If you're a size 8-10 (or your ideal) but not naturally slim how do you stay that way?

[overweightcat]

I know some people are just naturally rather petite or slim and willowy.

But if you're not and manage to stay a size 8-10 how do you do it?

I'm 5'5 and recently lost weight and gone down to a solid size 12 - 10 in certain shops. Beforehand it was on the larger side of size 14.
I used to be very slim in my teens, had a terrible diet full of crap and sweets but was also very active around 8hrs a week of various sports/dance activities. I became quite sedentary and steadily piled on the weight since.

I don't have long legs or a small frame or anything - if anything I find that I'm rather in proportion all around and when I used to do a lot of sports I looked slim and athletic not willowy (which I'd prefer TBH).
Size 8-10 is my ideal I think as I've recently seen pictures of myself when I was that size and I think that's when I looked my healthiest and fittest - but I'm not sure how to get there.

My weight is at a bit of a standstill at the moment and I want to lose in a sustainable way. I probably have about 9lbs to go.

So anyone who has managed to achieve that and stay the desired size - can you share how you did it?

I thought BMR was the amount you could eat and stay the same if you didn’t move an inch..

It is. Basically the amount your body burns just staying alive. No one should be eating below this. I think people confuse the term with tdee which is calorie burn based on how much you actually do whether for weight loss or maintaining

I’m 56, have been a size 10 most of my life. Eat relatively healthy and exercise most days either, cardio, weights or both. Have a stand up desk at work and tend not to sit down until the evening. I also take the dog out every day.

I’m a size 10, but I will admit I don’t exactly have a great diet. It’s not the amount of food I eat, I would say I generally eat around 2000 calories a day. Maybe 2500 on day where I’m more active. It’s the types of foods I eat that aren’t great tbh. So although I’m slim I’m not what you could call ‘healthy’ & I definitely do need to work on my diet.

I don’t have some magical metabolism though and I’m not one of those people who just eats crap and never gains weight. I think the reason I’ve been able to stay slim is my job. I work in a small supermarket 32 hours a week, so I’m on my feet, walking back and forth, lifting heavy boxes and running up and down stairs (stock room is down a flight of stairs) for 32 hours a week solid. Each shift is honestly like a workout. I also don’t drive so I walk everywhere. I walk my DD to nursery 4 days a week (or did before covid) which is 15 minutes there, 15 minutes back and the walk back is up a steep hill and I’m pushing my almost 2 stone DS in his buggy which is pretty knackering.

Before I had kids I had an office job where I basically sat on my bum for 8 hours a day & I lived in a city with much better transport links therefore I didn’t walk as much. I was a size 8 but had to work much harder at it to the point it pretty much consumed my life. I dragged myself to the gym 4 evenings a week which was absolutely the last thing I wanted to do after a long day at work. & I had a little calorie counting diary on my phone where I would record absolutely everything I ate and would never go above 1700 calories a day and allowed myself only one cheat day. It was absolutely no way to live and I’m glad I now have quite an active lifestyle without having to go to the gym or anything like that. I just need to incorporate some healthier foods into my diet.

I'm a size 10. Oops another size 10 has attached itself to me.

I don’t get it 😂

It's a little ridiculous to speak of sizes. They are so variable, as is the BMI which if you are very muscly doesn't make sense.

I'm 5ft 11 and 70.7kg with a BMI of 21.8. I eat around 2500-2600. Do weight and cardio HITT as well as a lot of regular walking, cycling and jogging. None of the calculators get it right for me. They all say I will gain if I eat more than 2300 but I'm usually hungry for more in the evening if I've had 2300 and haven't gained weight.

I love reading comments from short people talking about how big 70kg is 😂 my PT was horrified when I was 67kg!! This all feeds into my thinking that I must be gigantic and fat to be 70kg, and I need to lose more and get down to at least 65/66kg.

However my family intervened when I was 66kg last November to put on weight (looking back, I do look gaunt in the pictures).

Coincidentally, even though I'm 70kg twice in the past 2 weeks I've had people tell me there isn't much to me.

I restricted myself to 1600 calories a day for 3 months last year to lose weight. It was really miserable, it affected my mood and I remember crying at the bottom of a hill because I didn't have the strength to climb it and my Mum putting me in a shawl on my birthday because I was so cold.

I eat healthily-ish and run ~30k per week. I do eat carbs/fat/dessert though.

Based on some of the responses here I'm really hoping I wont have to start restricting food too much as I get older to stay slim, it sounds bleak. Impressed by some of your willpower though!

I’m a size 12 and try to keep my carbs low through the week and relax a bit at weekends.
I look slim and I eat plenty of veg.

You have your own answer then, short people look fatter at 70kg than tall people

I follow a low carb diet and am very strict with myself - am menopausal and on HRT so have to be. My diet is varied though and extremely healthy apart from Saturday evenings when I will eat absolute shite like cheap hotdogs straight out of a tin or curried noodles from Lidl.

I could easily be quite heavy but maintain a BMI of 21.6 by doing the above, walking about 6 miles a day and not drinking alcohol. I weigh myself every day. I do laugh when people say I am lucky to be naturally slim - it’s bloody hard work.

