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?

Porridge and a teacake isn't much really and on it's own says nothing about what she eats later in the day. I prefer to eat earlier in the day, rather than the evening because that is when I am hungry.

I would go for a higher protein breakfast than porridge and a teacake, because even porridge makes me more hungry rather than all that 'keeps me going until lunch' bollocks.

Calorie wise, my ideal breakfast would be around 7/800, then 4/500 for lunch and starter sized 2/300 calorie evening meal as that is all I need.

Any less in the daytime and I am constantly starving but if I get to eat more earlier in the day I tend to eat better and eat less overall.

A few years ago I was working away where I spent an extended period eating all three meals a day with several colleagues and it was blindingly obvious why the slim people were slim and the overweight people were overweight. I am a tall sized 12 so slimmer than average in a lot of circles.

Overweight colleague 1 had a big bag of haribo and lots of fizzy drink every day and always 2 or 3 courses at dinner.

Overweight colleague 2 was constantly buying cakes and biscuits for everyone as an excuse to tuck in herself.

Most people had 2 or 3 courses at dinner whereas I just had a main and saved half of it for lunch the next day where practical or got something like soup/roll or a ready meal for lunch, whereas most others got a big pile of rubbish from Greggs or McDonalds.

But all they ever noticed was that I had 2 or 3 times more breakfast than anyone else . So they would have a bit of cereal and some toast and I always had eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes etc.

I am firmly of the belief that it is portion size, sugar consumption and drunk calories (fizzy drinks, alcohol, smoothies, flavoured coffees etc) that separates slim and more overweight people in almost all cases.

I almost never drink anything except water, coffee or tea with just milk, or moderate amounts of alcohol. Eating more plus extra calories to drink could easily add an extra 500/1000 calories a day, which over time adds up to a lot of extra weight.

Oh good lord

Remind me not to say anything lightly on a weight thread again

She has lunch and usually a two course dinner...i dont think she snacks much (if you are on here J i apologise profusely it was just supposed to be a comment on how it appeared to the waitress)

Its not supposed to be a comment on anyone else

I firmly believe that some slim people can eat a fair bit but tend to self regulate and some slim people have to work very hard. One of my other slim friends wouldnt dream of eating a breakfast like that, she has a few crackers and fruit for lunch and a pack of pasta meant for two will feed all four of them, she has one standard dairy milk a week.

Onedaft as a nation we're getting fatter. So when you say genetics, it doesn't mean that genetically you respond differently to food. It might be that genetics affect what happens when you're in an obesogenic environment. I don't own a car, I walk and cycle a lot, I don't overeat, nor do I continually watch what I eat and make myself hungry by denying myself food. I don't think blaming genes is useful - it's our lifestyles that have changed, not our genes.

Oh and just to keep things even

I think most overweight people eat too much

Some overweight people don't and their calorie intake is much lower than people would think due to bodies reacting differently to food and/or medical issues

I think self regulation is key, some people dont have much willpower and find it difficult to resist a cake if their smaller freind is having one

I do know a feeder, when we go out for coffee she always wants cake because its an occasional treat for her and she probably hasnt bothered with lunch as she knows she wants cake. After many months of friendship she now realises that i wont be having the cake and that i dont mind her eating on in front of me

barbara I was at an all day meeting recently during which lunch was brought in. Couple of platters of sandwiches, platter of sausage rolls and slices of pork pie, platter of fruit, platter of mini muffins and flapjack, bowl of crisps.

There were about 10 people in the room, two of the women sizeably overweight. The only people who ate the sausage rolls / pork pie / crisps were these women. Both ate only that and muffins and ate large amounts. Neither ate sandwiches or fruit.

Anecdote isn't data, but still.

And completley agree with barbara re drink calories

Have you seen the calories in some of those coffees!!!!!

Gabilan- that is true, but body shape and how /where fat is distributed also has a role. I also think genes has a role to play in metabolism- some people do burn off calories faster whereas I'm someone who only has to look at a cake for it to add inches.

