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?

You weren’t attractive 🤮😰

I am very good at losing weight but pretty rubbish at maintaining. I can be really controlled when dieting to hit a target but I can’t sustain it over the long term as I like cake and pizza too much. I’m at a point where I need to decide if I want to be relatively controlled for the long-term and be an 8-10 or be more relaxed and be a 12-14. I do think 1000-1200 for maintenance is quite strict and a bit depressing but it backs up some of what I’ve been thinking that a degree of control will always be needed for some women to stay slim and I’m one of them. My Fitbit seems to have me burning around 2000-2200 calories most days and I feel quite sedentary other than running after small children so my feeling is I could maintain on 1700-1800.

I am 40 soon and a size 8 at 5ft 4 and 56kg. I am not naturally thin and lost over 20kg a few years ago and have maintained since. I weight train 5 x per week, eat between 1200-1400 calories most days, do about 15000 steps a day and have recently cut out alcohol so I can lose abit more.

I can't believe so many posters eat 1200 kcals or fast as standard. I have defo put weight on over lockdown as clothes feel tighter but I don't think I could even stick to 1200 for a few days.

frumpety

Absolutely right. But the key difference is I won't be hungry when I eat 900 calories a day - I will be satisfied and not hungry.

Two things happen when the upper part is removed - the Ghrelin hormone (hunger producing) is pretty much removed so not hungry. And the PYY (hunger repressing) goes up.

So I'm not going to be hungry.

5:2. I do it when I need to lose weight and a version of it permanently. Version being some days I'll eat a huge veggie stir fry for dinner and only snack on crackers. Some days I'll make a huge glut of salsa and eat it with low cal crackers or cream crackers and not much else. Today I had that for dinner, lunch with a loadof salad leaves with bits of lean chicken, rice and low cal dressing. I low cal most days and then when I have a day off i EAT and drink alllll the wine. But It's okay because I watch myself on the 'normal' days. I also do an ab workout most days (takes 10 minutes) and 50 pressups. I run whenever I get chance. I sort of enjoy it. Sort of
But I have a balance. If I didn't, and ate what I wanted, I'd be the size of a small house.

Hello OP - I'm not advocating how I did it and still do it but I was always A size 8 u TIL I had kids then I went to a size 12 which I wasn't happy with. I literally just 8 one meal a day and then when I got to my ideal went back to normal. Now I weight myself regularly and if I put weight on I don't have breakfast or lunch the next day. It's not that hard really but probably not that healthy

@Stumpedasatree

I'm 44 and a size 6-8, but only 5ft 3. I exercise a helluva lot, mainly running most days a week, and a bit of weights as well. I don't eat bread or carbs like pasta or cereal, but do like homemade cake, chocolate, rice and oats. I love fruit and vegetables, and tend to eat healthily 90% of the time. I would like to stay this slim as it helps with my running and I feel fine, but hell it is hard.

My typical day:
No breakfast or an apple, coffee and juice
Usually porridge or soup for lunch with fruit
Normal dinner with lots of veg, a protein, and too much carb
Yoghurt

Sorry meant to say not too much carb in the last paragraph, and mostly whole foods.

@Pabloshoney being lighter helps me to run more effectively - I believe!

What sort of distances do you run?

@PablosHoney
Once you get over 40 you can't eat what you want, it takes discipline to stay a normal size. I love sport, I like being healthy and prefer being slim to overweight so what's your problem?

Just exactly what I have already stated

I fast twice a week.

@ginsparkles

I fast twice a week.

That sounds healthy I really couldn't imagine being so obsessed with fitting into a size 8 that I literally starve myself twice a week.

Intermittent fasting can be very healthy, @greytexpectations. Put the phrase into PubMed to give yourself an idea. Here you go: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=intermittent+fasting

Do you really think it's either size 8 or loads of health conditions? It's not one extreme or the other, there is a middle ground! But nice job of shaming anyone who isn't your messed up version of "healthy" hmm

^

Not sure where I actually said that?

But I'll bite and tell you than when I was bigger (me, personally) had all those problems listed, which medical professionals said was a cause of excessive weight.

That enough for you?

