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? 😩

My BMI is 21 and has been creeping upwards through my 40s.
I'm still slim but trying to make a few changes.
Generally I don't eat unless I'm actually hungry, stomach rumbling. I don't overeat. I eat too many carbs which I'm trying to change.
I have quite good self control, I would never eat a whole pack of biscuits for example and I rarely have crisps or fizzy drinks. I do eat chocolate and drink wine. I love cheese but try to moderate.
I'm not very fit and trying to add weight training.

My BMI is 20 and I rarely feel hungry. Sometimes I crave sugar but I can easily go from morning until evening and have forgotten to eat, and then just have a mars bar and be fine without a meal.

I used to be able to eat what I wanted and was the same weight better ages 18 and 30. Between 30 and 35 I put on 20lbs so now I vaguely try to stick to 1,500-1,750 calories per day and have upped my daily exercise and I now fluctuate between 120 and 125lb.

I'm in my 60s, always been slim other than a little belly fat. I always eat three meals a day and sometimes need to snack between lunch and dinner. I feel hungry around meal times, not usually otherwise. I eat quite a lot - tend to finish things if there is too much on my plate (bad habit). But I am very aware of eating healthily and limit sweet, fatty foods, but I don't have perfect control - will eat e.g. chocolate when tired / fed up sometimes! Never really put on weight except maybe over Christmas and on holidays but it reverts to my usual weight after a few weeks. So no, it's not a big effort for me to stay slim and I eat till I feel like stopping.

I think we sometimes forget that feeling hungry is a natural state.
You should feel hungry before meals and then stop eating when you feel satisfied not when you feel stuffed.
I honestly don’t believe that all slim women are starving themselves - some might be taking it to that level, I suppose - but most have simply established a healthy relationship with food and have learned to hear the signals that their body is sending.

This morning I’ve had porridge (I like it sweet) with lots of nuts, seeds and golden syrup added.

im doing 3 gym classes then will have a protein smoothie when I get home.

Will snack on nuts, maybe 2 bags of hula hoops, a couple of digestive biscuits in the pm. And lots of tea with oat milk.

tonight I’m having fried courgettes and aubergine as they need eating up. I probably won’t add protein or carbs (unless I’m hungry then I’ll have a veggie burger maybe). I’ll have a kombucha and then fruit and ice cream before bed to try and stop me feeling hungry at night.

DH is much better at snacking on fruit and eating more protein than me. It’s definitely something I need to improve on

Try 800 cal a day diet for a few weeks - that’s effective in achieving weight loss

I've not caught up with the whole thread but a couple of thoughts

if you habitually eat small amounts doesn't your stomach shrink and you feel full up on less volume ?

like a lot of people I suspect ,I can be in control until I start eating and then suddenly my normal hunger pangs ramp up and I feel starving .

isn't a lot of it habit ?

and not reinforcing your belief that you have no will power ?

but people vary ,metabolism and genuinely not feeling hungry .Probably TMI but the only time I'm not feeling hungry is when I've not opened my bowels for a day ,or two .

I am 165cm and currently weigh 55.5kg, wearing a 6 or 8 depending on the shop. On my dad’s side I’m from a very slim family and on my mums a slimmish family. I always feel hungry and have always eaten a lot. Until I was about 35 I stayed very slim without trying (although I suppose people would say I am trying in that I am a regular runner- but I like that so it doesn’t feel like trying if you see what I mean- I’m not running to be slim but because I enjoy it).

Now I’m approaching 40 my weight appears to be creeping up a bit and if I’m not mindful I get closer to 58kg. Whilst this is still considered a healthy weight, it all goes on my waist which is not a healthy place to carry your weight in terms of red flags for diabetes etc so I am actively trying to get nearer to 52kg again. At that weight I run my fastest and look my best in clothes. In order to achieve this though I am currently finding that yes I am permanently hungry and a bit miserable!

I just think it's how a person's brain is wired. I don't really feel hungry all the time and I've always been slim. I just don't have a big appetite. I can skip a meal and not be bothered. I love breakfast though and would never ever skip that. I do get hungry for breakfast.

After having my baby the weight stayed on longer than I thought it would. It went eventually but I didn't diet. Being able to not think about food is probably the secret.

I am 5'5 and about 60kg. I have lost 44kg and need to keep it off for my health so I watch what I eat.
I get hungry, actually more so than when I was very overweight, so I eat. The difference is now I eat totally different things. I eat much more nutritionally dense and lower calorie foods so I can eat a lot more without going over my maintenance calories.
I go out to eat and drink alcohol too, I just eat really well on all the other days.
It's just something I have to do now.
I ate pretty much what I wanted for many years and it was nice at the time but ultimately gave me health problems and also I didn't like the way I looked.

