If you're effortlessly thin, how often do you think about food?

[misspercy]

I'm currently on a diet and trying to repair my broken relationship with food. (I grew up being told to always finish my plate, food being a reward, and I've always turned to food as a crutch. I'm trying to unlearn those habits.)

I find myself thinking about food all the time. What I'm about to eat, what I've just eaten, how long until I can eat something again... Food is currently the number one interesting thought to me.

I'm relearning what an appropriate portion size is, and that's fine, that's all just based on simple science, but I wondered how often do you thin people actually think about food? Is it literally just when you're running out of fuel and you're actually hungry, or do you think about food outside of those times too?

I'm trying to retrain my brain to think about food normally, but I'm not really sure what normal is... Especially interested in hearing from people who are, say, a size 10 to 12 and haven't ever had to go on a diet because they somehow just know how much to eat to stay at that size.

What does normal feel like...?

When I feel hungry or when I am food shopping.

I’m quite slim and I’m nearly always thinking about food. If I’m at work I’m often really busy so might forget for a while but I’m hungry within a couple of hours of eating so food is generally not far from my mind. I eat quite a lot of fat but not much sugar.

I've always been a 8/10. I think about food pretty much all the time. What's for lunch? What's for dinner? What do I need to buy a the shop? Shall I have a snack, do I have snacks for this evening? Shall I take some food out?

The one thing I will say is I only eat if I'm actually hungry and I stop when I'm full. So fancy a packet of popcorn? Eat it. Full after two handfuls? Put it away. My partner who is overweight will always finish a packet/clear his plate/cook the whole thing even if he's full after half.

I’m a size 8 and I think about food a lot! I don’t tend to eat breakfast so I’ll spend a good chunk of the morning planning lunch then as soon as I’m done I start thinking about dinner. I don’t really have any desire to snack because I like proper meals so I usually only eat twice a day. I don’t limit my portions but do stop when I’m full.

My weight has always been stable, size 10 in twenties now a 12 in my fourties’. Im always planning my next meal and usually have 3 meals and 3 snacks a day so don’t know why I’m not more overweight!! I do notice I usually naturally make healthier choices then others, eg pizza with salad instead of chips, or vegetarian lasagne instead of beef, yogurt and nuts instead of a twix etc. I do eat biscuits but only 2 at a time, don’t sit there with the packet. Portion of icecream, not the whole tub. I don’t drink my calories, so usually water or tea instead of coke or a latte. Aim for plenty of fibre and a healthy gut, I think that’s where I’m blessed.

Change the way you describe people. Thin to me is not something I would aim for. A healthy weight with good tone would be what I would aim for. The is a whole host of healthy ways to be between thin and over weight.

Don't be afraid of hunger. Hunger is normal but something we seem to fear. You won't starve if you eat properly.

I think about food a lot. I plan what I will eat in my head, write a meal plan for the week, find nice recipes etc but of its beyond this just acknowledge that you are thinking about food and bring your mind back to what you are doing. Learn to focus on the present. What controls your mind will control your life.

Size 12. All the time. I do intermittent fasting so I can go wild at other times.

I hardly ever think about food. Only if I see/smell it or I'm hungry. I find it annoying TBH to have to interrupt my day to eat. I would happily eat half a cow once a week and leave it at that.

I'm a 6-8 and find that exercise is what helps moderate my appetite and cravings. Nothing serious, just walking everyday, doing chores and fitting in runs when I can. And I eat 3 meals at fairly set times and wine/desert in moderation. Every meal needs to incorporate protein, carbs and some fruit/veg which gives a lot of flexibility. I think about what I need to eat to make me feel strong and have lots of energy. So no dietary restrictions and no control of portion sizes. To me food is an experience so I really savour everything that passes my mouth.

I do think regular exercise just trains your body to want what's good for it generally and stops emotional eating.

I have always been a size 6 or 8 and eat whatever I want whenever I want. I don’t think of food much. If I think of food it is because I am hungry and so then I just eat it. I have never dieted in my life.
I would not say my diet is particularly healthy but I do like healthy things too (love salads, humours, avocado, sushi, pulses that kind of thing). I can easily eat a pot of ice cream in one go but then I probably will not be that hungry at the next meal.
My father had a high metabolic rate and I have just inherited it. I also tend to move around a lot and like to stay busy.
The only time I had a weight issue was when I got very busy and very stressed with work and I forgot to eat lunch a few times over 2 months. I lost too much weight but regained it as soon as the stress improved.

