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?

[2Rebecca]

Agree the drinking x amount of water a day when x is more than most people drink is nonsense. Our bodies have good homeostasis. When we get dehydrated we get thirsty so we drink. This can be faulty in some illnesses particularly dementia but most of us know when we need to drink

[dayslikethese1]

I think a lot of it is habits learnt in childhood that then are your normal. My family always cooked, lots veg, hiking all the time etc. We didn't have takeaways and they would never have taken me in a fast food place. We never had readymeals. We had treats (homemade cakes etc.) but they'd be limited so we'd be allowed one biscuit and then the tin would go away.

My DP's family are very different; there is always a huge amount of food on the table and you're encouraged to have more and more (in fact his DF is really quite pushy about it).

[dayslikethese1]

Ppl who feel too full in restaurants; if you dont want to waste it you can take it home. I always do that and eat it for lunch the next day. That way every time I eat out I'm basically getting 2 meals so its not bad value really

[Chanjer]

I'm really not convinced of this. They may eat a lot of junk food, but huge amounts would need to be checked. They probably eat smaller portions than overweight people

I would be one of those people that others assume can eat what they want, in huge amounts, without exercise.

Truth is I can/could do that, for a period of time that's probably longer than other people could.

In reality I do loads and loads of exercise most of the time but sometimes I go on holiday for a few months and I don't do any exercise and I drink every day and I eat like a horse every day and I can do it for a few months with zero change in outward appearance or significant effect on the scales.

But I can't do it indefinitely. The people who see me when I'm on holiday probably think I'm a mutant

However the most overweight person I know eats effectively what I'd consider a meal for 2 on their own, pretty much every meal. Even when he's on a health tip his portion size is eye watering, a huge bowl of porage, with nuts, fruit, honey, 2-4 slices of toast with spreads, a yoghurt, a banana and you're looking at all this stuff and thinking how many people is this for? And he couldn't understand that, he couldn't understand why anyone would stop at a bowl of porage, when there's all that other food that needs eating

He's still really overweight, unsurprisingly, sometimes he loses more than my entire bodyweight during a health phase

Had a previous partner when I was young that when she cooked dinner used to cook 2 chickens as standard, for 2 people. She used to eat chicken cos it was healthier than other meats in her perception but she could not perceive that this did not mean you should eat a whole chicken every day to stay healthy

[dontdisturbmenow]

When we get dehydrated we get thirsty so we drink. This can be faulty in some illnesses particularly dementia but most of us know when we need to drink
Definitely not the case. I very rarely feel thirsty. I exercise a lot, will sweat a lot, ie. shirt soaking and yet will feel no thirst at all.

It was never much a problem before, I seemed to be ok on little, but it has become so as so got older. I suffer from headaches which I now know are due to dehydration.

I have to concentrate to remind myself to drink all the time now and the more so need it the more I seem to forget!

I don't suffer from any illnesses and I know other people who are just like me.

[Gwenhwyfar]

"if you dont want to waste it you can take it home. I always do that and eat it for lunch the next day. That way every time I eat out I'm basically getting 2 meals so its not bad value really wink"

The doggy bag has traditionally been a faux pas in some restaurants. I think there should be signs encouraging us to do this, but mainly I think restaurants should offer smaller portions for smaller people.

[Bettybunny23]

Half the slim people i know are slim because they put the effort in (and occasionally fluctuate weight wise), the other half don't love food that much or alcohol (happy to have one drink), they tend to come from slim families. My life revolves around food, it is the first thing i think about when i wake up. I am 2 & a half stones overweight....I fluctuate 10stone and 13stone.

[dayslikethese1]

gwen Not aware doggy bags were a faux pas but it might be that I don't go to very fancy restaurants I've never gotten any comments or funny looks for it. I really hate wasting anything. But I also consider eating when you are full to be a waste, kind of like carrying on drinking when you are already a nice level of merry

[Gwenhwyfar]

"gwen Not aware doggy bags were a faux pas"

I did say 'traditionally'. It's changing, but I think it's still seen as a bit American.

[psychomath]

@invisibleoldwoman

”90% of what I eat is fruit or vegetables”.

A number of posters on this thread have said they mainly eat vegetables. Can anyone say what sort of meals they have? Not detailed recipes, just to give an idea of how the food is prepared. Do you have any carbs or protein with the veg?

Looking for ideas.

Some examples:

• stuffed veg (e.g. peppers or aubergines)
• curry
• stir fry
• pasta/rice/grains with roast veg mixed in
• vegetable stew/casserole/tagine
• vegetable crumble
• vegetable burritos/fajitas
• root vegetable chips
• salad - but not a boring salad that's just lettuce and dressing, but one with e.g. sweet potatoes, roast peppers, feta cheese, apples, nuts, pomegranate seeds... whatever you have or can get.

