Posts by petite_powerhouse

I've really only been two sizes, in that I didn't buy clothes in between: size 2/4 at 129 and size 00 at 111. I am 5' 3 1/2".

Original Post by katonick:

I do feel that I have inadvertently derailed this topic and apologize to the OP for the derail.

~K

I have never been in a religious thread in my life that didn't derail to some degree. It's part and parcel of the topic. And besides, you did state what you believe and why you believe it. That was the subject at hand.

Original Post by cabaret_:

Yeah I agree but if you tried to tell me that when i was a teenager i would've laughed in your face.

I can remember when I was young it wasn't so much the being really thin that was important but just the fact that you THOUGHT you were fat. Extra kudos to you if you were actually really thin but grabbed your stomach skin and complained about your rolls. How's that for messed up?

Ditto.

I have never been overweight. But as a kid my body image was horribly skewed. I struggled with my self image from about the age of 12 to 17, and even fell down the rabbit hole of anorexia for about six months. After that, I got into weight training and eating right and came to accept and even be proud of my body. But I went through a great deal as a kid—my life was full of some pretty major drama from which I had no escape—and my way of dealing with it was to harshly critique my appearance and my schoolwork and largely everything about myself on a daily basis. In that way, I achieved control over something within a world that was beyond my control.

That's the thing: A lot of times the issue isn't skin deep.

I can't say I've done that. I have, however, curled my hair naked. I had a full-length curling-iron scorch all the way across my right breast for months. And years later a tiny blood blister remains to remind me of my stupidity.

I'm a lifelong atheist, but I feel there is potentially some credibility to certain aspects of the "supernatural." I've experienced some very odd and jarring—even profoundly shocking—things in my life that make me believe there is more to this world than we know.

And, yes, the name "Brights" is perhaps not all that... bright?... if tolerance is the purported goal.

I don't honestly have a label for myself. I never go around declaring to the world, "I am an atheist." In fact, most people don't know that about me at all—because I don't feel it defines me at all. I can see where one's world view can be shaped by such, but because God was never a part of my life from Day One my opinions and world view were not shaped in any way by my relationship to God. I never even gave any real thought to how the way I see things differs from the way life is seen by those who are religious until I was an adult. By that time, I was who I am—indelibly.

I definitely don't feel that people who believe are any more fulfilled than I. We all have "beliefs" of one kind or another that help to shape our view of life and grant us serenity and happiness.

I believe in the general decency and even goodness of mankind. I believe in a better future for us all. I believe in the possibilities still locked within science and technology. I believe I can fulfill my dreams and live the life I imagined for myself when I was little. And I believe that through that I can have a positive impact on the lives of others.

Most of all I believe in the inherent magic in each new day. You never know what might happen, what you might achieve, whom you might meet, where your life might lead you that day. That is a gift—and my "religion" as it were. 

I don't need to believe in God to accept what goes wrong in life. You take the good with the bad: That's how life goes. I've seen a lot of both, and I embrace both for what each has taught me.

I don't need religion to accept that there are good and bad people in the world, either. To me, that is explained by brain chemistry, genetics, personality and environment, among so many other things.

I am not afraid of death, and I do not seek an answer to why one person dies instead of another, or why cancer and AIDs and tuberculosis and genocide and hunger and poverty and typhoons and myriad other travails exist. The sciences and social sciences explain those things very well. Then there is also the indelible element of chance. And what we don't understand I believe that through science we one day will. (I also am not convinced that there is not in fact some way to "live on" once death occurs, though I in no way believe in God or the afterlife to which many religions hold. But if there is not, still I am comfortable with that: The goal is just to make the very most of this life while I'm living it.)

And, as I say, at the end of the day I do not need religion to make me see the beauty in life despite all that is untoward.

There is to my mind nothing that religion grants the individual that I have not found for myself in a life that has never included God or religion at all.

