Anyone over 45 and still naturally thin?

[Mummysgogetter]

What I mean is that you do not consciously track your food or exercise, or eat less in order to maintain your figure? If so, what does your typical day of diet/exercise look like for you?

im not one of these lucky types btw and have to really consciously think am I hungry before grabbing a bite to eat. In addition I have to force myself to exercise as I’m naturally sedentary, so I have a lot going against me as I also have a huge appetite.

I find the over 45 and naturally thin types are rare

I'm 45, still eat whatever I like and still the same size I've always been (batting during and just after my pregnancies) - so U.K. size 10-12 clothes. Think I've been lucky although genes wise though, and I walk pretty much everywhere and run after dogs and kids all day so that probably helps!

*barring during pregnancy that should say! Not batting 😂

What I mean is that you do not consciously track your food or exercise, or eat less in order to maintain your figure?

This is me, but I had to consciously train myself in my late 20s to recognise when I was hungry and when my appetite was sated ( I had very disordered eating, eating disorder level). It took about a year. So even though I have become sedentary to levels I have never had before in my life since lockdown, I have not put on weight as my appetite naturally decreased to match my lack of activity.

Yeah I’m still slim, I’m 46 and weigh the same as I did at 20. I gained around 2 stone with my first pregnancy and lost it quickly, second pregnancy I gained just over a stone.
I eat what I would call normal, no disordered eating which makes a massive difference I think, I eat 3 average sized meals a day and don’t think about carbs, fat or sugar but have to be hungry to eat, I don’t eat if I feel peckish, I wait for my next meal, I often have something sweet in the evening though. I don’t drink alcohol because I don’t like it.
I work a physically active job 3 days a week which must also help, no other exercise apart from dog walking.
If I’m unwell my appetite goes completely.

I'm in my 40's BMI 19 and 7.5 stones. I walk several miles daily to and from school a few miles away but I don't do active sports.

47 this year and still a slim Jim. Not particularly toned though. Weight really hasn’t changed in 30 years. No diets or particular exercise apart from dog walking and yoga. Don’t watch what I eat. But not a massive snacker plus I’m quite high energy - leg jiggler, up and down and doing stuff. Genes I reckon. Mum and sister the same.

No active sports here either, and I just eat normally. I went back to pre-baby weight with all mine quite quickly so maybe it's a genes thing.

No. I was a size 6 at 20, gave up on staying an 8 at 30, and since I was about 35 have stuck to a (soft) 5:2 diet to stay 10 on top and 12 on the bottom. I’m 46 and that approach is still working- my BMI is about 24- but I can’t pretend it’s effortless any more. Mind you, I will admit to being a bloody pig as well, I’m not one of those who thinks three lettuce leaves is a decent meal.

63 with a BMI of 22. I was 3/4 of a stone heavier during my fertile years, regardless of contraception choices.

I rarely drink alcohol and when I do it’s one or two - my body doesn’t tolerate it any more. I eat what I like, don’t usually have dessert but I will have a midday cake instead of lunch from time to time. Breakfast is usually porridge, dinner is usually home-cooked and fairly low-fat, high-veg.

I think what makes the difference for me is living alone, I don’t have to think about anyone else’s food or stick to a timetable. I walk and swim but noticed during lockdown that when I couldn’t do those things, my weight stayed stable.

My mum is 56. She’s always been a similar size/shape to me, my sister and most of the other women in our family: 5’4”-ish and around the 8/9 stone mark.
I’ve never known her to be on a diet, she eats normally, and does a ladies-only exercise class a few times a week 🤷🏻‍♀️

@1stWorldProblems this is really helpful actually as what I’m trying to find out is if all slim/skinny people over 45 have a fraught relationship with food and deny themselves stuff in order to stay slim.

Yes, 53, tall and naturally slim, l think its mostly genes, no one in my family is overweight.
I have never been on a diet, l eat little and often to keep my energy levels up, its something l have done since childhood. At the moment l am exercising very gently as l am going through the menopause and my energy levels are quite low, sleep is a priority., apart from that l feel fine. l try and eat nourishing food, but not over strict.

