To think being slim should be normal for most people.

[DevilishDebbie]

By slim i mean sizes 8 to 12.

Obviously you get a minority who are not in this range naturally but for 80% of people this size should be natural, say they eat a reasonable diet of between 2000-3000 calories.

Im so sick of people at work making out i am abnormally thin for being a size 10. I watch what I eat but dont deprive myself. The same people making me out to be lucky to be slim eat fried chicken or pizza for lunch and seem to be able to demolish a whole pack of biscuits at 3 o clock.

Aibu to think that the normal human man/woman should be a size 8-12 and that to attain or maintain this does not require super human discipline or strength.

And here is the reason why some people think obese people are slobs and lazy. If you can eat 2000-3000 cal a day and be a size 10-12, you are an anomaly. You probably think fat people are gluttons. Most of us would be morbidly obese at your intake. 1200 a day for me or i balloon.

You can also be slim and incredibly unhealthy.
I am one of those people.
When I’m not pregnant, I naturally fluctuate between a size 6 and a size 8 depending on where I shop - according to my height and weight I have a BMI of 18. I look like a slim, relatively healthy, young adult on the outside....I dread to think what my insides look like.
I’ve smoked on and off (minus times I’ve spent pregnant, breastfeeding and cosleeping) since I was about 14, I don’t really drink muchC but my eating habits are shocking.
I skip breakfast most days, so by mid morning I’m snacking on sugary crap. Lunch is usually some sort of shitty refined carbohydrate accompanied by crisps. I don’t drink anywhere near enough water. And while yes, I do eat a relatively healthy meal in the evening with my family most days, I go through also phases when my DH is away (military) of living off microwave meals//sandwiches/cereal/nothing.
My insides probably look like a cross between someone recovering from malnutrition and someone way older than I am.
I’m slim, but I’m not healthy at all.

Going back to the original OP i cant eat that high an intake either.

I'm what is classed as 'skinny' and comments such as 'you're too thin, you need to eat more, you need meat on your bones' are the norm.

I was so pissed off with being body shamed I asked the person would it be ok if I told you you were looking a bit chubby and should lose weight?

She had the decency to say no - it's never OK to comment on a persons weight whether fat or thin - I just wish the 'overweight' posters would realise this.

Perhaps people are concerned you have an eating disorder, Moo.

feelingverylazytoday

Cassandra think that's being disproved
edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
Sorry, but a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weightloss

It's a one off -example! He might have lost double had he gone low carb, for instance, and I bet it was his first ever diet (any first ever diet works) However, when I was talking about it being outdated, I was talking about all the latest research, we know more now than we knew 10 years ago!(or at least not "we", but people interested or specialising in nutrition)

Here's some examples but I really don't want to argue about it. Calorie and 'thermodynamics' is in my opinion an unbelievably simplistic view and it's been shaky since the conception of the notion of calorific value of anything(there's no two people who'd use up the same amount of calories in exactly the same way). However, if someone wants to lose weight once in their life, they achieved that by limiting calories and managed not to regain after two years, great! They don't really need all this extra info.

bigthink.com/design-for-good/a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie-and-you-should-care-where-it-comes-from-to-regulate-your-weight

drhyman.com/blog/2014/04/10/calories-dont-matter/ (though in this one there's some kind of glitch in the broccoli's nutritional breakdown, but overall it's a good easy article )

And this:

www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4583

(Effects of a low carbohydrate diet on energy expenditure during weight loss maintenance: randomized trial) It's a biggest and the latest trial of its kind, as far as I know.

First paragraph:
Evidence from animal and human studies shows that biological factors strongly influence body weight.1 With weight loss, hunger increases and energy expenditure decreases—physiological adaptations that defend against long term weight change.2 Genetic factors are known to affect body weight, explaining some of the variance in body mass index (BMI) among people. However, genetic factors cannot explain why the average person today, compared with 40 years ago, seems to be “defending” a much higher body weight.

BuffaloSpringfield Wed 06-Mar-19 23:33:46
Perhaps people are concerned you have an eating disorder, Moo.

Seriously? I am naturally 'thin' and how bloody dare people think it's ok to comment on my weight when invariably they need to lose weight themselves - it's never slim people who comment!

Maybe thats because SOME of the slim people are busy shouting abuse to bigger people in the street.

I experienced that a lot in the late 90s. It really affected my trust in people.

I can’t find the research now. But the normal BMI has shifted. Under 27.8 was considered ok but guess what companies selling slimming products campaigned to reduce it.

