How do old wealthy women stay so skinny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in the non-profit sector and regularly engage with older wealthy women. They definitely don't eat. I often take them out to lunch, just so I can make them uncomfortable. They order soup, take a couple bites, and they're done.

This.

I've seen Nancy Pelosi in the Members dining room on the Hill a number of times, and she only has hot water with lemon (I heard her order it). This is during lunch and her guests are eating full meals.

My SIL is rich and skinny. She had an eating disorder in college (was hospitalized). Only gained 17lbs when pregnant. She runs every day (miles), drinks tons of water, and only nibbles 3x a day. Breakfast used to be black coffee, but now it's just hot water with lemon. It's not normal. She's a size 2. No butt.

How tall is she? Really tall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to take this from the opposite end. It's less about wealthy women taking a particularly extraordinary effort to be thin, but that less-wealthy women have more obstacles and challenges to prioritizing health.

Wealthy married women, especially those who married into wealth and don't have to work for it, can put their health above all. They can shop 100% organic, carefully prepare all of their foods or have a household cook do it, they can join expensive gyms, they have leisure time to devote to fitness and self-care.

Less-wealthy women (including middle class and UMC women) would probably love to have this lifestyle, but it's more difficult when you are chained to a desk at work to impress your boss to get the raise you badly need, when you have to buy in bulk at what's on sale at Giant instead of artisinal organics from Whole Foods or the Farmers Markets, they probably have to commute far to their jobs from lower COL areas, they are responsible for picking up their kids from wherever, the demands of their jobs and parenting make cooking quality meals every night not impossible, but requiring more willpower than that of a "leisure class" woman, and the amount of me-time needed for daily extended exercise has to compete with the job and household and kids.

I'm not saying less-wealthy women can't be slim and fit. I'm saying, there are more priorities to compete with personal fitness than someone who has all the time and money in the world for self-care.

And I'm not even saying this from the perspective of a bitter, fat woman. I'm actually a thin lower-middle-class woman who could probably do better in her career if she spent more time at a desk at work instead of prioritizing working out....I probably take too much time out of my day to exercise and spend more than I should on healthy food, and I'm in a precarious financial situation because of it. There are tradeoffs to everything.

I'm right there with you, sister. I prioritize my health and fitness and have found way to economize, thankfully. Plus, I'm vain af.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm going to take this from the opposite end. It's less about wealthy women taking a particularly extraordinary effort to be thin, but that less-wealthy women have more obstacles and challenges to prioritizing health.

Wealthy married women, especially those who married into wealth and don't have to work for it, can put their health above all. They can shop 100% organic, carefully prepare all of their foods or have a household cook do it, they can join expensive gyms, they have leisure time to devote to fitness and self-care.

Less-wealthy women (including middle class and UMC women) would probably love to have this lifestyle, but it's more difficult when you are chained to a desk at work to impress your boss to get the raise you badly need, when you have to buy in bulk at what's on sale at Giant instead of artisinal organics from Whole Foods or the Farmers Markets, they probably have to commute far to their jobs from lower COL areas, they are responsible for picking up their kids from wherever, the demands of their jobs and parenting make cooking quality meals every night not impossible, but requiring more willpower than that of a "leisure class" woman, and the amount of me-time needed for daily extended exercise has to compete with the job and household and kids.

I'm not saying less-wealthy women can't be slim and fit. I'm saying, there are more priorities to compete with personal fitness than someone who has all the time and money in the world for self-care.

And I'm not even saying this from the perspective of a bitter, fat woman. I'm actually a thin lower-middle-class woman who could probably do better in her career if she spent more time at a desk at work instead of prioritizing working out....I probably take too much time out of my day to exercise and spend more than I should on healthy food, and I'm in a precarious financial situation because of it. There are tradeoffs to everything.

This, all of this right here. Great explanation, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if the posters that have made judgmental remarks about these women that choose to be skinny would say the same about women that choose to be fat. Would it be considered fat shaming and unacceptable? If so, why is it ok to make fun of a woman for being skinny? Also, skinny or fat is a choice in most cases so miss me with the "fat people can't help it" argument.

Are you well? Fat people are shamed every single day.


No one is making fun of anyone for being skinny. Stop being so sensitive.

Do you have reading comprehension? I specifically direct my comments to those posters that made disparaging comments about these skinny women. Would they also make judgments about fat women?

Yes, fat people are shamed every day but that does not make it ok to shame skinny people. People need to focus on being happy in their own bodies and stop making judgments about the bodies of others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually know a fair amount of plump very wealthy women. Many are what would be called frumpy.

What do we call old men who are fat?

Trump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually know a fair amount of plump very wealthy women. Many are what would be called frumpy.

What do we call old men who are fat?

