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AIBU?

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Original poster

to think that women who are a size 6/8/10 are permanently on a diet?

1000 replies

SabineUndine · 30/04/2016 14:34

I don't mean diet as in counting every calorie, but diet as in they hardly eat any carbs and don't eat cakes, biscuits etc more than a couple of times a year? I am not a thin person (you guessed?) and I look at what my really slim female colleagues eat and it's salads with no carbs and just a tiny bit of protein, or soup or smoothies. Is that what it takes to be a thin person?

OP posts:
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7
Lweji · 30/04/2016 19:39

Oakmaiden

The problem with is that for overweight people to lose weight they have to eat less or exercise more than to maintain weight.
For those losing weight, once you get there it's easier to keep.

But, hunger is different from people to people. I get full and fed up easily on most carbs.

clarella · 30/04/2016 19:45

Sorry, I struggle to put on weight at times. I'm never heavier than 8 stone 9, usually 8 stone 4.

I think though my appetite is fairly regulated. Some days I'm not hugely hungry. Other days I stuff myself.

BertieBotts · 30/04/2016 19:46

Yes. I don't think that I would like to be vegan for example because I love the taste of meat and I love eggs. I don't think I'd want to go "paleo" because although paleo food looks great, I like the taste of lots of non-paleo things as well.

I like eating healthily but I also like McDonald's and coffee and chocolate and lots of other things. But overall if I could take a pill with all the nutrition I needed for the day/week and just eat food that I fancied, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Food seems to take forever and too much thinking and effort. It's almost 9pm and I haven't actually had any dinner and don't know if I can be arsed now Hmm

snowymountaintops · 30/04/2016 19:48

I'm a size 6 and eat whatever I like BUT my appetite really is quite small.

I exercise a lot too but because I love it not because I'm trying to stay slim, if anything I would like to put on about half a stone as I look too thin but I guess after weighing the same for the last 30 years it's not likely to change any time soon.

TheCatsMeow · 30/04/2016 19:51

if I could take a pill with all the nutrition I needed for the day/week and just eat food that I fancied, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Food seems to take forever and too much thinking and effort. It's almost 9pm and I haven't actually had any dinner and don't know if I can be arsed now

This is me. Given I actively detest the textures of loads of food, my life would be simpler if I could take it in pill form.

RufusTheReindeer · 30/04/2016 19:53

Was size 8 til i was 29

18 years later i am a 14 if i am lucky

At 8 i ate what i liked but....my size 8ish friends now (all 40's) eat less or exercise more than i do

Back on the diet after the bank holiday Grin

Squiff85 · 30/04/2016 19:53

I guess on the flip side its like presuming those who are size 18/20 live off pie - when they don't!

JaneyLane · 30/04/2016 19:55

I used to be very slim but I smoked. Have put on about a stone and a bit since giving up almost 6 years ago, so not doing too bad. I'm now size 10/12 (depending where I shop) but at my smallest I still ate everything.

I don't follow a diet now, I don't really watch what I eat but I don't tend to snack on rubbish like I used to.

JaneyLane · 30/04/2016 19:56

Oh and I don't excersise either but really need to.

Usernamegone · 30/04/2016 19:56

YABU. I'm a size 10. I always eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and quite often a snack or two. I do exercise but that is because I enjoy it and for heath reasons. I did eat cake yesterday as someone brought some in for their birthday. I try to eat healthily for my heath not because I want the be slim.

bananafish81 · 30/04/2016 19:58

Bertie yes exactly that

I realised it's nearly 8pm and I had some yogurt and protein powder for breakfast, and have grazed on fruit and veg and a bit of cheese, but haven't had anything else to eat, and it's only your post which prompted me to think 'oh shit I should probably think about eating some dinner'. But I really really can't be arsed

I need to snap out of my post miscarriage funk, and get my appetite back and eat a nutritious diet, so starting Monday I'm going to start tracking again - because I need to be eating properly to get my body match fit for our next IVF cycle. I've been allowing myself to indulge in chocolate muffins for breakfast and been very lax about making myself eat proper meals.

Once I start forcing myself to eat properly my appetite will kick back into gear. It's just being disciplined about having proper meals even when I've zero desire to eat. Once I start stretching my stomach, basically, I'll get hungry again

Believeitornot · 30/04/2016 19:59

I am a size 8 and have always been slim.

