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Original poster

To wonder what exactly middle class and upper class Mums do to be skinny

999 replies

Humpy84 · 19/04/2019 04:18

I am a Mum of a two year old turning three July. Not an age that he can be packed up for long walks in buggy.

I have gained weight and feeling overwhelmed by everything.

I have noticed and I think it is obvious that middle and upper class Mums tend to be slimmer.

I want to know if you identify this and if so what is your weekly shopping routine, meal plan, how do you exercise with or without toddler/s, tips and tricks etc, diet plans, etc etc.

OP posts:
Fazackerley · 20/04/2019 12:17

I don't think you burn 500 by running for 45 mins! That probably includes the calories that you would have burnt normally. More like 300 I would have thought

Gwenhwyfar · 20/04/2019 12:21

"A big bag of brown pasta is too and will last even longer. "

White pasta is much nicer and easier to find in smaller shops.

swingofthings · 20/04/2019 12:22

I don't think you burn 500 by running for 45 mins!
The fitbit tends to be quite generous!

swingofthings · 20/04/2019 12:24

But you are making a point about choice of taste when I'm arguing against statements that cost is the issue.

I don't disagree about taste and motivation, I disagree with those who say you can't eat healthily cheaply.

Gwenhwyfar · 20/04/2019 12:25

How many calories you burn depends on how much you weight to begin with. I do about 35 minutes on the treadmill and burn about 300 calories. However, if I don't enter my weight into the treadmill, it will till me I've burnt over 400 calories so I suppose some people just use those estimates and think they're burning more than they really are.

CitadelsofScience · 20/04/2019 12:25

A big bag of brown pasta is too and will last even longer that's going to be a cheap but fairly calories heavy meal, you're not going to get skinny on that. The majority of people I know who have lost weight in more recent years are those who've gone low carb and that's not a cheap way to diet.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 20/04/2019 12:27

This is such an interesting thread. I posted on another one earlier about drinking more water and that's definitely something that I see slimmer people doing - a lot. I don't know why I don't drink it as much as I should but I'm really going to try to increase it.

I have a terrible relationship with food, if there was such a pill that I could take that included all proteins and other nutrients needed - and never have to eat again, I would. In a heartbeat.

Since there isn't, I have to constantly keep a death-grip on myself. Very difficult. There are some really thought-provoking suggestions on this thread.

swingofthings · 20/04/2019 12:29

that's going to be a cheap but fairly calories heavy me
Well again, it's about proportions. A big bowl with melting butter and shredded cheese is not going to do it.

A small portion with green peas, mushrooms and peppers will. The latter will be much cheaper.

swingofthings · 20/04/2019 12:32

How many calories you burn depends on how much you weight to begin with
And heart rate really.

Drinking water is a good way to distract the mind from the cravings of naughty food and the fuller you are, tge less likely you are to feel physically to feel like eating but again, who enjoys drinking water all day long?

AlaskanOilBaron · 20/04/2019 12:35

I don't think this is true. You shouldn't be hungry if you're within the healthy BMI. Maybe in the transition stage as you get used to eating less, but not all the time.

Sorry, but I don't consider 'within healthy BMI' to be skinny. I could gain 25 pounds and still be in my healthy BMI (and I'm not underweight).

alittleprivacy · 20/04/2019 12:51

But that is a fuck of a lot of exercise so you are kind of proving my point there ...... Do people not understand that 3 hours cardio a day is a lot or is it a stealth boast

My point isn't that it's not physically exercise, it's that it's mentally not exercise. I don't skate to lose weight/get fit. I'm not doing it as a chore in order to benefit from a goal. Yes it's a high intensity cardio and muscle building workout, but that's just the gravy. The reason I do it is because it's fun. It makes me happy in the extreme. It's part of who I am. It's fun family time because I take my DS and he loves it. We rink and ramp skate together or he gets on his scooter/bike and we head out on the safe bike paths. I'm far from well off, I have a tiny income, I'm a single parent and don't have someone to babysit while I go to the gym, which I wouldn't do anyway as I'd be too bored to go. Losing weight is difficult and putting it back on is super easy. I know this from experience. But if you find something that changes your lifestyle, then it's different. I don't try to lose weight or maintain weightloss but I have found a way to change my day to day life in a way that makes me happy and coincidentally, healthy.

First, that's an exaggeration of the amount. It's impossible to calculate.

