You're doing it wrong if you're thinking "how skinny feels"

jetscreaminagain
jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Thread started out of kindness and concern:

If you have that stupid aphorism "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" or any variation thereof going through your head at any time, you need to know, you're doing it wrong.

It isn't about skinny. The idea that you would deny yourself enjoyment, or, in the extreme of this thinking, nourishment for the purpose of something as stupid and limited as being "skinny" is a particularly insidious thing that hurts primarily women. It is a very unhealthy way of looking at the world and your place in it.

If you need some phrase to crystallize for yourself the importance of your long term goals relative to short-term pleasure or impulse, consider what your goals REALLY are. I'm all for sacrifice in the service of laudable valuable goals. Skinny ain't it though.

"Nothing tastes as good as...
[pick several]
being strong
feeling capable
conquering obesity
winning against diabetes
building lean muscle
hitting that per mile pace goal
running that race that seems out of reach
doing that mud run/obstacle run that seems out of reach
squating X times my bodyweight
lifting X amount with great form
being mobile
being flexible
living well till I'm 100
avoiding the wheelchair/back surgery/heart surgery/stroke/heart attack/osteoporosis/whatever that has plagued my family
feeling proud and alive
insert yours here
...feels.

Yeah, I have a dress size I'd like to fit into. And I could get there in a way that jeopardizes the goals I have on the list above. And that's the point. Skinny is fleeting and not necessarily healthy. Getting to skinny in a crazy way can cause way more problems than it will fix. Skinny is like the mountains in Arizona--you drive towards them and they seem like they're right there but the longer you drive the more they seem to move back right there but still out of reach. If "skinny" is all you want, you're probably not ever going to get there (everyone else will think you're there but you'll see a curve somewhere on your body and want to spot reduce it or some stupid thing like that).

Let go of "skinny" and focus on what you actually mean underneath that word. Success? Popularity? Size 4? Not obese and plagued with health problems like Auntie Whoever?

Skinny as a goal and deprivation as a strategy are not a way to find success or be healthy and happy on the way.
«13456

Replies

  • extraordinary_machine
    extraordinary_machine Posts: 3,028 Member
    Word.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I :heart: this.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    This thread is awesome!! Great post! :drinker:
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,089 Member
    awesome post
  • pinkgumdrop123
    pinkgumdrop123 Posts: 262 Member
    yup this is awesome!
  • zentha1384
    zentha1384 Posts: 323 Member
    Agreed!
  • Nerdy_Rose
    Nerdy_Rose Posts: 1,277 Member
    Bump for excellence.
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
    Amen. I've always hated the phrase 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels' because as some who has been skinny I can say skinny feels crap. Skinny feels weak. Skinny does not feel healthy. There are a great many aspirations people can and should have when losing weight, but skinny shouldn't be one of them.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    :drinker: Applause, toasts and flowers. :flowerforyou:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Werd!

    Adding one: no longer having continual back pain.
  • SabrinaJL
    SabrinaJL Posts: 1,579 Member
    I've never much cared for that phrase. Probably because I've always been more interested in being strong than skinny (also because I've eaten bacon).
  • Josie_lifting_cats
    Josie_lifting_cats Posts: 949 Member
    I know lots of food that tastes better than skinny feels. For example.... bacon.

    I look at it somewhat the same way - why deprive myself of food {bacon} when I can instead eat it {in moderation} and instead of only eating 800 calories a day I can eat 1,600, maintain, and gain strength... and be healthier?

    I'll take the bacon.

    Oh, and wine. Skinny has NOTHING on wine.
  • lesita75
    lesita75 Posts: 379 Member
    Love, love, love!!! :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • aorech
    aorech Posts: 17 Member
    I think people correlate that being skinny means they will be happy and that is totally wrong! A person can be "skinny" and still be miserable. I like nothing feels better than being happy, for me being happy is being at a healthy weight who looks in the mirror and not only likes what she sees on the outside but also on the inside!
  • MissJanet55
    MissJanet55 Posts: 457 Member
    That's really beautifully said. I have often thought "oh, this will taste WAY better than skinny would feel", but it's unlikely I would say the same thing about being healthy.

    And I can always delay getting skinny by a day, but I know I can't delay getting healthy. Thanks for this great post.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Werd!

    Adding one: no longer having continual back pain.

    :drinker:

    Change mine to knee pain, but yeah! It feels great!
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
    Love it. :heart:
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    Too right!


