The Ways of Fit Folks & Skinny Bitches

A few days ago in the AJC, there was an article called Skinny People Make Smart Eating Decisions. Here are some of my favorite parts that seem worth my making an effort to follow.

Here's how, according to the writer, Carolyn O'Neil, "fit folks really are different from their bulge-challenged friends." In this case, the fit folks are those who have lost 30 pounds and kept it off for at least 3 years who are part of the National Weight Control Registry.

• They eat until satisfied, not stuffed. Try putting your fork down halfway through a meal and asking yourself using a 1 to 10 scale, “How full am I?” Take a sip of water and think about it some more. Talk to your dining companions. You’ll give yourself time to gauge how hungry you really are and by eating slowly it allows the stomach time to trigger the brain’s sensation of fullness.

• . . .they consistently monitor their food intake. According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine conducted by Dr. Rena Wing of Brown University, folks who lost weight and kept it off continued to be careful about consumption of lower calorie menu options and moderated their fat intake.

By the way, I would never let one of the editors who work for me refer to people as "bulge challenged." It's one of those things you can say about yourself or to others of "your kind" but other people can't. I've always had a highly sensitized radar alert for fat insensitivity.

That's probably why hubby was so surprised that I'm enjoying Skinny Bitch, which I discovered via Dana as she explores veganism on her blog Journey to Vegan. I'm pretty confident I'm not ready for veganism, but I appreciate Dana's challenges as she explores it. I appreciate someone who is re-contemplating how and what they eat.

So back to Skinny Bitch. Again, I'm pretty confident I don't want to be either. But I'm getting a laugh and some food for thought from its perspective and attitude. It's totally irreverent. But it's pretty much universally irreverent with a piercing truth, so it's ah-hem, palatable to me.

These are my favorite in-your-face parts:

Okay. Use your head. You need to get healthy if you want to get skinny. Healthy = skinny. Unhealthy = fat. The first thing you need to do is give up your gross devices. Don't act surprised! You cannot keep eating the same shit and expect to get skinny. p. 11

Soda is liquid Satan. It is the devil. It is garbage. There is nothing in soda that should be put into your body. . . Perhaps you have a lumpy ass because you are preserving your fat cells with diet soda. . . If you're filling up on 16 ounces of liquid Satan at a time, chances are you're not getting your 64 ounces of water a day. Water is vital for keeping your body clean and detoxified. It literally flushes out all the shit and toxins your body stores from your horrendous diet. You might be fat because you don't poop enough. . . . Say goodbye to soda and hello to a sweet ass. p. 13-15

Candy bars, potato chips, and ice cream taste like heaven, of course. But they will pitch a tent on your hips and camp out all year. . . . they also contain enough chemical residues to put hair on your chest. p. 17

Whenever you see the words "fat-free" or "low-fat," think of the words "chemical shit storm." p. 17-18

Here's another, as they call it, come to Jesus phrases for fat people
fat-pig syndrome

Sometimes you gotta take good advice no matter where it comes from. . . I claim it; I eat horrendously and I want to mend my fat-pig syndrome ways!

WHAT I DID TO DAY TO FEEL PROUD

I did not eat cake.