To think that slim people have different habits re food and exercise

[WhatWillSantaBring]

I've been overweight most of my adult life, and find I put on weight very easily. BUT I also think I have had very unhealthy food habits - I think of food as treats, I avoid the scales, I eat when I'm not hungry, I always have the cake, emotional eating etc. I know all the things I do wrong (and that I'm sure a lot of overweight people do) but what I want to know is what do thin people do "right". i.e. what are the habits of people who are consistently a healthy weight (i.e. BMI of 20-25).

I've got some very petite friends who will do things like:

• weigh every day and take immediate action if their weight goes up by more than 5lbs;
• never accept a biscuit
• only drink one glass of wine (unless its a very special occasion when they may have two)
• never order themselves a dessert/ice cream etc (will just eat whatever their kids leave)

- exercise 5-6 days a week without fail, including Christmas Day

• never have seconds

If you're slender, and have maintained a healthy weight for years, what habits do you have that you think help you?

When I look at my slim friends they are generally hungrier than I am, in that they feel hunger and will want to eat more often than I do, however when they do eat , they eat much smaller portions.

"I think most people who say things like "I have skinny genes" or "I have a naturally fast metabolism" or "I eat loads of junk and I'm skinny" are probably just not very aware of their own habits."

@welldonesquirrels - I'm not sure I agree about "lack of awareness" of own habits. What I do think is that a slimmer person who naturally eats less and has less of an appetite, will have a different threshold for what they regard as "loads of junk". As a slim size 8, I would say that I myself eat "loads of crap" - I snack on all kinds of sugary stuff that I know isn't great for me. But my perception of "loads" will differ to someone who had a greater appetite and eats more than me, clearly. By the same token, an overweight person might say "I don't really feel I eat massive amounts at all...", but I might assess their "not massive amounts" as humongous portion sizes. Etc...

what I'm getting at is - I don't think it's the case that slimmer people are "not very aware of their own habits"; rather, I think slimmer and overweight people with will naturally have different thresholds for what they consider small or large amounts of food based on natural differences in their own appetite. Neither is necessarily incorrect or "less aware" than the other.

@frumpety

When I look at my slim friends they are generally hungrier than I am, in that they feel hunger and will want to eat more often than I do, however when they do eat , they eat much smaller portions.

This is me - I'm a "grazer" - I eat little and often. Not consciously or in a restrictive manner - just because that the most comfortable way for me to eat. I can't eat massive portions in one sitting because I feel full very quickly; so I eat smaller portions but get hungrier again sooner. I have 3 breakfasts before 11am on most days - cereal at 6.30am, toast around 8-9am, and then maybe fruit or more cereal mid morning. 🤣

Really great thread. I need to lose weight - I do have an emotional relationship with food.

To the people who have been big and then lost the weight - did you sort out the diet first, then increase activity or do both at the same time?

I have tried to do it all at once in the past - sort out diet and exercise at the same time, it did work, but was unsustainable so the weight creeped back on

I'm not massively sure about the "healthy habits" thing either for slim people. Here's an example - I've just polished off 2 packets of crisps after munching throughout the morning on half a pack of biscuits. I'm not going for a run or to the gym until next week at the earliest. So I'd say I have a real mixture of healthy and very unhealthy habits!

My mum has always been very slim and was quite odd with my sister and I about snacks and food as children lots withheld and we got into trouble if we took anything more than we should fair enough her rules. We had to finish meals etc still had light puddings I don’t remember what she ate tbh. But she’s still slim and a bit disgusted that my sister and I are larger. She thinks it’s easy to lose weight. I think once I get going I’m fine but mentally I’ve been struggling and can’t seem to shift it, putting on more instead. Neither my sister or I have a thyroid she had cancer and I was born without one. I think that does make Losing weight harder but def not impossible- the sluggishness and lethargy impact me doing too much physical exercise because it wipes me out for a few days or impedes motivation because I feel crappy. But I am determined to get fit and be healthy because, at 41, I’m not doing myself any favours going forward.

Lockdown hasn't helped as the kids aren’t really walkers - our dog died so going out without him felt weird for them we are getting a pup in the new year but right now we are getting out on bikes, I walk when I can but I can’t leave the kids at home on their own and i work 12 hour shifts so time to exercise isn’t bountiful. I think we all do what we can, the starting point is getting the motivation to lose the weight then maintain it in a way that’s still enjoyable and doesn’t deny you something you like to eat, it’s not easy.

