[LadyPhoenix]

This morning, I went through my usual routine of catching up on my celebrity news and I saw a picture of one stick skinny starlet eating all this candy. I got upset and thought "That's not fair that she can eat all that and I can't without gaining a ton of weight!" As soon as that thought left my mind, I had another thought "I'm not like other people." I have issues with food and eat in a way that other people don't... at least right now. I only know how to eat until my stomach hurts or I eat foods that don't even taste good "just because they're there." I feel as though that will change after I've been on the journey for a while. But I can't convince myself that I can keep junk food in my house and it won't bother me. I don't know if any of you have had this experience but it was a very freeing thought for me

[BatgirlAmy]

I've felt that way but consider too, that that celeb. might go later and run 3 hours on the tredmill or kill themselves mentally for eating that just like you would be. Part of losing weight is reshaping your mind to different habits and perspectives. It all comes with time.
I'm with you. If I see junk food I want it, but if I don't see it, than I am perfectly okay without it. My suggestion is to donate the bad food away. Don't throw it out but donate it to a food bank. That way you will get rid of it and not feel like you wasted it and feel good about donating to charity!

[neonwildflower]

I think your attitude is exactly right... it's not fair that they can eat like that, but then again those of us with food issues aren't like other people. We can't be compared using the same standard. Personally I can't have junk food in the house. I can say no to it in the grocery store, at a restaurant, but not if it's sitting in my cupboard. Because I'm not like other people, my relationship with food is more like a druggie's relationship with their drug of choice.

[MisplacedMyHailo]

It is frustrating, but you're right. We are very different. I have really changed my shopping habits and stopped bringing in the bad foods. Like you, if they are there, I will eat them. I will eat when I'm bored, or worse, I will eat them because to not would be a waste of the money spent to purchase them.

My husband is in law enforcement and is in training regularly. He can get super fit in days, not months. He still loves some of the junk, so I buy it for him. He eats things I wouldn't dare, yet still looks great. Not cool.

Like Batgirl said (how many times do we get to use that line!? lol), I am doing this for real. I am working at a lifestyle change, not just more of the yo-yo business I've done in the past. I buy him his stuff, but to me it doesn't exist. I am learning to say no, when things are offered. Best of all, I am finding that keeping some good things that I love in the house (fresh fruit for example), I don't have to feel left out when he's eating his treats...mine are just different. Heck, we can even look down on those people eating their candy...isn't it sad that they eat that Snickers and waste 250 calories, when I can eat these Strawberries, feel full, and have plenty of calories left in my day for more tasty stuff!

[junebug41]

Oh definitely. The more I fought the notion that I wasn't like naturally thin people and tried to live like I could (and SHOULD) be able to eat whatever I want because that's only fair, well, the harder it made the journey. I've always said that this lifestyle change helped me grow up and that realization is one of the main reasons why.

[ThicknPretty]

That might have been all she ate that day, in all reality.

But you’re right…we aren’t like them. Them being the people with naturally fast metabolisms or who can just eat whatever they want without gaining weight. Or work out twice and have abs, lol. And we being the people who have to be mindful, who refuse offered food more than accept it and who have to put in endless hours at the gym to see the smallest results.

I guess it’s just something we have to acknowledge and embrace and it sounds like you’re on your way!

[tkm256]

My younger brother was the naturally thin type who could "eat whatever he wanted." The thing was, he ate what he wanted, and then stopped. With all my food issues growing up, I always envied him because he didn't attach any special significance to food. If he wanted a cookie, he ate a cookie. If he wanted to get in shape for tennis season, he didn't eat the cookie. That's all.

There are people like my mother's BFF, who are naturally intuitive eaters. Then there are people who have difficulty imagining what it's like to happily ignore a bowl full of chocolate truffles on the coffee table. It's not a life sentence, though. Two years ago I dreaded visiting my boyfriend's father because he kept these giant tins of M&Ms on the entertainment unit. Now I just don't feel like eating them any more. I think you're right that you'll change after a while; give it time.

[stellarosa27]

I mean, in reality, you could eat the candy, you'd just have to a lot for it in your calorie count. Candy doesn't make you fat, extra calories do.

You assume that she actually ATE the candy. Along with what many others have said.

