do it. I am trying to increase my calories but it is a personal thing I need to get over in my head, and ranting at me would probably make the whole situation worse, rather than better.

Maybe try a couple of gentle reminders if you see it happening to a friend of yours on here and then if it doesn't change you will have to just accept that. If you don't like it, don't look.

da_bears10089

They might not be entering all their food...just a thought.

You can delete friends. I'm pretty sure if they are undereating by that much, they're doing it on purpose and not much we can really do about it.

I don't look at peoples' food diary unless they ask a specific question, and I don't comment on food or exercise in my feed.

Sometimes I look when the status comes up in the feed "Person x completed their diary and was under their goal." I guess I'll stop looking.

^^^ kinda harsh.. what if they dont eat back their exercise cals and that "puts them under their calorie goal"

they should be eating back their exercise calories. that's how this site was designed.

gfedex

There's loads of little things I don't add to my diary- gum, small amounts of oil, the cream in that extra cup of coffee...it's because I don't obsess over every last calorie. So, though my days are sometimes low, they're not as low as they might first appear- and lower days are often followed by higher days. For me, this is normal- way more normal than, say, logging one tic tac or 3 chickpeas.

There are numerous reasons my diary is filled in the way it is with the foods I've picked. If someone presumed that, based on a list of edibles and a computer-generated number, I was starving myself and thought it appropriate to call me out on it, I'd be less than impressed. Asking is one thing; accusing is not.

I see lots of things that personally wouldn't work for me- a common example would be seeing diaries filled with processed protein bars or other manufactured meal replacements. I might find it odd, but it's not keeping me up at night because ultimately, I'm here for me.

LaurenAOK

Is there any nice way to tell people they're not eating enough?! If you open your diary and I am your friend on here am I free to say "hey you need to eat a little more"?I am just very concerned for the people (mostly ladies) that are closing their diaries out and have only eaten 800-1000 calories or less, regularly. I understand the occasional day, like today I'm sick...but day after day of eating 800 calories is not healthy. I couldn't even get a BMR calculator to compute an 800 calorie BMR for a 3'5" 50 pound person and I assume most of us are taller than that and weigh more than that. I'm 5'2" (pretty darn short) 127lbs (fairly lean) and my BMR is 1315. PLEASE EAT LADIES, I BEG YOU! If you want lasting change, eat healthy, don't starve yourself.

*exhale*

Ya know.. some of us are trying very hard to reach even 1200, which I know is still most likely below where i need to be.. people who are *intentionally* doing this, should take a look at what they are really doing to themselves health wise.. For the rest of us.. it's a daily struggle. I have a hard time getting to 1200 a day.. It's a little easier now.. 3 months later, but my net calories is still sometimes a negative number.. I do pre-plan my day and more or less stick to it.. but it's so hard to eat when you are not hungry. I often skip my afternoon snack simply because i am not hungry in the least and I forget to have it. i just upped my goal calories to 1408.. 200 calories more then I have been trying to eat, in the hopes that some of it is psychological in nature (like it makes it harder to reach 1200 because i don't want to go over the goal??) I planned a day of 1600 because i am going to the gym tomorrow and will probably do Zumba too. So here's hoping. Mind you.. I started this journey unintentionally eating only 700 calories a day (unless i went out to eat with my guy, then it was more like 8-900) Me leaving my diary open is not for attention. It's so you can call me out when i'm neglecting myself too much, either by not eating enough or making unhealthy choices too often.

Just a perspective for you.. and I do think there are more women in the boat I am in then you think.

I'm sorry, but this doesn't make any sense to me. Your net calories are sometimes NEGATIVE? So what, you're eating 500 calories and burning 600, or something similar? If you honestly can't eat enough, then cut back on your exercise. It is NOT healthy to let your net calories get that low.
I hear the "I'm not hungry enough for 1200" thing all the time, and look, I get it. There are days when I net 1000 and I'm stuffed. When you're eating super clean, it's difficult to get enough calories. But you have to find a way. Awhile ago I started eating at least one "dirty" food a day and I feel so much better now. I ALWAYS get enough calories and I don't have any more cravings because I satisfy all of them! For example, yesterday I ate super clean all day and worked out really hard, so I knew my net calories were going to be low. So I rewarded myself with parmesan bread from Dominos as a post-workout treat. Not only did I get to eat something delicious, but it brought me into a healthy calorie range. Some people swear that you have to eat clean 100% of the time to see results but I have not found that to be true at all. I'm well on the way to my dream body and I only eat clean about 80% of the time.
As far as the psychological aspect, I can understand that, too. That's why I set my goal higher. I find that I'm always mentally afraid to get *too close* to going over my calorie goal, so I set my goal a couple hundred calories higher than it needs to be (I actually have my goal set at maintenance now so I know that even if I come in right at it, I"m still not going to gain weight). So if you need to eat 1400 to lose a pound a week, set your goal at 1600 instead. Easy.
I also don't understand, you said you were unintentionally eating 700 calories a day when you started this journey? How were you ever overweight if you were eating 700 calories a day? I don't mean to be rude, that just doesn't make any sense.
Bottom line: Please eat more. Or cut down on the exercise. Period.

da_bears10089

Is there any nice way to tell people they're not eating enough?! If you open your diary and I am your friend on here am I free to say "hey you need to eat a little more"?I am just very concerned for the people (mostly ladies) that are closing their diaries out and have only eaten 800-1000 calories or less, regularly. I understand the occasional day, like today I'm sick...but day after day of eating 800 calories is not healthy. I couldn't even get a BMR calculator to compute an 800 calorie BMR for a 3'5" 50 pound person and I assume most of us are taller than that and weigh more than that. I'm 5'2" (pretty darn short) 127lbs (fairly lean) and my BMR is 1315. PLEASE EAT LADIES, I BEG YOU! If you want lasting change, eat healthy, don't starve yourself.

