AIBU to ask how people stay slim without strict dieting?

I think it is partly about your individual metabolism and how you were fed as a baby and child. Apparently children who are overfed and overweight develop more fat cells which they carry into adulthood. I find the only thing that helps me stay the same weight is being in a slimming club where maintaining your target weight means you get the group sessions free. Otherwise I lose about £7 a week!!

Are you really a size 12? You’re definitely on the lighter side for your height.

too busy to meal plan/pack lunch and exercise properly

Very little processed food, very little sugar. Treats are just that, treats (ie not part of the every day).

I do snack but healthy snacks like crudités or nuts.

Healthy portion sizes - what most people would call small but IMO that's part of the problem, big portions have been normalised)m.

No alcohol.

Minimum of 1 hour proper exercise every day.

Not sure if I count as 'slim' particularly but I've always been a healthy BMI and a size 8-10. I've never been on a diet or anything like that.

I mostly just eat when I'm hungry, I don't do loads of snacking and I guess I have reasonable portion sizes. There are obviously exceptions if I've got visitors or I'm out or it's a party or holiday or whatever else then I will happily overindulge for that period.

Really it’s this.

Doesn’t matter if it’s all about control or any other eating disorder or just not really caring about food. Thin people don’t eat much.
I do know thin people who seem to eat “tons” of junk sugary shit or drink tons of alcohol. However what they don’t do is have it in addition to normal meals and other drinks and snacks. It’s literally just that and then nothing.

If you aren’t these people, low carb, simple, repetitive meals work.

This is quite telling though as when I was pre-GLP, I could never have stopped at 3 squares of dairy milk. I’d eat 12-20 easily in one go. So you do have good self control :)

I'd be a right porker if I drank a bottle a night.

I spent the first 27 years of my life struggling with my weight, and then discovered what worked for me.

At 21 I had cognitive behavioural therapy for disordered eating which made a big difference to the psychological aspect of overeating - I didn't eat compulsively after this, but did still struggle to lose/maintain a healthy weight. I think years of yo-yo dieting (starting at age 12) absolutely fucked my metabolism.

At about 27 I tried a different approach. I had about 11kg of excess weight to lose and decided to lose it slowly instead of attempting another unattainable crash diet. I basically used "breakfast like a queen, lunch like a princess, dinner like a pauper" but with the added rule that my evening meal would be at 16:00 at the latest. Until this time I could eat whatever I wanted, with no restrictions. With no forbidden foods, I found I self-regulated pretty well and ate mainly healthy food with minimal treats. If I was still hungry after my last meal, I ate something very low-carb - a bit of smoked salmon, or some olives - but mostly I wasn't hungry. Our bodies wind down at night and need less energy, it's basically intermittent fasting and it worked great for me.

I found not only did I lose the weight successfully over the year (down from 61kg to 50kg - I'm short at 5ft so this was a good weight for me) I kept it off without watching what I ate, even after resuming evening snacking habits, and lost weight quickly after both my children were born.

Even now at 43 and in peri my weight is relatively stable. It's very slowly creeping up, but now hard to do the same regime I lost the weight initially with, because i treasure the family evening meal ritual and 16:00 would be way too early. So I try to do weights instead in order to boost my metabolism.

But if it fits with your life, I think doing what I did - essentially an 8 hour eating window, for a significant amount of time - works well as a metabolic reset, and even better as a long term strategy for staying slim.

I’m a tall size 8, don’t really have to do much to maintain my weight.

I tend to only eat real foods. So fruit, veg, fresh meat, no beige foods. You’ll hardly see me eat chips, fish fingers, burgers etc. I wasn’t brought up with these foods so don’t like the taste/ don’t crave them.

Generally I don’t feel hungry often so sometimes I forgo dinner as I forget/ just have a small snack as not hungry.

Generally only eat small portions at meal times only, I find restaurant main portions crazy huge, nevermind a 2-3 course meal.

Drink all the time throughout the day.

I’d love to say I don’t eat sweet stuff/ snacks, as I generally don’t if I’m feeling well mentally, but I’m currently struggling and do eat maybe a snack every couple of days. Doesn’t really affect my weight though as it makes me full enough to not want a full meal later.

Mum’s the same, she’s 70+ and not overweight.

People used to make fun at size of plates at our house but I think if you’re brought up to think small portions and fresh food is normal, it does stick with you.

P.S. Oh and I really savour my food. If I buy chocolate, coffee, a croissant, it needs to be the best and it’s a real moment/ treat. I can easily sit with a cup of amazing tea and 3 truffles for an hour and enjoy it, it’s about quality and quality time

Some of the replies are indeed ridiculous.

Yes, some people like you are naturally slim despite what they eat.

Others aren’t like that but they can still use a controlled diet to lose weight. Do you really think OP would start the thread if she was the kind of person who can eat anything and stay the same weight 🤣

Why is that so hard to comprehend? Are you generally unable to empathise with those different to you?

My XP ate less than I did but what he ate and what I ate were totally different. Plus he drank beer and fizzy drinks.

Genetics: I'm the only slim one out of my parents and siblings. The others wolf their food, I don't, and they aren't salad lovers.

