Genuine question - if you are slim do you feel hungry on a regular basis?

[Cruisebaby]

I'm genuinely curious about this and please, no responses of the 'I have two salad leaves a day and I'm full' variety!

The reason I ask is that although I'm not overweight, I do feel permanently dumpy. Not helped by being 5'3 and having 32G boobs admittedly and even though I've lost a little weight in the last few months I'm struggling to shift any more. I'm currently 9 st 7 and a sort of appley hourglass if that makes any sense.

What prompted my question is that I had lunch with a friend today who is the same age as me (late 50s) but very slim. The sort of slim where there is no excess fat at all and I am sure that every single item of clothing she tries on just fits without issue. When it came to ordering, she chose the lowest calorie item from the starter section and was adamant that was all she needed. Rather than look like a total glutton I also ordered a small meal but was bloody starving by mid afternoon. When I think about it, I rarely see her eat much and in situations where others might have a biscuit she will just sip on water or eat a few nuts.

It's left me wondering, is eating like that what it takes? I love my food but I really hate my body shape now and even regular strength training seems to make little impact. Is it possible to happy and ravenous at the same time? 😩

I wonder about this stuff too, and think, as with most things, it's not down to one single thing.

It's a combination of genes, childhood, patterns/habits, mindset, lifestyle and then illnesses and medical issues.

Personally, I've always been hungry most of the time. I can always eat. I love eating and drinking (orally fixated, as Freud would have classed me), love feeling full (unlike a poster up thread; I'm actually envious of people who don't like feeling full up). I equate food with love and comfort. I love all food, but these days try to stick to whole foods, more protein , low UPF, cut right back on booze and treats etc.

I'm 5ft 7", 78kgs so a bmi of about 27. My parents were both big built; fairly tall with broad shoulders and hips, and I'm the same. We have a family history of obesity and alcoholism.

My friends who are skinny barely eat, don't eat huge portions, exercise a lot, say they forget to eat etc. They also have different backgrounds to me, different body types, and different attitudes towards food.

I think it's actually really difficult to find a balance either way these days.

I'm slim but never feel hungry.

Something happened to my metabolism after I had my family, which meant that I got an aversion to sweet tastes, and I couldn't eat wheat or a lot of fat.

After I stopped eating sugar, fruit, wheat and fatty things, I was just eating meat and veg and carbs and my weight just started self regulating after that.

I eat until I am totally full all the time but never gain weight above my normal sensible weight.

But I also literally never eat anything sweet or with wheat in it, and I don't use butter or anything like that.

But it does save a lot of work not having to calorie count of think about whether I can have cake or a biscuit or stuff like that. I used to love a bit of buttered toast and I just don't have that any more.

I am underweight according to BMI - but I’ve always been this weight, and don’t put any effort into maintaining it.

No, I don’t leave myself hungry in order to stay slim. And I am generally not a particularly hungry person. Food isn’t really on my mind beyond the practicalities of “I need to eat to stay alive and I must feed the children”.
I do strongly dislike the sensation of being overly full though. The idea of being stuffed after a meal being a sign of a nice meal (like people talk about really enjoying Christmas dinner and being really full afterwards) is alien to me. Once I am full, I stop. It’s not a willpower thing. I really don’t want to keep going.

I’m not starving myself. I’m not miserable and constantly feeling deprived of what I really want. I am just not particularly interested in food.
I’ve seen comments from some people on mounjaro where they’ve said they now just have no interest in eating whereas before it was always on their mind. I think I’m like them on mounjaro.

Thank you for acknowledging that you're lucky you find having an "everything in moderation" mindset easy, and that it's natural to you.

Me? I'm more of a "you could get run over by a bus tomorrow, so enjoy stuffing yourself with treats today if you want" kind of person (to my annoyance and detriment). I lost someone very special to me in a car crash when I was in my teens and often wonder if it's contributed to that "your life can change in an instant/YOLO" attitude, so enjoy what you enjoy today.

Over ten years ago I thought I wasn’t overweight.

I was introduced to someone who was roughly twenty years younger, slimmer than I , fit and strong.

I was inspired, but I thought that I could never be as strict with myself and be happy.

How wrong was I?

