I am constantly fascinated by watching my close friends who have a healthy relationship with food.

I feel like sometimes it teaches me how to balance myself, but at other times I get angry and jealous that they can keep a box of Wheat Thins in the cabinet and it will still be there 2 weeks later, while mine would be gone 1 day later.

Anyone want to share how you've gone from jealous to accepting that you are different?

None of my skinny friends have healthy diets. I'm not sure how they do it, but I guess it's just genetic.

I have a skinny friend who does not have a healthy diet at all. She does not drink water, only coke, and she eats candy and desserts on most days. The meals she cooks at home are not all terrible, but many of the meals are fatty meat and processed foods. She also smokes, and never exercises. But I watch her eat. She eats like 2 or three bites and then walks away from it. If she gets a fast food meal of sliders and fries she will eat maybe 2 sliders and give the mostly full box of fries and the last slider away. She will eat half a salad or half a sandwich. It is all still about the amount of food consumed overall, so when she says "I just have a fast metabolism,that's how I eat whatever I want," I call her out on it and say that anyone can eat whatever they want if they only eat one bite of it. I'm just not one of those people. There is one person I know who eats like she has a tapeworm, and she is now starting to gain weight, and she knows it. It is kindof a bummer to her because she has always eaten like that, and always remained thin, but she is getting older, and it is catching up to her.

I have some skinny friends. Some of them seem to eat a lot and not gain but most have to work hard at watching their portions and workout. Still, I don't think they have such a deep rooted addiction to food as I do so it's easier for them to turn down food. Also, if they indulge in something less than healthy, they don't seem to have such incredible feelings of guilt as I do....but of course it's hard to really get into someone's head. I'm trying to be more relaxed about indulgences and trying to not take eating so seriously, but I don't know if I"ll ever learn to be "normal" about food.

I do actually. I have a friend who is a runner. We had a discussion about food once. She said, she never thinks about food, and she has to make herself stop and eat a meal or she will forget.

I think about food pretty much all the time. It's not the first time I've heard that healthy weight people just don't think about food all that much.

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None of my skinny friends have what I'd call particularly healthy diets or even exercise practices except one that's really into hiking and camping. The rest of them ate the same types of food as me but probably just less. I recall being irritated at the suggestion of shared desserts, so I think it's just our portion sizes that were different.

I have few skinny friends who are healthy, so I don't pay much attention. I don't get to spend much time at all with friends these days anyway. But I know what you mean, when I was younger I was always in awe of those who seemed satisfied only a quarter way through their meal.

I actually do notice and (I guess) learn from my boyfriend, in a way. He's not really "skinny" but he's definitely not overweight and I would say has a normal relationship with food. Like others who have posted about their friends, a lot of what he eats is pure crap. But it's all about the portions. He essentially stops eating when he's not hungry and doesn't pick up more food until he gets hungry again. He has bags of chips and candy sitting right at his desk in his bedroom, but he doesn't just mindlessly eat it. I always look around at all the food in his room and think of how, if it was me, none of that would still be there.

Noticing his habits hasn't really helped me very much, it just makes me wish I was naturally like that. :/

My sister was the skinny one, I was always the chubby one. Even as a baby, they had to force my sister to eat. Skinny people eat to live; those of us with weight issues live to eat. If my sister receives a box of Godiva chocolate at Christmas, at Easter it is still there. She eats very small portions, but not necessarily healthy food. For example, she will eat a potato chip sandwich. If she is full she will not force herself to eat another bite more. Even if it is a piece of her own birthday cake.

So, if you want to be skinny, think and eat like a skinny person, only healthier.

My fiance is skinny and I've learned a lot from him even though his diet is less than ideal He only eats when he's hungry, even if you place his favorite food in the world in front of him.

My little brother is technically obese, but it's really just because of his build (doctor said he's fine). He's never had a weight problem and is another one who just eats when he's hungry and won't clean his plate for the **** of it.

Kinda...Most of my skinny friends are from Thailand, Chile, Romania, France and they have naturally different eating habits. The few skinny friends I have here, eat horribly xD...lots of alcohol, tons of eating out at fast foods places, and just junk food in general...

I consider their habits, some have diets that are restricted to certain food groups (like vegan, but they don't eat all vegan sweets or something). Some just balance their cals, without counting them because if they eat a lot one day, they don't eat a lot the next. Their idea of a lot isn't "a lot" to me personally either. Some of those techniques work for me, and some don't. I'm not really jealous though. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

I don't have any skinny friends. Also, the people I know who are on the thinner side do have food issues. They battle them just the same as I do. My husband has always been thin and muscular but over the last 11 years I've realized he a serious sugar addict. He just isn't fat. He's very active and that helps I am sure.

I have a skinny friend who used to eat very big portion during breakfast, lunch n dinner. The only secret she maintain skinny is she doesn't take any other food such as dessert.. soft drinks.. etc. She only take normal meals. I guess that's how she maintain her weight perfectly

Considering my work friends, most of them are heavy and one of them is thin. The thin one eats very healthy, and doesn't take many desserts, snacks or treats even if they are right in front of her. She used to be heavy and trained herself to eat better. The heavy ones have big lunches, dessert and will snack. They don't exercise. When I'm around the heavy ones, I tend to eat like the heavy ones. When I'm around the thin one, I tend to eat like her. It's like in one situation, I'm given permission to eat whatever I want, and in another situation I'm trying to be better about what I eat.

I have thin friends who are a lot like the ones described, the ones who either eat really low fat and/or healthy, or the ones who pay little attention to the quality of food, but you never see them stuff themselves or over eat. I'm always in awe. Then there's the ones who eat everything they want and do fine. My husband must have pure sugar in his blood, the way he drinks Dr. Pepper all day, eats Pop Tarts for lunch, potato chips or whatever he wants. Water? How boring. If he want's to lose weight, he skips a meal and walks around the block twice. It's so infuriating!

I like the saying about eating to live, not living to eat. I wish I didn't have to work so hard to live that way!