Trump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious if the posters that have made judgmental remarks about these women that choose to be skinny would say the same about women that choose to be fat. Would it be considered fat shaming and unacceptable? If so, why is it ok to make fun of a woman for being skinny? Also, skinny or fat is a choice in most cases so miss me with the "fat people can't help it" argument.

"Women that choose to be fat?" Which women "choose" to be fat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually know a fair amount of plump very wealthy women. Many are what would be called frumpy.

What do we call old men who are fat?

Dick Cheney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if the posters that have made judgmental remarks about these women that choose to be skinny would say the same about women that choose to be fat. Would it be considered fat shaming and unacceptable? If so, why is it ok to make fun of a woman for being skinny? Also, skinny or fat is a choice in most cases so miss me with the "fat people can't help it" argument.

"Women that choose to be fat?" Which women "choose" to be fat?

Every time you make the choice to put something fattening in your mouth and sit on your butt rather than get up and move. Likewise, when an overweight person chooses to start making healthy choices to lose the weight. It is all a choice.

[Anonymous]

My MIL was so thin when she was hospitalized right before her death that the nurses thought my FIL was engaged in elder abuse (not feeding her). Nurses didn’t know that she had spent her entire life trying to be thin, used laxatives for decades, ate only half a hard boiled egg for breakfast, half a protein bar for lunch, and maybe grilled asparagus for dinner (along with a lot of white wine). She was “allergic” to any foods with fat or a higher calorie count. Aside from the wine, I think I calculated her calorie intake at around 400/day. But she was thin!

Ultimately this meant she had osteoporosis and was incredibly fragile, and when she became ill she had NO physical strength or reserves on which to rely. She had starved herself for years and at the end it pretty much killed her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if the posters that have made judgmental remarks about these women that choose to be skinny would say the same about women that choose to be fat. Would it be considered fat shaming and unacceptable? If so, why is it ok to make fun of a woman for being skinny? Also, skinny or fat is a choice in most cases so miss me with the "fat people can't help it" argument.

"Women that choose to be fat?" Which women "choose" to be fat?

Every time you make the choice to put something fattening in your mouth and sit on your butt rather than get up and move. Likewise, when an overweight person chooses to start making healthy choices to lose the weight. It is all a choice.

So now we know what you think. Maybe step off the scale for a minute?

[Anonymous]

I’m sure I’m classified as a wealthy old man and I have no interest in a skinny woman. They often look tired and drawn and the ones who bake in the sun look like old shoe leather. My wife could stand to lose 20 pounds (so could I) but I like a woman with a little meat on her bones so that there is something to grab onto in bed. A naked skinny woman is a very bad visual...but that’s just my opinion!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MIL was so thin when she was hospitalized right before her death that the nurses thought my FIL was engaged in elder abuse (not feeding her). Nurses didn’t know that she had spent her entire life trying to be thin, used laxatives for decades, ate only half a hard boiled egg for breakfast, half a protein bar for lunch, and maybe grilled asparagus for dinner (along with a lot of white wine). She was “allergic” to any foods with fat or a higher calorie count. Aside from the wine, I think I calculated her calorie intake at around 400/day. But she was thin!

Ultimately this meant she had osteoporosis and was incredibly fragile, and when she became ill she had NO physical strength or reserves on which to rely. She had starved herself for years and at the end it pretty much killed her.

My mom's family is of sturdy German peasant stock. My grandmother used to say "Fat people get sick. Skinny people die." I think there is something to that--those reserves can help people who get sick make it through, they have stored energy to draw on.

That said wealthy (old) women are skinny because they don't eat very much, and because they have lots of time and money to exercise, eat healthy food, etc. They may also have been raised to believe that their job was to stay attractive, or feel that they needed to stay very thin in order to keep their wealthy husbands, so they worked really hard at it. It may also be that they are surrounded by other wealthy women who don't eat, so the social pressure not to eat is very strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious if the posters that have made judgmental remarks about these women that choose to be skinny would say the same about women that choose to be fat. Would it be considered fat shaming and unacceptable? If so, why is it ok to make fun of a woman for being skinny? Also, skinny or fat is a choice in most cases so miss me with the "fat people can't help it" argument.

"Women that choose to be fat?" Which women "choose" to be fat?

Every time you make the choice to put something fattening in your mouth and sit on your butt rather than get up and move. Likewise, when an overweight person chooses to start making healthy choices to lose the weight. It is all a choice.

So now we know what you think. Maybe step off the scale for a minute?

I agree with choice poster. It’s why we admire skinny people as a culture. It’s generally more difficult to eat less. It’s not easy to consistently eat less fattening food when food is everywhere all the time.

[Anonymous]

I restricted in the teens and 20s and was underweight. Found fitness in my 30s. I eat healthy and exercise but I am not skinny anymore; I am fit. I don't want to F up my metabolism now and end up starving myself in my later years. Osteoporosis, looking wrinkly, and being hungry? Sounds miserable.