Daily Eats: “She Just Has Good Genes… I Could Never Eat Like That.”

Morning ladies. Ah, happy Thursday! You may have already noticed, but I chose not to blog yesterday as we were getting settled in SLO after vacation. It felt most important to just hangout.

Yesterday morning started off with a slow wakeup at 6:45, and then a walk to Scout to grab coffee with Marco.

My parents sent us back to SLO with a whole bag of food (I loved my dads cooking while we were in Ventura) and so we haven’t had to do any grocery shopping this week. The only thing I’m out of is coffee. So, I’m walking to Scout each AM instead. It’s fun, different, and feels special!

Breakfast yesterday was an egg, cheese, and salsa burrito–dads salsa. The parents sent us home with loads of tortillas, so that’s what we’re using for the next few days.

Some of you are probably thinking ” the next few days??? Tortilla’s aren’t healthy… how does she eat like that?! She must have good genes… I could never eat like that and still be [insert word of choice]…”

How do I know some of you are thinking that (or have thought that before reading HHS)? I’ve had plenty of you kindly share that you’ve thought this way. Your message always ends with “…no offense!” None taken. I used to have the same thoughts!

I understand that it’s easy assume that there are “lucky” girls with “good genes” who can eat loads of carbs, burgers & fries, burritos, etc. and not have to worry about being thin/fit/healthy at all.

The truth: it’s usually NOT that someone “has great genes and can eat whatever they want” and still be thin/fit/healthy. Sure, in High School, this may have been true. But for the average grown woman, it’s not.

The misconception is this: you see someone eating something that’s not particularly “healthy” and automatically think “she can eat whatever she wants and still be thin… that’s just not fair.”

The reality: those people who “eat what they want” are likely stopping when they’re full… and when they’re not hungry, they’re thinking about other things, not food. Why? There is no reason for them to constantly think about food. There’s no scarcity/restriction. They can always have more.

This is the magic of intuitive eating. Over time, as you learn to trust that you have the allowance for anything, you begin to see that your body will let you know what she needs. You begin to stop when you’re full more often than not, as you know your hunger ALWAYS returns.

As an intuitive eater, you also know the importance of satisfaction from food, which I talk about with my clients all the time. Satisfaction is right up there in importance with hunger and fullness, if not more important.

These “naturally thin people” naturally eat to satisfy themselves–they order what they want–because they’ve probably never restricted themselves before (or, they’ve worked to undo old diet mentalities, like me–I used to be the queen of “all or nothing”).

This is also the person at a family party who grabs a few yummies from the snack table and then walks away. They’re not hovering the food the whole time saying “ah, I’m so bad! But, it’s a holiday, and I’m eating what I want today [ah! Can you girls see?!–we all just want to eat what we want]! But, Monday, oh man, Monday is when I’m going right back on my diet.”

Food is NOT this persons main source of pleasure. Rather, they’re excited to catch up with their cousin, and all the fun things they’ve been up to this year. They regularly prioritize their JOYS in life and food is just one of their many pleasures.

For lunch, I had albondigas soup–again, homemade by dad. This was deeeeeelicous. I usually eat this with a tortilla on the side, but this time I enjoyed just the soup. Wasn’t feeling a tortilla.

For dinner, I had a burrito with chile verde, rice, beans, and salsa–again, ALL homemade by dad. He’s an amazing cook! I love being able to bring leftovers home with me.

To end the evening, I asked myself what felt the most important… I had three hours to myself, and I knew that my next four days are jam packed with friends/outings… I could go to the gym, go for a walk, cozy up and watch a movie, take a bath, lay down and read, etc…

I chose to lay down and watch a New Girl, and then start on my new book Self-Compassion. Time to be alone. What a great read. I’m only a little ways in and I can tell I’m going to love it the whole way through… It’s safe to say I recommend it. I bought it for $8 on Amazon if you’re wondering.

So, share with me… What are your thoughts? Have you ever thought someone was thin because of their “good genes”? Ever thought that they were just lucky and you were unlucky? What’s the new perspective you can have?

If you want to be one of those girls with “good genes” (we just discovered what this ACTUALLY means) then you’ll enjoy mine and Sim’s next Girl Talk. You’re welcome to sign-up here. We’re sending out the new recorded call on Sunday. We’d love to have you!

Love,