Thin for a day
By mommyboo
@mommyboo (13174)
United States
September 16, 2009 11:11am CST
Dear mylot friends - I want to try and debunk a commonly held myth which is perpetuated at length in our society. First of all, if you are not thin and could be thin for a day, WOULD YOU DO IT?
Please tell me what you believe this will accomplish.
Contrary to popular belief, being thin does not always mean you are healthier. It does not mean you will be POPULAR, RICH, SUCCESSFUL, or HAPPY. It does not mean you will find or marry the love of your life instantly, have many friends, or influence your enemies. It does not ensure you a promotion at work or an offer of work if you are applying. It doesn't give you As at school or make you win a sporting event.
Who lied to all you people?
A thin person may not face all of the SAME challenges and the SAME issues that a heavier person does, but they can certainly face the same NUMBER of challenges and issues. All I'm asking is that people stop believing the grass is greener because it isn't. I am so TIRED of friends of mine griping about how they are fat, especially if they aren't. I am also tired of people who don't even know me who believe that my life is somehow better because I am small. My life is better (if it is) because I MAKE IT SO. It has nothing to do with my weight, my size, my height, or anything along those lines. UGH!
What do you think about this? All input/opinions/ideas welcome. I'm really curious to know why people hold so many misconceptions about this subject!
2 people like this
10 responses
@goldfish03 (2)
• China
17 Sep 09
Is thin beautiful? I do not think so .I would not like to lose my weight .
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
19 Sep 09
Well of course thin doesn't always equal fit. I know that quite well, as most of my life I have been considered thin but that certainly didn't always mean I was in good shape. Even people who appear thin and healthy perhaps aren't, they may have health problems under the surface, or they may not even be able to participate in a sporting event without sitting down, run a mile, or go up several flights of stairs.
A friend of mine told me recently that she didn't think overweight people could be fit and I told her they certainly could be. Just because someone is considered overweight, or even just clinically overweight (they don't appear overweight but their doctor says they are) doesn't mean they couldn't whip your butt in a game of tennis or run a mile faster than you, even if you're thin, normal weight, or even in decent shape lol.
I may be lucky too in that I am both thin AND fit but I would trade LOOKING so thin to perhaps lift more or run longer and faster lol. I think that is more important in the scheme of things, especially as I get older. It's really more about what you can do than how you look, in my opinion. Society would tell you it's the other way around, or perhaps they'd try to say BOTH are equally important, but if you have to choose one, I'd still choose this way.
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
17 Sep 09
I would not like to be thin for a day, I would like to be a normal weight for life. If you ever look at news reels from the 40's and 50's you will notice that people are slim, both men and women. These days 60% of North Americans are overweight or obese which places a huge burden on the health care system. I am not saying thin people can not get sick but in general it is safe to say that certain diseases such as diabetes are much more prevelant in overweight and obese people. Research has also shown that there is discrimination against fat people in many areas. For instance you will rarely see an overweight receptionist or overweight executive in a high profile company. Slim people are also promoted more often than fat people. I watched the American presidential race. The wives of the candidates and the candidates themselves were not overweight.
As far as other issues which you have raised I agree with you that personal happiness does not depend on your weight but on your attitude.
1 person likes this
@anne25penn (3305)
• Philippines
17 Sep 09
Hello mommyboo. I am fat, but have never thought that my weight or size hampered my success in work or studies or social life. The only exception is when I go shopping for clothes here in the Philippines because the shirts here can fit a stuffed teddy bear and it is labeled as extra large :P. Life is what you make out of it.
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
19 Sep 09
I think the clothing manufacturers add to the misery that a lot of people experience by sizing the clothes in such a way that they are not uniform nor are they true. I have several different sizes in my closet but if I hold the clothes up, they measure the SAME. There is no excuse for them carrying different sizes on the labels. For awhile shirts were SO short even if they fit everywhere else that I started buying larger shirts because I have no need to show off the top of my jeans or my belly button. Therefore, I have plenty of clothing which says 'large' on the tag yet they are not large items. I wear what would be considered xs or extra small, but the large shirts shrunk some and I like there to be some 'give' or flare out at the bottom because I don't really like tight clothes. I'm not 25, I'm 35 so I have no desire to appear as if I'm 20. I think people are way too focused on sizes when they shop and allow that to influence how they feel about themselves lol.
@dawnald (85135)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Sep 09
What's the point of thin for a day? Would I have to go out and buy thin clothes that I could never wear again?
I would like to get offa my butt and lose some weight the old fashioned way, but my entire happiness does not rest upon my doing so.
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
17 Sep 09
LOL! Perhaps you kind of see the point then. I'm curious, honestly curious, about those who would jump at the chance because they think it means their lives will magically get better. Hubby and I watch The Biggest Loser, I love what they do and it is extremely motivating to see what they go through. Anyway, sometimes on the show, the contestants talk about learning how to accept themselves, not just as they are evolving as they learn to take better care of themselves and they shrink before their own eyes, the health problems and diseases begin going away, etc but figuring out how to actually SEE themselves as they are after the transformation. Apparently people who have always been heavy have a hard hard time seeing themselves as anything but, even if they are healthy afterwards and say went from a size 20 down to a size 8.
