<p>I generally try to keep my diet healthy, but I have no problem letting loose when the opportunity comes. It’s all about balance.</p>
<p>I’m a healthy size. I wouldn’t like to be ultra-skinny and weak because I play a lot of tennis, and I need my current figure to do that.</p>
<p>I don’t go as far as your neighbors but I also don’t eat cold cuts or most processed foods, most days. I certainly have treats and am not obsessive–if a sandwich is all that’s available I’ll eat cold cuts. I’m thin, but not bone skinny.</p>
<p>Just look at all the overweight vegetarians to understand that not eating meat won’t in and of itself make you skinny.</p>
<p>Also, losing weight by starving yourself doesn’t work 99% of the time in terms of keeping it off. By doing that you’ve eaten away at muscle in addition to fat which won’t make you look good anyway.</p>
<p>I would love to be skinny, but I will never achieve this unrealistic goal, I just do not want to torture myself and I love chocolate way too much. However, I am within my range recommended by doc’s out there on all kind of websites. My BP, blood sugar are normal (I measure both very often) and I did not loose any hight, meanning no osteoporosis. So, my assumption is that I am reasonably OK, but everybody knows there is no guarantee in anything health related. So, just take one day at a time and try to enjoy it to the fullest.</p>
<p>I am very careful about what I eat. Mostly organic, mostly local. I grow a lot of my own produce. No corn syrup. No soda. When I started being so careful, ten years ago, I lost about twenty pounds. (DH lost about fifty.) I exercise daily for about an hour. I run sprints, I do long walks with my dogs, I compete in an active sport (dog agility).</p>
<p>I am still plump by anyone’s standards. (My blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., are all normal; my vitamin D is very low and very resistant to change.) Oh well. I look ten years younger than my age, though. Very few wrinkles.</p>
<p>I used to be ultra-skinny because of dance, but I’ve put on a lot of weight in the last year or so. So now I’m trying to lose most of it - I eat healthy and work out a lot (helps that I’m kind of hyper), but I also let loose sometimes. It’s actually good to pig out once in a while because your metabolism is deluded into thinking it needs to consume more than it actually has to. And yes, balance is important.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I LOVE junk food. Possibly more than my parents (kidding!).</p>
<p>dmd77,
Forgot to add that I also exercise for about 2 hours every day, but I love it and it has almost drug like effect on my mood (although, I have never had drugs, so I am just guessing here). I can be down and tired before and I will feel awesome after swimming or rollerblading or even gym ( my least favorite ) or shovelling snow.</p>
<p>I’ll never be skinny.</p>
<p>I went on the Atkins diet years ago, immediately dropped 8 pounds, and never went off that diet. I eat only meat (incl. eggs and dairy), fruits, veggies, whole grains (and an occasional gummi bear and hershey’s kiss). Wherever you dine, you can always find something to eat that satisfies on that diet. I am pretty thin, but I also run 3 miles a day.</p>
<p>I eat everything, meat, tofu, veggies, fish, red meat, cookies, candies, pies, but in moderate amounts. I don’t feel the need to finish everything on my plate. And yes, I am thin.</p>
<p>I follow weight watcher’s old core food plan (fruits, veggies, low-fat meats, whole grain pasta and rice, with a limited allowance for wine, bread, cheese, etc.–don’t care about sweets so no temptation there.) I have been under goal weight for about a year. It is, however, a daily challenge to maintain through stringent portion control and exercise. I still go to meetings every week and will never be cured. </p>
<p>H is very thin but is a distance runner who wants to be very thin for his sport. When we were camping this week-end, he did a 10-mile run in the Shenandoah (very hilly) before our 10-mile hike with loaded backpacks because the hike didn’t count as exercise to him. After that 20 miles he was still as fresh as if he had just strolled around the block although he often pretends to be getting a work-out on some steep hill so I don’t feel so bad, but I can always tell he is faking it.</p>
<p>Your neighbors may only be eating “healthy foods,” but if they do not eat enough of them and/or they don’t get enough variety, they will be malnourished and possibly too thin. They don’t sound like folks I’d like to emulate.</p>