Moo, more demonizing of larger people being not nice...Its just not true.

Do you restrict?

Yes michael i remember that

oh for goodness sake. Overweight people are costing the NHS a fortune and at the same time are dying early. Erm, how does that work.

Obesity is the new whipping boy. It used to be smokers and the science is flawed.

I have not read all of the 839 responses to this question.
Here is my take: YANBU, but your post sounds very judgmental.
But yes, it would be great if most people were healthy.

Instead of "people should be slim," I would rather say that "most people should be at a healthy weight for their height and lead a moderately active lifestyle." It has been shown that a BMI between 20 and 25 is correlated with higher life expectancy, less coronary disease etc. The same goes for an active lifestyle. Although there are outliers such skinny waifs who smoke three packs a day or bodybuilders, for most people a healthy weight and an active lifestyle mean better overall health and a longer life.

If a healthy population is a desirable goal then most people should maintain a healthy weight. If we are healthy we suffer less and live longer.On the other hand, I don't know if a healthy weight for women is the same as being size 8 to 12 or if an active lifestyle affords everyone 2000 to 3000 kcal/day. Probably not.

I look forward to all the size 6/8’s hitting menopause 😉

A lot of the responses on here explain precisely why we have such a problem in this country with obesity.

It’s too hard, I’m a medical marvel and defy science because I don’t lose weight if I eat less calories than I burn, we should never encourage children to be healthy because they’ll develop an ED, I don’t have time, I don’t like vegetables, I can’t afford fresh food (because frozen veg haven’t yet been invented) and so on and so on...

Unless you have a medical condition, it’s a choice. It’s not easy but it’s still a choice and even small changes will make a difference.

we should never encourage children to be healthy because they’ll develop an ED

Excuse me, I never said anything of the sort. I'm saying having my food restricted as a child caused me to over eat in later life. Therefore I'm not restricting my son's. As a result he regulates his appetite brilliantly and does not over eat. You can put a packet of chocolate buttons in front of him and if he's not hungry he won't eat them.

There are many different reasons why people end up overweight. I know exactly why I was overweight - I ate too much. The reason I ate too much is that I never learnt to regulate my own appetite and I saw certain foods as "bad" causing me to crave them more. These aren't excuses, they are facts and understanding that has been the reason I have overcome this and lost the weight. What exactly is your issue with that?

It's obvious from the obesity crisis that simply telling people to eat more vegetables and less pizza is not helping, so what do we need to do?

@saxatablesalt. I don’t recall attributing that comment to you?

You ask what we need to do? Simple, people need to stop making excuses. That would be a good start.

No, but I was one of the people explaining, in great detail as above, why restricting children's food can contribute to making them overweight.

It's well documented that food restriction often leads to binging.

That is not an "excuse". I am doing exactly what needs to be done. I am confronting and dealing with it.

If you are looking at someone who is morbidly obese there is just NO WAY they have become that way without some sort of disordered eating. It's not just greediness. A lot of the time it will be because they use food to feel better. That shit is so, so difficult to unlearn. And it's only by acknowledging it in the first place that you can overcome it.

I repeat, the current strategy of telling overweight people to stop making excuses, to eat less fried food and more broccoli, is not working. Precisely because it doesn't confront the issue of why people over eat. You will never combat obesity if you don't confront that issue.

I think there should be more focus on the other benefits of good eating and activity. i.e. mental health, social, stress relieving and in terms of having good digestion, hair, nails, strength, all that stuff. Not to mention how tasty healthy food can be. There's way too much focus on the number on the scale. Being healthy improves your entire life imo.

I agree. I don't need a lot of calories for my height and lifestyle but I'm constantly getting flamed for how much I eat. Funnily enough I'm almost 'overweight' according to my bmi yet family are always telling me I should eat more!

Imissg - the science is flawed? So smoking and being overweight aren't in fact bad for you? Shall we start drinking loads as well? Or do you believe the science that says we shouldn't over drink? Over eatings ok

If people hadnt 'encouraged' my daughter to be healthy, she wouldn't be slowly dying if anorexia.

I told her I missed my pumpkin. Fat dd was happier, healthier, kinder.

It was said in desperation in my part.

She screamed at me noone accepted fat dd.

I say all of you scale obsessed nhs defenders take your judgemental attitude and stick it. It KILLS.

@saxatablesalt. Where did i say anything about restricting food? We’re talking about encouraging our DC to be healthy

That is the fucking problem, Dorset.