Two thirds of adults in England are obese or overweight. It would make as much sense to ask what is different about the other one third.

I don't attach emotional value to food - it's purely fuel for me. I enjoy flavours and good food but I only see it as a means to an end.

I also don't eat until my stomach is rumbling. That's my signal to eat rather than the time or anything else.

I have food intolerances and ibs which doesn't help. I have lots of days where I can't eat much because I don't feel well.

Growing up, we had everything in moderation and didn't snack and I've carried that habit on. No food is assigned any particular value, so I don't crave it.

I am frugal and hate spending money on takeaways and restaurant meals. I'm a good cook and prefer to cook my own food.

I don't understand the concept of "food noise" like I've heard others talk about. I just don't get it.

I do think a huge part of whether someone is overweight or not is in our brains, as opposed to just our habits (but they also play a part).

That's not to say I couldn't demolish a huge bar of chocolate if I'm premenstrual though 😂

Would never define myself as slim, but have always been a 'healthy weight' although I would be happier a stone lighter.

Truth be told I have very disordered eating. I fast from 8pm 'til midday the next day. Have a 500 calorie lunch, no snacks, I'll have dinner, I don't typically count the calories there, but it's usually something like a stir fry, jacket potato, thin based pizza or pasta. Followed by something sweet but small (i do have a sweet tooth)

I drink alot of water, no juice or fizzy drinks, very rarely drink alcohol.

I am 5"6.5cm and 10.7 stone, 40 years old and going through menopause early thanks to having cancer back in 2023 and a radical hysterectomy afterwards, the weight just seems to stick and not budge.

I'm aware I do have very dysmorphic views about my body though which is not recommended!

Loads of thin people I've known eat rubbish. They just eat smaller portions of rubbish and/or are active.

I'm a normal weight because I have intracranial hypertension, meaning that weight gain affects my eyesight and causes headaches.

I have to work hard, diet-wise, to maintain my weight. I'm always a bit hungry tbh.

My body seems to want to be mildly overweight. Doesn't help that I loathe most forms of exercise.

Alcohol consumption is steadily down. On the whole we drink a lot less than 20, 40 or 60 years ago

This is totally inaccurate. There are conditions where you can be grossly obese on 700 calories a day. Some of these conditions mean that people need a high level of care so it is parents and/or carers who prepare the meals and count the calories - the person is not simply miscalculating. It is also possible for people without any diagnosable condition to become overweight on this level of calorie intake too and there are doctors who now recognise this. Like any other system in the body, the metabolism can break or become damaged. The body is more than capable of storing fat before basic energy needs are met, hence atypical anorexia now being recognised as a genuine eating disorder.

When I was slim I could eat anything and people would comment, how come you’re always eating and stay so slim? I did zero exercise. I was just naturally slim with no effort, no calorie counting, no food restrictions. I can't say the same nowadays unfortunately.

I think its a huge misconception that anyone who is a normal weight, or underweight, does not think about, or obsess about food!

I have a bmi within the normal range. It's really not rocket science. We have normalised enormous portion sizes and most people eat far too much to maintain a healthy weight.

I think it's just too easy to put on weight these days.
Our lifestyles are generally very sedentary and it's easy to pack in the calories with processed foods, even if you aren't necessarily eating high volumes.

Loving this, a thread for all the skinny people to talk about how amazing they are.

They can’t fathom that normal people don’t obsess over food.

Can you fathom that it's not a choice to obsess over food? I don't smoke, should I get a medal for my amazing willpower and strength not to smoke? While I actually have no desire to smoke whatsoever and do not think about it?

That's some generalisation.
I know many people who are slim but not rich and many who are fat but not poor.

It’s quite worrying. That’s one way EDs can being or manifest. Just be aware and look after yourself.

I'd tell you it's things like advance planning around big meals etc which to some extent it is, but frankly I really, really enjoy the feeling of control I get from not eating. It gives me a kind of perverse buzz. Which isn't healthy as such, but I'm a healthy weight and not underweight, just with an extremely messed up relationship to food. I can be honest about this on an anon forum in a way I can't irl.

This is exactly how my family was. We walked a lot, nothing was banned or frowned upon so we had no reason to eat too much of it because it wasn’t an ‘issue’. I was always slim up until I started dieting as I thought it was the done thing after having my first baby. From then on in came decades of yoyo dieting and an eating disorder.

The rest of my family - 2 parents and 2 sisters are all still slim and none of them have ever dieted. I’m the only one who ever did and the only one who is fat!