I generally just ignore religion. Even knowing how big a part it plays in so many aspects of our lives, I still don't give it any real attention. It's just... there. It is, and will always be, because human beings will always fundamentally have a need to find meaning in the world and a place for themselves, and comfort when it comes to thoughts of death or the death of a loved one, and an explanation for the ills of the world, etc. We all have this. I have my explanation, and those who believe have theirs. So be it. So I find I am not bothered by those trying to interest me in their religion, or those who say they feel sorrow because I do not believe. It simply doesn't touch me at all.

This is something that comes naturally to me even living in Salt Lake City, the very heart of the Mormon church. And I think that is in large part because religion has never been a part of my life. The majority of my friends are ex-Mormons, and every one of them feels bitterness toward their one-time religion. They get so agitated about the goings-on here and the Mormon missionaries it defies imagining. They can rage on for hours about all that they disagree with. But none of it touches me. I have no feelings either way about religion, other than personally believing in the separation of church and state (something that doesn't really exist here, I must say).

But even that is not an issue that gets me riled up. There will always be schools that are in line with my way of looking at the world, there will always be people with whom I can relate, there will always be scientists pushing the envelope and diving into research that I support, and there will always be politicians who share my thoughts on the world. We will always be a melting pot, and so I am not threatened. And if I am not threatened, I need not feel resentment or anger. I need feel nothing at all about religion. And I don't—other than actually being glad on some level that we do have so many differing beliefs in the world. Even while acknowledging the conflict religion has inspired over the centuries, I confess that the thought of a world where everyone thinks the same way is disturbing to me. As much as religion neither interests me nor really even registers in my little piece of the world, still I am pleased that my thoughts are my own and not shared by 6.5 billion people. What fun would that be?

God has never factored in my life. I wasn't raised as an atheist: I just wasn't raised with God really being a focus of discussion at all. I did not say prayers. I did not go to church. And I did not know anything of the Bible beyond Genesis and Exodus—stories I got from watching movies like The Ten Commandments, which to me were nothing more than grandiose epics, and no more real to me than anything else on TV.

It wasn't until about a year ago that I started to realize how rare this really is. I know of no one else in all the states in which I have lived who did not grow up with God somehow factoring in their lives.

My mother, who was raised Southern Baptist, still believes, but I didn't know that until I was in my 20s. As I said, it wasn't an issue. My father was raised Catholic, stopped believing, and now, as he grows older, is starting to believe again. He has never made an issue of any of it, either.

When we were very little—years after he had first turned away from religion—my father told my brother and me we could follow any religion we wanted to. He told us that he would take us to any church we chose. We never really decided not to go or not to believe: As I say, it wasn't conscious. We just didn't ever pursue religion at all. I can't guess what we might have been subconsciously thinking way back when, but I imagine we felt our lives were complete as they were.

So, today.... I believe that the answers to pretty much everything are out there if we just had the capacity to understand it all. I don't believe in God, and never have. I don't believe I ever will.

I don't feel empty in any way. I believe that if one wants to ascribe a purpose to man it is to live and die, and in the interim pursue the dreams that make life worth living and often even inspire others to follow their own dreams as well. And of course procreation keeps the species alive (though at 35 I can't say I've had a child of my own ). We are, to my mind, no different from any other animal in that respect: We evolve. But having a discursive faculty enables us to squeeze every last drop of joy out of life while we are on the planet. It also affords us the opportunity to use knowledge and intelligence to help others as we can.

There will always be "good" and "evil" in the world, because the intricate human brain is equally capable of the most incredible feats of artistry and generosity and the most depraved acts most of us can't even imagine. And environment imprints itself upon our psyches, too.

In the end, to me the good outweighs the evil, and the world is beautiful and each day precious despite everything contrary that goes on every day. To be happy and fulfilled I need believe in no higher purpose for man than that he live each day to the fullest and strive to be the best entity on this planet that he can be.

Original Post by swna1001:

But how tall are you?

I'm 5' 3 1/2" and under 110 and I agree with her. Actually, 1,500 is too little for me—I lost eating 2,500 to 3,000 at 35 years old—but I couldn't get through the day on 1,200. Even if I started working out a lot less and dropped a lot of the muscle I don't think I could do that. I've never eaten that little in my cognizant life. My body would freak, and if it appeared to stop freaking I'd know that was only because it had gone into conservation mode and my metabolism had slowed.

