Skinny.

This word goes way beyond the way to get your fancy coffee beverage.

Enjoying a Skinny Carmel Macchiato earlier today at Starbucks... and I just can't get the cute factor in these Valentine's day cups.

It's an overused term that no woman can seem to reach in their mind or body that can make you want to vomit on your fattiest, most bloated days. 

Recently I was skimming through a book that has hit the New York Times Bestseller list with the sassy title "Skinny Bitch" written by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (who happens to be a former model) who claim to be teaching us all how  to "stop eating crap and start looking fabulous". 

I do not want to totally criticize this book because what I've read of it was quite entertaining- I found myself laughing out loud at some of the snarky comments that hit the nail on the head, most of these same comments could probably make someone feel horrible if they aren't close to looking "fabulous" themselves. Despite this, it's true. So many of us do eat crap and it's not helping the whole "I want to be healthy in 2012" thing everyone is talking about.

I came across a passage in the book that said "we're not trying to be neurotic or obessive" and "don't go anorexic on us" after pages of deprecating rants with bold commands on what you should eat to become skinny I found this quite ironic. 

Hey ladies... you're eating crap and you should hate yourself for it... start eating totally differently in order to look so awesome... but, please, don't obsess. That's just psychotic.  

Being someone who has formerly struggled with an eating disorder, I speak from the critical standpoint of letting these desires to look "fabulous" into actually becoming neurotic, obsessive and unhealthy It's caused me to have to recover both mentally and physically over time, learning and convincing myself that sometimes it's okay to eat "crap" and that I look "fabulous" just the way I am.

I know what some of you are thinking- "Yeah, but you run several miles a week." or "You're young." or "You have a fast metabolism." These things might be true. It's also true that I eat quite healthy. What I find a problem with is obsessing over eating (even if it's making good choices versus poor ones). It simply can't be a good thing. And I'm guilty. 

There's an epidemic of obesity, but I dare to say it's more a love affair with food. We have so much of it, several choices every single day, both good and bad, and this has brought us to two opposing extremes that aren't exactly as opposite as one may believe. When food becomes the domination of our thoughts, the lack of it or the excess of it, there's never a positive outcome. 

So...balance. We must find it. But how? It takes me to one of my favorite passages in Matthew 6:

"What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (v. 31-33, The Message)

This compulsion with food is just like anything else in life that takes us away from what really matters in our lives, which lies in serving others and being concerned with the things that concern God. And I don't think that it lies in becoming skinny. 

What to do about skinny? What are your suggestions for finding balance in eating healthfully yet not obsessively?