Also for breakfast (on non-work days) I usually have cereal with one or two types of fruit cut up on top. I eat carbs with every meal, but mostly as a side rather than the main focus iyswim - e.g. the main thing will be curry and I'll have rice with it. Probably don't eat as much protein as I should tbh.

[UpsyDaaaisy]

I've always been quite slim and a healthy weight but I've always been very active which i think has helped massively. I prefer to eat little and often and when i do pig out on a huge meal (i.e. Christmas) i don't tend to eat much afterwards. Although the last 6 month's or so my eating habits have gotten horrendous and I'm noticing the weight creeping up so am watching this thread with interest!

[BertieBotts]

It takes me about three days without proper meals to start feeling wobbly from hunger. I def wouldn't feel that hungry after missing one meal.

[nanbread]

A number of posters on this thread have said they mainly eat vegetables. Can anyone say what sort of meals they have? Not detailed recipes, just to give an idea of how the food is prepared. Do you have any carbs or protein with the veg?

Usually try to have at least 1/2 my plate made up of veggies, and I love green veg like broccoli, green beans, kale, spinach etc so that accounts for a lot of it.

If I do a eg a pasta dish with kale, I'll put in a huge bunch of kale so I end up with just as much if not more kale than pasta.

I try to have a good source of protein with every main meal too, like eggs, tofu, fish, lentils. Sometimes cheese.

I do eat carbs like rice, potatoes, bread etc too, but I don't have them every single meal religiously.

I don't avoid carbs at all, I just prioritise protein and veg because I feel is healthier, and that leaves less room for carbs.

Having said that I had a massive cheese and potato pasty for lunch!

[Shmurf]

No doubt some overweight people have medical conditions, but it seems like the majority have some excuse for being fat. This is totally at odds with all the overweight people you see in fast food places like greggs and all the fat woman eating cakes and donuts in the office.

[IntermittentParps]

It takes me about three days without proper meals to start feeling wobbly from hunger. I def wouldn't feel that hungry after missing one meal.
Christ, really? I start to run out of energy and brain power, and feel shaky, if I miss one meal! I sometimes wonder if there's something not quite right with me (blood sugar?). I'm very lanky (I wouldn't say skinny although others do) and tall, and don't weigh much, so I mustn't have much in the way of stored fat. But I think I eat a lot –people often find my portions/appetite bigger than what they're used to.

[roundandsideways]

As a child in the 70s, my parents had a rule at meal times that we must eat all vegetables and meat before we had chapattis, I thin' this was standard in Indian households. We generally only ate two hand sized chapattis each, my mother would eat just one. We rarely ate bread, often just one slice of toast, usually loaded with a thick layer of butter, lots of cheese, pints of milk, and maybe one piece of fruit a day
Now people load their large dinner plates with rice, potatoes etc., then a tiny portion of veg. It's common place to eat more fruit than veg in a day. Add to that poverty, and people do eat a cheap carb based diet.

[LouJ85]

@nanbread

A number of posters on this thread have said they mainly eat vegetables. Can anyone say what sort of meals they have? Not detailed recipes, just to give an idea of how the food is prepared. Do you have any carbs or protein with the veg?

Usually try to have at least 1/2 my plate made up of veggies, and I love green veg like broccoli, green beans, kale, spinach etc so that accounts for a lot of it.

If I do a eg a pasta dish with kale, I'll put in a huge bunch of kale so I end up with just as much if not more kale than pasta.

I try to have a good source of protein with every main meal too, like eggs, tofu, fish, lentils. Sometimes cheese.

I do eat carbs like rice, potatoes, bread etc too, but I don't have them every single meal religiously.

I don't avoid carbs at all, I just prioritise protein and veg because I feel is healthier, and that leaves less room for carbs.

Having said that I had a massive cheese and potato pasty for lunch!

I eat very little veg - 70-80% of my diet is carbs. I guess I must just eat very few carbs at a time to be able to maintain a BMI of 18-20 my whole life.

[Mominatrix]

My ethnicity has one of the lowest rates of obesity in the post industrial world, 4%. Additionally, their definition of obese is lower than other countries (25, not 30). Our diet is carb heavy, with white rice or noodles at every meal. We also eat loads of little plates of vegetables, not much in the way of ultraprocessed food, not a great deal of meat, and more fish than meat, not many sweets, and fermented food are one of the cornerstones of our diet. There is, however, a culture of revering ultra thin bodies and lots of body shaming weight gain.