I don't snack much and actually I don't finish my meals if I'm full (I mean - some people finish the plate whereas I don't). Some days I'll eat a lot and other days I won't. I feel quite in tune with my appetite which I suspect is why I am not over weight.

Whatthefoxgoingon · 30/04/2016 19:59

Thin people who eat anything they want

a) eat small portions
b) exercise

That's the difference. I once challenged a thin (size 6) friend to eat with me ie eat whatever I ate for a month. She struggled to keep up and still went up a dress size. Up till then, she never appreciated that she just didn't get hungry like I did (I'm a size 12) and that's why she was skinny. She stopped saying "I can eat wherever I like" to "I've got a small appetite" which was much more accurate. She was also amazed at how much more I ate than her!

bananafish81 · 30/04/2016 20:02

catsmeow yep I would definitely sign up for the meal replacement pill. Willy wonka style!

Although we differ slightly in that I'm not a picky eager and enjoy most kinds of food. But only if I'm hungry and if I don't have to prepare it.

bananafish81 · 30/04/2016 20:05

What the Fox couldn't agree more. I thought I just had a really high metabolism

Turns out I just ate way less than I thought I did!

Lweji · 30/04/2016 20:06

She stopped saying "I can eat wherever I like"

That was true, though. It's just that she didn't like more.

Booboostwo · 30/04/2016 20:12

I snack constantly including chocolate and cakes on a daily basis. Pre-DCs I was a size 6-8, BMI 18 and it was a struggle to maintain that weight. I ended up drinking protein shakes because the tiniest upset to my eating and I would lose weight. Post-two DCs and still breastfeeding I am size 8-10, BMI 20 and I look a lot better but I worry that as soon as I finish breastfeeding my metabolism will change back.

Tallulahoola · 30/04/2016 20:12

I've always been an 8-10 and I eat biscuits/cake/chocolate every day. I don't exercise other than walking quite a lot and I eat very big portions. If I go to a restaurant I'll always have 3 courses. (I do love vegetables and fruit so I'm not totally living on turkey twizzlers and Flakes Blush) I have never weighed more than 9 stone - I actually don't think I could if I tried.

So I think it's genetic. I take after my dad's side of the family, they're all like that and we have the same body shape. My mum on the other hand eats a fraction of what I eat and is a size 16.

I do know I have to start exercising because I'm probably not all that healthy despite being thin. In a way being able to eat what you want is quite dangerous in that respect because it lulls you into thinking you don't need to work out or watch what you eat.

ScreenshottingIsNotJournalism · 30/04/2016 20:13

Thin people who eat anything they want

^a) eat small portions
b) exercise^
*c) often "want" / "like" healthy food that people who like/want a lot of junk food would call diet food. But it's just food. Whole foods usually.

Booboostwo · 30/04/2016 20:14

Just out of interest, over the course of the day I eat the same amounts as my DH who has a BMI of 40, although he eats in three sittings and I eat every couple of hours. I do exercise though.

ScreenshottingIsNotJournalism · 30/04/2016 20:15

She stopped saying "I can eat wherever I like" to "I've got a small appetite" which was much more accurate.

it's not more accurate. She was eating what she liked, you just like to eat more than she likes to eat

Junosmum · 30/04/2016 20:15

Science shows us that 'naturally slim' people eat fewer calories over the course of a week than non-slim people, but are unaware that they do this. So no, they aren't 'on a diet' but naturally self regulate calorific intake better than your I.

SwarskiD · 30/04/2016 20:16

I am an 8-10 and mostly eat a healthy diet. But do snack and drink too much wine. Do v little organised exercise, but am rarely still....

However, having spent holidays away with 4 female friends who are much bigger I have noted that I do eat smaller portions and I stop eating when I am full- even if that means leaving something on my plate.

RufusTheReindeer · 30/04/2016 20:17

Last time i lost weight i only did it by going down to less than 1000 calorie a day

I did it fir 2/3 months and then managed to maintain for a few months

Then a holiday and christmas turned up (quite the surprise) and then another holiday and christmas (why does that keep happening)

Hence diet/healthy eating after monday Grin

NaturalHistory · 30/04/2016 20:17

Age changes things and metabolism. Up to the age of 25 I could eat 25 big macs at one sitting and not gain a pound. After 35 everything changed...

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