I’m 42, 1.66m tall and have been 60-62kg since I was a teenager, bar pregnancy. My thing is exercise, lots and lots of it. I run marathons, triathlons, take the kids biking, holidays are normally climbing mountains or kayaking. At least an hour dog walk every day. And I’m constantly moving, figiting, doing something. I don’t really sit down, even working I stand at my desk. I can therefore eat loads (today I’ve had porridge with nuts and fruit, a ham sandwich, leftover chicken curry for lunch, 3 squares of dairy milk, banana, apple, grapes, strawberries, 2 crackers with cheese, filled pasta with sausages and veg, a small bowl of ice cream and a G&T). But I’ve never been overweight, so never really had to try cutting calories, this is just what my body is used to.

Two meals a day rather than three

I've always been slim and don't put on weight easily. I eat a lot.

So...

1. Protein protein protein - this is the biggest thing to help you feel full for longer. Every meal has things like eggs, cheese, lean meats and fish and plenty of it
2. Fibre - yes loads of fibre - so baked beans, humous, pulses and lentils and big bowls of cooked veggies in the microwave, you can put pretty much anything in there. i use quite a bit of frozen veg. You need to have one big bowl of well cooked veggies every day as standard. You need to start poo-ing regularly. A regular poo every day is essential to start to shift the weight.
3. Good fats - this is where most people go wrong. You can have pretty much as much good fat as you want as it will keep you fuller for long. I have full fat yogurt, full fat cheese, I never deny myself. I eat a handful of nuts every day and lots of full fat plain yogurt too. The research shows you can eat these things and people that do are generally slimmer than those that don't. I do semi-skimmed milk, but all kinds of cheeses and nuts. I also use olive oil liberally. Also plenty of salmon.

You won't find me snacking on biscuits, crisps or chocolate or creamy things. I also don't drink alcohol much and I don't like cream or creamy sauces.

For snacks, I'd rather have a banana, as much full fat plain yogurt as i want, a handful of pumpkin seeds or cashews - basically until I feel full, any of these things. I tend to eat fruit after a meal, not on its own to avoid a sugar spike.

And that's about it. I do have some Hotel Chocolate chocs and I eat maybe one or two per night... my treat. But some nights I miss them as I just don't fancy anything sweet. And sometimes I switch over to 80% dark choc.

In a meal you want lots of flavour and texture, crunch, comfort, zesty/spicey stuff, sometimes something bitter and/or sour, something sweet and something salty.. if you hit all of these you come out feeling satisfied.

That can’t be good for you..

Also you’re talking rubbish! Of course people who don’t eat as many calories as they use will lose weight. You don’t think an obese person would eventually lose weight starve if they had a really small amount of food?!

Most people can’t do what you do - so if you’re not naturally slim, the advice to control calories will work to help you lose weight, but you have to work at it, obviously!

I was about to say exactly this. A lot of these threads end up the same way, trying to convince people that us slim/skinny lot starve ourselves. No. I eat three meals a day plus snacks. Love bread, pasta, cake, chocolate and icecream and will never deny myself.

However I physically cannot eat as much as some people (two courses is my maximum, and even then I can rarely finish it). I fidget and will always consider walking before the car or public transport.

I don't eat masses of food. I'm not very health food conscious but I try to eat good quality meat and some veg and fruit every day. The main factor for me is I don't drive so I am constantly walking, carrying backpacks of groceries, walking to train and bus, walking dog, walking for pleasure when I can. I rarely stop moving.

Some people are like you, yes

I don’t think it’s a rule that you can apply to everyone though

And I presume the OP wouldn’t be asking if she was able to eat whatever she wanted and stay Slim

I haven't weighed myself in literally years either. I just focus on getting stronger and what I look like without clothes on.

I'm just not very interested in food and feel full quite quickly. Probably not useful traits in any other time in history ( ie when food wasn't so easily available)

Im 5'7 and weigh 65kg - 10st 2 ish and i wear a 14 currently. Its all in my belly and I have always had big boobs- 30gg

I had to calorie count to learn how much food and what type of food added up to the “right” number of calories for a day. I don’t have to calorie count now because I understand.

If I eat out at lunch then I don’t eat breakfast and don’t plan for dinner (though I might have a small snack if I really am hungry again).

I stave off hunger by eating broth-based soup - a whole can is about 130 calories and it takes a while to eat and fills me up surprisingly well.

I can stave off hunger quite well by eating something small and salty. Cold olives from the fridge work well. Or the above mentioned broth-soup with added salt. I am normally craving salt rather than actual food.

I think I often want to eat because my mouth wants something to do! Another cup of coffee (no sugar) or gum, or brushing my teeth often stops my snacking.

Ultimately these are all tricks to eat less food less often though. There’s no other way to stay slim unless you have a tiny appetite, a highly active lifestyle, or a very good metabolism! I am guessing you don’t have any of those because you’re posting here, so eating less food less often is likely your only way to stay slim.

Getting slim and staying slim are two totally different things though. To get thin you have to eat at a calorie deficit and work down to what you want, once you are there you don’t have to be at a deficit, you can use maintenance calories and supplement with exercise. You don’t need to work out how to get the most sustenance for the fewest calories, you just have to make sure you don’t overeat.

You can have a meal that is higher calories, but then you eat healthy the rest of the week. You can have a couple of glasses of wine, but then drink low sugar or tea the rest of the week. It’s just moderation to maintain.

They just don't eat much. It's not dieting because they eat as much as they want, the difference is they just don't want to eat that much.