[Popc0rn]

I'm 5'4 and 54kg. I've been 54kg pretty much my whole adult life, it doesn't really change. People often comment that I'm too skinny and must not eat etc, but I honestly think that my metabolism is just set to keep me at 54kg or something (I know that sounds really smug).

• weigh every day and take immediate action if their weight goes up by more than 5lbs. it never changes much
• never accept a biscuit I eat biscuits every day
• only drink one glass of wine (unless its a very special occasion when they may have two) I don't like wine (and it doesn't like me , I drink gin and tonic instead, but don't drink much nowadays
• never order themselves a dessert/ice cream etc (will just eat whatever their kids leave) I usually have desert if I'm eating out, don't have it at home apart from fruit
• exercise 5-6 days a week without fail, including Christmas Day this fluctuates, but usually I go to the gym 2 - 3 times a week, run a couple of times a week, also have a job that involves being on my feet most of the time and walk my relatives dog regularly. The only exercise I get on Christmas day is a walk with the family
• never have seconds I never need seconds, I make a portion that fills me up

[Airwick01]

Haven’t read all 28 pages(!) but I’m a size 8, weigh 8st 3lbs and don’t do half of the things stated in the op.

I dunk biscuits in my tea a few days a week, but I’ll only have 3 maximum (could easily eat a whole pack if I don’t restrain myself)

Mon- Thurs I don’t drink wine, but do on Fridays/ Saturdays and sometimes sundays depending on what we’re doing. Oh, and I often get pissed on these days so it’s more like 4-5 glasses!

Always order desert. In fact we eat out once a fortnight and I don’t feel happy unless I’ve had 3 courses.

Only weigh myself once every few months, but you’re right, if my clothes start to feel tight and therefore I’ve put on a few lbs, I’ll cut out the crap for a few days until they’re shifted. I never let myself out on more than a few lbs in weight, so much easier to get it off than if you let it creep up to 1/2 stone or more.

I do between 10-15,000 steps each day walking the dog.

I don’t eat lunch, so just breakfast and dinner and a few times a week some biscuits with my tea mid afternoon.

I try and be ‘good’ Mon- Thursday and then eat what the hell I want the other few days.

[lilgreen]

Skipping lunch is major in your diet. You’re saving 3-500 cals a day there.

[jewel1968]

I saw an experiment on BBC once with I think Dr Mosley. It was based on an unethical experiment done on prisoners in the US in the 50s or 60s.

Basically they took a group of slim people and increased their calorie intake significantly for a few weeks. They were not allowed to exercise. They did detailed tests on them to monitor impact. They all put on weight but it varied with some increasing fat a lot and others not so much. The really interesting case was one man did put on a lot of weight but it was ALL muscle. Scientists had no explanation for that.

In the unethical experiment the prisoners were all fed huge amount of calories and their weight monitored. They all gained huge amount of weight but a strange thing happened they all plateaued and didn't gain additional weight when the scientists expected them to. I think they were all confined too as you might imagine. As I said unethical.

[Greenpop21]

I’ve always been within about 7lb of 9st in adulthood. I’m 5ft 5 so bmi about 22. It has crept up to 10st once and I felt overweight as I’m quite a small frame . I’ve never gone over that apart from pregnancy. I rarely snack and it would be fruit if I did. I love fruit and veg and healthy foods and dislike butter, cream and pastry and most desserts and cakes. I drink but only at weekends and rarely more than 3 small glasses of wine at a time. I like crisps so don’t buy them often. I love cheese but have small amounts with a salad day and really enjoy it. I notice I eat smaller portions than others at work but I do t consider my portion small. I don’t want a big lunch or I’ll feel too full all afternoon. Dinner is my biggest meal but I’ll make bolognaise with turkey mince, use wholewheat pasta, use skimmed milk etc because I don’t like fatty tastes really so prefer salty cheeses. I walk my dog daily and briskly 45 mins, longer at weekends. I only really eat chocolate once a month and not much.

[invisibleoldwoman]

psychomath nanbread
Thank you.

[Fudgemonkeys]

I'm mid 50's and weigh 1/2 stone heavier than in my 20's, except in pregnancy. My BMI is 20 and I'm 5ft 5. I think I'm genetically lucky, my elderly dad is stick thin, my mum is very very cuddly My trick is simply being careful at least 5 days of the week, if drinking moderation except when going out. I don't snack, hate chocolate but love cheese! I have dogs so 10,000 steps easy but they're fast steps not at a leisurely pace. My hubby is trying to loose weight but loves his food, alcohol, snacks etc. He finds the whole cutting down of food portions very hard.