What do skinny people do with all that free time???

 (if you are skinny, don't be offended, I'm just jealous)

As I was biking today I was thinking "boy I wish I was skinny and didn't have to do this" then I got to thinking "what do skinny people do with all that free time, not having to weight in,count calories and all that weight loss stuff." I'm looking forward to the time when I too am skinny and have more free time.

When she was younger my mother was THIN... but she only stayed that way because she was a VERY light eater - if she went to a restaurant they'd ask her if something was wrong with the food because she left so much! In later years she was under my stress and she generally got tired of self-regulating and let herself eat more, and by the time she was middle-aged you'd never in your life believe that she used to be a skinny-minnie!

I count the calories, I then realize I haven't had enough to get the daily quota I need to gain weight. I then go to the kitchen, I count some calories and then I force them down my throat. Then I wonder if that was all worth it because that's what I've been doing with my free time for a month now and I haven't gained one stinking little kilogram. I just want a healthy BMI too!

Still do the same old stuff everyone else does. Counts calories/exercise. Except now, you would be maintaining! It's a pain in the arse!

Have you ever heard of anything called the French woman's diet?

It's not like an actual diet plan though, it's a lifestyle. For example, start thinking of food as a natural part of your life that you share with your friends and family. Eat just the right portion, enjoy the cake but eat it slowly...you wind up getting MUCH more satisfaction out of everything, and while staying thin.

One of the phrases from the book is "French women think about good things to eat; American women typically worry about bad things to eat".

I just found this so interesting because it shows how corrupted the relationship many people have with food is, and how we can follow the lead of other's who don't have a society stuffed with Dunkin Donuts advertisements.

 

 First off Very very few women are actually just skinny and can eat whatever they want. I have learned that over the past year.

 Before I gained a butt load of weight. I used to think there were just skinny people and there were just fat people and that was the way it was. I thought I was skinny and that I would always be skinny....WRONG!

 Then I got fat and from then on I realized that people aren't just thin. Most women (ages 20 and over) have to work to be that way (eat less/exercise) it is a lifestyle. Very few people in this world can eat whatever they want and get away with being thin for the rest of their lives.

Since I started calorie count I have pretty much gone back to being thin. But I still watch what I eat and count my calories. I still do weigh ins and exercise. I will for the rest of my life. If I go back to the way I ate before. I will go back to being fat.

 It's good to remember that most thin people work to stay thin. It offends me when other women that are bigger than me make fun of me for eating right and say that there is no reason for my eating healthy.

 I'm like "HELLO How do you think I got to be thin?" I certainly didn't do it by pigging out and not watching every bite I ate. I work for the body I have. I will  work for it every day for the rest of my life.

so the premise here is that skinny people don't exercise?

i think i qualify as skinny now.  here's a typical day: up at 5 or 5:15, coffee, then a 30 minute walk (fast) or run with the dog.  breakfast (during which i try to cram in as many calories and as much protein as possible in case i don't get to eat again before noon).  shower, get ready, walk to work: 15 minutes.  work 8-4, on my feet at least half of that time, walking a good part of it (and--damn--i hate it when i end up walking with a slow colleague).  walk home: 15 minutes.  change, have a snack, take the dog out for at least an hour (usually 90m to 2h).  if i need groceries, i detour in order to pick up whatever i need.  cook and eat dinner, relax for an hour or two, take the dog out again (around one or two city blocks: 10-20 minutes). 

it's 9:17 and i can't believe i'm still awake.

disclaimer: i'm in a new job, but this pattern is much closer to how my life was before i got fat.  when i was gaining weight, it was a very differnt picture.