How bloody dare you? colon cancer because you are a female and not size 6/8? Do you have half a brain at all?

^

Seriously? You want me to do the math for you? That's the conclusion you come to from that information?

@Sailingblue I think I’m at a similar point to you. I can be a size 8/10 but I need to seriously calorie count and restrict to get there and maintain. It ends up being all I think about and I get to a point where I say ‘screw it, there’s more to life than this’ and I’ll start eating more (not loads more, just what I’d like to eat rather than weighing everything out and recording it) and I drift back towards a 12/14 which is probably my natural state. Then of course I start to feel too big, don’t think I look as good in my clothes and I go through the same cycle again. Classic yo-yo dieting I guess.

I do loads of exercise but while that keeps things toned I don’t think it has much influence on my weight, it’s all down to food intake.

I would like to get out of the cycle though, I eat a mainly plant based, home cooked diet but also love cake, pizza from time to time and I can’t ever imagine a life without certain foods. This thread has been useful in telling me what I already know, that if it isn’t in your genes it’s always going to be hard work to permanently be that small and I’m never going to be that disciplined. It’s also getting harder to loose the weight every time I restrict so whereas before I would always indulge at Christmas, on holidays, times of stress etc in the knowledge that a few weeks of dieting would get me back to my ‘perfect’ weight I’m realising that I might not always have that option.

it’s what you eat that counts the most rather than the exercise. you can’t outrun a bad diet

I should be tiny at five feet tall but have disabilities and can't burn off calories very well so I battle with my weight. I'm at least 1.5 stone over weight and in late forties with huge hormonal shifts.
I can't lose a pound even if I just have copious veg and fruit.
I was a runner and swimmer and kept it off that way before becoming unwell.
I really really struggle with how I look now and buying bigger clothes. Someone took a beach photo of me the other day and I could have cried
I was cheated on with much younger and slimmer women as well which makes it hurt more

I should also add that my extra weight is exacerbating my other problems

This is really interesting and a bit of a contract to the habits of people who consider themselves naturally thin. i has a post that asked the question - 28 pages of answers can be distilled as saying many “naturally” slim people don’t have a sweet tooth and just have naturally good portion control/fullness sensors so their “I eat what I want” means they eat the right number of calories without thinking about it.

I think calorie counting is an important part of a some less naturally slim people’s habits as we don’t have the right sensors to monitor our intake otherwise.

Ditto daily weighing- a lot of naturally slim people said they never weigh themselves but that they do cut back or exercise more if their jeans feel tight. However I know that If I don’t with daily then it is very easy to lie to myself about how tight those jeans are, which leads to deciding leaving the top button undo, then deciding not to wear that pair, And boom, I’ve put on 10lbs....

contrast, not contract. Multiple typos, sorry!! [why won’t @MNHQ* give us an edit button!!]

WhatwillSanta yes, daily weighing helps keep things under control. If I eat too much one day, I eat less or fast the next. It is just moderation, common sense and discipline to stay slim. And not eating for the sake of it, if you aren't hungry, skip a meal.

@managedmis

Do you really think it's either size 8 or loads of health conditions? It's not one extreme or the other, there is a middle ground! But nice job of shaming anyone who isn't your messed up version of "healthy" hmm

^

Not sure where I actually said that?

But I'll bite and tell you than when I was bigger (me, personally) had all those problems listed, which medical professionals said was a cause of excessive weight.

That enough for you?

Nope, wrong and ridiculous ignorant. So because you had those health issues when you were bigger than a size 8 you assume anyone who isn't an 8 also will? That is ridiculous stupid logic. I'd go and educate yourself a bit better if I were you.

I used to be on a lot of different diets, tracking everything etc. Then I realised that if I didn't restrict myself then I won't crave bad food later. Moderation is the key, so I gradually came out of the dieting mindset. It took a bit of tracking to see when and why I was overeating and I used healthyweightstrategies.com to do this and deal with a lot of other reasons why I was still not losing. Now I happily maintain a lower weight without thinking about it! I basically am healthier but I don't restrict treats when I want them. Im much happier. My weight fluctuates around the time of the month though.