Original Post by swna1001:

I feel your pain. I'm 5'3, 108, and I would like to lose 5 lbs. My biggest frustration is my body type. My top size is small but my pants are size 4. I would like to get into better shape in my middle, hips, and thighs region so I can fit into size 2 jeans. It's hard for me to lose weight like this, though. I am naturally petite, so it's extremely difficult for me to accept that I need to eat 1200+ calories to lose this extra weight. That's a LOT of food. I'd have to eat a piece of cake every night to get to that level.

It may not have to feel like a lot of food if you choose particular foods. I am 5' 3 1/2" and 108 and I maintain on about 3,000 calories. I do it by eating healthy foods that are high in calories. I add peanut butter to my protein shakes, I use olive oil, I eat avocados, I snack on almonds, etc. You can bump the calorie count of any meal pretty easily by adding something to it that is high in calories but still small in portion size and still good for you. The fat content can add up if you aren't careful, but as long as you keep it in reason these foods are very healthy. And since you require fewer calories, you wouldn't have to eat that much at all of such foods to reach your goals. You can also just add protein powder to certain drinks or food, and thereby avoid the fat issue altogether.

I understand that the mental block is the biggest challenge. But if you are able to surmount that and accept that you have to eat, reaching 1200+ can be accomplished relatively easily.

At your weight, though, I don't know if I would restrict, BTW. You could work on changing your body composition instead. Also, depending on your age, 103 is classified as underweight BMI-wise, so be careful.

I am 5' 3 1/2" and lost 21 pounds to drop to 108. Trust me: You do need to eat more. When I tried a 1,000-calorie deficit it was too much: I lost next to nothing in the first four weeks of my efforts. You have a double problem, in that 1) even though 1,000 is technically still within the safe range, your deficit may be too great for your body, and 2) you are eating under 1,200 calories a day.

Good for you! Hopefully, more people will be inspired by your success.

As far as the transition goes, it really isn't hard to eat more calories, even twice as much—once you have accepted that such is necessary. I am 5' 3 1/2" and 108 and I eat around 3,000 calories to maintain. I do it by eating foods that are good for me but high in calories, like nuts and avocado. I add olive oil when I am cooking. I add peanut butter to my protein shakes and other foods, etc. You don't really have to eat more so much as you have to eat foods that are more caloric.

Reduce the refined and artificial sweeteners in your diet and increase the protein. Sweeteners can lead to cravings, and eating more protein—and fiber and good kinds of fat—can keep you full longer and help you avoid binging.

Instead of Special K try peanut butter on whole wheat/grain toast or a pita and an egg or a protein shake with fruit in the morning (or some such). For a snack, instead of a processed protein bar/Nutri-Grain bar, which often has quite a bit of refined or artificial sweeteners, try vegetables with nut butters or homemade hummus or some such, nuts themselves, etc. Almonds contain good fats and protein and do a good job of holding the appetite in check.

I killed my sugar cravings by cutting all artificial sweeteners and all but trace amounts of refined sweeteners out of my diet. Now I just eat sweets when I choose to, and can stop at any time. Cutting out sweeteners doesn't mean you can't indulge: It just makes it easier to control your little indulgences.

When I get cravings, they are for protein and healthy foods now.

You also may want to consider eating more than you typically do by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. Eat a heartier breakfast, perhaps, or add a hearty serving of vegetables to your lunch. Don't let your body get hungry. You can do this without consuming too many calories.

Cheese, bread (yes, even whole wheat bread...), pizza, chips: All of these foods are high in sodium. That is why you retain water and the scale goes up more than it might otherwise. If it bothers you to see the numbers spike, don't weigh yourself for a few days. But there is no reason to avoid such foods just because the scale will fluctuate—cheese and whole wheat bread especially (and even chips and restaurant/frozen pizza are fine in moderation).

I'm not particularly affected by any of the foods listed here. But Mexican and Chinese food always make the scale jump quite a bit.