If you’re thin, what does the voice in your head say?

[SunshineAndFizz]

If you’re offered a biscuit, or need to make a selection in a restaurant, what does the voice in your head say to help you make a healthy choice?

Kate Moss famously said ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’. And my aunt used to say ‘oh I don’t like to feel full’.

If you’re thin, do you have a healthy phrase you tell yourself to help keep on the right track?

Oh, goodness, I think we have the same head voice.

(I'm not thin, BMI 26, just here for tips)

What is this nutritionally going to do for me? Will it be good for my body? (My body is a temple my mum used to say). Doesn’t mean I don’t stuff myself with junk sometimes, but it is outweighed by the majority of the time having lovely nutritious foods.

Hats off to everyone who just eats what they like and no self regulation needed - I’m very jealous!

I think my favourite reply is the Grange Hill ‘just say no’ 😂

When I was a size 8 I ate everything... Now I'm a size 14 and calorie control although I don't have a good voice. I'm not massively tempted by things like biscuits or chocolate. My weakness is cheese and wine.
For me being thin was not an act of discipline. I just had a fantastic metabolism until I hit 35 and it changed. I'm actually probably healthier now than when I was size 8. I do miss being thin though but don't care enough to go to the extremes is now takes to be that size.

Me too, I'm stealing it!

I like vegetables. I like all the varied flavours of veg. I like high fibre food. I like beans and lentils.
There are many flavours I don't like (like sweet and sour).
I don't like very sweet things (sugary crumble: yuck)
I don't like huge portions of meat.
I dislike white flour items.
Food never tastes that good unless you're legit hungry, so that guides my thoughts about how much to order.
And I truly loathe food waste, I'd rather clean my plate & still feel peckish than waste food.
I know what I like so choose accordingly, might also be "healthy" choice.
And restaurant food is SO Expensive, so that's another reason not to order much.

I don't generally like biscuits, not worth the calories, not that tasty. Cake... meh, some is nice.

I have a fucked up stomach from 20 years of bulimia and genuinely struggle to keep any substantial meals down now. When I'm actively engaging in my ED I tend to maintain a low end of healthy weight bmi (around 19 but it's lower than my body likes). During times when I'm doing better my bmi is more like 21-22. During these times if I eat out I probably just won't eat for the rest of the day because I'll be full (if we're doing this I'll try to go earlier in the day) . Or if we get a pizza I'll eat 3 slices and freeze the rest. Intermittent fasting has worked very well for ms when I've been able to stick to it. So yeah I'm probably not the best person to take advice from. Everyone outside of close family actually thinks I have my life together, it's hilarious. Also wasn't Kate Moss on coke?

I don't regularly go out to eat so if I am then I'm having whatever I fancy. There isn't a voice in my head at those times because its a rare occurrence.
At home I'm trying to make better choices I've found since kids I'm more inclined to have sweet treats of a evening because life is a bit mundane and drudgery 🙈
So I brush my teeth after dinner and the lazy in me won't want to get up and do it again.

During the day I've just popped a note inside the cupboard to remind me of healthier alternatives like a rice cake with peanut butter on rather than a biscuit. I find if I'm busy though I don't have time to snack.

Overall I'm not sure I have much of a voice inside my head when it comes to food. I'm conscious at the moment as I'm trying to lose a bit of weight and reduce sugar. When I'm in a comfortable spot I don't overthink it I guess. What I have added back in to my life is weighing myself on scales. I know for some they go by their clothes but I haven't found that a reliable method for me. I'm trying to get to a more comfortable weight after years of pregnancy and breastfeeding and before it becomes (im told) harder in and after peri/menopause. I've previously always been a size 10 and I don't think I ever really had a food voice in my head then either. Just am I hungry or not am I full or not.

No idea if that's helpful 🤷🏼‍♀️

Yesss I think learning to genuinely love veg helps. I went through a phase of being obsessed with Mayflower Curry sauce and I would batch cook huge portions of veg and mixed beans or chickpeas with the sauce and keep them in the fridge or freezer for snacks.

So I brush my teeth after dinner and the lazy in me won't want to get up and do it again

I do this! And its just habit now really. After eating supper I take off make-up, wash face, shower or whatever along those lines, teeth get brushed and mouth retainer goes in (I am paranoid about my teeth moving after extensive trauma to them), and then there is just no way I am eating anything after than routine is done. It is more for my teeth though, but I see it has it benefits as I don't snack at night because of this.

In a restaurant I order what ever I want and request a doggy bag for leftovers if I feel full.

I like this one @nutbrownhare15. My Mum always used to ask herself “is it worth getting fat for?” and it seemed to work for her. But the nourishing question is much healthier in many ways.

I'm a healthy size 10 and probably could lose half a stone so I'm not thin.