This is why I say it doesn't magically get better. You have to see yourself the way you want to - or the way you actually are - and use that to take advantage of opportunity or create opportunity, not for any reason allow what you look like or what you THINK you look like (if it isn't what you want) to control you or hold you back.
I think the older I get, the more I am puzzled and disturbed by the gigantic lack of confidence the average person has.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
16 Sep 09
Hey mommyboo! As always, I so love your discussions! And you
too!lol You seem to have pretty much answered your own question
once again! People do always seem to think that the grass IS
always GREENER! Isn't that pretty much true? I don't know if
they think it or wish it or use it as an excuse, but they
figure that it must be! If they are too fat, they think that
thin people have it so much easier! It doesn't occur to them
that thin people also have issues in their lives too because
to someone who has weight issues that IS the biggest issue
in their life! They forget that there are actually other things
in life besides the size of your body! So, if they were to lose
the weight we know that they would still have other problems
just like others who aren't fighting weight issues as a main
problem! They just put their other issues on the back burner
and try to forget about them where we face our realities head
on! So they would find out that the grass isn't really greener
on the other side! We all have problems if they would just
open their eyes and see the world for what it really is besides
their weight issue there are "real" problems that others face
in their everday lives! If they stopped focusing on the superficial
they might be able to see!!!(Mommyboo, when I respond to your discussions
I feel like I have just ran a marathon!Oh, I just lost 3 pounds!lol Love,Opal)
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
18 Sep 09
Opal!! I just wonder all the time WHY people think the grass is greener without KNOWING, or even by God LISTENING to someone on the other side for some pointers.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you mention that perhaps to someone with weight issues, it IS the biggest issue in their life, no pun intended. I wish it weren't. There is so much more to a person than weight.
Also, I have come to the conclusion that some people either are born into drama and maybe also create their own, other people are able to compartmentalize it, divide and conquer it, or cause it to get lost so it never finds them. I usually try to control access, I am still working on a gps program that sends drama into the ocean. 
@mdvarghese (1789)
• Bangalore, India
16 Sep 09
Being thin or fat have nothing to do with the success, popular, rich , happy or sorrow. It is important how you are facing the challenges and solving the problems.
Instead of shape, size , colour and beauty the character will count the most.
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
17 Sep 09
Yes, exactly, but many many people I know seem to believe (and point out regularly) that thin people have a better life, an easier life, etc. it would not bother me so much but people believe that of ME and I feel like saying 'do I have a story for YOU.....' which is more or less, don't believe just what you see.
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
15 Oct 09
Oh, I'm not yearning to be thin in order to be popular, rich, successful or happy. I am already that . I want to be thinner so that I wouldn't get too tired quickly and I could have more time to do things and enjoy things.
I want to be thin so that I wouldn't have difficulty looking for cute clothes all the time. It's especially difficult for me to fit pants and if I could be thinner, I'd could choose one with ease.
I want to be thin not because of other people. I want to be thin because I want to be able to eat a lot without thinking of how many inches it would affect my body hehehe.
But of course, I don't want to be super thin like skin and bones. I just want to be a little bit thinner than my body right now.
Believe me, not everyone is envious about thin people because they are popular, rich, successful or happy. Fat people already have that. There's just a lot of things you can do and better if you're thinner and if you're able to stay thin.
You get what I mean? 
. I want to be thinner so that I wouldn't get too tired quickly and I could have more time to do things and enjoy things.
I want to be thin so that I wouldn't have difficulty looking for cute clothes all the time. It's especially difficult for me to fit pants and if I could be thinner, I'd could choose one with ease.
I want to be thin not because of other people. I want to be thin because I want to be able to eat a lot without thinking of how many inches it would affect my body hehehe.
But of course, I don't want to be super thin like skin and bones. I just want to be a little bit thinner than my body right now.
Believe me, not everyone is envious about thin people because they are popular, rich, successful or happy. Fat people already have that. There's just a lot of things you can do and better if you're thinner and if you're able to stay thin.
You get what I mean? 
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
3 Oct 09
I used to be rather skinny, actually, I was classed as anorexic. I can tell you now, I was as miserable as anything because I was always sick, and I didn't like who I was.
These days, I am just in the healthy weight range for my height, and I am much happier. I have 5 kids, which I wouldn't have been able to have if I hadn't put the weight on, and I laugh a lot more than I did before.
So, no, if the opportunity came along for me to be skinny for a day, I wouldn't take it. I have already been there, didn't like who I was or the way people treated me (like I didn't have a brain at all) and I am so over being sick all the time.
@pals101 (2010)
• Philippines
17 Sep 09
I guess to saying that:
Too much is "BAD"
Lacking is also "BAD"
In our way of life today,, its not difficult to get thin or to get fat.. The most important thing is how to get fit and healthy..Nowadays its too risky to get sick especially when so many types of illness occurring from time to time..