I’m two stone lighter these days (now 8st 10lb & 5’5”), and I’m the last couple of years have up my exercise from solely rebounding, to adding in weights and using my own body weight to pull up and swing left to right ect ect..
I began SO slowly, and built up reps gradually.

Op not only had it brought me a much easier weight to live with, but it’s done wonders for my self esteem and confidence.

i started my changes in my early sixties, so you have an advantage on me.

No I don’t eat just lettuce leaves, but I have learned that it’s not necessarily the quantity of food you eat.
exsmple if you eat a large meal that has less nutrional value, then your body will still feel hungry, coz you haven’t given it food that has essential minerals vitamins etc that you body craves to feel satiated.

I do have treats, and I’m not a radical, I would say I’ve become more mindful.

Eating 16/8 is fab for me, but if I’m super busy involved with ssy gardening, or a household project, I kinda forget to eat, and I often end up on an 18/6 eating window.
I believe it’s called fasting, tho’ up to yet I’ve not done a 24 our fast (unless I’m pootly), but I did a 72 hour watermelon fast, and I so enjoyed it, especially as it was during one of the U.K. heatwaves we’ve (enjoyed/suffered) had.

Hot weather usually calms my appetite anyway.

Wishing you well, and determination.
All power to you, girl….

Wow! You are so so lucky. I think about food all day every day. The food noise in my brain is loud and powerful. Once I've had breakfast I'm thinking about what to have for a snack, then looking forward to lunch etc. I've always had a massive appetite, always hungry, always eating. It takes up a lot of my life, actually. I wish I could be like you. But it wasn't to be (and I derived SO MUCH pleasure from good food and eating out, it gives me so much joy, I feel sorry for people who only eat to survive).

My BMI has been in the 21-23 range all of my adult life. I don’t calorie count, and will generally eat to appetite - usually that means two proper meals per day, plus a couple of lattes and the odd snack. Usually those meals will be substantial, though they generally include a lot of veg. I don’t like cakes or biscuits, so I don’t eat them, but I’ll have a bit of chocolate most days and I love a pastry of some sort with a coffee.

I often wonder about this and think - do they have a voice in their head that just says no? Or do they genuinely not desire a massive plate of carbs?

I think it's probably training from teens/20s as to why some people eat like that.

I don't think it's healthy though - you lose muscle mass if you don't eat enough and a better approach is more protein. Protein definitely keeps hunger gremlins away better.

I'm 5"4, 8 Stone and my BMI is 19.5. I don't really eat big meals and prefer to snack throughout the day, I do eat dinner etc and lunch but I hate the feeling of being full so always stop when I feel full.

That being said I am not toned at all, have a huge sugar addiction and my diet needs a complete overhaul to be honest. So in my case being slim doesn't mean I'm super healthy as there are other battles to fix! I've always had a very fast metabolism though and a lot of it is genetic in my case too.

I’m also very lucky I don’t really like high fat processed foods, I don’t eat bread or pasta at all, I eat high protein fairly low carb and I hate feeling too full - I feel sick if I overeat so I avoid it all costs.

Slim people won't feel hungry. Thin people might. Overly thin is becoming a thing again. I've noticed this on the beach this summer. Young women in gym knicker style bikini bottoms, unable to stand properly because they are so thin. The normalisation of size 6 or less is very dangerous

I definitely think there’s a genetic element as a pp said. My kids aren’t motivated by food in any way. We are all very active and hate being still. Food is kind of grabbed on the go (from the fridge) in our house. I definitely wouldn’t say it’s my ideal. I’d love for us all to sit and enjoy a healthy meal together. But it very rarely happens

My husband is slim, he literally forgets to eat. He’ll set st 3pm, oh I haven’t eaten anything. HOW I want to scream.

I don't control what I eat or count calories. I naturally eat healthier foods. Not overly bothered by cakes, crisps, desserts, chocolate unless I'm on my period. Prefer natural foods. Makes me feel healthier. More energy. I prefer fit to indulgence.

Regarding hunger, I feel it. But I don't interpret the signal as I must eat. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I cant be bothered. Tend to have things like soy eggs or homemade granola made so I can snack on those when I feel like this, rather than go without.

I guess I see food as fuel for training.

