By Andrea Mabey

Healthy thin people and I have a lot in common.
I used to be one.

Then stress and age happened, and somewhere along the line, a silent little flag went up:
“Welcome to Overweight-landia.”

As a new resident of Overweight-landia, I started treating my weight like a disease that needed curing. My health insurance company offered me a health coach—so I said yes. They didn’t shame me for my eating habits. Instead, they invited me to observe a few things… scientifically.

They even gave me an app to track it all:
– Number of meals
– Pounds gained or lost each week
– Minutes of exercise

At first, I lost a few pounds. But by the end of the year? I was right back where I started.
Some cure.

Then I came across a suggestion from Leslie Householder that changed everything.

What if my weight wasn’t a disease at all?

I stopped seeing it as something broken to be fixed, and started seeing it as a neutral data point in a long string of health choices. I began focusing not on what was wrong, but on how good it feels to be healthy and thin.

I’ve never been on a diet. I’m not a doctor. So I won’t offer health advice.
But I have entertained a few thoughts you might not have considered. :)

I love my pancreas.
This butterfly-shaped organ wants me to experience the “sweetness of life”—in a healthy way.
It even helps store the “sweetness” for later, just in case I need it.

I love my pancreas by eating fiber, sipping bitter chicory root tea, and taking capsules made from prickly pear cactus pads.
And in return, my pancreas loves me—by keeping my energy stable all day long, and even into the night if needed.

I love my heart.
Not just because it keeps my blood flowing, but because it remembers things—deep things.

Yes, really. The heart has neurons, just like the brain. When I feel strong emotions, my heart holds onto them.

I love my heart by choosing stress-reducing activities on good days. I share that love by practicing gratitude and reinforcing joyful memories, not just the hard ones.

And my heart loves me right back—by working harder when I’m active, and smarter when I’m resting.

As for the avocado toast?
Honestly, I don’t spend much time obsessing over what I eat.

Instead, I think in color.

Bright, vibrant foods feel alive to me. Black-and-white ones feel… less so.
Water? It’s my new favorite drink. I even track how much I drink—because I love myself enough to care.

Healthy thin people occasionally eat a cookie without much fuss. They’re too busy living—focused on all the amazing things they can do with their bodies.
They think in terms of fuel, and they know what helps them thrive.

I’m on the verge of moving out of Overweight-landia.

My metabolism is up. I snack on steamed green beans the way I used to eat potato chips—and I genuinely love it. I’m sleeping deeply, and my body is starting to clear out the extra “storage” it held onto for hard times. But now? I have plenty of sweetness in my life. I don’t need to hoard it anymore.

There’s no need to stress.

Leslie Householder is the author of Portal to Genius. I’m a Mindset Mastery facilitator for her coaching company, Rare Faith.

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