I used to refuse to watch Every Day Italian with Giada because everytime she'd put a bit of food in her mouth, they'd go to commercial. I viewed this as "Okay, Giada's tasting something, CUT AWAY, then she spits it out." Because there's no way someone that thin could be eating all of her fatty, Italian food. But you know, maybe they work out extra hard, or maybe that's the one fatty meal she ate all day and the rest of the day was salads - the point is, you can't tell someone's life, and you shouldn't get upset, from one snapshot.

I used to get upset thinking my friends could eat "whatever they want" and still be thin - but then I realized. I'm having one meal a week with them - and maybe it consisted of chicken fingers and fries - but I'm not taking into account the rest of the week. My best friend is a tiny, tiny person. She loves chicken fingers and whenever we go out, that's what she gets. However, she also lives on Special K, salads and grilled chicken breast the rest of the time - in addition to working out - she just knows how to manage her life to accommodate for the "treat" foods she wants. Its something I've had to learn.

[Morgan03]

Originally Posted by stellarosa27

I used to refuse to watch Every Day Italian with Giada because everytime she'd put a bit of food in her mouth, they'd go to commercial. I viewed this as "Okay, Giada's tasting something, CUT AWAY, then she spits it out." Because there's no way someone that thin could be eating all of her fatty, Italian food. .

They most likely do that because even a show that's done in front of a live audience usually requires several takes. A half hour show often takes 2+ hours to tape. If it's a show that airs several days a week instead of just once weekly, they also often tape two or more episodes a day, so they don't have to call in a full crew to work just a few hours. What seems like a few bites would add up to a lot of food if she actually ate it every time they tried to get the shot.

[Pinkberrry]

I agree Stella, I cant stand Giada and refuse to watch her show because of it. I was watching something on Paula Dean one time and she basically called her out on fake eating her own food which I thought was hilarious.

[Aurora]

Sweety, you are like most people. Over 60% of Americans are overweight. Most people can't eat junk without gaining extra weight. Sure, it's annoying that a few folks can, but they are the exception, not the rule.

Since I changed my eating habits, I notice that thin people tend to eat smaller portions of the high calorie stuff. Before I just thought "oh, she has pizza, I should be able to have it too," now I realize that thin people only have 1-2 slices. And that's how much I can have.

[astrophe]

I remember once my mother amazedly said "But you eat like me!" I was pissed off because I thought "What did you think I did? Scarf down fries every two minutes that I'm out of sight?" This was early on in my dx.

It took a long time for my parents to "get" hypothyroid/PCOS/IR, and while I'm not using this as an excuse to throw in the towel, it poses some extra challenges to me on the losing weight front.

No, I am NOT like other people. Neither are other people like me.

We all have to deal with what we're given and we all move forward from there.

So yeah, in a way, it is a freeing thought to think that while it is not an EQUAL a playing field, it's fair enough that we all can start from the beginning of where we happen to be and move forward from there.

Where I go is up to ME.

A.

[stellarosa27]

Originally Posted by Morgan03

They most likely do that because even a show that's done in front of a live audience usually requires several takes. A half hour show often takes 2+ hours to tape. If it's a show that airs several days a week instead of just once weekly, they also often tape two or more episodes a day, so they don't have to call in a full crew to work just a few hours. What seems like a few bites would add up to a lot of food if she actually ate it every time they tried to get the shot.

She's not in front of a live audience - and it wasn't the point - the point was that you can't gauge someone's eating habits from a photograph, or from a half hour of watching a tv show.

And if you watch Giada at home, she actually eats what she cooks - crunching and swallowing and everything.

[redliss7]

Stella, I totally know what you mean. I remember in highschool being so jealous of my friends who I thought could eat icecream, pizza, whatever, and not gain an ounce; however, in reality I realized that they only ate like that on occasion unlike how I used to eat like that all the time. It has taken time for me, but I have learned/am learning that you have to exercise control and moderation. With practice, its actually become easier. I used to eat and eat until my stomach hurt and I was uncomfortable; however, I have now trained myself to stop well before then and that I can eat the cookie but I have to watch what I eat then for the rest of the day. I think with practice, anyone can do it. Yes, metabolisms matter but so much of our weight is specifically determined by how we view and consume food.

[Magrat]

Regarding the original post, maybe the starlet was eating the candy because she'd gotten flack in the media for being too skinny and perhaps having an eating disorder and wanted to say to the world, "I'm fine. My weight is fine, it's just my metabolism. So leave me alone."

I agree with all the posters who said that was probably the only thing she ate all day and probably spent hours on the treadmill afterwards.