Assumptions

You know what they say about assuming. Doing so turns us into a certain donkey-like animal. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned how I was jealous of people who are not watching their weight because they can eat anything they want to and not worry about how many stinking points they'll have left over at the end of the day. But people don't actually make assumptions about me do they? People don't assume that since I'm at a healthy weight now that I've always been there and that I can eat an ice cream cone without even thinking about it right? Au contraire. Let me 'splain.

I spent last week at church camp with three young campers. One shouldn't assume, though, that since I said "camp" it means that we were actually roughing it in the woods or anything. More like dorm rooms at a college campus complete with beds, AC and indoor plumbing. But I digress... I met some really, really cool people there from another church. Our groups kind of merged together and hung out most of the week together. At lunch one day I was sitting at a table with one of the adult sponsors from the other church and her daughter. They were both incredibly funny and sweet and I wish they lived closer. At the end of lunch I decided to indulge in a small soft-serve ice cream cone. When I sat back down, the conversation went something like this:

Mother: Daughter and I were just talking about how unfair it is that skinny people can have ice cream and not even give it a second thought.
Me: I know...so unfair!
Mother: You fall into that category you know.
SKREEEECH. (That's the sound of a record screeching to a halt)

Huh? Me? Not giving ice cream a second thought? Hahahahaha. That's funny. I think about food wayyyy more than I should. Some might call it an obsession. I also know I gave that ice cream cone a second, third and fourth thought, fought with myself for about 10 minutes and finally decided that since I had walked everywhere for the previous three days, I could indulge in a little ice cream. I probably spent more time thinking about that ice cream cone than most people spend thinking about what outfit they're going to wear today.

After I picked my jaw up off the floor and wiped the dumb look off my face I told her about my journey to 140 pounds and about how I'm on WW maintenance, blah blah blah. She said she and her daughter were thinking about starting WW when they got back from camp and we talked about that for a few more minutes.

I thought about this conversation a lot over the next few days. And you know what? I'm totally guilty of making assumptions. Even about so-called skinny people. I don't put myself in that category. I guess I'm just not comfortable with it because I know where I've been and where I could easily be if I don't stay diligent about eating right. But when I see skinny people eating a hamburger or ice cream or a big muffin from Starbucks, I automatically assume they can eat whatever they want and not worry about gaining weight. But what if...what if they work out for an hour 5 days a week and this is the one indulgence they allow themselves all week. What if they're reaching their WW goal this week and celebrating a little bit. What if it's their birthday? You know calories don't count on your birthday. Or what if they really can eat whatever they want and they are blessed with lightning fast metabolism and haven't put on a pound since the 8th grade. What if? We'll never know.

Just some food for thought.