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

[SabineUndine]

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?

I also don't eat low fat anything ever. Always full fat whole versions.
None of the slimmer people at work eat low fat diet foods. It seems to be only the people who struggle with constant diet and never maintain weight loss that buy that stuff… and I always think thats part of the reason why!

Sorry, but I don't limit what I eat/drink. I have what I fancy. I eat three regular meals a day and cake and snacks when I fancy (3 or 4 times a week). I also drink wine (probably too much ). I'm a size 8/10...But I don't eat processed food and I don't eat massive portions, plus I exercise every day (cycle to work)...

Now that's something I hope we all can agree on. Muller light yoghurts are the vilest thing in the world, I'd rather go hungry than have one. I eat the liberte yoghurts that are high in protein.

Interestingly downstairs, I lost my weight doing SW and have never felt hungry. But I rarely use diet products doing it, low fat cheese and milk yes but most of my food is home made from fresh ingredients. You don't have to have low fat/diet foods to be successful on SW. I also never used the vile oil. Firm believer in just using the real thing thank trying a second best alternative.

Muller yogurts are a last resort for me too! Total or Skry yoghurts are my usuals!

I'm a 29 inch waist, 32 inch hip and 32 inch chest, no idea about vanity sizing. No clothes have ever fitted me perfectly or looked amazing. I'm not toned and have a mum tum.

I eat cake for breakfast with honey Skyr yoghurt and a fruit compot and a cup of coffee.

Lunch is usually egg or vegetable based.

Supper is usually soup or a one pot and bread of one type or another and maybe some chocolate occasionally.

I don't eat huge portions. I eat until I'm full and I eat again when I'm hungry. If I snack it's olives or cured fish, cured meat. I don't often snack just if I'm busy.

I don't like eating fruit unless it's stewed or in cake, no raw fruit I don't like it.

Size 10 (well, 9 if we're honest). Don't watch what I eat at all, except that I try and keep it vaguely balanced. I enjoy a glass of wine or some chocolate when I feel like it, but I'll also snack on veg (less so fruit). I don't have an enormous appetite and I'm active (and stressed!) at work which must help to keep my weight on an even keel.

YY Screenshotting - I know the plural of anecdote is not data and all, but I don't know of a single slim, fit person who eats low fat anything, or who regularly drinks sugar free pop.

In my office, it's the overweight people who fill the fridge with diet coke, Muller light, Boots Shapers stuff and so on ... and they never get any slimmer.

Those of us who are a size 6/8/10, meanwhile, tend to eat "proper" food, which does have fats in. Real butter instead of spread, avocados, eggs, cheese, full fat Greek yoghurt etc - just in small portions.

So for lunch at work I might have a plate piled high with salad, chicken and avocado, while the "dieter" across the room thinks I'm eating loads while they're being virtuous with their 250cal sandwich from Boots. They then say they can't understand why I'm slim and they're not, etc. The difference is, I'm full til 8pm after my lunch, while they're snacking on the cakes and biscuits people have brought in, because they're hungry barely an hour later.

The other difference is exercise. One of the thinnest women I know reckons she doesn't do any exercise, but she walks six miles a day to and from work...therefore burning more calories than the person who drives everywhere but does the odd Zumba class.

Has to be Total 10% fat though!

I really do think the diet industry has scuppered a lot of people, plus the message we had for years about low fat, which is now shown to be utterly false.

I was never a faddy eater of dieter so never took any of that on board, I can't help think that that message has been ruinous for some though in terms of long time struggles with weight.

I'm a size 8. I do watch what I eat at mealtimes and for snacks, but I have chocolate everyday :)

If you eat high good fats, medium protein and lower carb and loads of veg you tend to do well. Works for me. No low fat or diet anything.

I was size 6/8 for years and all I wanted to do was put on weight. I used to binge on all things bad never ate healthy or considered a diet. Even when pregnant with first 2 children I stayed size 8. I have recently just had child number 3 and would give anything t fit in a size 8/10. I put on loads of weight overnight and now I'm a tight size 12. I have been dieting for last 6 months and lost a total of 2 lbs! X

I'm 5ft 2, and have consistently loitered around size 8-10 since reaching adulthood. I've twice lost 2sts of "me" weight following the births of my DCs.