Someone way back on this thread said she was 5 2" and weighed 11 st and was a size 10. I find that hard to believe because I'm 5 3" weigh under 8 st and am a size 10. If I put on 3 stones it would be round my middle and I'd be a size 20 or something. I have smallish hips, small boobs and a flattish bum. I suppose if the weight went onto my thighs or bum that would be healthier and I'd still keep a slim core, but my shape isn't like that.

I think the way to be slim 'naturally' is to ignore calories and shape/size but rather focus on nutrition and overall wellbeing: feeling good mentally and physically, plenty of energy, good sleep, relaxation, fun, relationships, exercise. I eat well because I want to feel good and give myself and my family the best chance at a long life with good health.

I might well be the slim person having cake with my coffee though. If I only go out for coffee fortnightly, having cake would be a nice treat. I wouldn't eat cake, biscuits, sweets, chocolate on a daily basis though and they aren't part of a normal food shop for our family. We have a family birthday this week and we will enjoy the cake as a celebration as it isn't a regular thing.

carabos, I often see the opposite (I speak at a lot of all day courses). The larger people tend not to want to be seen to be eating a lot in front of colleagues and ask for salad at lunch etc which is a bit sad. If they'd just eat the main course and properly at meals things might better fall into place.

I also notice the vast majority tucking into all the pastries, cakes etc that get thrown at you on these courses whereas I will have had eggs for breakfast at home, I only drink water and then I'll have the main course at lunch.

For me if I get out of the habit of eating sugar/chocolate etc I stop wanting it. It is like being an alcoholic for me with sugar. If I have some I have to have a lot whereas I have one very thin teenager who triese to gain weight who will keep his Easter eggs for months eating a bite a day without any control issues over that. He also says it is an effort to eat - he cannot see how it's easier to get up to get more food from the kitchen when that involves getting up from your chair and that surely it's easier and the default not to eat - that is a very interesting difference between him and many people including me at times who eat more than we need.

i suspect a lot comes back to gut bacteria and what kind of goods you eat. If you eat good healthy foods and enough good fats you tend not to be snacking on sugar all the time which just gives up a high and then a crash and makes you want more and more sugar.

Mind you if any of us had the answer to this we'd be a billionaire given the number of people on the planet who need to lose weight.

"Someone way back on this thread said she was 5 2" and weighed 11 st and was a size 10. I find that hard to believe"

I find that hard to believe as well. She's pretty overweight according to BMI charts, but still a size 10? Is she a very muscley person? Even with vanity sizing, I find it hard to believe.

"I'm 5 3" weigh under 8 st and am a size 10. "

I find that hard to believe as well. I imagine you're right at the bottom of the healthy range or even a bit underweight and you can't fit into an 8? I'm about the same height as you, weigh 8st10 and can fit into a 10 in many places because of vanity sizing (probably almost an 8 in Next!) even though my measurements would make me a 12-14 if shops kept to those measurements.

Sorry to go back to soupgate, but I maintain that less than a full carton would leave me hungry. So this morning I did a calorie check - my carton of Sainsbury's mushroom soup is 200 calories for the pot, then I would add a couple of Ryvitas and an apple/orange. I reckon that this is about 350 - normal for lunch? Yet I was one of the slim posters who said that they regulate my intake - which I thought I did - I've been 8 stone 7 at 5 foot 8 for about 20 years (since my twenties) so I assume I'm eating what I need. Portion size and limiting intake is very subjective.

Someone way back on this thread said she was 5 2" and weighed 11 st and was a size 10. I find that hard to believe because I'm 5 3" weigh under 8 st and am a size 10.

That was me Polly.
You can find it hard to believe, but it's true - I have no reason to lie.

I am currently 16 stone (put on 5 stone due to illness, being bedridden for almost a year & steroids), and am a comfortable size 16.

I am an hourglass shape - flat stomach (even at 16 stone), big bum to waist ratio.

I just carry weight well - I've always been mistaken for about 2 stone lighter than I actually am (by doctors etc).
It is because I have always been very fit & muscular - muscle takes up less space than fat.