I do notice that many slim people ( myself included ) feel we eat a lot but don’t eat the same as fatter people ( eg ds who has similar upbringing and genetics )

slimmer people ( just my observation) seem to eat a lot more healthy foods and a lot less unhealthy ones

ao at work I would have a small bag of crisps and a double round of butties ( home made bread cheese and salad ) and a couple of pieces of fruit and a 2 finger Kit Kat whereas the rather large chap opposite would be a huge undressed salad of leaves and tomatoes, then a shop buttie and a huge bag of crisps and a sausage roll - probably similar in terms of feeling full but different in quality

similar with sis - she eats a lot more takeaways and processed prepared food and a lot less home cooked , and much less diversity in fruit and veg over a week

diversity of veg really makes a difference to how full you feel - my guess is getting all your nutrients calms the urge to look for something more

it really only takes one apples worth of calories a day to switch from slim to overweight in a year so minor differences in diet probably matter more than we realise

I’m 5,5, size 10 and have been this size most of my adult life, bar pregnancy. No idea what I weigh as have no interest in knowing my weight. I am 61, strong toned, lift weights and run. I eat well, lots of fish, salads, I don’t cut out any food groups and am not obsessive about any type of food. I have always just eaten what I fancy in moderation, I’m not a great snacker or grazer and I don’t think my portions are huge. I’ve also never dieted. I think the obsessive way people now think about food is one of the primary reasons we as a nation are being confused about how to eat. The answers on here about tracking, counting, inputting in apps is just so mad in my opinion.

What do you have for breakfast? I only get lightheaded towards lunch time if I've had a carby breakfast with no protein. I can go without breakfast altogether and not get lightheaded, so it's definitely the carbs/sugar that cause it for me.

I’m 5’1 and 8 st 4 at 40. Recently come to the conclusion I only really need 2 meals a day. Am rarely hungry - I mean, not STARVING. Am ready for food when it’s time. Definitely eating less and less as I get older

Im slim (well, not particularly i think ive just got convincing proportions) but used to be hungry ALL THE TIME. A few things changed it for me:

• ordering/making food that will leave me 80% full as a PP says... turns out, im not hungry after.
• basically just experimenting with eating less than i thought I needed and discovering i wasn't hungry and my body functions better... absolutely bloody eye opening. It was hard at first but my god, the mind is such a powerful tool - i really thought i would be hungry forever and thats just who I was, turns out a long period of consistency, and getting good protein and variety and im...not ravenous all the time. My hunger cues were all messed up by habit.
• realising that its not disordered eating to go out and order a lighter meal when everyone else is having burgers, the disordered way of thinking is actually thinking you have to order a massive burger just because everyone else is....
• drinking more water, turns out im one of those people whose skin, sleep, digestion and overall wellbeing is improved by more water. And contrary to some beliefs on here, 'drinking when im thirsty' didnt work for the first 30 years of my life asking that meant only about a glass of water a day...
• falling in love with weightlifting! Focusing on being strong not skinny... its improved my overall thinking behind food so much.

My dd who is a tiny size 6 just is very restrictive. She says she gets the same cravings as everyone else. She could happily eat a massive burger with a side of chips, crisps and chocolate to finish but she just doesn’t allow herself.

I’ve always had a BMI in the healthy range but my relationship with food has not always been healthy. Sugar binges, dieting etc but I have relearned and I no longer fixate on calories and fat, I no longer chose the low calorie option, I don’t eat much sugar but when I do I enjoy it and rarely in excess. I don’t weigh myself either. I’m size 12ish and whilst I could be lighter I value the freedom I have around food. I generally don’t feel hungry, when I do I eat properly and I enjoy it, I don’t feel the need to overeat - I stop eating on first signs of feeling full and never have second portions. I just had a croissant with 2 pats of butter and marmalade - it was glorious, it’s likely I won’t feel the need to eat again till this evening. If I do I’ll eat full fat Greek yoghurt with mixed seeds and fruit.

I've tried for probably over a year to drink more water (I'm aim for 1 litre a day...because i used to have no water unless doing a long run) and the only difference I've noticed is needing a wee more often!
I cut out carbs at breakfast and most carbs at lunch and have lost no weight at all, and I'm usually unbelievably hungry when I get home from work between 6 and 6.30pm!

I'm very slim and sometimes find restaurant meals to be ridiculously big. I hate having a huge plate of food in front of me it feels like a chore. I don't want food all piled up on my plate like American portions. That said I wouldn't just have a small starter for a meal either.

I don't eat till I'm 80% full, I don't even know how you'd know that. I eat till I've had enough and then stop. I try to eat fairly healthily but not all the time. I just don't eat the huge portions I see some friends eating as their normal at home dinner.

Someone up thread has mentioned clearing their plate.
My mum thinks I'm peculiar in that I'll leave one chip, or half a roast potato, or a fork of beans on an otherwise clear plate!
If I feel I'm done, then I'm done, and don't see the point in cramming that last mouthful in.

I have a BMI of 21 so slim but not skinny. I do get hungry but generally only eat when I am actually hungry. I love food but tend not to think about it unless I’m hungry.

I am slim now but have lost weight over the last year or so and was overweight. I quit sugar and eat very low carb with lots of protein and a fair amount of fat although not quite ketogenic. Giving up sugar completely cured food cravings for me and I don’t calorie count at all. Also eat mostly in a 16:8 pattern

When we eat out, we often ask if we can box up the leftovers - it has meant that dh who hates waste and use that as a reason to over eat - now restrains himself more.

I eat cleanly, min sugar and I don’t feel hungry really. I do eat, but not loads.

Its so interesting isnt it, the water thing, our bodies are all so different! I have a friend who is the same as you, but a couple of other friends who like me have seen big results.