Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels

Does anyone else detest that mantra?

I can't stand it. I think it is everything that is wrong with the idea of weight loss and how our minds are warped into seeing ourselves as not good enough.

When I read this phrase, my mind conjures up a vision of a sick, pale,skeletal young woman staring into her fridge, slamming the door shut and walking away reminding herself of how good it feels to be thin.

And I used to try and subscribe to that way of thinking. I thought it was the way I needed to think in order to lose the weight I wanted to lose. I used to try and drill this phrase into my head - but, in hindsight, it was usually in line at McDonald's or while dialing up my local pizzeria. Ok - mantra not working - pizza tastes better than being thin. WTF is wrong with me? Why can't I taste thin? Does it taste better than melted cheese on a thick greasy crust? I don't know.

All I do know, is that phrase was good at one thing only - making me feel like shit. I love food. I love eating. I enjoy it. And that is bad? Yes, that is bad. I won't be thin because I love food. Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels. Well, I'm sorry, but that sounds more like the international slogan of anorexia than a healthy mantra for women who want to lose weight.

So, I stopped buying into it. And any time someone else shares that 'mantra' with me, I tell them that they're wrong. And then I pull out a giant bowl of poutine from my jacket pocket and start eating it right in front of them to prove my point.

OK, that's just what I do in my mind. But it makes sense. Yes, feeling healthy (not THIN) feels great. Buying a smaller size feels good too. But pints and poutine on a patio after work on a Friday in July? That feels AMAZING. And guess what? I'll be wearing my smaller-sized pants on that patio, eating my fries and drinking my beer - because it's not one or the other, and it never has been.