The Skinny on Skinny

“Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels.” 

I actually heard a woman say this to her friend at a clothing store today. 

Unbelievable.

I wanted to slap her, tell her that her words cut deeper than she knows, and that her judging stare causes hundreds of girls to question and demoralize their body, dignity, and worth.  I don’t care how skinny you are, NOBODY has the right to take those things away from another individual.  

To all those that question their weight out there, let me tell you something.  The number of pounds on the scale should not define how happy you are.  The media should not be telling you how happy you are.  And your friends certainly should not be controlling your idea of what happiness should look like.  Character, service, overcoming obstacles, standing up for yourself, taking initiative, and striving to become a better you is what should be the underlying factors as to what your level of happiness is.   

I’d also like to throw in a little bit of science to help back up my reasoning as to why a person should actually eat. 

• Food fuels the body.  All kinds of food, not just celery.  Your cells need a variety of nutrients in order to transport blood, rebuild muscle, secrete insulin, maintain appropriate hormone levels, and release acetylcholine to transmit nerve signals.  This is why it is ok….no, crucial…to eat some fat more than once a week. 
• Albumin levels, indicators of mortality, drop when a person doesn’t eat enough. 
• When a person does not eat or purges on a regular basis, potassium, sodium, and calcium levels become so low that they cannot supply the body with the proper electrolytes it needs.  This puts INCREDIBLE stress on the heart causing irregular heartbeat and, eventually, cardiac arrest.  
• If the body is starved, it eats away the lean muscle tissue needed for posture and strength.  Calcium is also extracted from bone because it does not receive enough from the diet.  This can result in osteopenia, osteoporosis, bone fractures, chronic pain, Dowager’s hump, and compression of the internal organs due to abnormal spine curvature.

Oh, and here’s a list of some of the foods that I think taste better than skinny feels.

                Red Thai curry soup

                Greek yogurt

                Cappuccino smoothies

                Mint chocolate chip ice cream

                Honey Crisp apples

                Creamy porcini mushroom risotto

                Pumpkin muffins

                Acorn squash

I cannot even begin to emphasize how important it is to eat a variety of foods every day.  While I do advise eating more nutrient dense foods, I also think it is important to live and enjoy dessert, or those so-called “bad foods,” (which there aren’t, by the way) every once in a while.

So go ahead everyone.  Eat.  Your body, your mind, and your spirit deserve it.