h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Some of you may know that I've not been feeling my best over the last few days. As a result of which, I was comfort eating. I know, I know, but sometimes you need to. Anyway, I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday;

Me: Yeah, so on Friday I ate chocolate, then Saturday it was biscuits, and yesterday was flapjack. I'm working my way down gradually.
Him: You really shouldn't, you know, you'll end up like you were before.
(note - before I was even fatter than I am now)
Me: That wasn't because I was eating bad food, and anyway I won't because I'm not going to keep doing it.
Him: Yeah, but you know... you'll get all fat again...

Now, I wasn't in a very good mood, so at this point I utter a string of expletives and push him away from me.

What the heck does he know!

Just to clarify, this is a guy who won't eat rice cakes because they're 'too low in fat', and has previously said on many occasions that his life ambition is to 'become fat'. And he wasn't kidding.

It's just annoying when a hypocrite tells you that you'll get fat. And I reckon he's mainly saying it because of this thing that guys have about female body image. Girls aren't allowed to get fat, because fat = ugly. A lot of men think this, despite the evidence. After all, emaciated girls look worse than plump ones, and they aren't as nice to cuddle.

Anyway, I thought about it overnight, and he has a point, of course. So today I will start a diet of sorts - just a common-sense thing. And make time to go to the gym more often. And not drink alcohol. Because he's right, and I am still trying to lose weight.

I still have fat thighs.

For those who know what this means, I have a BMI of 27. I want it to be 23 or 22.

I'll let you know how it goes.

We do have very victorian sences of propriaty these days, there is a similar want for men to be muscular, and tall, of which i am niether, i am 5'10" and as skinny as a rake, which leaves me feeling tired most of the time (due to a fast metabolism). anyone i know generaly has more energy than i do.
i must admit to haveing a dyslike for anorexics, it is to me a form of self harm, and trust me kidds, causing pain don't aleviate it, especialy to your self. it is from my point of view, (throuhg a glass darkly) that the self image thing, forced on us by daverts, and the media in general, corupts everything. Gosip magasines should be banned.

You're not short, and you're not freakishly thin, either, you have good proportions. I have to tell you, women don't particularly care about what men look like, it's personality that counts.

It had gotten to the stage where I was feeling OK about how I looked, but now I'm feeling rather unhappy again. I do see the guy's point, it just annoyed me because it's like he thinks I don't realise these things, and also he's such a hypocrite.

You're right, eating disorders are self-harm, and people generally get them as a result of depression or some other deep-rooted insecurity. We don't need to go into this here, because enough has been written on it before, but yes, you are right.

By the way, off topic a little here, but thanks for being a good friend.

It's better to be slightly overweight than slightly underweight, as "reasonable" BMIs [20-25] are if anything, slightly low.

You're giving up alcohol?

Excellent, I wont have to buy you any drinks then!!!

I had a feeling that you may have been comfort eating over the past few days alight. To be honest, I've been doing a small bit of that myself. Then again, that's probably doing me some good.

And don't worry, I love you, so I'll only leave you if you get reeeeeeally fat. Minivan size.

You'd leave me?! But, but... what if there was a reason? Like I was pregnant with triplets? I can't support them alone!

Yes, they'd be going ...

*ba-dum-psh*

Sorry, I wasn't sure whether that was what you intended.

It was me and the triplets. It's alright though, I gave them jam to shut them up.

Apricot's best. No-one complains with apricot jam.

And it has all the nutritional requirements of a growing child.

And I haven't seen it for years...

This isn't your way of telling me that you're pregnant, is it?

Fortunately not.

*phew* Thank Christi!

*poke*

But she is out of jam...

I think the last point you made is the most important thing. It's all about how _you_ feel about your weight - not because of what other people are saying, but because that is what you think.

I joined Weight Watchers about a year ago, because I decided I could use that help instead of trying to do it on my own. For me, it's good... I mean, I still get the occasional 'oh screw it, I just don't care', but at least I have a programme to get back to.

So, whatever works for you, it's good. !