Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels

Why this statement is attacked so much? I understand that this can be abused by some people with eating disorders but for me as an overweight person it makes me consider other factors (such as my self esteem) when making my food choices.

For instance, I love junk food, fast food, pizza, and hamburgers but I like to think I wouldn't trade the 25 lbs I have lost to go back there. Before I cut all the junk food I was 183 lbs, I was depressed, I had bad skin, I was unmotivated, etc, etc. I was an overall sad person. With these changes I have lost over 20 lbs and feel great, I feel happy again, excited about each day, and excited about eating healthy wholesome foods. As far as I'm concerned none of the junk I was eating tastes as good as I feel now.

What do you think? Can this statement be applied in a positive and motivational manner?
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Replies

  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    I still love to eat. But I do like the way my pants fit.
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    I have seen it used around here very positively i think :]

    or another:

    I eat boring because I want an exciting body
  • unmitigatedbadassery
    unmitigatedbadassery Posts: 653 Member
    It's a very motivational phrase that has become overused and kind of annoying. Sure, my weight loss is feeling great but a Baconator would still go down nice. I just know better.
  • Angelabec
    Angelabec Posts: 505 Member
    I think the problem is the word skinny, I want to be thin, fit, healthy, but skinny just doesnt give quite the same feeling.


  • I eat boring because I want an exciting body

    I think this is a much better statement. I really feel great now that I am eating better and working out and moving towards my goals but food is a passion of mine and I just love the way things taste! But if that statement works for others more power to 'em!
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Because it is a tagline for anorexics.
  • msmandyjo
    msmandyjo Posts: 95 Member
    I think the issue I have with this, is I WAS skinny... I was a size 2... I got sooo fat, and had to wear a size 4. Then I got pregnant... Fast forward 6 yrs and 2 kids, I hit obese w/o realizing it. Obviously, the food tasted better than skinny felt.
  • TomorrowNeverKnows
    TomorrowNeverKnows Posts: 12 Member
    As someone with an eating disorder I use to hate it while I was in recovery because it sounds really ill.

    It doesn't say "thin" or "healthy" it says "skinny".

    Skinny is more than thin. Skinny is usually unhealthy (unless you have an amazing metabolism and amazing genes)... skinny reminds me of high fashion models, crazy diets and anorexia. When I was IP we didn't wanted to be thin, we wanted to be skinny.

    And for most of the mentally healthy people, a lot of things taste better than being skinny. Eating well, having a healthy body, having energy, kissing, and being happy, for example.

    Also, the sentence was popularized by a supermodel who is related to drugs, anorexia and the 90s “heroin chic” and it’s used by a lot of pro-anorexia pages and eating disordered girls and boys.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    I think different things motivate different people. Some people use negative comments as motivation to change others use as the opposite and dwell on them. The same thing with positve comments. Some people use them as negatives and others are motivated by them.

    It is all a matter of perception. What one views as a positive someone else takes it as a negative. The thing is look at what works for you and use it to your advantage.

    Best wishes.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I still love to eat. But I do like the way my pants fit.

    i totally agree, i think we should make this mfp's tagline!!

    and yes, for me, i prefer 'nothing taste as good as thin feels' skinny isnt the look i'm going for.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    I've seen several people on here change it to a healthier mentality of:

    "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels"

    Now that seems like a pretty good motto. Skinny certainly doesn't mean healthy, but you can be a good weight and healthy and fit, which should be all of our goals.
  • merryfaith
    merryfaith Posts: 81 Member
    I think that it could possibly be positive and motivating, but it does seem to imply that good tasting food and skinny are mutually exclusive, which isn't exactly a healthy approach. Healthy food can taste amazing, unhealthy food can taste amazing, and there should be no reason that you can't eat unhealthy food occasionally and in appropriate serving sizes if it doesn't cause any long-term harm.

    But of course if you're eating in addition to what you need just for the taste, it's a temporary enjoyment. When you love how you look, that lasts much longer. That's not really a "how skinny feels" thing, though, that's a how healthy and confidence feels thing. If that's how you use the word skinny, then rock that. But not everyone can be healthy at a weight that would make them "skinny", and that's where this can become a sick motto. I'd personally opt for something that has to do with my self confidence and health and getting to that point by enjoying the process, including the meals I eat.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    I think the problem is the word skinny, I want to be thin, fit, healthy, but skinny just doesnt give quite the same feeling.

    this
  • jminette
    jminette Posts: 81
    I feel like the meaning of the quote can be turned positive.. so maybe a different saying with the meaning you're describing.
    The original statement is one of restricting to be thin.. Which can be taken the wrong way. I think it should be something different. Something about being healthy rather than thin, and not so blatantly implying restriction.
  • arw060310
    arw060310 Posts: 256 Member
    I agree with the OP. I don't want to go back to being how I was. Depressed, unhealthy, out of breath all the time... The list could go on for days. I would never give up my 18lbs lost to go back to gorging on food all day.

    But with that being said... I have my days where I'd MUCH rather have cheesecake or something all day. I guess it just depends what time of the month it is lol
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I was skinny the first 25 years of my life, and hated it. No one should aspire to be skinny. So it bugs me on that level. Skinny isn't healthy.

    And it implies that you can't have delicious food... that yummy food is a no-no. It's not! You can eat whatever you want to eat, if you're willing to put in the work to make it fit. I've had pizza - half of a thick crust pie, not one tiny slice of a thin crust cracker - at least once a week every week for the last 8 months. There's absolutely no reason to deny yourself the foods you love.

    To be perfectly honest, if the only choice was to eat what I want and be a little hefty, or eat bunny food and be thin, I'd be hefty. In fact, that's what I was until I learned through MFP how to eat properly. I thought the options were to severely limit my food intake and be thin, or eat what I want and comfortably maintain a few extra pounds.

    Thankfully, I learned that I don't have to give anything up. I learned that any other time I tried to lose weight, I did it wrong and didn't eat enough food, and that's why my progress was so bad and I felt like poop the whole time. Now I know I can have my cake and eat it too, with a scoop of ice cream on the side. :tongue:
  • bslic
    bslic Posts: 245 Member
    To me it is an over-used Weight Watchers meeting phrase (but they used thin). Things I hear over and over again get watered down and become uninspiring. If it works for you, go for it.

    I found a charm necklace with the saying "you hold the key" (and it had an antique skeleton key on the chain). That really spoke to me as it is true. You and you alone hold the key to anything in your life.

    Find something you like and what works for you and make it your own.
  • I guess it comes across as arrogant- on many levels.

    You can have a pretty face too, but if someone walked around saying, "Nothing feels as good as being pretty like me..."
    I guess- even if it was true- perhaps they ARE pretty- that it's arrogant
    if THEY'RE the ones saying it.


    Just my opinion
  • ghlm
    ghlm Posts: 9 Member
    I think the issue I have with this, is I WAS skinny... I was a size 2... I got sooo fat, and had to wear a size 4. Then I got pregnant... Fast forward 6 yrs and 2 kids, I hit obese w/o realizing it. Obviously, the food tasted better than skinny felt.
  • ghlm
    ghlm Posts: 9 Member
    You got 'soo fat' because you went up to a size 4? Really?