I don't eat out enough to not order exactly what I want so I'm not looking for thin or healthy at a restaurant. It's for enjoyment.
If offered a biscuit, if I like the biscuit I'll take it.

Other than that I don't snack between meals. I stop eating aground 6-7pm and don't start again until lunchtime and I get out for a walk when I can.

I sort of ask myself this too. That's why, if I fancy a cake, I'll often end up with a flapjack (made with real butter only though) as I figure at least it contains oats. Or homemade apple crumble as it contains apple and no preservatives.

I don't count calories, but I'd also never waste calories on a 'healthy' juice, for instance, as I'd rather eat something nutritionally dense like an egg.

This is such a weird question that makes no sense to me. I am “thin” - that’s not a nice word, by the way - but I wouldn’t think about making a healthy choice at all. I would have what I want. If I want a biscuit, I do. If I want something calorific at a restaurant, I do. I just don’t think about food the way you are implying.

I just eat the food. It’s food. It’s not bad food. It’s crucial and necessary to life and enjoyment of life.

if I’m deciding what to eat I make sure that the food is going to fuel me for what I need. That means often eating a lot of quantity and what many would consider unhealthy choices. But I absolutely need fat, sugar, salt, and decent stacks of protein and carbs a lot of the time and there is no way I could sustain my life without that. I’d be weaker and less happy and healthy.

Food keeps us warm, food keeps us strong, food is energy, food is the fuel of every step you take and every good experience you’ve ever had has been fuelled and made possible entirely because you eat. It’s also delicious. It’s a win/win/win.

I struggle with this, I broadly stick to a size 10 but am naturally very greedy and adore food. For me the calories have to be really worth it i e either something incredibly delicious or something that will keep me full for a long time. I know that I will ultimately feel better in ever way if I choose the healthier option in a restaurant so that helps. I also know how hungry I get after eating sugar so that too helps.

“Uch no” is what would go through my head daily about literally every item of food and just eat one thing a day which was just enough to keep me alive and then once or twice a month I’d have whatever from the takeaway or meal out. Then I would make sure before bed I would run off double the calories I had eaten and go to sleep. Did this for 13 years. Nearly died. Inpatient treatment.

now 5 years on I force myself to eat whatever my family are eating which is always homemade but I am very careful with portion control and if my DH is away with work I get away with not eating.

be very very very careful listening to what that little voice in your head says because it can betray you to be unhealthy at both ends of the spectrum

I look at the menu and try and find the highest protein item in the smallest amount. I’m on MJ at a maintenance dose as never again want to be a size 20/22.. so to stay size 8-10 I have 2-3 small meals a day but am super careful that I’m using my appetite to its maximum capacity for healthy choices . It seems to work . My biggest change is the lack of desire to clean the plate. I stop when I am full.

I would eat the dessert etc but if I noticed my clothes were getting too tight I'd think I need to move a bit more or not have so many treats for a while.

I used to just not really like or think about sweet things, then went through a stressful period and got into the habit of having a biscuit with coffee and it snowballed into buying sweets, cakes, desserts etc every day. Which did lead to weight gain over time. So for me it was just habit I guess?

I don't really deny myself stuff but I don't go overboard either.

If I get a takeaway I'd portion out what is reasonable on my plate and keep the rest for the next day (although we don't have many takeaways where I live so this isn't often).

i would eat a biscuit if hungry but not five. I like the fun sized snacks because it satisfies the 'i fancy a bit of chocolate' without going daft.

I'll eat what I fancy in restaurants but if it's a big main course then I probably wouldn't have a pudding, but will if I still want it.

I will probably get a big lunch out today but if I do that then tea will be small.

I walk a lot.

I think I'm quite lucky because my body seems to cope okay with carbs but when discussing food at work with those on the constant diet cycle they refer to eating a whole packet of biscuits etc and this isn't something I'd do. I might want more but my brain has a cut off at maybe two.

I'm not stick thin but have been a fairly consistent size all my life. I think that once you start dieting it buggers up something that never seems to get set right again. If my trousers get a bit tight I'm a bit more careful with portion size and a bit stricter on treats but not anything too drastic.

Similar but different for me. I never really thought much about what I wanted - just ate it. Then I took meds that blocked the hormone signal that indicates fullness. Within a year I’ve become overweight.

Same. Food for me I know contributes to my overall health now and in the future so that helps and I do enjoy healthy food as well.

Doesn't really say anything. If I fancy it I'll eat it, if I don't I'll decline.

size 8, always been slim. Definitely not thin but I used to be in my teens.

moderation is key and I cook everything from scratch so that helps. Sad to have to restrict yourself so much that you judge yourself for a singular biscuit. I'd think that person probably would have an eating disorder if they were slim and had voices in their head about a hobnob