<p>I eat very healthy, though I do eat lean sources of animal protein. I’m pretty slim, but I also do cardio six days a week and strength training for 3-4 days a week. I had slipped for a couple of years-ate more junk, larger portions, and couldn’t work out due to an injury, so had put on quite a few extra lbs. So I do have to work to stay slim, unlike my husband who can eat whatever he wants and stays thin.</p>
<p>I don’t think one would necessarily get really thin on a super healthy diet. However, there is a movement to not only eat healthy, but eat the minimum amount necessary for survival. Supposedly it promotes longer life, if you don’t starve to death. I think it’s called calorie reduction. These people look like walking skeletons.</p>
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<p>I wonder if they’re going in that direction, since it seems like they’re thinner every time I see them. I guess as long as their son keeps eating lunch at school, he’ll be able to wolf down enough carbs and other generally unhealthy stuff to keep growing. (He tells my D that he hates the food they have at home. I predict that when he goes away to college he’ll gain more than the freshman 15!)</p>
<p>Have always tried to eat plenty of fruits and veggies, especially after I had kids. (I really wanted my kids to be healthy. Our mantra is fruit before dessert.) We eat meat once a day and try to keep snacks limited to a few chips and dip or hummus and pita, etc. DD, DS, and I are thin, but not skinny. Well, up until 2 years ago I was thin; now, I have thin arms and legs with a not-so-thin gut. I think this is directly related to the fact that I retired 2 years ago and have been way too sedentary. Also, I am use to being able to eat whatever I want with no consequences. Both kids, especially DD, were always considered slightly underweight by the pediatrician. Never a great concern, my kids have always been active and perky. I desperately want to lose 15 pounds, but have no idea how to do it since I’ve never had to diet before. I think I overeat more than eat the wrong things. (Okay, okay, I admit I have a terrible weakness for Hagen Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond. But I only eat it once in a while - really!)</p>
<p>As I said, I do eat red meat – probably five nights out of seven. Well, maybe four nights. But I only eat the “deck of cards” size that’s supposed to be one serving. It’s very tiny. DH, who weighs about 50 lbs more than he did at our wedding, probably eats three to four times that serving size. I think it makes a huge difference.</p>
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<p>Some very good studies have shown that low calorie living leads to living longer. I remember calculating that about 1600 calories/day was about right for a women 5’6", 120lbs. based on the study.</p>
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<p>That will certainly keep your weight down and there is a lot of beef now with fat that’s about the same level per ounce as chicken or turkey. Whether you’ll be healthy too is the real question. The research behind the South Beach diet (Mediterranean diet in general) suggests that for optimal health, you limit red meat to 1 pound per month. I love red meat but I now believe this is probably right.</p>
<p>One pound per month!! Really!!??</p>
<p>I have a very healthy diet - and I would say I am slim and fit. I exercise regularly. I defy the fannie vs. face rule. I have such a round face!!! Occasionally when I have gone shopping in the winter and am wearing a coat, I have had saleswomen at an upscale store ask me if they can help me find my size (when I am already pulling out dresses in my size). I have had saleswomen look a little surprised when I come out of a dressing room and say something to the effect that the dress DOES fit. So, if I gain any weight I really look porky.</p>
<p>Sad, but I believe true. At the steak houses I used to frequent, I’d have to order the miniature plate to get just a pound. Now I’m down to 4 ounces of 96% lean beef once per week! I’ve always been thin, but more recently decided to add healthy.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve read a lot about links between red meat consumption and cancer…particularly colon cancer.
I LOVE red meat but really limit it now…probably twice per month and even then a very small amount. I buy grass fed filet from Whole Foods. Little teeny tiny ones…a good thing cause they’re real expensive. Grass fed is lower fat and has Omega 3s. </p>
<p>I’m impressed with all of those here who report working out on a regular basis… I do too but bad knees and now a bad elbow are limiting my activities. I walk a lot and bike long distances but I still feel I need to do more. A guy on the radio today was talking about how tendons in particular because less flexible and prone to injury as you age. Yeah, I know…</p>