I totally agree, I need to remember to eat to be healthy, not to reward myself or because it's there. For example, yesterday we had a couple doctor visits for my pregnancy, received great news-->I'm having a girl!! Then I asked my loving honey to take me to the grocery store b/c I wanted to make banana nut bread. I also bought ice cream, and some candy. That was my sole purpose for going to the market, i wanted all three of those things! Luckily, the bananas weren't ripe enough, the candy wasn't calling me, and I was too full from supper to eat the icecream. But I know it's all there waiting for me, taunting me, callling me. I only bought a pint of icecream though, and some cones, so I'll only have a little. And I'll only eat it if I"m hungry. I just don't want to fall off the wagon again if I've come this far! Maybe I'll throw my candy out? And I won't make the banana nut bread, I will just eat the bananas as a snack? Time will tell. ;)

These people obviously didn't grow up Italian, or any other kind of Mediterranean European.

Ok, quoting myself here because I just realized something quite different about my sister and I who share the same genes and eating environment. As an infant, she had allergies to formulas and was a skinny, cranky baby who fussed during feedings. I was happy, roly poly with no formula issues so am told loved my bottle time and cuddled with Mom instead of fighting. I wonder if her baby brain associated eating with unpleasant feeling while mine found eating to be a wonderful experience?

Daner,

It was really interesting to read what you posted. I used to think that Marty just had good genes and that's why he can eat what he eats. But now that I take a step back and actually think about it he doesn't overeat his goodies. He eats crap: cupcakes, donuts, chips and salsa, etc. But what I never realized before was the way that he ate them. For example, he'll bring a bag of tortilla chips and some salsa downstairs while we watch a movie and he snack on them. But unlike me, he doesn't scarf the whole bag down in one sitting. He simply eats until he's satisfied and puts them down. I don't have the ability to really tell when I'm satisfied or maybe I do but I haven't learned how to get in touch with it. I'm still convince the fool has a high metabolism, but maybe that's the result of eating only when your hungry and not because of genes. Thanks for the thought provoking post! See you tonight at Weight Watchers. Love ya!

Interesting, when I was a baby, I had a lot of allergies too and my parents couldn't get me to eat or like anything. But junkfood found it's way to me and it got to get up to 250 lbs! That may be the case for your sister, but I know now that it was my comfort food that helped me expand around my waist. I have noticed that if I go weeks without exercise, but still watch what I eat, I do good. I don't gain anything, even during my current pregnancy I've gained about 4 lbs 20 weeks in. I eat when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm full, but there's still that void of comfort, and boredom eating.

I sometimes see families with very thin parents, but their kids are overweight, or I see overweight parents, but their kids are very thin. How does that happen? I think I'm focusing way too much on this. It just blows my mind, and I wish there was some easy, honest, answer. But there isn't, we are all different, built different, think different, eat different, etc.

I had a hard time gaining weight when I was a baby. They thought I had development problems. boy did I overcome that! ;) I figure I just have to un-train how I have been brought up. My goal is to teach my kids about eating healthy while they are growing up and hopefully they won't have to un-train the bad habits...and I don't blame my parents. We were very persuasive when we wanted something. They were young and times were tough. I just hope to be in a healthy place and my children learn those healthy habits...

guam - congrats! have any names picked out yet? I'm so excited for you!

Great idea for raising your little ones. I need to nip this in the butt now before she comes! It's an awful feeling turning to food for comfort! It really is. Thanks for your support! Love & I are very excited to. We are naming her Emma Evangeline. What's your take on that name? I dreamt it, so ever since, it just sorta stuck.

I LOVE it! A lot. I've always liked the nick-name "Em" but have known too many Emilys to use that name! I'll have to remember Emma (I used to keep a list of names I liked...lol) And Evangeline is beautiful! I'll say it again...I'm so excited for you!

Until recently, I had always been skinny. I would scarf down junk food like crazy and my friends would wonder how I remained skinny. They would tease me saying that I have tapeworms in my stomach and that is why I am so skinny. What they did not know was that I binge eat, ie go for days hardly eating anything and then binge. My bad eating habits have finally caught up with me and now my metabolism is almost 0.

Wow, great comment! Thanks for having the courage to post that! I worked with a girl once who would never eat during lunch, come to think of it, I can't remember ever seeing her eat, and she was very thin. She would go shopping during lunch and always pass on the snacks. How long ago did you realize your metabolism slowed down? Do you work out regularly?

I think my metabolism had been slowing down a long before I noticed it. I would gain a few lbs and then starve myself to till my tummy went away and hip bones stuck out (that was my way of gauging my "fatness"). I finally noticed my metabolism slowing down 4 years ago which was around then time I bought my very first car. Prior to the car, I was at least getting some exercise when I walked to the bus stop. But after that, I started packing on the lbs and could not lose more than 5-10 lbs no matter how much I reduced my calories. I was 154 lb at my heaviest and my weight loss plateaus at 140, at which point I give up and start eating, and gain all the weight quicker than it took me to lose it.

My friend (who weighs 110lb and is a sz 0) & I were talking about eating habits the other day. She admitted to me that she goes for days without eating and then binges. Most of the days, she would go home from work and go to bed straight away to avoid eating dinner. At work (we work together), she is known as the girl who can pig out on pizza & brownies and not gain an ounce.

Listening to her finally gave me the courage to admit that I used to do the exact same thing. Somehow it is just easier being known as the "skinny b!tch" rather than the "girl who binges".

So yeah, unless you live with a skinny person, you dont really know what the heck they do to their bodies behind closed doors.

I know for me, that genes (weight issues on both sides) and social conditioning played a part; when we were young kids, there wasn't enuff food in the house. We ate mostly kraft dinner or soup, esp for lunch & dinner. Puff cereal or oatmeal & toast for breakfast every day until we were older (Saturday brunch was eggs, bacon, HF & toast). When our Dad wasn't home, we only occasionally had any meat (usually fish my brother caught). It was an occasion when Dad came home (from work) becuz we'd get a big meal with something nice like a roast or turkey, etc.

Later, when my parents started working near/from home, that changed a lot; and we started eating meat daily (although we still ate a lot of pasta and potatoes, and not enuff veggies, etc).

We never had snacks becuz we couldn't afford that, so we ate more at meals to make up for that, I think. My doctor once complained to my mother that we didn't eat enuff fruit and veggies; he felt that contributed to weight gain as teens; plus the availability of junk foods once we had our own money.

Also, my mother was an emotional eater (until later in life) and would secretly eat junk food whenever she was upset; and she had a lot of stress to deal with in her life. I know that some of us were patterned on that.

My DH is thin (120 lbs with clothes on) -- but he is very active; rides his bike all over the place and is always doing something (hates to sit around). He eats whatever he wants, when he wants; but he too can eat just 1 or 2 or a few and leave the rest. I am trying to learn that with some things. He used to smoke, we both quit 7 years ago, but he is still the same.

I am an emotional, stress eater; he is not. I eat out of boredom, he eats only when he is hungry from what I can tell. He definitely eats small amounts more often; and I am learning to do this too.

We eat much healthier now; he never used to eat veggies until he met me, so he has grown in that way but he still hates salads, so I make them just for me; and that's OK. He eats goodies all the time, but I ask him to put them in his private cubby in his den (where he watches his movies).

That's so funny! I noticed, too! My ex also used to call it that...well I'm sure he still does, lol, but not to me!