What a great topic for discussion. I can tell I'll spend a lot of time thinking about this tonight!

I think it's important to remember, as 2Airedales was alluding to, that beautiful is not the same as healthy. In fact, thin is not the same as healthy either, but that's another subject for another day. I always thought of myself as a reasonably attractive woman, even at my highest weight. That didn't mean I was thrilled to weigh 224 pounds, though.

Not to sound callous, because this is not something to joke about, but this topic reminds me of the scene in Liar, Liar where the boy is talking to his dad (Jim Carrey):

Boy: My teacher says beauty is on the inside.
Jim Carrey: That's just something ugly people say!