My OH is obsessed with food, he literally thinks about it all the time - even worrying about what we're going to eat in a weeks time. I don't think it's normal at all but I don't know what's caused it, similar to you though probably. I'm a size 8 and think about food when I know it's a meal time and at four o'clock which is the point I always need a snack - or when my husband starts talking about it. I think the more you think/read/watch about food the more hungry it makes you - this thread for example has made me peckish even though I'm not really hungry!

I think you need to find some other things you enjoy that you can think about instead, gardening travel, art, books, work, whatever and then everytime you start thinking about food distract yourself with that. Stay off food related books/apps/programmes and get in to some other things.

I’m not sure “effortlessly thin” is what most of us slim people are above the age of 40. I’m a size 8 and that’s because I love food but I do think about the balance of what I’m eating across a week so it’s mainly healthy. I weigh carbs to get the right portions. Apart from that I don’t limit what I eat. It helps that I’m a vegetarian who loves vegetables and I don’t have a massively sweet tooth or drink much. We also don’t live near any take always! Meal planning and batch cooking really helps us eat mainly good things.I prefer larger meals with less snacking but I do plan two snacks, mid morning and mid afternoon. For me, that’s a realistic and healthy way to eat.

Exercise really helps me stay the size I am without putting weight on. I weigh weekly and if I’ve gone above a certain threshold, I take action.

I'm a size 6 and LOVE sport; running, netball, skiing, biking, any sport. So food isn't really something I restrict/I'm never on a 'diet'... but I do try and eat healthily, but I have a balanced diet (take aways sometimes, cake a few times a week).
I also find it helps that I feel full quite quickly, so tend to eat little and often, I rarely stick to 3 big meals, I'm more like 6-8 snacks a day (my dinners are then small).

I’m a size 10 without trying and another one who thinks about food a LOT. I love cooking and trying new recipes and ingredients so the next meal is never far from my mind. I like healthy food though, I love an interesting salad and would happily eat them every day, I also don’t feel the need to snack that much and if I find myself grazing out of boredom rather than hunger, I find something else to do.

Hmmm I see threads like this on here sometimes and I don't think people who have never had to diet are going to be able to give you good advice. I think you need to ask people who have really made a transformation themselves.

I'm a size 8-10, 170cm, never had to diet, think about food all the time. I eat throughout the day. I don't think my experience is useful for you because I think the reason I'm slim is mostly genetic, and that I've generally been in good health (illness and some medications can prompt a change in habits and weight).

I'd start a new thread asking for experiences on how to change your thinking/mentality. I don't think us hollow leg types are going to get you there.

You can't tell yourself to stop thinking about something! You need something(s) else positive, fun, enjoyable in your life, so that food isn't trying to fill all the gaps.

(to answer the question - when I'm at home, I think about food All The Time. When I'm at my job, which I love, I might give food a fleeting thought outside of meal/break times, but I don't dwell on it. I eat a very substantial meal at lunch time, and I properly enjoy it, and then I put food out of my mind and get on with my afternoon. My weight is the same now as it was when I was WFH but when I was at home I was MISERABLE constantly trying to keep my weight down. Now I feel like I eat almost whatever I want, although in reality I'm restricting the opportunity to eat, rather than specifically restricting quantity or type of food, if that makes sense?!)

I’m not but DD is thin.
She just doesn’t prioritise food. She eats a healthy balanced diet but only if hungry. She was like it from a small child, she would refuse chocolate etc if not hungry at that precise time. She has said she really hates feeling too full so would rather stop before she gets there.
The rest of the family aren’t the same though so I don’t know where it comes from, she has emetophobia which might explain it

When I was younger I could eat whatever but now if I want to be slim it’s low carb

I feel fine on low carb, ie no sugar spikes that make me crave more so in that way I think about it less

But I still enjoy what I eat - just far easier to not go overboard

Lifelong size 6-8 but always loved fitness and am very slim but strong and toned. I absolutely adore my food but I don't have any issues or negative associations with it and so I eat when I'm hungry and stop when full, like many others have said. I don't deny myself any type of food either. I seem to naturally eat the right amount to maintain my weight but have no idea about calories and would never dream of weighing out food. Just eat it and stop when you're full. Sorry I know it's really not as simple as that for many.

gosh, all these words that don't have clear meaning

"normal" -- it's normal for UK adults to be fat, now. Presumably that means most UK adults have unhealthy relationship with food.

