What It's Like Being Thin

thoughts from the skinniest girl in the room

Being skinny is amazing.

Honestly, it seems that no matter what I’m facing, my weight is the solution. Being skinny prevents unwelcome comments about my body, it gets rid of all my health issues, and it prevents all the insecurities...

…said no one ever.

Really, what’s the big deal with being skinny?

I’d sure like to know. Because I’ve been a twig my whole life, and truthfully, I hated it for a season. In middle school I desperately wanted curves and to finally stop hearing, “you need to eat a hamburger.” In high school I hated changing in the locker room—it was embarrassing exposing my thinness to a room full of push-up bras. In college I still wore size 000 jeans; my doctor even told me I needed to gain weight or I’d be at risk for osteoporosis when I was older. As if I wasn’t already trying everything in my power to gain weight?

For a couple years I was hitting the gym five days a week, a regular in the weights section and guzzling protein shakes like my life depended on it. I dutifully tracked my macros and ate more than I ever had before (though let’s be real, I was already the queen of going back for thirds).

I think I gained, like, two pounds total and maybe half an inch to my thighs. In a whole year. Then covid hit and I unlearned everything I thought I knew about nutrition and healed my dairy allergy and hormones and finally gained weight and blah blah blah... that’s a story for another day.

But today, we’re talking about being skinny.

What is it like to be skinny? I’ll tell you.

Here, I’ll walk you through my day. Our own little Day In the Life of a Skinny Person.

First, I wake up to my alarm clock—my toddler. I wrap my arms around her and carry her out to the living room. We eat breakfast, I eventually figure out what I want to do with the day, and if the weather is nice we’ll visit a park. I walk around with her, help her down the slide, and push her on the swing. We eat lunch, then it’s naptime. My fingers click away at a keyboard rapturously while she sleeps; usually after I spend a little too long scrolling. Once she’s up we’ll eat a snack and play, then make dinner together. Dad gets home and we eat as a family. Clean up, bedtime, tidy kitchen, go to bed.

What a completely normal day. Oh, and, remember where I mentioned my weight? No? I must just simply have a body that can move and play and interact. It neither adds to nor distracts from my daily tasks. But you know what does have an impact? My energy, my mental clarity, and my hormones.

Our focus is in all the wrong places.

What if we focused less on our weight and more about our capability to thrive? Life isn’t a number on a scale. It’s people and experiences and good food and responsibilities. I know skinny people who can’t make it through the day without a nap. I also know people who wear a size 10 that are vibrant, happy, and full of vigor.

One of the most beautiful things about humans is that we are all so different. Truly, as long as we’re taking care of our bodies and treating them like the gift that they are, weight shouldn’t be a focal point.

I can say, as a naturally thin woman, that being skinny isn’t the dream that society has seemed to make it out to be. I struggle to find jeans that fit well, I can be self-conscious of my appearance, and I still get remarks about my body that aren’t always comfortable. Sound relatable?

Be free.

I give you permission to stop consulting the scale. Turn your focus to other things; eat whole foods, go on walks, get morning sunlight in your eyes, and drink water. Have fun, laugh a lot, do things that make you happy, stop to smell the flowers. Appreciate beauty. Attend church. Get out in nature.

Go live your life.

Because life is too short to waste time worrying about your weight.