<p>A couple of years ago, our neighbors bought a stack of nutrition books (Eating for Your Blood Type, The Cancer Free Diet, etc.) and dramatically changed their eating habits. They eat mostly organic vegatables, some tofu, very few carbs (I think only bread made of rice flour), drink a bit of soy milk. They and their teen son were thin to start out with and now they are all bone skinny…the type of thin where your face gets narrow and your teeth look a bit too big for your mouth.</p>
<p>Far be it from me to criticize anyone eating heathy foods (as the box of Junior Mints in my desk drawer calls out to me.) But here’s my question: If we all ate incredibly healthy food and only incedibly healthy food, would we all be bone skinny? I know that way too many Americans are overweight, but should we all be extremely thin? When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden eating only the fruit they were supposed to eat, did they have a body fat percentage of almost zero? Do we say that ultra-skinny isn’t healthy because we’re all too attached to our red meat or bread or Junior Mints?</p>
<p>I eat mostly healthy foods. Lots of local fruits and veggies. Small amounts of organic chicken and fish. I limit carbs…especially junky white carbs like cookies. I cook from scratch almost every night. And avoid processed foods with lots of ingredients.<br>
But unfortunately, I am far from skinny. Actually a bit over where I should be. H is in the same place. I need to eat LESS food, especially since I’m no spring chicken, but I have a hard time doing so.
Hey, you can eat all junk, but limit it to small amounts and be skinny.
What you eat is important in terms of how you feel and your overall health. But it’s the amount that makes the difference in weight.<br>
We have a family member who is very skinny and also eats very healthy food. He looks a bit ghastly without a shirt…all those bones sticking out. But I have to say he has lots of energy and seems very healthy. I think it’s been proven that calorie restriction can lead to a longer live. But for me, I’m not sure it’s worth it since I LOVE food.</p>
<p>I generally eat healthy foods – I make dinner from scratch most nights (usually red meat!!), have cold cut sandwiches (often red meat!!) for lunch w/ a little mayo, eat yogurt and Cheerios for breakfast, snack on fruit. A glass of wine most every night. I also eat treats from time to time – cookie dough, ice cream, a piece of chocolate candy. I just don’t overdo it. And I’m slender, but not bone-thin.</p>
<p>One advantage that I have is that I don’t like to feel full. I don’t like to feel hungry either, so my range of feeling good – not too hungry, not too full – is pretty narrow.</p>
<p>cartera45 now that is funny. But also very true. My Mom lost a lot of weight in her later years due to a diabetes diagnosis. She hates the way her face and neck look.<br>
I’m striving for a healthy balance…</p>
<p>I’m really thin, but I don’t eat super-healthy. I am a vegetarian, but I love butter and cheese. My personal philosophy for myself is that, since I am active, I can eat whatever I want in moderation. I generally eat small portions because I just don’t need to eat a sandwich the size of a dinner plate or a portion of pasta that could feed a family of four. I try to keep a mental tally of my calorie count for the day and get to that limit in different ways on different days. I don’t believe in depriving myself of something I really want because ultimately I’ll eat it anyway. I try not to eat from boredom or in the evening, but I think food should be an enjoyable part of life. Whatever it is you like.</p>
<p>In my neighbors’ eys, you’d be eating very unhealthy foods - no cold cuts, I assume your sandwich is on bread, no mayo - they might approve of the Cheerios but no, aren’t they a wheat product? Cookie dough, ice cream, candy…never ever. I’m really talking veggies and tofu and that’s about it.</p>
<p>That is so true! I started to mention that the wife is looking really wrinkled since she’s lost all the fat in her face, but I thought it would sound catty and that really isn’t the purpose of the post.</p>
<p>^^^
Does this rule not apply to guys? My family member who is skinny doesn’t look wrinkly at all and he’s pretty old!