The double edged sword of my small build is that it doesn't take much imbalance to start showing on my face and waist. By 9st 2, it starts showing quite clearly on me. This means that I do regularly monitor my weight, and do reign it in quickly when I've exceeded my comfort zone. The plus side of this means that other than pregnancy, it's never been a big job, and just being extra careful for a couple of weeks keeps me where I want to be. I have never "dieted" as in following a plan to restrict my intake of food.

To sustain a slim build I:
Exercise- I enjoy it, and I need it to sleep
Stop when I'm comfortably full. I will leave two mouthfuls on my plate if I have finished what I need.
Eat moderate portions, see above
Only drink sugary/ alcoholic drinks occasionally
Think about the nutrional value of food rather than calories. I aim to have proteins, carbs and veg in most meals.
Nothing is banned, but low nutrition/ empty calorie foods are not routinely bought into the house.
Eat whole fat/ sugar versions of food. If I'm going to have something like coke, I'll have the proper red label version, enjoy it, but may not finish it.
Eat consistently. I'll eat a substantial breakfast of something like porridge that keeps my blood sugars stable. I'll then have school dinners, and a cooked meal in the evening. The calorie split is about 400, 600, 800. I may have a snack if I'm hungry, but not as a routine. (I know this from MFP from losing baby weight)

My tracker tells me that if I'm very sedentary, I'll use about 16-1700 calories, and up to 2200 when I've exercised, so on balance, my routine intake is in the right midrange compared to what I burn.

There is nothing punitive about my diet and exercise, I enjoy both. The habits I have keep me in balance fairly instinctively. If I've had a blowout lunch, I'll only need a snack in the evening and my balance will return.

I've had short phases of gaining surplus weight, and it's been connected with excessive sugary drinks and snacks, and overestimating the value of low impact exercise. One of my phases of gain was when I walked 6 miles per day at a slow pace, and I snacked more to keep my energy up. I do find that I enjoy treats more when they're occasional than when they've slipped into routines.

Some people manage to stay slim with no concious thought. I need some degree of mindfulness, but mainly have helpful habits, so I think the OP is incorrect about being permanently on a diet. (My colleagues definitely wouldn't say I'm in diet territory)

Today's food diary:

Coffee, milk 1 sugar

• Momentary meltdown due to anxiety/general hormonal stuff and probably low blood sugar, realise have not really eaten for 48 hours -

Ramen noodles with added peas, spinach, tomatoes, mushroom and a slice of chopped ham. 3/4 pint sprite Coke (more than a can, less than a small bottle) Burger with bacon and BBQ sauce (the bacon here is fucking appalling and a disgrace to food) Chips (say Mcdonalds' large size. Didn't finish all of them.) Cup of tea, milk 1 sugar.

I'm hungry now but it's 1am and I should go to bed.

I realised today that I get to the "annoying" level of hungry fairly often but I don't very often get to the stage where my stomach feels like it's trying to digest myself like I did when I was pregnant, when I'm in that state then I really NEED to eat and will find something to eat ASAP, can't concentrate on anything else. Mostly though I just get into the niggly state of hunger which I can easily ignore or forget about (especially if I'm distracted) and then I get into the shaky/emotional blood sugar crash territory, which is terrible firstly because I don't feel safe to cook when I'm in that state and secondly because even if I do cook, I have to have something with a lot of sugar in it immediately to bring me back up again. If I eat something healthy then I'll still feel crap. The trick is to eat something sugary and then immediately follow it up with something healthy but I'm prone to eat the sugary thing and then forget or become distracted again or feel like making proper food is too much effort. Then I'll crash again.

I think age can have something to do with it. I think your metabolism slows down. I was always a skinny kid. In my 20s I was a size 8/10 and ate whatever I liked. I've always home-cooked, but I could also eat unhealthy food, cakes, chips, beer etc and it never mattered I stayed skinny. I don't remember ever having small portions or skipping meals. In fact I used to get dizzy if I didn't eat regularly.