I reckon they have more naturally occurring hormone of whatever is in mounjaro. I was a compulsive eater until I started on mounjaro now I have virtually no 'food noise' have stopped snacking and only eat when I'm hungry. I reckon this is how naturally slim people feel most of the time.

I'm overweight but don't look it (yet) as I'm tall.I love carbs and comfort food so I've gone low carb as this eliminates the foods I crave.

I agree with this.

I went down to a normal size 10-12 by eating less. Lots less. It was actually a shock to find out you could be full, not tired or hungry on 3 small meals and no snacks.
I had always just eaten what I fancied when I fancied it before.

Definitely believe that genetics and hormones play a massive part in this, but food intake and physical activity as well.

I am 5ft 4 and currently 9 st 5. I have always been slim- I take after my mums side of the family.

When I was married, I didn't cook because that wasn't my job, and we didnt eat until late at night- gone 8/9 some nights. I drank alcohol most days because it was around me all the time (exH was an alcoholic). I put on loads of weight in the latter few years.

I left exH and I lost 2 stone because I:
Stopped drinking because I don't have it in the house
Ate with the kids at 5/6pm rather than 9pm- so food fully "gone down" before I go to bed
Walk alot for work
Generally more active around the house because I am on my own with DC and the load falls on me.
Cook healthy meals with alot of beans/pulses/veg to "bulk it up". Cook once eat twice etc. Always eat leftovers for meals in following days.

But I don't have food chatter I suppose. I think about food alot more now because I have to I guess, in terms of what's for tea because the DC aren't old enough to cook full meals yet. When I'm stressed/anxious/sad I don't get hungry so I don't eat. When I'm busy I forget to eat (so quite often!) So often find it's 3pm and all I've had is a cup of tea.

I also think there is alot to be said for mistaking hunger for thirst and quite often a pint of water is what you need rather than food. (But I never drink enough water 😆)

Environmental factors can affect the expression of genes, as shown by a lot of twin studies.

I've noticed from various threads here and in real life that a lot of people just don't move very much. There's people wanting to lose weight who manage 5000 steps at most. The hallowed goal of 10,000 was arbitrary I seem to remember reading and just to give people something to aim for but the scientists or doctors who wrote whatever article I was said that this was nowhere near enough activity for an adult but it encouraged people to move more. People get on their cars to go to the shops 5 minutes walk up the road saying it's too far and that they can't possibly carry a small amount of shopping home if it contains a bottle of milk. Convenience is king and people don't want to make an effort to be active.

This is a really interesting thread and something I'm spending a lot of time focusing on learning to be a "thin person"
I was obese (bmi 31) and lost weight with mounjaro. I stopped the drug in October and was determined not to regain. My bmi is 21.5 currently and I have maintained that for 4 months.

I've spent a lot of time chatting and watching my slim friends and family. This is what I've learned and its worked for me to maintain...

No "mindless" eating. Ie passing a biscuit and eating it without barely noticing. All food is now an event that I sit down and savour.

Smaller portions.
Home cooked food
Prioritising protein

Being hungry before mealtimes

Moving (a lot) more. Rather that do 4k steps a day at working from home, then watching tv in the evening. I now cycle to the office and I run 1-2 times a week. I always make sure I hit 10k+ steps a day and prioritise this.

If there is a meal out, I will cut back in the day to compensate for the calorific meal.in the evening and perhaps do a run the next day too.

I think it's a mindset and the reversal of the small habits I had built up before. My blood sugar seems more stable now and I don't "crave" sweet stuff like I did before. If I do, I'll have some frozen fruits and plain yogurt with some peanut butter powder for added protein.

I'm learning all this by tracking my calories and only eating what I burn each day.

@Garlicworth That’s an interesting article. I’ve only skim read it, but it sounds as if researchers are still figuring exactly what causes leptin resistance. Environmental factors might be responsible, given that the article states that ”Leptin resistance can be inherited, albeit not commonly.”

So something triggers it?

My mum was overweight (and probably obese at some points) as long as I can remember. She was born in the late 1940s I don't know if rationing was still a thing. From photos (I do not remember my GPs) both her parents were overweight and in old pictures of her she was overweight as a child. Her sibling was also overweight. They grew up without fast food, without upfs, without ready meals, they didn't have a car. My mum never learnt to drive so she walked and cycled a lot of places when we were kids.....but she was always overweight. So I think for her mostly genetic. That's why I think its mainly luck that I am not overweight