@Mummysgogetter nope, absolutely no fraught relationship with food, no dieting, I eat whatever I fancy and always have. And aside from during pregnancy and for a few month afterwards have always been a slim size 10/12.

Most people I know over the age of 45 are slim or normal weights. No-one has a fraught relationship with food or goes without, or thinks about dieting, as far as I know.

Nearly 60, size 12/14 or 10 depending on where I buy from. I exercise most days but not in a formal organised way
I have a very healthy diet but put on 2 stone the minute I hit 50
No idea how much I weigh or what my bmi is

@Pettypettypatty OMG eats nothing? And the other one lives on hun and cigarettes? How do people survive day to day like this ? It would trigger me to have an almighty binge if I ate this way

That might be one of the factors - I don’t binge, I don’t feel triggered to binge, ever. I eat a bar of chocolate a day, but I wouldn’t call that binging, though.

When I was 45 I ate like a horse, but I was working on a farm. I looked thin but weighed nearly ten stone (5'5). 60 now and I'm starting to look more curvy and I'm okay with that. I still eat a good amount but never processed stuff.

I'm fairly slim but not very toned. A lot of my female friends are slim - I haven't noticed any eating disorders but they are mainly Italian!

And I've never been on a diet. The only people I know who diet are overweight.

I do have one friend who is the same size as she was as a teen & doesn't actively "diet" but she has zero interest in food & eats for necessity rather than enjoyment.

I'm pretty slim and have been all my life - now 61. Only 5'1, and currently weigh around 46kg. But I am very small boned, which I think also makes a difference.

I've never drunk a lot but did enjoy a drink when I was younger, but found I just lost my desire for alcohol around age 40 or so. Now I drink maybe once or twice a month, and only a couple of glasses.

I do eat from scratch every day, and only eat red meat a couple of times a month. I also rarely eat sugar, although I do like a bit of dark chocolate now and again. I find I don't really like eating early in the day, so breakfast is very light maybe some bran with yoghurt or some wholemeal toast, and lunch tends to be a plate of little things that I fancy eating like a mix of almond, cashew and macadamia nuts, with fruit and some nice cheese, avocado, cherry tomatoes and cucumber and maybe some yoghurt as well. Main evening meal is often pasta based or rice (not particularly keen on potatoes) with 3 or 4 different veggies and usually fresh fish or a white meat. If I don't have fish or meat with my main meal I do use nuts to add protein and eggs as well. But, I don't stop myself from eating anything, so if I do suddenly get the craving for a big gooey cream cake I will happily eat one, but I guess I am just naturally moderate in what I eat. Fruit and cheese are my big go to snacks, and I find if I eat fried snacks like crisps or doritos (which my DH loves) I get headaches (possibly something to do with the additives?).

I'm pretty active, but not excessively so, but do walk regularly, garden and do dance classes as well as Tai Chi. But, like a PP, I am also a fidget, and tend to do a lot of moving around even when sitting. (Even now as I am typing this i noticed my feet and toes are wriggling 😂)

Me, I think. Nearly 5’10” and a BMI of 19.

Pregnancies notwithstanding, I don’t think my actual weight has changed much in 20 years although its distribution has somewhat.

I am more conscious of what I eat than I used to but this is because I’m concerned about the risk heart disease at a younger than average age after going through an early menopause. However, for me, this really amounts to upping my fruit & veg and eating less cheese rather than denying myself chocolate or crisps.

I do exercise but not nearly as much as I should and it’s largely motivated by the health risks of not doing so (osteoporosis especially) and vanity (I like toned arms and dread a flat bum…..).

I've never been overweight and have always been sim.

As you get older (50s) you need fed less calories.

Oh yes, and I’m another fidgeter. I also pace up and down like a zoo animal rather than waiting nicely, say on a railway platform…..