One of the thoughts I have had to let go of is something my mother told me my whole life "you can eat whatever you want and you never gain a thing" My mother struggled with weight all her life, she limited her calories and I was aware she starved herself to stay thin. I was a naturally skinny kid who could eat everything in sight with no problems.My mother actually praised me for overeating and not gaining weight and that hasn't been good for me. She would watch me eat and marvel at how skinny I was but the truth is I was always hungry. I just have never known a time when I didn't feel hungry and that was just carbs driving my hunger. The cycle had already started. The cravings were constant but no one saw it as a problem because I was thin, all the way through until I had my kids. That one thought has kept me fat my whole adult life. "I have had to let go of the thought that "I should be able to eat what I want and I should be able to pile my plate high like that skinny lady over there." Those are the thoughts I have to let go of. That was then and this is now.

I was that kid, too.
Yes, and that's that lady's body and metabolism, and yours is yours. Comparing yourself to "that skinny person" isn't a good thing to do to ourselves, because we don't know what's going on in the rest of his/her life. I think we all have examples we can think of; "mysteriously" thin people on the surface, but it's no big mystery once you know them better. I had a super-skinny teenage coworker who ate a ton of junk and drank soda all day and night. I found out that almost every day, he pocketed what was supposed to be his bus money and walked to and from work and school. He was probably walking 7-8 miles a lot of days.

And hey, I bet *I'm* that mystery skinny person to a lot of coworkers. They see me drinking coffee all day with real cream, and pounding down the bacon and sausages, but they don't realize that that's often all I'll eat all day. When I was single, I basically only ate at home on off days. I had a total bachelor fridge with nothing but booze and condiments.