"thin" - I still think this means closer to underweight than overweight -- I bet scrawny isn't what OP meant

"effortless" if someone makes time to exercise & conscientiously does portion control without feeling unhappy when they stop eating is that still "effortless" or else what does "effortless" mean?

I'm not trying to nitpick at OP, I honestly can't tell who is or isn't eligible to answer the question. OP asked.

*ps I feel the same about a lot of words: "toned"? "Fit"? "natural" ?

How often I think about food really depends on what sort of food I'm eating.

Low sugar / high fat (as described in MN's own bootcamp threads, I can go for ages and never think about food. I can stop eating when I have eaten enough, even when my plate is full of the most delicious food.

If I eat low fat, especially when I indulge in ice creme, biscuits and chocolate, I find myself absolutely obsessed with food. I plan head for where I am going to eat and what, consistently overeat. Eating becomes my favourite leisure activity.

There are lots of books and articles around suggesting that manufacturers of very processed food jumped on the low fat band waggon exactly because they could make 'products' with a long shelf life which would actually get people 'hooked' and ensure repeat business and good profits.

It's only fair to mention that I was slim while I lived under my mother's regime. She advocated occasional treats combined with strict portion control. As an adult catering for myself, I was delighted to be 'allowed' to eat as much as I wanted.

Now I have the excess weight to show for it. Unless I treat sugar as an addiction, which means I really need to abstain from it, I will be overweight

Genetics- always been slim except when I was postpartum when I went up to a size 12. I’m mid forties and a size 8-10.

It is an effort though to maintain it as I get older. I watch what I eat and I exercise regularly! But I also wouldn’t think of not eating something if I fancied it.

It’s a series of checks and balances.

Generally
Cook from scratch
Low carb
Loads of fruit and veg
Don’t eat very many heavy things (sausage and mash, pies, roasts) as I don’t like them and make me feel so full so quickly
I don’t eat past feeling full

Consistently a size 10 with the exception of pregnancy and few months post partum each time. I think about food quite a bit, I don’t cut out food groups or deny myself anything. However I do eat in moderation, I will eat much more healthily in the week and save any treats for the weekend. If I eat whatever I want like I do over Christmas I will then cut my intake to get back to where I’m comfortable. I keep an eye on my weight so I can adjust when necessary so it doesn’t creep up.

Another size 10-12 here who thinks a lot about food. In fact cooking and reading about food are two great pleasures for me.

I’ve always been a healthy weight, have never tried to be ‘thin’. It’s not effortless now I’m in my forties and my portions have had to shrink a little. I eat three meals a day. I don’t eat between meals, it wouldn’t occur to me to snack. I generally eat good quality, mostly fresh food. I cook from scratch most nights. I don’t knowingly restrict fat or carbs, but do try to limit highly processed food. We eat out sometimes, but never get takeaway. I drink a glass of wine with dinner most nights and have a little something sweet with my after dinner coffee ( a Benedict’s bitter mint, a macaron, something like that).

@Runningafteradhdbrain

Hmmm I see threads like this on here sometimes and I don't think people who have never had to diet are going to be able to give you good advice. I think you need to ask people who have really made a transformation themselves.

I'm a size 8-10, 170cm, never had to diet, think about food all the time. I eat throughout the day. I don't think my experience is useful for you because I think the reason I'm slim is mostly genetic, and that I've generally been in good health (illness and some medications can prompt a change in habits and weight).

I'd start a new thread asking for experiences on how to change your thinking/mentality. I don't think us hollow leg types are going to get you there.

For me, I think having yo-yoed my whole life long means the way I think isn't normal or healthy, and I'm trying to get a feel for how I should be thinking. People who have undergone a transformation probably don't quite think 'normally' either.

I'm doing OK with the lifestyle changes to what I eat, but as we all know, if you can't sort the mental stuff out, you always end up undoing your hard work. I guess I'm trying to find someone's brain to copy so I can 'fake it until I make it'!

There have been some quite mixed responses here, but it's interesting to hear that there are some thin people who do think about a food a lot, and that those kind of thoughts aren't a problem for them (because they're only thinking about food).

I agree with only eating when you're hungry/need the fuel, I just wondering if I was thinking about food too much at the other times. It sounds like some thin people do have a lot of thoughts too and it doesn't hurt them.