To ask, if you are slim, what do you think about?

[Whatchathink]

I am overweight. Very overweight. My weight preoccupies most of my thinking to the point where it is habitual- what will I be eating today? How many calories? How fat am I? Why can’t I just lose weight? Etc, etc etc . And on it goes.

I’m now thinking that these thoughts have become so much of life that if I were to lose weight, what would i actually think about all day? I would in a strange way, miss that fat voice!

So my question is, if you are slim, what do you think about? Does food just not really register at all in your thoughts?

Just realised I also avoid the crapfood aisles, and have replaced 'bad' snacks with healthy snacks, and have stopped enjoying fast food thats not fresh cooked. Just hate the the taste of poor quality food now.

When I drink at least 2l of water during the day, I’m less inclined to snack between meals as I already feel full. It makes resisting eating junk food so much easier.

I'm not really slim but I have a BMI of 23, so in the healthy range.

I think about food when planning what to cook, and I look forward to meals. I tend to crave simple fresh foods though, and eat a lot of fruit (salad fruits like tomato and peppers, berries, grapefruit) and vegetables, and protein like nuts, eggs, mince and chicken. I don't often think about or crave processed or overly sweet foods.

I recently started a thread asking if anyone else found food uninteresting.

I was extremely thin until I had children in my 30's. Only got fat when my 3rd was about 6 years old and I was about 45 years old. I think it was primarily down to alcohol, as my drinking had been creeping up. I quit drinking and filled that void with exercise. Now I struggle to eat properly/enough to build muscle. I put off eating until I feel weak and then it's just too much bother to cook properly.

I’m borderline healthy weight borderline overweight on the charts.

I could easily get a lot bigger.

I tend to eat foods I really enjoy as I find them I don’t binge inbetween meals.
I rarely snack

A normal day is
Fruit ( berries) with a few teaspoons full fat yogurt. No sugar free crap
A crossient Few nespresso coffees

Lunch at about 2.30. A few slices toast or a sandwich with chicken o cheese or avocado tomatoes

Dinner about 8 with dh. Varies chilis sausages, pie Salads. Steak Whatever I like
Pudding or small bar chocolate

I rarely drink

I exercise 2/3 times a week am busy on my feet most daytime.

My job is standing all day but I only work two days a week.

Not as slim
As I’d like but I’m nearly 50! I’d just like to stay a consistent size 12.

Crisps, I love crisps lol.

Been slim all my life and I don't really think much about what I'm eating how many calories I just eat what I want when. I know my diet is quite bad, I don't eat a lot of fruit and veg. I also eat quite a lot of crisps and snacks. I don't however eat big portions and I often skip meals. Often don't have breakfast and if I do I don't have lunch usually.

I know what you mean though as after I had my baby and the weight didn't fall off right away it was all I could think about. Was I ever going to fit back in my clothes, had it changed my metabolism, was worried for a while. My thighs are wobbly, my tummy isn't flat. Why did X have no tummy after 6weeks, why haven't I just lost it all I only put on 2 stone why won't the last stone disappear!

I Went back to the gym when she was 4 months old for 2 months and lost the remainder and now back to normal.

yeah saw a couple of v slim middle-aged women in Poundland buying up biscuits yesterday and commenting on how cheap the Smarties were! Admittedly they didn't look particularly 'healthy' but its still something that surprised me. Maybe they're not 'interested' in "food" especially. I used to know a man who was just happy having jacket potatos with butter for every meal .

I used to love thinking about recipes and ingredients. Since having kids, the juggle of preparing meals for a whole family, getting everyone ready, work... means that I rarely have time to do that and I find the organisational side of catering an absolute pain. I don't enjoy thinking about food at all.

What do I think about? Mostly my kids and work, followed by household admin. My mindless escape is reading Mumsnet. I think I am going to give Mumsnet up for Lent, as I really don't have the time for it.

Weight wise, I am naturally thin. I eat what I want, but I rarely eat snacks because I don't think about food outside of preparing meals and sitting down at the table to eat them. I am not careful about my weight though, so I have never been known to turn down cream on my pudding. I don't do masses of exercise. I hate running, but I like cycling to the local shop, I walk the dog for an hour every day, I do gardening and housework and run up and down the stairs at work.

I was once very fat, now fairly slim.

I imagined I'd be happier being thinner, but when I got there it was a bit of an anti-climax and i discovered that not being unhappy isn't the same thing as being happy.

Still well worth it though.

^ worth saying Holi.

PS If it is any consolation, I don't think anyone else thinks about your weight. People will notice if you have done your hair and makeup nicely. They really don't notice whether you are a size 8 or a size 18. Some of the prettiest women I have known have been overweight.

I think about food a lot. I can stay a size 8 easily eating any crap I want. Then I feel bad and go back on low carb and drop weight quickly down to a size 6.

My DH then moans I'm too skinny and the cycle starts again 😂

I think about what I should be eating as in vegetables and healthy stuff but I have rubbish willpower and if someone offers me cake I end up saying yes unless I'm in a really strict mindset.

I find if I start the day off eating well I can stick to it. If I eat a few quality street with my morning coffee, as I have been since Xmas, then the whole day goes to pot.

When I'm exercising and running I find it easier to eat well. It's almost like I don't want to put crap in my body.