Counting calories isn't for everyone. I dont agree its quick and easy especially when you're not the one doing the cooking. DH does the cooking for a family of 5 (me, him and 3 DCs) so I have no idea of the calories. I have tried, but Im a bit of a perfectionist so to find a random food similar (say a restaurants menu) just doesn't work for me.

That BMR gives me 1495 calories. I'm 5ft 5 and 12 stone 8 (so in no way slim at a size 16)

I only want to lose weight so I can run faster, but I'd be happy at a size 12 or 10. Enjoy running much more when I don't weigh as much as it is easier and I am faster. Currently looking to lose this excess weight anyway now. Only on week 1 after hitting a low last Saturday and losing my weekend to another thread similar to this one.

I run 110km a week and still have to watch what I eat. The menopause doesn't help!

@WhatWillSantaBring

I think that for some people (I'm guessing *@managedmis* and I'd include myself) they feel that it is a choice between being slim (size 8/10) and being massively overweight and risking the health problems that being obese brings. Before you bite, let me explain:

If I am a size 10, I have to work at it to stay there. But at that size, I am light enough to exercise, and do it well. Because of my ultra-competitive nature, I hate doing something I'm crap at, so if I run 5k when I'm a size 14, I'm slow, it hurts my knees, and I don't enjoy it, so I feel rubbish, whereas if I'm a size 10, it hurts less and I go faster, so I enjoy it more.

Also, if I'm a size 14, I feel fat and horrible, so it starts affecting my mental health. So I eat more, put on more weight and suddenly I'll find I'm a size 18 and obese.

So for some people, who have a complicated relationship with food or their weight, it does feel like a binary choice between being a size 8/10 and being a size 18/20.

I'm not saying that's right, and I fully recognise that it's not a great state of mind to be in, and I sincerely wish it was a simple as saying "don't obsess about your weight" and "don't connect your happiness with your size" but that's just like saying "don't be depressed" to someone with depression, or "don't have a broken leg" to someone with a broken leg. I'm working on it though, so if anyone has any tips on how to break the connection, please please tell me.

This!

No tips but wanted to say well done, you articulated this much better than I could have.

My mental health is directly linked to my weight, rightly or wrongly that is just the way it is

Why we need plus size school uniforms I will never understand 😪 very sad

It's not that surprising if there are people stuffing 3 year olds with 1200 calories a day.

Not sure I fit your criteria because I was always slim when younger. After having my son, my metabolism slowed down somewhat and I started to notice weight creeping up. What works for me is WHEN I eat rather than what. I listened to a Dr Chatterjee podcast and now, a good few days a week I won’t eat until 11am... and then won’t eat after 7pm (not always, but most days) I’ve found that not only has it kept my weight stable, but my IBS has settled down and I don’t get bloated anymore.
Apparently it’s much better for you to have a short ‘eating window’ of between 8 and ten hours.

Thank you I will check that podcast out .

It's not that surprising if there are people stuffing 3 year olds with 1200 calories a day

@PhoneLock

Please tell us your medical and/or scientific qualifications which make you able to advise on the calorie needs of toddlers?

not sure about toddlers but I thought kids were meant to eat a lot on account of their activity level & growing.

A quick google says that a three year old should be eating between 1000-1400 calories a day so no idea why someone is attempting to fat shame children on this thread or parents who are feeding their children.

I control my weight by having a very restrictive vegetarian diet. No more than 1200 calories a day and usually 800. I'm 5'9" and between 8 and 8.5 stone. I feel that I have to do this as I live in a situation where I can't control much else.

The young lady who leaves half of her restaurant starter and has snack a soup for dinner must be a laugh a minute.

As per the above, why would that make someone any more or less fun than someone who overeats or who eats a middling amount?! Its just food...

I'm a size 8 - 10 but as I'm short and small framed just look very normal at that size. I do look better half a stone thinner but the effort it would take would be huge and I cant be arsed. I admire those with the willpower to do it but dont judge people either way.

Each to their own (chips, or whatever).

@BurMaMa2 that sounds like an eating disorder. I'm 5ft 10 and I couldn't survive on 800 cals

Sorry, I should have said ordinary rather than 'normal'. I imagine that many people of average height and up would look much thinner than me at the same size.

Random thoughts:
Food: try to eat healthily and cover all the food groups and nutritional requirements (veg/fruit/carbs/protein/calcium/good fats); very little deep-fried food (never deep-fry at home); hardly ever eat out/get takeaways; avoid 'bad fats' that I won't miss much (for me eg: mayo, chocolate, ice cream) and allow myself (but minimise) bad fats that I would miss (for me: crisps, biscuits) so that I don't feel deprived; make sure to eat good fats (eg olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds); have lots of healthy snacks on hand (I'm a big snacker - stops me from feeling famished and eating a huge meal); stop eating if I'm full and save the rest for later; been vegan for a long time (but I'm more of a junk-food vegan ).

Fitness: walk as much as possible; stationery bike; use weights (at home) to build muscle and tone; simple core exercises; zumba class; Yoga with Adrienne on Youtube; isometric exercises (basically just using your own muscle tension). Hard to fit these in, so usually just a few minutes to half an hour here and there when I can.

Also the usual: good posture is essential - something I always have trouble with; reduce/manage stress; get enough sleep; stay hydrated; etc.