*exhale*

Ya know.. some of us are trying very hard to reach even 1200, which I know is still most likely below where i need to be.. people who are *intentionally* doing this, should take a look at what they are really doing to themselves health wise.. For the rest of us.. it's a daily struggle. I have a hard time getting to 1200 a day.. It's a little easier now.. 3 months later, but my net calories is still sometimes a negative number.. I do pre-plan my day and more or less stick to it.. but it's so hard to eat when you are not hungry. I often skip my afternoon snack simply because i am not hungry in the least and I forget to have it. i just upped my goal calories to 1408.. 200 calories more then I have been trying to eat, in the hopes that some of it is psychological in nature (like it makes it harder to reach 1200 because i don't want to go over the goal??) I planned a day of 1600 because i am going to the gym tomorrow and will probably do Zumba too. So here's hoping. Mind you.. I started this journey unintentionally eating only 700 calories a day (unless i went out to eat with my guy, then it was more like 8-900) Me leaving my diary open is not for attention. It's so you can call me out when i'm neglecting myself too much, either by not eating enough or making unhealthy choices too often.

Just a perspective for you.. and I do think there are more women in the boat I am in then you think.

I'm sorry, but this doesn't make any sense to me. Your net calories are sometimes NEGATIVE? So what, you're eating 500 calories and burning 600, or something similar? If you honestly can't eat enough, then cut back on your exercise. It is NOT healthy to let your net calories get that low.
I hear the "I'm not hungry enough for 1200" thing all the time, and look, I get it. There are days when I net 1000 and I'm stuffed. When you're eating super clean, it's difficult to get enough calories. But you have to find a way. Awhile ago I started eating at least one "dirty" food a day and I feel so much better now. I ALWAYS get enough calories and I don't have any more cravings because I satisfy all of them! For example, yesterday I ate super clean all day and worked out really hard, so I knew my net calories were going to be low. So I rewarded myself with parmesan bread from Dominos as a post-workout treat. Not only did I get to eat something delicious, but it brought me into a healthy calorie range. Some people swear that you have to eat clean 100% of the time to see results but I have not found that to be true at all. I'm well on the way to my dream body and I only eat clean about 80% of the time.
As far as the psychological aspect, I can understand that, too. That's why I set my goal higher. I find that I'm always mentally afraid to get *too close* to going over my calorie goal, so I set my goal a couple hundred calories higher than it needs to be (I actually have my goal set at maintenance now so I know that even if I come in right at it, I"m still not going to gain weight). So if you need to eat 1400 to lose a pound a week, set your goal at 1600 instead. Easy.
I also don't understand, you said you were unintentionally eating 700 calories a day when you started this journey? How were you ever overweight if you were eating 700 calories a day? I don't mean to be rude, that just doesn't make any sense.
Bottom line: Please eat more. Or cut down on the exercise. Period.

you practically read my mind! i'm not sure how an overweight person has trouble eating enough calories... and 1200 is just too much. i usually eat over 1000 calories by the time lunch is over and finish my day at somewhere between 1800-2000. Still losing weight.

Jxnsmma

One of the quotes I see on here drives me up the wall. Something like "Nothing tastes as good as skinny looks." This is a totally pro-ana quote. I'm pretty sure I saw it on the pro-ana websites when I was doing a research paper.

Agreed, that saying makes me shudder. I also did a research paper which involved looking at those sites and that phrase is very very common, that and the similar "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".

The first time I heard that phrase was when I joined WW back in 1988. Long before Kate Moss came on the scene. It was originally used as a way to stop and think before you ate something off plan. Yeah, that ice cream or whatever will taste good for a little while, but being skinny (which wasn't considered a bad thing back then) will feel better in the long run.
Like anything, what started off as a good mantra to keep you on track, has apparently now become something bad.

Other sayings like- "a minute on the lips-a lifetime on the hips" were also popular.

Agreed. I dont find this pro ana. i use it all the time to mean that eating that chocolate bar might taste good for 3 minutes but its feels better to me to not have eaten it and had a loss on the scale this week instead... and Im by no means anorexic or too skinny...

UnderCoverShyGirl

Changed my mind!

GracefulDancer4Christ

that maybe true for some who leave an open diary but then there are some like me who had no idea she ate so little until tracking I leave mine open to get help to eat more. so far I am eating more and its been helping. I still need to make heathier choices. I went from netting 900-1,000 calories to netting anywhere from 1300-1400 calories. any ladies who want to help me I welcome it.