Now in my 40s after 3 children, my body is wrecked! I am peri-menopausal, a size 14 and I am not happy about it. I've noticed a few other posters on here who were skinny when they were younger but gained weight with age and kids, so it's not just me that has this experience.

I eat healthily, make home-cooked meals, have salad for lunch, I don't eat meat mainly fish, eggs, cheese, vegetables and pulses. I never have fizzy drinks, we have a take-away (eg curry - I hate McDonald's!) about once a month. I have been reducing the carbs and watching for hidden sugars (eg no added sugar muesli, plain yoghurt instead of sweetened). I do admit I have a sweet tooth though and tend to snack in the afternoon when I find my energy levels dropping, (but I would have two biscuits not a whole packet!). I don't go to the gym as I don't have the child-free time yet, but I am busy though and constantly on the go with young kids / activities / housework / gardening etc. (Spent 2 hours at the allotment today digging.) I am NOT sitting on the sofa watching daytime tv eating crisps!
But I am obviously not doing enough as I seem to be stuck at a size 14, so it looks like I will have to diet after all.

It's quite depressing going from being someone who used to be able to eat anything and stay skinny, to being someone who is overweight and feels guilty when they eat. I have to admit that, like the OP, I look at my skinny friends and wonder how they do it, as when I am with them they don't seem to eat less than me.

There's only one upside to my body change - when I was skinny my boobs were an AA cup and now they are a nice shapely D cup 😀.

If you want to be thinner than you are, you have to eat less than whatever you're eating now. Exactly how much less is a bit personal but basically people who eat less are thinner than people who eat more. It's more simple than people make out.

If you're used to really overeating then normal portions might look tiny. What seems a lot or a little is a question of point of view. What's a healthy weight is just a fact though!

What's a healthy weight is just a fact though!

Not really. It's true at the population level, but not necessarily for individuals. And it's not at all clear to me that dieting makes people healthier, unless they are seriously overweight (when the healthrisks of developing a disordered attitude to eating, yo yo dieting etc, are probably outweighed by the health risks of being very large).

For people who are more moderately overweight - maybe a size 14 rather than the 6-8-10 of this thread - you'd have to balance the health risks of dieting against the risks of having a BMI slightly outside the ideal range.

What this thread shows is that while a some slim people may diet, in the sense of actively and consciously restricting their food intake, many or even most don't. In comparison, what proportion of overweight people are on or have recently been on slimming diets? My experience is the answer is almost all. Restrictive diets rarely work - it's a myth perpetuated by the diet industry.

Appetite, metabolism, types of food, portion size, alcohol and exercise.

There are your factors.

I was always an 8, and am up to a 10.... I feel huge and am carrying more fat than ever, this is the impact of turning forty and booze.

Never EVER dieted or consciously thought about food in take with respect to weight, but don't overeat either.

Hi

I used to be 12- 14 I have lost 2stone! I am a size 10 now! All I did was change my portion sizes cut down on crisps and crap! But haven't cut any thing out just cut down on the size! I don't really think on it as a diet as my body has become used to the smaller sizes portions now!

Oh and booze is a killer have had to cut right back on that :((

Portion size is really important. For example- you know those plastic cartons of fresh soup you can buy? I'll make it last for 3 lunches- water it down a bit and have an apple or something afterwards. I've a friend ( not overweight) who can eat the whole carton in one sitting. I suppose I could but I'd feel sick. You do get used to eating smaller quantities and not eating until you are stuffed.

curlup If you can cut out the biscuits it will help. I read that 2 daily biscuits over a year without doing more exercise adds up to an increase of 1 stone in weight.

If you are hungry have something more nutritious like an apple, a few nuts, a 1 inch square of hard cheese, a few spoonfuls of full fat plain yoghurt. That way at least you'll get some vitamins, minerals and calcium instead of just sugar and refined carbs.