I love junk food, crisps, chocolate etc but if I can not eat them I almost feel proud.

They really don't notice whether you are a size 8 or a size 18.

I’m a size 6. I don’t think about food at all. If I want something I will eat it, calories etc don’t really ever cross my mind. The closest I get to thinking about food is “crap, what can I make for tea that the kids will actually eat?”

I'm very slim. Naturally a size 8 and 5ft5. I spend my time worrying that people think I have an eating disorder. I don't. Never have.

.I think about what other people must think of my spindly skinny legs in my black leggings. My lack of a juicy butt. And try so very hard to reach 2000 calls a day while not eating more than the recommended sugar / salt intake.
People are very happy to skinny shame the same way they fat shame. But I am healthy and that makes me feel good.

And then when I'm not thinking about that I'm having fun with my DD or working!

I rarely think much about food if I’m busy or if I’m at home (other than, what might my child eat that I could cook?) but at work I think a lot about food for the hour - 2 hours before lunch. I don’t bring in my food so spend an hour or two deliberating where to go/ what to get.

This is really interesting....

I am slim. I really enjoy my food. I eat three meals a day and I don't snack too much. We don't eat massive plates of food. I do like cooking and plan a bit around that but I don't think about food too much.

I have worked with a couple of ladies who were quite overweight and they constantly talked about food. In the morning they talked about lunch and in the afternoon they talked about dinner. It was very very annoying and completely got me down.

It's no coincidence and, at a recent buffet, I couldn't help but notice the larger ladies had the biggest plates of food.

I’m slim (40s, 5’8”, size 10) and also think about calories, what I eat, what I drink, do I look fat in this etc.......I love food and booze. I know if I eat or drink too much I’ll put on weight and I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control.

I'm slim, but used to be podgy til a few years ago. When I was fatter, I thought about food constantly as I knew I had to lose weight so obsessed over it. (I'm naturally a 10/12 but went up to a solid 14).

Then life got busier and busier and I had less time to think about food/dieting and ta dah... the weight dropped off.

I love food and I love cooking and think I'm a good cook. But now I"m in my 40s I think about food in terms of nutrients to keep me alive for my children, so I'm always thinking of delicious ways to cook veg etc.

Having said which I'm trying to decide whether to have a Magnum or chocolate bar now.

But the more I think about food, the heavier I am, generally.

In answer to your question, I think about work, the children, house things, school issues, elderly relations, friends with problems, when I can go for a run, what book I'm reading, where's our next holiday etc.

I’m 5’7” and size 10 so I guess I’m slim by your definition OP. I’m also retired so my time is my own pretty much ....

Beyond planning on what to have for dinner (I cook for myself and DH) food doesn’t cross my mind really. I think about what I need to do today, where I’m going, if I’m meeting anyone, hobbies, walking the dog, house work, finances .... just the stuff of every day living. I rarely think about food in terms of it being the be all and end all of my life.

I'm a size 10 but pear shaped with thick legs and thighs and often buy size 12 jeans. I'm 5ft and 8 stone 6. So not skinny but I would describe myself as slim.

I think about exercising and do this 3times a week and look forward to a pudding everyday! I exercise just to eat what I want and don't think about food until meal times or when I feel hungry.

I work, do cleaning, shopping etc..just every day mundane things.

I am obsessive and potentially have an eating disorder. I weigh daily and a few hundred grams change can affect my mood. I Monitor everything I eat and have done since I was 13.

@Kikipost I don't think my comment deserves that face. I really think it is true. When was the last time you noticed that someone had put on weight? When was the last time you thought someone who is dressed up nicely would look better if they were a couple of stone lighter. I have never thought that ever and I think most people are more preoccupied with their own lives or more interested in the conversation to notice these things. I do, however, notice when someone has made an effort to dress up nicely and might tell them they look lovely. When I think of friends or acquaintances, I never think about their weight - I think about them in terms of their personality.

I'm slim but I was overweight in school and bullied for it. I do spend probably far too much time thinking about food and feeling guilty when I don't eat the healthiest. I also spend a lot of time worrying about how I look. I hate it to be honest.

I'm pregnant now and it's getting worse 😢

I'm 5'10" and my weight can vary quite a bit without me looking very different because of my height. Recently I've had IBS type issues and went on a FODMAP exclusion diet to improve my digestion. I dropped two clothes sizes over six months and took about 4 inches off my waist so I think I must have been quite overweight - dh says I'm too thin now but I don't think so - we don't have scales and I think I've just lost the weight gained over 10 years of a very sedentary middle aged life. Using a height to waist ratio calculation I come out as about 41 which is 'healthy slim'.

Changing my diet to cut out all FODMAPS made me think differently about food because it was very depressing not to be able to eat many things I like, or to eat them and have hours of stomach ache. I found I was thinking about how I felt far too much and it made me not want to eat at all. Now I have a less limited diet and food plan and prep at the weekend when I'm not hungry or under time pressure I think my approach to eating is healthier, although I could still do with eating more vegetables. I probably spend two or three hours a week on planning and four hours on prep/cooking. Apart from judging whether a recipe has turned out well I don't really think about food much except when I'm hungry and haven't prepared something I can eat or shopping for nice things and everything I fancy has ingredients that will make me unwell.