Thinside Out: how to have your cake and your skinny jeans too
Book report time! And I apologize; it’s a long one! (tl;dr Skip this post all together and just read the book.)
Finally sitting down to write out my thoughts about this book, which means V will probably wake up at any time now. That girl as impeccable timing…
So where to begin? I’m tempted to take the lazy way out and just say, “Read this book” and leave it at that, but I’ll give you the takeaway and some highlights from the book.
Basically the book in a nutshell:
Disordered eating and food obsession are not your fault.
You’re not addicted to food.
Forgive yourself and move on.
Exercise isn’t necessary for weight loss and excessive cardio just makes you hungrier (and she isn’t advocating to not train for a marathon, bodybuild etc. She just emphasizes that you should EAT accordingly and not expect to lose weight while doing these high-intensity activities.)
A daily walk/run/jog/wog/dance class/whatever or weekly resistance training is important for mental health, cardiovascular health and strength.
Deprivation leads to binging.
Eat until the food doesn’t taste as amazing as it did during that first AHMAZING bite (& if the first bite didn’t taste AHMAZING then why are you even eating it?) Twelve spoonfuls of your favorite ice cream don’t taste as good as that first bite did. Two cupcakes won’t taste better than one.
Track how the food makes you feel 30 minutes/1 hour/ 2 hours after you eat.
Eat without distractions.
Your body will tell you what it needs for fuel.
Even naturally thin people eat “junk” when they’re not hungry.
Contrary to what you’re thinking after reading the above: you will not suddenly want to live off candy bars and french fries.
Measure your progress with clothing.
Note: I think it’s important for me to point out that I’m not a champion of all her theories, but I’m refraining from pointing out which ones. Read and decide for yourself.
Remember a couple weeks ago when I wrote about the Moderator v. Abstainer approach as listed in Better Than Before? This book doesn’t disprove that or my admission that I’m abstaining from alcohol (only food off the top of my head that I can think of that I’m avoiding.) The reason being not that I can’t control myself around alcohol but because I don’t like the way it makes me feel after I drink it. At least, not right now. I’m already so tired contending with Violet and her 4-month sleep regression and am dying to fall into bed by 9:30 most nights. There’s no way I’m going to make myself even more tired by drinking alcohol, which is exactly the effect alcohol has on me. So, the reason why this works (which I didn’t realize until I read Thinside Out) is because I’m not depriving myself of anything - I’m acknowledging that drinking makes me feel like pants right now and am avoiding it.
However, I have a friend visiting next month and you better believe I will be enjoying every drop of cider and wine when she gets here with no regrets. Ok, so maybe slight regret during one of V’s middle-of-the-night feedings…
I hesitated to even write this post because if you’re anything like me, just reading this small bit has you up in arms because you’re convinced eating like this isn’t possible. I can’t convince you if that’s the case. You’ll have to read the book (or don’t). And maybe it won’t change your life like the cover promises, but it’s worth a try, no?
As for the reason why this book initially made me angry?
1. I jumped to conclusions very early on about what she was suggesting without having finished the book yet and kept shouting, “THERE’S NO WAY THIS WILL WORK!” I was wrong. It will and does work.
2. I’ve wasted literally 20+ years of my life dieting and labeling foods naughty/healthy/diet/good/bad etc. and that alone made me seethe for hours.
3. I had to tuck my tail in between my legs thinking back to my militant Whole30, Keto, WW, 5:2, replacement shakes, detoxes, etc…
I’m excited to hear if you read it and what you think. If it’s not your cup of Kool-aid, I get it, but I wish I could’ve read this book way before my well-meaning parents signed me up for Weight Watchers when I was 16…
amandla
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