I’d love to be an almond mom but I love eating!

[Anonymous]

My family member is almond mom. She only eats almonds, some cranberries, salad and hard boiled eggs. She’s had body image issues since she was a teenager. She was bulimic. She is skinny as a rail. Always concerned about how she looks. Spends a ton on skin care and make up. Thank goodness she only has boys. Never heard this term before but she is the poster child for Almond Mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think you know what an almond mom is.

Sadly I live in LA and wish I didn’t know what an almond mom was….

[Anonymous]

Why do this when ozempic exists? I’m diabetic but everyone else in the world seems to be enjoying my meds to be thin. Join the club!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was women who starved themselves and only ate a few almonds a day to stay thin. Is that not it?

Kind of, but not literally.

An almond mom, often thin, is a mom with an eating disorder who gains a lot of self worth from being thin and controlling food intake. To her, her control of food isn’t disordered eating but just the “lifestyle” required to be thin, which is very important to her. She feels no shame about her eating disorder, and may be openly proud of it, and tries to exert control over the eating of those around her, especially her daughter(s).

Behaviors of an almond mom:

- Almond Mom is visibly uncomfortable when there is any perceived gluttony around her. She will not usually be able to resist commentary. At a restaurant, when food arrives at the table, she will usually loudly say “Wow that’s a lot of food! Who could eat all that?” or “Okay, I’m definitely going to need a box.” You feel uncomfortable ordering appetizers or dessert around Almond Mom. Even if she holds her tongue, the tension is palpable.

- On vacation, when a member of the family says they’re hungry for lunch, she will look at them incredulously and say “But we had such a big breakfast, how can you be hungry?” If she can be convinced to allow the rest of the family to have lunch, she will make sure everyone knows that she is Not Hungry. Instead of enjoying a cup of soup or pushing an entree around with a fork, she will loudly ask if someone wants to just split a salad with her.

- When her teenage daughter says she needs a snack, almond mom might tell her to simply eat a “handful of almonds” or some other low-calorie, wholly unsatisfying food in a tiny amount

- She is convinced that her willpower and efforts are the only reason she’s not overweight or obese, so therefore anyone who is overweight could adopt these same habits and be thin too. In reality, almond mom is usually naturally average to thin, and if she abandoned her almond mom vigilance she might be 5-10 pounds heavier. Almond mom just doesn’t like food very much.

- Dedication to an exercise routine varies widely amongst AMs, but Almond Mom may be preoccupied with getting her steps in. If she doesn’t have time for her daily 5 mile, 4.5 mph power walk you might find her doing aggressive laps around the soccer field or even pacing the room at the doctor’s office with an eye on her Apple Watch.

An Almond Mom is different than a mom with many of the same controlling eating behaviors for herself, but who doesn’t extend control to those around her. In fact, she loves to cook and share food with others and will always push more food at you (though she may gossip about your weight gain behind your back). She would not dream of you going hungry in her house, but she will only pick at the lasagna she made. I’m not sure what these moms are called. I have one of those, and I say she’s just Italian.

That’s incredibly sad on a couple of levels. It’s unhealthy. I certainly don’t aspire to be an almond mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was women who starved themselves and only ate a few almonds a day to stay thin. Is that not it?

Kind of, but not literally.

An almond mom, often thin, is a mom with an eating disorder who gains a lot of self worth from being thin and controlling food intake. To her, her control of food isn’t disordered eating but just the “lifestyle” required to be thin, which is very important to her. She feels no shame about her eating disorder, and may be openly proud of it, and tries to exert control over the eating of those around her, especially her daughter(s).

Behaviors of an almond mom:

- Almond Mom is visibly uncomfortable when there is any perceived gluttony around her. She will not usually be able to resist commentary. At a restaurant, when food arrives at the table, she will usually loudly say “Wow that’s a lot of food! Who could eat all that?” or “Okay, I’m definitely going to need a box.” You feel uncomfortable ordering appetizers or dessert around Almond Mom. Even if she holds her tongue, the tension is palpable.

- On vacation, when a member of the family says they’re hungry for lunch, she will look at them incredulously and say “But we had such a big breakfast, how can you be hungry?” If she can be convinced to allow the rest of the family to have lunch, she will make sure everyone knows that she is Not Hungry. Instead of enjoying a cup of soup or pushing an entree around with a fork, she will loudly ask if someone wants to just split a salad with her.

- When her teenage daughter says she needs a snack, almond mom might tell her to simply eat a “handful of almonds” or some other low-calorie, wholly unsatisfying food in a tiny amount

- She is convinced that her willpower and efforts are the only reason she’s not overweight or obese, so therefore anyone who is overweight could adopt these same habits and be thin too. In reality, almond mom is usually naturally average to thin, and if she abandoned her almond mom vigilance she might be 5-10 pounds heavier. Almond mom just doesn’t like food very much.

