The mainstream media feeds right into our negative self images…time & time again. It reinforces our “good and bad”, “black & white” style of thinking. Its time for people to relaize that they are GOOD & WHOLE no matter what they eat, how much they exersize, or what jeans size they are. If we all start from that belief….we WILL make healthier choices. Loving & Accepting yourself gives you the freedom to be able to give you body what it needs…and ENJOY doing it!!

The problem in my mind is that all these charts and advice seem to suggest that we can outsmart our body and our hunger. Say you DO choose the option with more calories… so what? You’ve given your body that much more fuel and presumably, in general, in the context of a healthy lifestyle, your body will use that fuel and tell you it’s hungry again a little later than it would’ve if you chose the lower calorie option.

It seems like none of those magazines promote the idea of trusting your body to tell you when it’s hungry and then eating to satisfy that hunger, and trusting that that process will repeat as hunger arises in the future.

I’d be interested in a post on how you define a “natural, healthy weight”… if it’s not a certain number on a scale, not a certain BMI, not a certain slimness of appearance–then how do you know what it is? Is it a process thing that you know a person is at a natural, healthy weight because they’re eating healthfully? (That seems to fly in the face of all the “obesity epidemic” stuff getting thrown around these days.)

I think we need to focus on healthy choices and loving our bodies now. Healthy is in. I think that we don’t give enough emphasis to how smart we really are when it comes to food. Every person knows what is good for them vs. what isn’t. Most of us just make a decision based on how we are feeling at that moment in time instead of always selecting something that may be healthier. There is nothing wrong with picking what you want, we just can’t do it every time. Bottom line, don’t feel guilty about your choice. Just know that you control your intake of bad and good and it is always up to you.

I’m a little confused with the BMR calculation because it seems to imply I should be eating just 1310 calories a day. I am already 9lb under the minimum weight for my height and I eat more calories than that! Is it implying that I need 1310 calories a day just to stay alive (ie for my internal body processes to function), without burning any off through walking about, exercise etc? Is it reasonable, in that case, to think I might burn off 300 or 400 calories a day through walking, cycling to the station etc?

Why is the focus always on calories and not on nutrition? Those “eat this, not that” books and articles are solely based on calories, and not the nutritional value. I’d rather eat one ounce of almonds, with the protein, healthy fat, and vitamins and minerals than a serving of sugar-free jello, which is basically gelatin and artificial sweetener with no nutritional value (and will make you feel hungry later).