Yesterday I got to see my sister in law and her family at a 4th of July celebration, yay! They are "naturally thin" people, and her and her sister are tall, thin and pretty. Not a day of exercise between them and still, size 6.

Watching them put mayo on their burgers, eat pie, chips and sausages got me in a funk. Why can't I eat that way and still look healthy??

LOOK healthy, not BE healthy.

So I changed my mind. I'm GLAD I have struggled with my weight. Had I not been obese, I would never have learned how to eat for my health. I would not have learned how to beat things like osteoporosis (with weight lifting) heart disease (low salt, high fiber diet), high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I would never have learned to love exercise, take pride in my heart health and slow the aging process!

Yep - I'm a happy little clam, even though God made me a chubby one!!

I like your thinking, MP! My stepmom's always been tall and thin and I've always wanted to look like her. But a few years ago, I found out she's got higher cholesterol than my dad does- and daddy's pretty big. The stuff she eats is so rich, creamy and laden in fat that it's just clogged her arteries.

I may be 30 pounds heavier than her and five inches shorter, but my cholesterol is perfect. So is my blood pressure, whole blood count, blood sugar, etc.

So yes, unhealthy eating does catch up with you eventually. You might not necessarily be overweight or obese, but the inside will tell a whole different story.

Yeah!!!!!

Oh, I like your thinking too! And I want to add to it just a bit...I think I'm more sensitive for having been fat. I do not link the terms "fat and lazy" and never will. I do not judge people based on their size. Well...I've always kind of judged skinny people...but that's gonna change once I am one!! You just never know where a person has been or where they are going.

And I appreciate life so, so, so much!! And in ways no never-been-fat person will ever understand. I get to feel joy at being able to walk through a turn style without fear. I get to beam from ear to ear when I find I can sit on a kiddie land roller coaster. I know it was like to hold my breath to tie my shoes and I remember the day I fit into the wing backed chair in my living room!

These are not things a skinny person understands. I'm glad to have had the experience, I really am. And I'm SO glad it's over!

wow mp i have never thought of half the things you mentioned! Glad to have another train of thought

One of those naturally skinny women once said this to me. Not having to watch her weight makes her complacent and eat a really unhealthy diet, and she wonders whether she will get chronically ill early due to what she ate when she was young.

Very true, I'd never thought about being fat as an advantage in that way. To be honest it makes me quite sad to think that people lulled into a false sense of security by thinness could be doing so much damage to themselves without realizing it.

I remember a new dieter here posting in despair that she had read that folks in the NWCR continue to watch their diet and exercise 60-90 minutes per day to maintain their weight loss and she couldn't face the idea of doing this for the rest of her life. Hello?? This is what we all should be doing for maximum health anyway. So I agree that fighting the fat may well be a long term blessing.

I definitely eat much healthier than alot of the "skinny" people I know...I'm sure I'll have the last laugh when I live to be 102 like my great, great grandmother did...

I definitely understand this post. When I was in college and at 160+ pounds (the "freshman 15"...plus 15 more) I used to wish desperately that I could push a button and have the weight (as much as I want) magically disappear. I now feel that even if someone offered me that button today, I wouldn't push it. There is very little chance of maintaining an "ideal" weight if you don't know what it takes to get there. I believe in the process now.