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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder how the hell she stays so slim??

708 replies

SequinsAndSparkles · 15/03/2011 13:41

My BIL is engaged to a spanish woman, and we spent the weekend at MIL's, all of us together.

She is very slim, I'd guess a size 6/8. Her skin is glowing and she is stunning, yet her diet perplexes me?

On the first morning, we were all having breakfast, MIL made a fry up for everyone, but I am on a diet so I had special K and some toast. SIL prepared her own breakfast (they are currently staying at MILs while they have some work done on their house), and she had some kind of cheese, can't remember what she said it was, about 10 olives and a slice of ham! Yet she said that my breakfast of Special K and toast was stodgy and apparently English women have 'very strange ideas about nutrition'.

For lunch, she had a chicken salad, but it involved lots of extra virgin olive oil, all over the peppers and a big dollop of salsa. And then for dinner she had chicken smeared in pesto, with green beans in salt, more salsa and a slice of cheese.

How is she so slim??

I didn't have a particuarly healthy weekend in the end, we ended up having a takeaway on the Saturday evening, and SIL wouldn't eat any of it, she wasn't rude, she politely declined but I just find it hypocrytical that she eats all this fatty stuff and made the comment about England having strange ideas about nutrition when I was eating Special K and toast!!

OP posts:
PoweredbyTea · 15/03/2011 13:48

Her diet sounds really healthy. I am surprised that you're surprised... she ate salad, pesto, salsa, chicken... you ate cereal AND toast (hardly a diet breakfast imo) and a takeaway...

rinabean · 15/03/2011 13:48

She's thin because she eats all that fat. Fat is filling, fat stops you over-eating. I could eat crates of those diet snack crispy things but not that much chocolate cake, you know? Her skin is good because she eats good fats, too, vitamin E is most important for skin I think and that's fat-soluble.

Carbs don't make you fat, over-eating and under-exercising makes you fat.

5DollarShake · 15/03/2011 13:48

EVOO is good fats, and salsa is good as well - spicy tomatoes. Nothing wrong without that.

Sounds like she has a very healthy, nutritious diet, which is low, but not devoid of carbs.

No wonder she's so slim!

emsyj · 15/03/2011 13:48

Nobody has any magic beans or slimming secrets. She eats what she eats, you eat what you eat. Your bodies show the results.

I notice that she doesn't seem to eat sugary things. There's probably something in that. My mum has always been very slim but eats butter, potatoes, cheese etc but very rarely eats puddings and biscuits.

ongakgak · 15/03/2011 13:48

her diet sounds tip top, very balanced and nutritious.

You shoud ditch the special K, eat a big bowl of fruit salad and a small bowl of porridge in the morning. Should keep you going to lunch- just have chicken or fish with a salad, then at dinner have lots of vegges and a small portion of bulgar wheat/couscous. Snacks- nuts, fruits, crudites.

lol at pags cereal is shit in a box

diddl · 15/03/2011 13:49

OP-I can´t see why you would think that her diet is unhealthy & full of fat tbh.

Desperateforthinnerthighs · 15/03/2011 13:49

yeah, agree notright now but dont you think when people arent dieting they hate people who are. I am dieting (well, have been since 1994) and am really doing well....went out for dinner the other night and had something healthy but my BIL was like, oh go on, have some chips, go on have some wine.......... drives me mad, maybe a seperate AIBU post

Reality · 15/03/2011 13:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hammy02 · 15/03/2011 13:49

Yep PoweredbyTea, I thought cereal as well as toast was quite a large breakfast too.

oopslateagain · 15/03/2011 13:50

I tried diets and they didn't work. Then I tried cutting out bread and white rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta and sugar. I eat brown rice, meat, veggies, cheese, dairy. I've lost just over a stone and gone from a size 18 to a smallish 14 and still going.

And it's easy, and delicious, and Not Like A Diet!

Only no chocolate. Sad

BettyCash · 15/03/2011 13:50

You've got to eat fat in your diet, this is where Brits and Yanks go wrong I think - low fat generally means that all the fatty flavours have been replaced by sugar and sweet flavours. They're no better for you - they're probably worse in fact.

Original poster
SequinsAndSparkles · 15/03/2011 13:50

Ah, I take it back then..I clearly know nothing about nutrition, she was right Grin

OP posts:
BettyCash · 15/03/2011 13:51

Has anyone else noticed how this thread's EXPLODED?

HipHopopotomus · 15/03/2011 13:51

for a start OP you think Special K is somehow a healthy choice? Check out the ingredients next time you're near the box - lots of added sugar. You don't believe the advertisements that it will make you slim do you?

