To let you into a secret about being slim.....

[Yellow1793]

I’m 5’2” and an untoned size 10. Over the last year or so (lockdown excluded) I’ve spent extended amounts of time with 4 different female friends, who are all taller, slimmer and considerably more toned than me. Aside from the fact that they all exercise at least 5 times a week, they also eat like birds. Their lifestyle revolves around making healthy choices, every single day, and I’m beginning to wonder if you do this consistently if you just stop feeling hungry. One of them regularly skips lunch. Another never has more than 2 glasses of alcohol in one sitting. Another always eats about 30% less than I do.....last time I was with her she had a small pasta portion for her lunch whilst serving me 3x the amount of pasta she had AND 2 sausages. No wonder she is tiny. None of them calorie count or talk about diets because their lifestyle choice is one big diet. I’d love to have their discipline.

What's the point of being slim if that means you have no stamina? I bet these thin ladies who eat like birds would not be able to pull the same mount of work in the garden as I do, or go and do such long walks (or pull an all-nighter at work when a deadline is looming, and still be able to function the next day)

I'm fairly sure about it, coz I used to be stupid slim, and even though I loved being active, I'd have random fainting spells when out and about. This has stopped happening after 2 babies, now that my stomach has grown a handy "camel hump".

(Being thin through burning the calories by exercising is a different story. Much healthier than the "starving yourself" variety of thinness)

That’s nonsense. Slim people probably have more stamina as their hearts work less hard to move them around.

There is a lot of nonsense on this thread!

@Hairthrowaway

I’m slim (6/8) and generally eat whatever I want, whenever I want. If I do gain weight, my body eventually snaps back to normal (luckily). So I don’t have to put too much thought into what I eat.

Today I did make some of those decisions you mention eg not completely clearing my plate at lunch, but that was more because it was a shitty supermarket pesto pasta and wasn’t very nice. A bonus was that I have “extra” calories to play with later I suppose.

I do generally go for low calorie snacks too. It’s crazy how one bag of crisps can contain 300 calories and another under 100. Both are equally satisfying so I’d opt for the low cal

Your final paragraph indicates that you already put more thought into it than most people.

I'm slim and I don't do any of that, I never eat breakfast though so maybe add that to the list.

I've always been slim, I eat well and really enjoyed my food. I am quite happy to polish off an entire pizza and do so every Friday. I make healthy choices where I can without, finding myself too much. I weigh 8 1/2 stone and I'm 5 foot three.

I know some people say life is too short to be slim, but to be honest for me I really really like being slim, I would genuinely not like being fat so for me it's the other way around.

Horses for courses I guess.

"Yes. This is what I was trying to say. Eat when you’re hungry, don’t eat if you’re not hungry. Feel free to skip a meal or forget to eat if you’re not hungry or absorbed in something else.
Then food doesn’t become the thing you think about all the time."

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

What a thread

I suffered with eating disorders and disordered eating for years being obsessed with exercise, starving binging making my self sick. When I had children I didn't have time to obsess about food or weight and ate when I had time, as time went on id get chance to eat but would just stop when I was full or If I. overindulged I just ate healthy for a couple of days and I generally have a very normal eating pattern now and probably being in the best shape in years.
I think a lot of staying in shape is eating when hungry and stopping when full.

Hi :) just chipping in. I’ve been a size 8 my whole life never fluctuated and I eat VAST amounts. Same portion sizes as my husband. Also have a naughty snack habit, like most people.

The idea that all slim women are unhappy and starving themselves is not true. I’m sure plenty are, but all I can say is it’s not the case for me.

I suppose all you can do it be true to your own shape. Some people suit being slim and some suit being larger. People’s bodies always gravitate towards their own natural shape eventually and as long as you feel you are healthy and happy, what’s the problem.

I will say that we’ve always had home-cooked meals every day, never ready meals. I don’t know how many calories are I things either as I never counted.

Also my mum probably did a good job of bringing us up not to place importance on what we looked like. We weren’t even allowed Barbies! (although Cindy apparently was okay as she was British )

*Have one piece of cake a day instead of the whole cake

I’ve often wondered if it is better (or at least the same) to eat the whole cake so it is gone, then not have any more cake for the rest of the week. It’s the same total calories.*

You’re my kind of person 😁

@Mothermorph

* While you say your meals are "huge", you're describing mostly fruit and vegetables. (Which, if you wanted to put on weight, are probably not going to do a lot) *
Do you eat any carbs, or fat?

