Comments on: who knew?

By: perreys

perreys — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:44:02 +0000

on the flipside of this psychology is this, and I just know you will like it: when you are not exercising to lose weight, you can be much more leisurely about it. Instead of a manic pre-determination that you will go a certain number of miles on the treadmill or minutes on the elliptical, and steadily push yourself harder and harder as the days or weeks go on, you can go for a thirty minute walk, a stroll really, and say, “hey, doc, I’m working on it– check THIS out!”

When it comes to exercise, I think that once the pressure to lose goes away, and it’s just a ‘health thing,’ then a huge burden has been lifted and the self-flaggelation can stop. You can just do your thing, however and whenever you want.

By: wilma

wilma — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:21:01 +0000

case in point: skinny stars. often (but not always!) drinkers, drug users, smokers,sometimes over exercisers…but not usually all that healthy.

By: M.

M. — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:33:58 +0000

This is fascinating. I’m not overweight, never was sans a small blip recently in grad school – which happily brought me to elastic waist – but it never registered that I *shouldn’t* be exercising or eating well. My dad is really tall, skinny, eats well, and he’s been on blood pressure and cholesterol meds ever since I was old enough to remember.

When I was in high school, I remember thinking to myself that I knew high blood pressure and cholesterol were in my genes, and inevitably I’ll be on the same crap my dad’s on, but I decided I was going to give myself the best chance possible to avoid it. I also had a biology teacher in high school – thin, fit, ate brilliantly well – whose father died when he was 17 of a heart attack bc of high cholesterol. He had the same cholesterol issues as his dad but controlled it (meds, exercise, diet) because he didn’t want his son to experience the same tragedy.

Maybe because it was constantly in my face at home and at school the absolute skinny = healthy never registered in my brain… Your post is so interesting. Skinny definitely increases the PROBABILITY that you’ll be healthiER, but the absolute conviction you held (until recently) was just never part of the equation. It’s always been about stacking the odds in my favor against my genetic predisposition.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:22:33 +0000

It’s funny isn’t it. One giant problems go away and the rest crawl to the surface. i got skinny, then I got a new batch of issues. I thought the same as you. I know I just starting following your blog, so I don’t know you very well, but I feel that I can wish you peace with your choices and your life.

By: Aline

Aline — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:51:59 +0000

I used to believe when you are working out on a regular basis, you will not be hungry anymore and you will only crave healthy food.

I was so wrong.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:57:52 +0000

I had a dream last night, and don’t think I”m a stalker, it’s just the prozac makes me have weird dreams, that you had posted that you were having a really hard time with life and that i knew someone who knew you personally and I told them so they could help you. weird I know.

By: Sal

Sal — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:38:57 +0000

Amazing how complete is our belief that skinny = healthy. I’m actually glad to hear that your doctor told you what’s what, as I think some of them actually subscribe to the skinny = healthy mentality.

Additionally, doesn’t it suck to be a REALLY smart woman and discover that you’re being REALLY dense about REALLY important stuff? I do it constantly – get clotheslined by my own shortsightedness and have to sit down, stunned, to regroup.

By: JL(DN): Who Knew? | Dearest Mabel

JL(DN): Who Knew? | Dearest Mabel — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:31:50 +0000

[...] Read the full dispatch. [...]