Bet your spanish friend has never over eaten ever. She eats what she wants, pretty balanced diet and doesn't over eat or over indulge in alcohol. Keeps her happy & healthy.

sue52 · 15/03/2011 13:51

I have eaten a low carb high protein diet for years. I'm still a size 8/10 after 2 children and not very wrinkly for my advanced years. Low carb with the odd treat and gin and tonic thrown in is the way to go.

Kewcumber · 15/03/2011 13:51

what Pagwatch said. Both times.

Oh and she is eating carbs (bread and theres some on Cheese) it just doesn't dominate her diet.

Having a few slices of cheese and some olive oil doesn;t necessarily quate to "high fat" when she's had chicken salad - salsa is generally very low in calories its basically cold ratatouille isn't it?!

Cereal is the spawn of the devil if you have a weight problem (with the exception of porridge and maybe a few notable others) IMVHO one (of the many) reaosns the UK and US have a bigger weight problme than other western countries. We love the stuff and they don;t.

Niceguy2 · 15/03/2011 13:53

Her diet sounds way more healthy.

My partner is from Eastern Europe. It's hard to explain but her diet usually involves a lot more vegetables and home cooked dinner's from scratch rather than processed junk. Given the choice, she'd rather eat pickled gherkins than chocolate.

The thing I find funny is that back in her home country she looks big compared to her sisters and the average woman there. In the UK I would say a lot of women would love to be her size. She's a size 10.

Without meaning to start a size war, having been around most of Europe, I have to say that British women definitely are bigger than the rest so there probably is a lot of truth in the fact that "English women have 'very strange ideas about nutrition'."

BecauseImWorthIt · 15/03/2011 13:53

Given that we have been pushed towards low fat eating for at least 20 years now, it's not surprising that you would react the way that you have. However, a protein-rich diet, with good fats and fresh vegetables is much, much better for you (and your weight) than one that is heavy on the carbs, as is yours.

We need fat - we don't need over-refined carbs - all they do is provoke a huge spike in your insulin levels, and encouraging your body to lay down fat. You will also be getting hungry more frequently, whereas she will be suppressing her appetite naturally.

If you're on a diet, you may want to re-think what you're eating!

AlpinePony · 15/03/2011 13:53

It was in the news again just yesterday that the low-fat "diet" is rubbish.

Her diet sounds wonderful! My only question would be - why the hell doesn't she eat Ben & Jerry's by the tub full? Is her tongue broken?

happiestblonde · 15/03/2011 13:53

sequins I eat like she does and am a size 6-8. I eat a huge amount of vegetables, eggs, cheese, fish, meat and olive oil but very little carbohydrates aside pulses, lentils and the occasional bit of brown rice. I can't remember the last time I ate bread, pasta or processed food. It's the way forward if you want to be thin but still eat like a beast.

TattyDevine · 15/03/2011 13:54

Its an excellent diet.

Nothing wrong with olive oil. Oil provides satiety so as long as its not waxing up your arteries, its not all bad. Its denser in calories, but the serving size is less. Its easier to overeat fats if they are on carbs. Bread and butter. Chips. Chocolate. The fat element of each thing is countered by the sugar or the carb so "goes down easier" if that makes sense. Whereas there is only so much oil you can put on a salad before it becomes inedible. It would be less than a portion of chips absorbs, for example.

I bet her hormones are balanced, she doesn't bloat, she has tons of energy and she isn't hungry all the time. Also, a glass of wine "goes further" on that kind of diet - you can sip one for ages and still get the warm fuzzy glow. When I have too many carbs, (say, some pizza) I can drink 2 large glasses of wine and it barely touches the sides! A nice seared chicken salad, even if its packed with chicken and drizzled with oil, and my wine goes nicely to my head Grin

Hullygully · 15/03/2011 13:54

I always tell my dc they would do better to eat the box than the contents when it comes to cereal.

FreudianSlippery · 15/03/2011 13:55

Yep the Mediterranean diet is so much healthier. And more delicious.

beautyspot · 15/03/2011 13:55

Might be just the way she's made. I'm the same - always have been a size 10. Both my parents' families are the same, tall & thin. I'd actually love to put on a bit of weight as, especially as we mature (ahem) I think it's a better look.

I eat the same as my OH who exercises madly every day to keep fit and lose weight (and is still not the weight he'd like to be)

notrightnow · 15/03/2011 13:56

Desperateforthinnerthighs, I think the problem is that the British make too much fuss about dieting and diet, so no wonder people get sick of it. Friends I know get into to much detail, fussing on about what they do and don't eat. You don't need to give any explanation, just say 'no thanks' and eat something else.

But your BIL does sound annoying. I'm sure when people try to push food or alcohol on others like that it's because they know in their own hearts that they are making poor choices themselves Grin