Tofu and veggies would get old pretty quickly. As I said, I actually LIKE healthy foods (even tofu!) and that’s mostly what I eat but I like my dark chocolate and wine too. And a slice of pizza once in a great while!</p>
<p>I think how one’s face ages is pretty genetic. In this case, the wife is looking wrinkled but the husband isn’t. But she didn’t look wrinkled before she lost so much weight.</p>
<p>I eat very much like toneranger described. And like toneranger, not skinny, in fact, a tad overweight. (But I’ve lost 15 pounds in the past few months–yay!, so I’m only a tad, and if I can keep it up, maybe I’ll lose that tad.)</p>
<p>Losing at all takes constant vigilance for me; the amount it would take for me to be “very skinny” would probably fit in a teaspoon (very efficient system.)</p>
<p>Same here. The year before I turned 50, I decided to get back to my “wedding day weight.” I did it by eating almost nothing. Seriously - almost nothing. Once I started eating a modest amount of food, I gained 8 lbs and not even all the training for the Grand Canyon hike took any of it off.</p>
<p>I’m ultra thin (please don’t hate me). It’s genetic. I have a terrible diet. I generally have no appetite (I would love to bottle this and sell it!) I skip meals. I eat junk. I guess one thing that cuts out a lot of calories for me is terrible lactose intolerance–no milk, cheese, ice cream. . . H seems to eat little, doesn’t like sweets (I do) but is slightly overweight. Our kids take after one side of the family or the other. They eat the same foods, but have different builds. I think part of it is “portion.” H inhales his food and eats large portions. I feel satisfied after only a small portion–and uncomfortably full if I keep going. I enjoy my food and taste/chew for a long time (H makes fun of this). OTOH, H seems not even to taste his food–down it goes! (The nerve of him–after all the time I spent cooking. . .) Some of our kids seem to have big appetites and are attracted to food, social eating (if someone else is eating, they’ll eat again even if they’ve just eaten). The skinny kids eat a small portion and push their plates away, seem to live on air.</p>
<p>Curious thing–an old bachelor friend of ours married last year at the age of 48. His wife is about 44 (also never married before), and she works for a “healthy foods” foundation. (I won’t say which one, but they do eat meat-- range fed–raw milk, eggs, whole grains, etc.) Well, I saw them last week for the first time after the wedding. OMG–our friend “Joe” looks like he’s aged 20 years! He was a coffee/steak/beer/cigar kind of guy and always comfortably overweight. He has lost a little weight, but his face just looks old and his beard is totally white. If I didn’t know him, I’d guess his age as mid 60’s. He said he’s offered senior discounts everywhere. I’d guess his wife’s age as mid 50’s. She is painfully thin–anorexic looking. Face is wrinkled, etc. I don’t see how she can promote this “healthy diet” when she looks so unhealthy! So much that healthy diet does for them. Or maybe it’s marriage that doesn’t agree with them? ;)</p>
<p>I’m kinda skinny. I think the main reason is portion control. A secondary reason is limiting junk and carbs. </p>
<p>I also have a “food attitude” that most people consider strange. I simply eat to prevent starvation. All food tastes wonderful to me, so eating for “food enjoyment” is dull and boring to me. (ETA, i.e., nothing about food is “special.”) Taste is not enough reason eat something. I need to be hungry, too. So, since my food purpose is merely to kill to pangs, veggies work just as well as cake. Weird, I know. :p</p>
<p>We eat very healthy at home because of H, everything is organic and everything made from scratch. We eat red meat, a lot of seafood, and chicken. I can’t have a meal without meat, but tofu and lots green veggies are part of our regular diet. It is true about portion control. H will serve little over a pound of steak for 4 of us (we all just get a few thin slices), he never puts a whole slab of steak on our plate. We’ll have 2 viggies, finish off with a big salad, and not have carbs. I am thin, but my stomach is showing its age. I love KFC, but am only allow to have it a few times a year. This week H is traveling. D2 and I have a date at KFC tonight. We’ll destroy all evidence before H comes home.</p>
<p>Soy bean products could be consumed only in moderation. They are statistically known over very long period of time to produce more cases of thyroid cancer than average diet (from statistics on asian population with elevated consumption of soybean food). </p>
<p>I am trying to eat what I like and avoid food that I do not like. Works for me today, who knows what will happen tomorrow and what we will die from. Chocolate is my king.</p>