    My goal is 'pleasingly plump' rather than obese. I want to be healthy and strong but really wouldn't recognise myself skinny.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I agree for the most part. But there's nothing to say that "skinny" is unhealthy for everyone, or that it was achieved in an unhealthy manner.
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
    love.
  • erinblaze86
    erinblaze86 Posts: 21
    Love this post, but I have to say that "Nothing tastes as good as my family" made me LOL.
  • ErinRibbens
    ErinRibbens Posts: 370 Member
    Perfect answer!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Besides, lots of things DO taste as good as skinny feels!

    If it don't taste good, it ain't worth putting in your mouth. In moderation.
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
    I want to be skinny! And I'd rather be skinny than eat three cinnabon treats like I used to-- that's how I interpret the saying. There is nothing wrong with being skinny, and skinny does not automatically mean no muscle and not healthy. I want to be skinny (as in the opposite of fat)! I'd prefer "fit" though, because I like my brain to see the word "strong" as my goal because I totally agree with you -- It is mentally easier to have a goal such as "size four" or "be able to lift X much" or "run X much" -- because our view of what "skinny" is changes all the time. There is a point where we can never be satisfied! So it's all about keeping a healthy mind. :)

    Nice post!
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
    Love this post, but I have to say that "Nothing tastes as good as my family" made me LOL.


    BAHAHA
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Could not have been better stated. I've seen far too many "skinny" girls on here who will never live long enough to be like Auntie. They are slowly killing themselves by undereating, causing irreparable organ damage, nervous system problems and general unhappiness.

    Focusing on a random number on the scale is a horrible life to lead. Being controlled by some clothing manufacturer or digital scale is such a sad life. Using fashion models or actresses as a goal to aspire to is attempting the impossible. There are not riches and attention at the end of that rainbow - there are doctors, hospitals, and therapists.

    I know fear is seldom an effective motivator. But neither is the grave. Healthy food, and enough of it, combined with moderate exercise is the best anti-depressant and anti-aging prescription possible.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Mmmhmmm. And this thread is also an example of why when someone calls another person skinny, they usually mean it as a backhanded compliment or insult to their actual health, fitness and capabilities. I prefer slender, svelte, small or petite because it describes the natural body type (as well as all these other wonderful adjectives that relate to fitness, health and ability).

    And on a side note, it's sometimes fun to talk about yummy food.
  • RLehotsky
    RLehotsky Posts: 27 Member
    The question is! What is skinny? I always look at size. I don't even know what skinny is unless I see someone who is so thin you can see through her/him.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    And the best thing about the goals listed by the OP? You have to eat properly to reach them! :happy: :drinker:
  • likearadiowave
    likearadiowave Posts: 445 Member
    Thread started out of kindness and concern:

    If you have that stupid aphorism "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" or any variation thereof going through your head at any time, you need to know, you're doing it wrong.

    It isn't about skinny. The idea that you would deny yourself enjoyment, or, in the extreme of this thinking, nourishment for the purpose of something as stupid and limited as being "skinny" is a particularly insidious thing that hurts primarily women. It is a very unhealthy way of looking at the world and your place in it.

    If you need some phrase to crystallize for yourself the importance of your long term goals relative to short-term pleasure or impulse, consider what your goals REALLY are. I'm all for sacrifice in the service of laudable valuable goals. Skinny ain't it though.

    "Nothing tastes as good as...
    [pick several]
    being strong
    feeling capable
    conquering obesity
    winning against diabetes
    building lean muscle
    hitting that per mile pace goal
    running that race that seems out of reach
    doing that mud run/obstacle run that seems out of reach
    squating X times my bodyweight
    lifting X amount with great form
    being mobile
    being flexible
    living well till I'm 100
    avoiding the wheelchair/back surgery/heart surgery/stroke/heart attack/osteoporosis/whatever that has plagued my family
    feeling proud and alive
    insert yours here
    ...feels.

    Yeah, I have a dress size I'd like to fit into. And I could get there in a way that jeopardizes the goals I have on the list above. And that's the point. Skinny is fleeting and not necessarily healthy. Getting to skinny in a crazy way can cause way more problems than it will fix. Skinny is like the mountains in Arizona--you drive towards them and they seem like they're right there but the longer you drive the more they seem to move back right there but still out of reach. If "skinny" is all you want, you're probably not ever going to get there (everyone else will think you're there but you'll see a curve somewhere on your body and want to spot reduce it or some stupid thing like that).

    Let go of "skinny" and focus on what you actually mean underneath that word. Success? Popularity? Size 4? Not obese and plagued with health problems like Auntie Whoever?

    Skinny as a goal and deprivation as a strategy are not a way to find success or be healthy and happy on the way.

    So much truth.

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