Frequently Asked Questions – How do you stay so thin?

I get asked this question on a pretty regular basis. It’s a weird question because almost everybody has food and/or body issues and it’s kind of uncomfortable for me to talk about – in part because I’m a thin person. There are also no simple answers to that question.

1. I am a small-boned person. If you don’t believe in big bones, the next time I’m with my sister I’ll get a picture of both of our hands side by side. Frame size is not an illusion. This is not a determining factor to weight, but I believe it plays a role.

2. Yoga. I am a yoga instructor. You might imagine I do a lot of yoga. You would be right. I also jog from time to time, to mix it up. If you don’t mix it up, you get bored, you stop doing what you’re doing. Play basketball, go snowshoeing, try something outside of your comfort zone. Someone asked me today about running vs. walking. Running is harder on your joints. Check your heart rate – if you’re working aerobically in your target range, you don’t need to run. Want to get there without running but have maxed out your speed? Increase your incline.

3. Food. I’ve got a weird relationship with food – as does almost everyone I know. My relationship with food is definitely a determinant of my body shape/size.

• I’m really lucky that I’m not a stress eater. This is even more important if you had any idea what the last six years were like. I lost weight during my stressful situations. Most people (Spouse included) don’t do that. As far as I know you can’t teach it or change it. It is what it is, you just have to determine what you’re eating at that point.
• I don’t snack. I generally don’t eat unless I’m eating a meal. Sometimes the meal is small, sometimes it is large, but you don’t generally see me sitting around with a bag of pretzels on the couch and grazing. I say generally because yes, that totally does happen, it happened two weeks ago when I had a terrible pretzel yen and you can even ask Carly.
• I have an aversion to some pretty popular snack foods (potato chips, popcorn, candy) and am kind of a picky sweets eater. I only really like one kind of ice cream. I’ll eat other kinds, but I only really love one (mint chocolate chip) and you can only eat so much of one thing. This also applies to cookies.
• I eat in hella weird cycles. For example, when Spouse and I were dating he once (famously) said that he could eat pizza every single day and never get tired of it. About a year later, I got a pizza jones and we literally ate pizza every day for about a month right up until Spouse (who was not yet Spouse) said “I CAN’T EAT ANY MORE PIZZA!” The day lives in infamy. But then, once the cycle is over, I don’t eat whatever that thing is for like six months. It’s not always like that, but it’s frequently like that, and that’s part of the reason I stay physically active.
• One of my favorite books with regard to food and food relationships is The Yoga of Eating. I highly recommend it. It does not tell you what to eat, it tells you how to eat it. You might be surprised about the difference between the two. And if you’re looking to avoid fast food for a while (at least one year, in my case) pick up Fast Food Nation (the book, not the film). It will absolutely change how you think about food.

4. Genetics. More and more studies show that genetics plays a huge role in how we gain weight (and where). It’s not the only determining factor (e.g. my mother is always talking about how she needs to lose x pounds) but it definitely makes a difference. That’s not to say you don’t have any control (see previously given example) but you can be aware of your family history. You can take action.

The bottom line is that there’s no magic answer to weight loss. More than anything else, it requires lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes are hard and people don’t want to make them. I don’t generally enjoy working out. Crazy, right?

I played sports when I was in school but when I went to college I got out of the habit. I was active, but not really active. And no one had ever talked to me about weight training. One of the things that started me with strength training was when Spouse-who-was-not-yet-Spouse was talking about triceps and I was all “Wtf?” He had me flex it, then pushed his finger RIGHT THROUGH MY MUSCLE to the bone. Lack of muscle would be more accurate. It grossed me out and I started lifting free weights. I did not love it and I didn’t do it on my own. Having a partner was key for me.

So then I got a job away from my workout partner and promptly went back to not working out. This continued into the first couple of years of marriage while I worked really high stress jobs. I bought a yoga book on the bargain rack at Barnes and Noble and started doing some stretches on my own. Eventually I went to an actual class and I got completely hooked. That’s all she wrote.

The more muscle you build, the more calories you burn, the more efficiently your body runs.

Smoothies (or another way I can procrastinate)

I started drinking smoothies a number of years ago for a bunch of different reasons.

1. I am not a breakfast eater. Frequently the idea of food first thing in the morning makes me feel nauseous (and has since high school). I’m told this is a low blood sugar issue which is why (of course) I SHOULD eat breakfast.
2. While I like most fruits and many vegetables, I don’t eat enough of them.
3. I had gone vegetarian and this was great way to meet my nutritional needs. Even though I’m back to being omnivorous, it remains a great way to start the day.
4. I am lazy about making lunch and the smoothies make enough that I can drink half and put the rest in a thermos to take on the road.

The recipes I began with came from a book (Whose name and author I have sadly forgotten and I no longer have the book. I know. I suck.) written by a two-time cancer survivor. My mother is a breast cancer survivor and my dad had survived lung cancer at that point, so it’s not like the nutritional benefits didn’t make sense.

Using these four recipes as a base, it wasn’t long before I was making my own variations. You can tweak any of the ingredient amounts to taste (or leave them out entirely). For the tofu, I generally cut a block into 6 or 8 even parts. If you don’t use tofu regularly, put the rest in an airtight container, drain the ‘juice’ and fill with regular water. If you plan on using the tofu over time, change the water out each day.

Shake One:
2.5 oz soft tofu (cut a 1 lb. block into 6 pieces)
6-8 baby carrots or one large carrot
3/4 c fresh or frozen UNSWEETENED fruit
1 Tbs wheat bran
1 Tbs wheat germ
1 Tbs whole flax seed or ground flax seed meal
3/4 c calcium-fortified soy milk
3/4 c calcium-fortified orange juice

Shake Two:
6-8 baby carrots or one large carrot
3/4 c fresh or frozen unsweetened fruit
3 Tbs frozen juice concentrate (not diluted)
2.5 oz tofu
1 c calcium-fortified soy milk
1 c low-fat plain yogurt
1 Tbs wheat bran
1 Tbs wheat germ
1 Tbs whole flax seed or ground flax seed meal

Shake Three:
1 c calcium-fortified soy milk
1 c vanilla low-fat yogurt
6-8 baby carrots or one large carrot
1/2 c fresh fruit
3/4 c frozen fruit
2.5 oz tofu
1 Tbs wheat bran
1 Tbs wheat germ
1 Tbs whole flax seed or ground flax seed meal

Shake Four:
3/4 c calcium-fortified orange juice
1 c low-fat plain yogurt
4 oz tofu (cut a 1 lb block into 4 pieces)
6-8 baby carrots or 1 large carrot
3/4 c frozen unsweetened fruit
1 Tbs wheat bran
1 Tbs wheat germ
1 Tbs whole flax seed or ground flax seed meal

Shopping notes:

• You can find wheat bran/germ and flaxseed in the grocery store baking aisle (typically).
• Frozen unsweetened fruit is generally found in the freezer section near pies/pie crust, just make sure you read the label for whether or not it’s got sugar/sweetener added.

Flavor/taste notes:

• You won’t be able to taste the tofu. Promise.
• Greek yogurt (or middle-eastern yogurt) can sometimes be found in the organic/vegetarian section and has less fat and twice the protein of regular yogurt.
• I use 10-12 baby carrots because it means more vegetable servings.
• I usually use a full cup of frozen fruit because then you don’t need ice.
• Bananas are GREAT in these things.
• If you want to use nuts in your shake, buy the unsalted kind from the store and make sure you run them through the blender FIRST to chop them up. I like them for texture (ditto the wheat bran/flaxseed).

Blend until you get the texture/thickness you want. You can add water or fruit juice or milk to thin it out.

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