I think I've really changed...

I have not been on MFP long but already I have to say it seems to be changing me for the better. I wanted to share about my conversation I had with a friend today...
This girl has a 6 month old baby and lost 70 lbs. of her baby weight and is now the same size she was in highschool, if not smaller. I asked her what she was eating because I am eating healthier than I was and not losing weight at that rate. I fully expected her to roll out a long list of healthy foods that she fills her day with...that is not what I got. She proceeds to tell me she starts her day with a 100cal pack or a Nature Valley bar. Lunch consists of...wait for it... grapes and a cucumber! Really? Grapes and a cucumber. Her logic being that it really does fill her up because they are water based and take a long time to chew. This is all she eats between the hours of 6:30am and 6:00pm. And then she picks a healthy dinner at night from various recipes. She walks every chance she gets and circuit trains at night. I said to her that if all I ate was a cucumber I would want to shoot myself and she told me well it's hard the first week but you get used to it when your stomach shrinks.
I got off the phone and realized that as fast as she has lost the weight, eating like that is something I want no part of. I used to be that person that wanted the weight off right now and waiting would not work. Mind you, I have had a weight problem now for 6 years. I have finally decided to do it right. Hearing her today made me sad. Sure, you can lose weight at an ungodly rate but how miserable would you be? Not to mention how unhealthy. I am surprised she had enough energy to make it out of the bed, much less care for a baby. I wouldn't be able to.
I wanted to post this because I wanted all of you who post on here with helpful advice to know that I appreciate it so much. And, it's obviously working because I have a totally new mindset about eating than I once did. So, whether you hear it a lot or not, thank you all.

Why do you feel sad? Did the person say they don't like their diet? Just because you'd have a hard time finding pleasure with such a diet (me too), doesn't mean someone else does.

A lot of people enjoy drinking alcohol. I personally do not. I can go months between consuming it. I'll buy a six pack of beer every once in awhile and it will sit there in my fridge for months sometimes. It's not a moral thing. I just don't really crave it or feel the need to consume it. I don't seem to receive the same pleasure from the substance as other people. You could consider this a blessing or a curse depending on your perspective. If you told me tomorrow that I had to give up alcohol 100% forever for some health reason, I'd shrug it off as it wouldn't be a sacrifice to me. To some people, however, that would be a major lifestyle change and hard to give up. I wouldn't want those type of people to feel sad for me because I'm having to give up alcohol as I could do so without diminishing any pleasure I get in life.

In other words, it's human nature to project our own needs onto others but it's rarely productive. Everybody is different.