@LouJ85

I'm not massively sure about the "healthy habits" thing either for slim people. Here's an example - I've just polished off 2 packets of crisps after munching throughout the morning on half a pack of biscuits. I'm not going for a run or to the gym until next week at the earliest. So I'd say I have a real mixture of healthy and very unhealthy habits!

But i bet the calories you will consumer over the rest of the day, and generally, added to the crisps and biscuits, amount to around the amount of calories needed to maintain your weight.

@whatwillsantabring

It was quite a long time ago so I can't 100% remember to be honest!

But a mixture of things.

Partly getting more nice things in my life and not defining my self worth by body image alone any more.

Partly I had a successful month of weight watchers losing weight for my wedding and in the process learned some levers of control. I always in the past felt that weight change was just something that happened to me and I couldn't control or understand it. Realizing that having soup for lunch and a few other small things like that could reliably bring a couple of pounds off in a week was enormously helpful.

Partly realizing that weight change can actually happen (in both directions) in just a day or two so keeping a close eye on it.

Partly losing the snacking habit. I used to always be thinking about when I could have another snack. I taught myself to accept a snack free day and stop thinking about it.

Partly recognizing habits and dropping them. One donut is fine but if I'm having one every day it's a problem and needs to stop.

@MushyPeasAreTheDevilsFood

Well yes, I'm sure my overall calorie intake is within the range needed to maintain my weight, otherwise I'd be putting weight on and I'm not. And I did say earlier that I naturally eat smaller portion sizes when I have meals, because I feel full quite quickly when I eat stodgier meals.

But my point was simply that slim people don't exclusively have "healthy habits". It's a total myth. Eating half a pack of biscuits and 2 packs of crisps throughout a morning is by no means in the realms of healthy. I think there's a misconception that all slim people "deprive" themselves of treats and work their arses off in the gym to maintain their physique. Some do, yes. Many do not (myself included). If I use a gym or run, it's occasionally and it's because I enjoy it and do it for a hobby - it's not because I ate those biscuits etc.

I don't know if that makes sense but my point was that some slim people in fact do not restrict/ watch what they eat or have to work particularly hard at healthy habits. I certainly don't feel as though I do, anyway.

or have to work particularly hard at healthy habits is exactly my point - slim people have such a healthy relationship with food, and/or are so in tune with their own appetite, that my "healthy habit" is their "just normal". In order to stay slim (when I get there), I want to make sure that I adopt as many small, easy to keep, habits as possible, so that i can stay slim. Because I've had 30-40 years of unhealthy thinking about food, I know I will have to work hard but hopefully after a few years of forming habits, it will be ingrained in me and I too will be able to say "oh, I can eat whatever I want" but mean "I can eat whatever but my weekly average calorie intake somehow balances itself out so that I don't gain weight".

I don't think most naturally slim people do have a miserable, joyless existence at all - I think their existence is full of life and joy, but just with a healthy set of food habits!

I think what this thread shows is that the correct assumption is not " to think that slim people have different habits re food and exercise " but "to think that some or perhaps most, but not all slim people have different habits to me and some other overweight people re food exercise etc, but for the most part they are not aware of these habits at all "

I think the “general rule” re calorie requirements don’t help.

The NHS guidelines of 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men just seem excessively high to me.

I have a set of “smart” scales and one of the things it measures is my Basal Metabolic Rate based on my height, weight, age, etc. According to my scales my basal metabolic rate (before exercise) is 1391 kcal per day, so I’d have to be very active (min 12,000 steps per day) in order to burn off 2,000 calories!

I wonder what the calculation to get the 2,000/2,500 figure was. Was it based on someone with a very active job?

I think that there is a lot of misunderstanding with food, generally because of years of being forced to think we need to be a certain size or weight or whatever by companies out to make money with our insecurities.
I'm lucky to have always been the same size until I started having children, so I always though I just had a fast metabolism, but as I've got older it's definitely a case of moderation, and being aware of how portion size etc.
My brother is an athlete, and he is very clear on a few points.
Sugar is the devil, it's in so much food you would not believe it. There is no such thing as different sugars, natural, brown, white... it attacks our body and if you can avoid it do.
( I can't avoid it as I love sweet things, so I will only have something is it's worth the calories!) I'm not a drinker so I would choose cake over wine....
Anything you can buy in the shops that says low fat/diet friendly etc is FULL of sugar to try to balance the taste out....don't fall for it!
And however many calories your putting in your body, you need to balance with more exercise.
I would aim to ditch the scales and try to be healthy!!! Not a certain shape or size, take up as much space as you need in the world

I agree re sugar TheIblis, it is my absolute downfall and I have to be so careful or I could easily stuff myself stupid with sweet treats!

