Fast metabolism?

[earlydoors42]

Do some people have a faster metabolism than others, and therefore are lucky they are slim?

My friend said to me the other day "You are lucky with your fast metabolism"... I am about 10 stone, 5 foot 9. I don't eat a lot and I walk a lot. I feel a bit cheated that people think I am like this because of luck, when in fact I probably eat less and move more than them. Or am I wrong, am I just lucky?

I did have a period when I put on weight because I earned more money and was eating more crap and getting taxis instead of walking! Magic metabolism didn't help me then?

I did, then I turned 40

DH is still annoyingly spindly and I, for the first time in my life, am considering going on a diet

Yup - age and kids puts a stop to that.

Both.

There’s very little scientific evidence which supports the idea of a fast or slow metabolism which in itself would make a material difference to weight gain / maintenance / loss. Most of the research points to other factors such as greater muscle mass which naturally burns more calories and many people simply overestimating their activity and underestimating their food intake.

There’s so many variables...walking a lot won’t make much difference if you’ve always done it, but if you suddenly start doing it then yes it might help keep weight down. Then there’s your genes , what food groups you eat, how many calories you take through drink etc. This is why the obesity crisis is so complex .

Hmm, I don't really believe in this.

I've never met anyone skinny who can eat 3000 cals per day.

I seem to remember a tv programme where they tested two friends who claimed to have a “fast” and “slow” metabolism. They filmed them constantly over two weeks and gave them medical tests - result: the one with the “fast” metabolism just ate less and did more. There was no magic metabolism. Friend with the “slow” metabolism was most put out.

When I was younger I ate like a horse and drank a lot. I was skinny as a rake. My dad was always very skinny too.

Then I hit 40 (ish) and the weight piled on quickly - eating same, drinking a lot less and same amount of activity.

I always ate more than everyone else (& didn't get fat).
I still eat a lot (gets commented on at work). We have sedentary jobs.
Thought maybe I had fast metabolism.

My fitbit knows my sex, age & weight. The Fitbit estimate of how many calories I need matches how many I eat. I'm ordinary. No extra fast metabolism. I just move... a lot, outside of work!

If I stop getting exercise (injury, illness, travel) I stop eating. Appetite disappears completely.

I dont think its metabolism really more appetite. My husband has always been slim but he rarely eats breakfast eats a normal lunch has dinner the same as the rest of the family then once the kids are in bed eats alot! He is sitting next to me eating a lot of cheese and crackers. However he walks at least 20,000 steps a day. If he gets slightly I'll he has no appetite and could happily go all day without food, he is one of those annoying people who just forgets to eat. I however like to eat and think about it alot and definitely snack between meals. I'm about 1 stone over weight. If I'm ill, I still eat. I also walk alot but I just eat more. I probably eat roughly the same calories every day but my husbands varies over the week so our average weekly calories would be different (his less)

I also understood metabolism isnt a real thing in the sense you’re using it.

Both 'secret eaters' on the BBC and 'secrets of slim people' demonstrated that weight control is almost entirely due to calories in vs calories out.

I'm sure proper scientific studies reach the same conclusion. Your friend probably eats more and/or moves less than she thinks.

I am reading a very interesting book at the moment by Dr David Ludwig who is an endocrinologist and has been doing research into obesity for over 25 years. He says adipose tissue is actually an endocrine organ which is highly sensitive to hormones produced by the body, and produces hormones in its own right . To cut a long story short, yes people who tend to pile on weight do so due to their hormonal profile (determined by genetics, diet, lifestyle etc.) It is a very complex interaction which we only starting to lift a lid on. Enormous appetite and ‘laziness’ of bigger people are easily explained by certain insulin resistance which means higher levels of insulin circulating in the body. This makes it very difficult for cells to get nutrition as any spare fuel from the blood is absorbed into adipose tissue (effect of insulin), so the body is perpetually starving on a cellular level, hence the powerful physiological responses of ferocious, unabating hunger (trying to get energy from food) and the unwillingness to expend energy which is already lacking as is.

Absolutely mind-blowing. So yes, people with good insulin sensitivity will not be able to overeat, will feel fuller for longer and will be more active as their metabolism works as it is supposed to, I.e. their adipose tissue not only stores energy, but releases it back when required. So they never feel ravenously hungry, as they have got a ready supply of energy from their own fat cells. People with ‘slow’ metabolism have effectively got their fat cells locked into a receiving mode because of their bodies’ hormonal profile. Overeating is a consequence, lack of activity is a consequence. Physiology is very powerful. Appetite is now proven to be hormonally driven, not rationally determined.

Sorry to waffle on, yes, fast metabolism is a thing. As hormonal profile does change overtime, so does the propensity the gain body fat. Ask any pregnant woman and better still, a peri menopausal woman ....

I think it’s a thing, I had it for sure but am now losing it as I get older and after 2 kids.
I ate loads! I mean loads. I’m 5ft2 and would match or eat more than dh who’s nearly 6ft on a regular basis. I’d eat a ton of rubbish (alongside healthy stuff!) as in most of a sharing pack of Doritos and dip, most of a packet of biscuits, American portion sizes..... and I stayed around 8st10 for years. I wasn’t particularly active either, the odd run or swim maybe, plus an office job.
Now I’m 40 with 2 kids I definitely have to be more careful and I do exercise more, I am about a stone heavier than I was back then (thanks kids!) but I still eat a ton and it doesn’t really fluctuate. As in I eat less than I used to but on the odd day I decided to put my info into my fitness pal I am easily looking at 2500 calories a day on a normal day. I just don’t really seem to put on weight for some reason! My brother is the same.

Thank you! Mixed responses. I used to think I could eat anything and not gain weight, but it turned out that I could very easily put on weight if I stopped walking places and ate lots more crisps!

I use My Fitness Pal just to see what I eat and I am at around 1500 cals a day plus always walk to school and back and often walk a lot more. So I don't see it as me being "lucky" and just built this way.

The idea that very active or healthy weight people can never get very hungry is very weird.