I read an article recently related to GLPs (weight loss injections). The injections mimic the hormones that make you feel full. The article said that in general, people who very easily stay slim, naturally have higher levels of those hormones and that’s why they don’t feel hungry all the time. People who have naturally lower levels of those hormones, and therefore feel hungrier, are often overweight.

No, I love food far too much for that. I eat what I like, but what I like is spicy vegetable dishes, fish/seafood, noodles/rice (not diet food, but not deep fried carbs) and snacks are fruit and nuts. You’d probably think the amount I eat is enormous. But, as I don’t like bread/biscuits/crisps/creamy foods/insert fatty thing, they form 0% of my diet. It’s fortunately very hard to get tubby on the food I like.

I also work out most days.

I'm a size 8 and I get starving and hangry quickly if I can't eat straight away but I genuinely can't eat that much before I feel really full up and uncomfortable.

l usually have a starter but I wouldn't be judging someone who wanted a main because it annoys me that there's always mains I want but absolutely no point buying as its a total waste. If I'm out I don't choose low carb or healthy. Il just have whatever I fancy. I'm sure your friends the same so order what you want next time.

If you went back to the 80s and before, most people were slim. If guessing that they weren’t hungry all the time. They just had a different diet.

I'm 5'5 and a size 8-10 - have been most of my adult life. I am always starving. I tend to have periods where I give in and eat everything in sight for a few weeks, then eat very little to redress the balance. It's very unhealthy but it works for me.

As an aside, it's refreshing that so many posters on this thread are being so open and honest about their eating habits. It's a real pet hate of mine when tiny people claim they are constantly eating like horses. Save for where there is a serious illness, weight is always calories in, calories out. Even things that might affect metabolism don't have enough of an effect to enable a 5'3 size 6 woman to have a large pizza, chocolate cake and a kebab everyday and stay small.

My love for Jenifer Aniston began when she spoke out about this very issue and how the misinformation can cause those who struggle with their weight to feel like there's something wrong with them. Poor Jen has a small bowl of pasta once a week as her treat - but my goodness she looks good for it.

When I was extremely fit and skinny it was less about feeling hungry (though sometimes I was) than constantly forcing myself to make sensible choices, rather than the more self-indulgent ones I’d have preferred.

People would assume I just didn’t ever fancy bread or pasta, therefore it must be so much easier for me to stay slim, but that’s far from the truth.

It was actually hard work - loads of exercise and always consciously controlling what and how much I was eating - but the net result was that I ate almost zero crap. The big benefit was not body shape but generally how healthy and full of energy I felt.

Sadly can’t say the same now!

I feel hungry a lot and would never forget to eat! I'm also envious of people who forget to eat or have 1 meal a day. I don't eat especially unhealthily but I eat 3 meals and at least 1 snack most days. I'm sure its luck that I'm not overweight.(my mum was overweight/obese) I used to be anorexic, but have been a healthy bmi for 20+ years

When I was very slim (borderline /anorexic) I got a high from feeling hungry and from eating less than everyone around me. It was addictive and disordered. But I was complemented on my figure. I did feel hungry but I got a buzz from it.

When I was slim but with some body fat I ate healthily and didn't think about food but I did exercise a lot and walked everywhere. I realise now that I was so lucky to have no chronic condition that made it hard for me to exercise a lot.

When I gained a lot of weight on steroids I was crazy hungry all the time it was impossible to think about anything else and the hunger was like a pain. The weight gain also included water retention as that slid off easily when I stopped the steroids.

I wouldn’t call myself slim, but the wife certainly is.

We both eat breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and final snack.

I find if we miss one of the above, we get hangry and then raid the cupboards.

We both exercise regularly, so need the food, it’s the little and often principle though, I have 1900 calories roughly and the wife 1700.

Obviously if going out on a big bike ride, will eat far more.

Unfortunately every woman I know over the age of 45 who is super slim is either one of those lucky ones who don’t think about food and regularly misses meals due to being busy and not prioritising eating, or has a borderline eating disorder.

I'm 55 with a healthy BMI of 21. I eat good meals, don't snack, walk everywhere and run several times a week, but I do love food and eat what I like, just at regular mealtimes only.