I came across this article a few years ago, it’s very long but worth reading: www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/07/the-sugar-conspiracy-robert-lustig-john-yudkin

@Kaykay066

My mum has always been very slim and was quite odd with my sister and I about snacks and food as children lots withheld and we got into trouble if we took anything more than we should fair enough her rules. We had to finish meals etc still had light puddings I don’t remember what she ate tbh. But she’s still slim and a bit disgusted that my sister and I are larger. She thinks it’s easy to lose weight. I think once I get going I’m fine but mentally I’ve been struggling and can’t seem to shift it, putting on more instead. Neither my sister or I have a thyroid she had cancer and I was born without one. I think that does make Losing weight harder but def not impossible- the sluggishness and lethargy impact me doing too much physical exercise because it wipes me out for a few days or impedes motivation because I feel crappy. But I am determined to get fit and be healthy because, at 41, I’m not doing myself any favours going forward.

Lockdown hasn't helped as the kids aren’t really walkers - our dog died so going out without him felt weird for them we are getting a pup in the new year but right now we are getting out on bikes, I walk when I can but I can’t leave the kids at home on their own and i work 12 hour shifts so time to exercise isn’t bountiful. I think we all do what we can, the starting point is getting the motivation to lose the weight then maintain it in a way that’s still enjoyable and doesn’t deny you something you like to eat, it’s not easy.

I have Graves disease and am on massive doses of levothyroxine. It is most definitely the lethargy associated with the disease that gets me - so find it easier to stick to a healthy wholefood diet and ‘little but regular’ exercise routines in small bouts. Love yoga (the sun poses in particular) and will use a skipping rope whenever I do have energy. I also walk at least 6k steps in one go everyday.

My BMI is around 20 now, used to be lower when younger. I don't check my weight and realise I am lucky to have a high metabolism and a switch in my brain which flicks when I'm full and that's it, I'm done eating. I also prefer savoury to sweet. The image of slim people depriving themselves all the time and being miserable due to striving to maintain their weight isn't something that I see from people in my life. I think alot of slim people probably don't give their weight much thought, which I appreciate must be irritating for someone who has to struggle with weight loss .

Anything you can buy in the shops that says low fat/diet friendly etc is FULL of sugar to try to balance the taste out....don't fall for it!

Apart from low fat dairy i.e. skimmed milk, plain yogurt and reduced fat cheese. These are useful for anyone who wishes to reduce the fat content of their diet, and there are good medical reasons why someone might wish to do this.

I don't see the point of low fat milk or cheese unless it is for a medical reason. Plain yogurt can be delicious - the Waitrose one is.

I don't think that the low fat stuff is FULL of sugar, but it will often have filler like potato starch or something that is high-GI.

@MikeUniformMike

I don't see the point of low fat milk or cheese unless it is for a medical reason. Plain yogurt can be delicious - the Waitrose one is.

I don't think that the low fat stuff is FULL of sugar, but it will often have filler like potato starch or something that is high-GI.

The types of natural yoghurt that are best for you (ie live set ones and their products) are almost always low or zero fat. They have no extras added because they are not made from curds.

My point was that milk isn't high in fat anyway, and low-fat cheese is joyless. I'd rather have less but with the fat.

I usually get the live yogurt or kefir, and have been known to make my own.

@Kateguide

Personally when I exercise now it's only to feel good. I never found it effective for weight loss in any way I could observe, and feeling like you have to do it when you don't want to is very off putting.

So food first and exercise on the side I guess!

Having said that I was never actually all that big in objective terms, I just thought I was.

Exercise may not be the biggest factor when it coes to weight loss but it can have a significant effect on body shape.
Building muscle and toning, my butt is two inches higher, my triceps visible, my chest muscles support my bust, my legs are shapely, my back is sculpted.
That can't be achieved by diet.

@speakout

Sounds great! Out of interest how much time do you spend working out?

Aria999

As we are still in lockdown I do 45 minutes of Vinyasa/power yoga every morning. It is very effective in toning and building muscle.

Normally I do two sessions of weights a week and two of yoga.

I found that cardio exercise was really detrimental for me. It made me absolutely ravenous and I would eat back about twice what I exercised off - I piled it on. Heavy weights was really effective in losing weight, a stone fell off within a couple of months. However after a year I got bored, decided to quit the gym and my appetite went down to match - I stayed the same size and have shrunk since. Don't really bother with exercise now apart from when MH gets low.