Hypothyroidism has kept me at a size 10! I eat healthily and shit depending on day/mood/location.

Gwen I hate to get into really personal debates about weight but be assured I am very healthy. my BMI is 19.2 which is above the lowest healthy BMI of 18.5. I am a size 10. I have an ample covering of fat. At my heaviest, I weighed 8st 4 and that was carrying a very healthy 7lb 7 baby. Some of us are just made petite!

I find that hard to believe because I'm 5 3" weigh under 8 st and am a size 10.

And people's body composition and shape differ: I'm slightly shorter than you, probably weigh the best part of a stone more, and wear a size 6-8 (except occasionally in tops when I might need a 10 to accommodate my shoulders).

YABU. My 3 daughters are in their 20s and they are sixes 6,8 and ten. None of them are on a diet

Exactly! And yet were supposed to believe that we're all 'naturally slim' and can all eat the same food/portions and gain/lose/maintain weight in the same way

Who says we're all supposed to believe that? Certainly no-one on this thread from what I've seen

Being slim is natural. Being fat is not.

Of course we can't all eat the same food/portions and gain/lose/maintain weight in the same way, because we all have individual bodies.

But that doesn't mean our bodies aren't naturally slim, until we put more calories into them than we need to and then fail to burn the excess off.

I am glad you think I'm a unicorn.

I am currently 16 stone (put on 5 stone due to illness, being bedridden for almost a year & steroids), and am a comfortable size 16

I'd love to know where you shop?

I am 5'9 and weigh 12 stone and am a size 16.

Comparing my sister and I, we have similar dress sizes, but mine is mostly due to larger hips and breasts (30E, she is a 32 or 34AA - I forgot which, but I checked).
She is straighter, so has higher body mass. She also has bigger bones than me, which is clear if we compare wrist size.
I'm 5f 3in and weigh about 7st 12lbs. (up until 5 years ago I weighed 7st 3lbs and had a smaller belly).
So, she is heavier than me, but she does look skinnier and the same dress size.

BTW, I don't get the vanity size thing. Yes, sizes vary a bit from shop to shop, but most size 8 skirts or trousers used to be too loose for me (it was hard getting a 6) and are now tight. If vanity sizing was a big thing, I'd still be in a 6 or the 8 would still be loose.

^I am currently 16 stone (put on 5 stone due to illness, being bedridden for almost a year & steroids), and am a comfortable size 16

I'd love to know where you shop?

I am 5'9 and weigh 12 stone and am a size 16.^

Angelos, I'll presume you're not being snarky...

I shop at sainsburys, next, asda, Tesco, new look etc.

Today I am wearing a pair of baggy size 16 boyfriend fit cropped jeans from sainsburys & a size 16 loose cross over front top from asda.

As I said, I've no need to lie

Mango I wasn't being snarky. It was a genuine question. I don't 'feel' like what I perceive is a size 16 in my head but that is what I am wearing today. I am a size 18 if I shop in Next. When I was a size 10, I was about 4 stone lighter than I am now.

Lweji, it's the same with my mum, sister & me.

Me & my mum are 5'2", my sister is a statuesque(!) 5'5".

My mum has a completely flat bum, slim legs. & arms, very large chest, broad back and a big tummy.

My sister has very long legs, short body but carries weight very evenly all over.

I am a muscular hourglass with muscly legs, arms (including forearms - I did a very manual, labour intensive job for 20 years), very flat tummy but big bum.

I can be up to 2 stone heavier than them and wear the same size clothes (as in, wear their clothes).

As I said before I'm hugely overweight at the moment, but when I was 11 stone, size 10, I used to do circuits 3 times a week, weight training about 2 or 3 times a week, interval training on the running machine a couple of times a week and walked miles & lifted heavy stuff daily at work.
I easily made level 7 on the 20m bleep test in my late 30s.

That is why I could carry an extra 2 stone and be physically the same size/smaller than my mum & sister.

www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?_r=0

Interesting and relevant article

Sorry Angelos