As my follow up posts clarified
That’s kind of the point.
No I don’t eat much carbs because my tastes are much much orientated towards fresh and carbs don’t generally fall in to that category (although fruit and veg are carbs)

So my point is - I do eat, unlike OP statement. And I do eat a LOT, unlike OP statement
But what I eat is enjoy is naturally conducive with being slim. No effort as such. Just a preference that lends itself to slimness

Skyliner I've always been slim, I eat well and really enjoyed my food. I am quite happy to polish off an entire pizza and do so every Friday. I make healthy choices where I can without, finding myself too much. I weigh 8 1/2 stone and I'm 5 foot three.

Similar here, and I've always wondered what is supposed to be so desperately unhealthy about pizza!

Its literally bread dough with tomato sauce and something like chicken and vegetables on top, baked in an oven. Its not deep fat fried, its not chocolate, etc - what is supposed to be so bad about it?

Its like rice too. Innocuous rice. I have a friend who swears blind that it is eating rice which makes her overweight. When pressed on the rice issue, she says that it is because she eats too much rice???

Surely it is the things you eat with pizza or rice that would make them fattening? Or if you ate a takeaway version of them every night? But on their own, they can be part of a normal well balanced diet.

You are suggesting pizza isn’t fattening?

* Its literally bread dough with tomato sauce and something like chicken and vegetables on top, baked in an oven*

You convenient omit.... cheese!

What's the point of being slim if that means you have no stamina?

I'm slim and have loads of stamina. I compete, and finish in good time, mud runs and other endurance events without feeling like fainting.

At the moment I'm sat outside in the sun gobbling down Tesco Finest Mature Cheddar and Red Onion Crisps, washed down with a pint of Strongbow.

Some days I over eat in restaurants etc. At home I'm healthy eating. One or two days a week does fine for me. I'm 5'6'' 9 stone 11. Plus or minus a bit but in radio it's true. Never dieted!

Barring lettuce or steamed greens, anything can make you overweight if you eat enough of it...

I'm overweight but I don't drink alcohol, don't drink fizzy drinks, don't eat takeaways or fast food. I cook from scratch. But calories are calories

🤦🏻‍♀️Not this shit again. No. We don’t starve ourselves. No we don’t make healthy choices and work out 5 times a day. Stop generalising based on your group of friends.

I eat what I want and stop when I am full. Shock horror - at about 1am last night I was hungry and had half a family Cadburys while watching friends - not something that I haven’t been known to do. I absolutely binge drink when I want to on the weekends. I don’t over feed my friends. It’s just my metabolism. Peoples bodies are made differently - shocker. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Re: Pizza I know it does always seem surprising how bad it is for you! Basically when I have an entire pizza I am having pretty much my days worth of calories and fat. On a Friday I always really enjoy having full fat crisps, and a couple of drinks as well! Saturday is also a cheat day for me :-) the rest of the week I just make fairly healthy choices, but nothing crazy crazy healthy. Love being slim wouldn't change it.

You are suggesting pizza isn’t fattening?

Like everything, whether it is fattening or not, depends entirely on how much of it you eat.

@shinyredbus

🤦🏻‍♀️Not this shit again. No. We don’t starve ourselves. No we don’t make healthy choices and work out 5 times a day. Stop generalising based on your group of friends.

I eat what I want and stop when I am full. Shock horror - at about 1am last night I was hungry and had half a family Cadburys while watching friends - not something that I haven’t been known to do. I absolutely binge drink when I want to on the weekends. I don’t over feed my friends. It’s just my metabolism. Peoples bodies are made differently - shocker. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This!

* What's the point of being slim if that means you have no stamina?*

I'm slim and have loads of stamina. I compete, and finish in good time, mud runs and other endurance events without feeling like fainting.

At the moment I'm sat outside in the sun gobbling down Tesco Finest Mature Cheddar and Red Onion Crisps, washed down with a pint of Strongbow.

Likewise. Ran 10k this morning
Will do weights class tomorrow
But I’m eating a smoked salmon salad

So it’s possible with both kinds of diet!

Too many commas

No. We don’t starve ourselves

You might not but I only got to a size 8 by severe deprivation

Basically when I have an entire pizza I am having pretty much my days worth of calories and fat.

I think there’s a huge difference between homemade, frozen and take away pizza in terms of the fat and calories.

I'm 5ft5 and a size 6, probably clinically just underweight. I eat three meals a day plus snacks which is generally cake or biscuits. I drink what I want and have never stepped inside a gym. The only exercise I get is walking the dogs.

I hate it when people assume that skinny/slim people starve themselves and don't eat. Don't get me wrong, a lot do but also a lot don't.