- Dedication to an exercise routine varies widely amongst AMs, but Almond Mom may be preoccupied with getting her steps in. If she doesn’t have time for her daily 5 mile, 4.5 mph power walk you might find her doing aggressive laps around the soccer field or even pacing the room at the doctor’s office with an eye on her Apple Watch.

An Almond Mom is different than a mom with many of the same controlling eating behaviors for herself, but who doesn’t extend control to those around her. In fact, she loves to cook and share food with others and will always push more food at you (though she may gossip about your weight gain behind your back). She would not dream of you going hungry in her house, but she will only pick at the lasagna she made. I’m not sure what these moms are called. I have one of those, and I say she’s just Italian.

Good post. One place to amend it.
On almonds you say “ simply eat a “handful of almonds” ”

Sometimes almond mom could say “honey, have some almonds. 6-8. No more than 8.”

Or “I was really trying to fill up, I had 20! Almonds. And I ate so many baby carrots I could turn orange.”

*Almond counting* is part of it.

[Anonymous]

I'm an almond croissant mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m an almond mom in that I’m tiny thin and pick at my food to stay that way. But I feed my kids tons of goodies I don’t eat - I live vicariously through their appetites.

And they know it PP which can still contribute to all sorts of issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was women who starved themselves and only ate a few almonds a day to stay thin. Is that not it?

Kind of, but not literally.

An almond mom, often thin, is a mom with an eating disorder who gains a lot of self worth from being thin and controlling food intake. To her, her control of food isn’t disordered eating but just the “lifestyle” required to be thin, which is very important to her. She feels no shame about her eating disorder, and may be openly proud of it, and tries to exert control over the eating of those around her, especially her daughter(s).

Behaviors of an almond mom:

- Almond Mom is visibly uncomfortable when there is any perceived gluttony around her. She will not usually be able to resist commentary. At a restaurant, when food arrives at the table, she will usually loudly say “Wow that’s a lot of food! Who could eat all that?” or “Okay, I’m definitely going to need a box.” You feel uncomfortable ordering appetizers or dessert around Almond Mom. Even if she holds her tongue, the tension is palpable.

- On vacation, when a member of the family says they’re hungry for lunch, she will look at them incredulously and say “But we had such a big breakfast, how can you be hungry?” If she can be convinced to allow the rest of the family to have lunch, she will make sure everyone knows that she is Not Hungry. Instead of enjoying a cup of soup or pushing an entree around with a fork, she will loudly ask if someone wants to just split a salad with her.

- When her teenage daughter says she needs a snack, almond mom might tell her to simply eat a “handful of almonds” or some other low-calorie, wholly unsatisfying food in a tiny amount

- She is convinced that her willpower and efforts are the only reason she’s not overweight or obese, so therefore anyone who is overweight could adopt these same habits and be thin too. In reality, almond mom is usually naturally average to thin, and if she abandoned her almond mom vigilance she might be 5-10 pounds heavier. Almond mom just doesn’t like food very much.

- Dedication to an exercise routine varies widely amongst AMs, but Almond Mom may be preoccupied with getting her steps in. If she doesn’t have time for her daily 5 mile, 4.5 mph power walk you might find her doing aggressive laps around the soccer field or even pacing the room at the doctor’s office with an eye on her Apple Watch.

An Almond Mom is different than a mom with many of the same controlling eating behaviors for herself, but who doesn’t extend control to those around her. In fact, she loves to cook and share food with others and will always push more food at you (though she may gossip about your weight gain behind your back). She would not dream of you going hungry in her house, but she will only pick at the lasagna she made. I’m not sure what these moms are called. I have one of those, and I say she’s just Italian.

Almond mom does love food but wouldn’t admit it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a cheesecake mom.

I'm a lets stop for a McFlurry mom.

[Anonymous]

I'm a Nutella mom...it's the same because it's made from nuts!

[Anonymous]

If you fall for one of these women and really like them are they an Almond Joy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an almond mom in that I’m tiny thin and pick at my food to stay that way. But I feed my kids tons of goodies I don’t eat - I live vicariously through their appetites.

And they know it PP which can still contribute to all sorts of issues.

Like obesity? Or are we pretending the average American mom’s eating habits/example doesn’t also contribute to “all sorts of issues” (e.g. diabetes, heart disease, infertility, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m an almond mom in that I’m tiny thin and pick at my food to stay that way. But I feed my kids tons of goodies I don’t eat - I live vicariously through their appetites.

And they know it PP which can still contribute to all sorts of issues.

Like obesity? Or are we pretending the average American mom’s eating habits/example doesn’t also contribute to “all sorts of issues” (e.g. diabetes, heart disease, infertility, etc.)

So in your mind it’s either/or? No in between obesity/junk food and eating disordered/obsessing with weight?

[Anonymous]

I’m a Halloween Candy mom.

[Anonymous]

This thread is weird. Big “I’m not like other girls!” energy