It's not an exaggeration those are the standard recognised amount of calories that it's possible to lose up to during those activities. As I wrote I don't lose that amount for them because I'm a small person. And yes you could eat that much quite easily, not all skaters are slim, but if you are going eat that much it's better that you've been active earlier. But if you are doing an activity that keeps you happy and satisfied you are maybe less likely to fall prey to the emotional aspect of over eating.

birdflyinghigh · 20/04/2019 13:01

The fitbit tends to be quite generous

Given it might be. However I make sure I have a pretty healthy deficit and also what I don't tell it is that I run with a weighted pack to keep up the weight loss. It's working anyway,

Regarding delayed gratification the runner's high was instant. I could do it! I thought I couldn't run I was just trying to run with bad technique previously. I was grinning from ear to ear when I managed half an hour's run following the Niko Niko technique, that was my first run.

And let's face it. Alcohol and smoking, mentioned upthread, is not instant gratification from first try. People have to develop a serious taste for it.

Gwenhwyfar · 20/04/2019 13:07

"Sorry, but I don't consider 'within healthy BMI' to be skinny. I could gain 25 pounds and still be in my healthy BMI (and I'm not underweight)."

I don't either and I didn't say I did.
However, it's possible to be skinny and within the healthy BMI i.e. be at the very bottom of that BMI.

Gwenhwyfar · 20/04/2019 13:08

"A small portion with green peas, mushrooms and peppers will. The latter will be much cheaper."

And not very interesting or tasty.

birdflyinghigh · 20/04/2019 13:16

Thinks don't taste better with bigger quantities, though. It's actually a bit the opposite. When I halved my portions (and filled the rest of the plate with salad or green veg) this was quite a epiphany for me. So now I still have chips (3 chips does it) or rice (a desert spoonful) or potato wedges (1 wedge). You just get used to that portion. Thinking back for school dinners we only got 1 roast potato or an ice cream scoop of mash. That was typical of 70s portions. As a family, if we went out for meals at a restaurant or pub we were always completely overwhelmed at the amount of food,

formerbabe · 20/04/2019 13:20

So now I still have chips (3 chips does it) or rice (a desert spoonful) or potato wedges (1 wedge)

It shocks me how little you have to eat to stay thin.

GenevaMaybe · 20/04/2019 13:23

Weight is absolutely a class issue. Anyone saying it isn’t is wrong.

birdflyinghigh · 20/04/2019 13:24

I do eat other stuff! Just not many chips, rice or potato wedges. The rest of my plate has meat, veg or salad on it. I am not hungry after meals. I do have a bucket mug of coffee with cream after meals. I'm pretty stuffed after that tbh.

birdflyinghigh · 20/04/2019 13:28

I have to say I love freezing the extra food leftover too. I see it as liquidising the investment I made into my body fat!😁 That fat cost me! It's time for me to get my money's worth!

haverhill · 20/04/2019 13:30

I work at an independent school and the mums there are noticeably slimmer on average than the mums at DS’ state primary ( me included!). I totally agree with anotherBadavatar.

ooooohbetty · 20/04/2019 13:33

I agree @haverhill. At my children's private schools there were no fat mums. Not one. I was thin then too. Not now.

birdflyinghigh · 20/04/2019 13:34

Where's the incentive if the highlight of your week is a night down the pub with your equally overweight friends, if you don't have any nice clothes anyway, if you don't have any glittering social occasions to attend etc

For me, living. I've had cancer. It hasn't escaped my attention that it has been related to having a high proportion of body fat. I love the exercise too. Mental health benefits which I'm grateful for. As you'll appreciate there is a lot I could worry about. Fitness benefits. I was so unfit, my back was affected which in turn severely restricted mobility when it was bad. Which was not great for the 'feel good' factor.

Running with a weighted pack and losing excess body fat gives me a serious kick. I also take cold baths which equally makes me feel very Viking!Grin This makes me giggle. I look very ordinary but do this stuff for kicks.Grin

TatianaLarina · 20/04/2019 13:35

No. Creating a calorie deficit, which is more likely through diet for most people except for those on this thread who have time for 3 hours of exercise every day.

Which is covered by the word diet.

birdflyinghigh · 20/04/2019 13:35

We don't have a particularly high income, I don't work, although would probably be considered Middle Class.

formerbabe · 20/04/2019 13:39

@birdflyinghigh

Sorry I didn't mean incentive to exercise necessarily but incentive to remain slim overall. I totally get what you mean though.

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