Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels

If you've tried to lose weight, I'm sure you have heard this trite phrase. As a fat person, I'd always roll my eyes. I am not sure what skinny people think about this one -- I don't know whether they're all "right on!" or whether they call BS on this mantra as well. (Of course, by the way, I recognize that peoples' thoughts are not controlled strictly by their size -- ie, not all skinny people think the same thing or even the same way -- their opinions vary as do those of the fatties).

Anyway, today I was up at the gym, workin' on my fitness. I had spent 5 minutes on the stairway to nowhere (which I both love and hate), and then had moved on to a quick 25 minutes on the elliptical. I cranked the resistance up to 9, rocked some 130 bpm music on the iPod and then went to work! I was getting my fitness on when one of my favorite songs came on: SexyBack by Justin Timberlake.

I thought to myself as this was playing I thought, "OMG. I really COULD bring sexy back! All I need to do is bust my butt on the fitness and control the eating and that could totally be me." I got my first whiff of what it must actually be like to believe that nothing could possibly taste as good as being skinny felt. Huh. I guess you can teach old dogs new tricks?

I'm still processing and thinking through this saying honestly. Could it really be true that nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels? I think the reason why fat people call BS on the phrase is because most of us either have never been skinny or have been skinny in such a distant past that we can't remember what it is like. Also, lots of people think they're fat when they're actually skinny (The "I'm not skinny! I need to lose five pounds!" negative self talk), so when they were skinny they either didn't realize it or didn't enjoy it. All those reasons contribute to why most fatties (at least the ones I've talked to) simply have no idea how to connect with that phrase. People are essentially asking us to take someone's word for it. That's not something I've ever been good at. I usually have to try, taste, test, and see for myself whether something is true or whether someone is BSing me -- I rarely blindly accept the opinions or advice of others.

In addition this phrase doesn't really address some deeper issues. Yes, there's the taste associated with food -- but for many of us, food is not just about the taste. It's about emotions, it's about comfort, it's all about tons of things which really have very little to do with taste. If it were only about taste, perhaps more people would buy into the saying. Does feeling skinny really help me feel better when I am sad? Do I feel rewarded when I feel skinny?

I am still not sure what I feel about the saying. I am not completely sold, but I'm going to be slower to call BS on the phrase from now on. Although I'm not skinny yet, having lost 40 lbs., being able to do what I want to do and not get physically tired, and feeling good about myself again feels pretty damned good. It's probably even feels better than mashed potatoes or a brownie would taste.

Now to remember this when it counts...