You are NOT what you eat…

I will be roundly hated by some for this post. A very small minority will thrust their skinny fists in the air and silently mouth “YES!”

We may be a minority but we need to be heard. We are the women who have never needed to watch their weight. We have many other problems, but that’s not one of them. I have always been thin, petite, zipper-like, whatever.  I didn’t move from a training bra to something more substantial until I was pregnant. Too thin to look good in a bikini top, never could look sexy in that little black sexy dress. No butt or hips to hold up low-cut jeans.  Lots of fashion trends just passed me right by. I suffered growing up to the taunts of the other kids for my knobby knees and flat chest.

And don’t throw those horrendously skinny models at me. The clothing they wear is custom-tailored, not to mention the shots are PhotoShopped. No, skinny has its problems, trust me. You feel your jeans getting tight and worry? My concern is the amount of baggy, saggy denim. I slip into what I used to call my “skinny jeans”, with long-johns on underneath. Staying warm requires heroic layers and I’ve learned keeping one’s neck warm is almost as important as wearing a hat to retain heat.

My nutrition routine has nothing to do with my weight. Well, perhaps it does because I do not stress-eat. I stress-non-eat. Love to cook, hate to eat. If I could chug every meal as a protein drink I’d be happy. A good friend recently got me started on Superfood smoothies.   I love that I’m nurturing my body and don’t have to chew. The tiny chia seeds that stick in every crevice are not so nice, but the simplicity of downing a meal in a single glass is perfect.

Late night binges on ice cream help keep the weight on in winter. I am partial to pistachios, OK obsessed is probably more accurate. My favorite “lazy meal” is a salad and frozen butternut squash ravioli. While the pasta is cooking, I heat up a couple of tablespoons of butternut squash seed oil, toss in a fresh sage leaf and some pine nuts. When the pasta is cooked I drizzle the oil and nuts over the top. Quick, easy and filling.

As I age, I worry that I will become one of those skinny old women that look like they are about to snap in two. The line between thin and healthy is thin, no pun intended…