I've been thinking about this for a while, and at the risk of being flamed, I wanted to get your opinions on this. Since I joined the board several months ago, I have noticed that occasionally there will be a post from a member who is thin to begin with, but wants to lose weight. For example, I recall one member who was my height (5'6") with a starting weight of 120 lb. (which is less than my goal!) who wanted to get down to 105. I was disturbed that everyone replied to her post on how to speed weight loss on LC, without noting that her goal weight, in my opinion anyway, was unhealthy.

I do recognize that weight loss, weight goals, and what constitutes a desirable body type are highly subjective and personal. I also recognize that body types are different, so that two people of the same height might need to weigh different amounts in order to appear their best. I myself have less weight to lose than some on this board, more than others. HOWEVER, I do begin to question whether any kind of weight loss is wise when it drops below the BMI for that particular height.

I think that Atkins also can have a place even for already thin people who just want to improve their health -- getting rid of sugar, refined carbs and trans fats can help everyone, skinny or not. But it seems to me that most of the thin people who start Atkins are not doing so to change their lipid profiles, but to lose weight just like the rest of us.

I think perhaps that we are so afraid of offending people on the board that we choose to ignore this. I know that I've kept my lips zipped when reading some of these posts, because I'm afraid that the poster will tell me that her weight goals are no one else's but her own. I guess my concern is that I don't want to tacitly be condoning LC weight loss for someone who potentially could have an eating disorder.

Would love to hear opinions on this -- from the skinny people as well as the rest of us.