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.

Well my skinniest friend has massive amounts of stamina. Drinks like a fish, can dance for hours and is absolutely hilarious. Another skinny friend doesn't drink, does exercise etc but is very fit and healthy.

The skinny = about to faint at any moment trope is not true. I've felt at my worst with extra weight and in the past taken slimming pills (yes I know) and was eating nothing and guess what? I felt GREAT! No weakness or dizziness or anything. Slept well, felt good emotionally, had loads of energy.

Whereas over lockdown eating and eating I feel like shit. Never had less energy. Now I'm taking saxenda, barely eating and it's just easy. We don't need half the food we think we do.

@PurpleDaisies

This is not homemade. Standard freezer fare

Even so, going off what we’ve got in the freezer here a whole pizza is about 800-1000 calories and 40-50g of fat. Not health food but as an occasional meal I don’t think it’s that awful? Is that really your daily calorie allowance or do we just have particularly low cal (!!) pizzas in?

I couldn't exist on 1000 Cala. Standers is 1500 -1800

Just as an aside I am by no means super slim. I'm only 5'3" so 8 and a half stone is not tiny.

I have never seen an energetic fat person. That's for sure. And not met a fat person stronger than me. I've met plenty who think they have large muscles, whereas really it's just fat on their arms and legs

And people who think they're choosing face over arse, end up with a face with fat hanging down and puffy faces with no definition. And wrinkles.

@roundandsideways

I have never seen an energetic fat person. That's for sure. And not met a fat person stronger than me. I've met plenty who think they have large muscles, whereas really it's just fat on their arms and legs

I’ve known a lot of energetic people who are overweight. Many nurses carry excess weight and bustle about just as energetically as their thinner colleagues.

Doubt it. Not just as capably, or as energetically.

And people who think they're choosing face over arse, end up with a face with fat hanging down and puffy faces with no definition. And wrinkles

And a big arse.

Having said that, big arses are "in" at the moment

Why are so many on here insistent that slim people diet/watch what they eat all the time

Some people are naturally slim eat loads of high calorie food and do little exercise they are just lucky

My luck unfortunately ran out when I because oh well had a good run (not actually run)

@LunaNorth

I eat like a bird.

Unfortunately it’s a fucking gannet.

Brilliant! I’m stealing that!

To the PP who posted the Guardian fat myth article, although a lot of what she says is true in my opinion, she’s wrong on the Resting Metabolic Rate. I went to a weight loss doctor 5 years ago to lose weight as I’d gone up to a BMI of 27. When I had my Resting Metabolic Rate tested it was 1100. The nurse doing the test said “oh, I’m so sorry.” It’s 1400 now or thereabouts and Ive been slim since but I have to exercise and watch every mouthful and I’m hungry a lot of the time despite doing low carb eating.

Sadly, when I get overweight, I dont get curves, instead, I look like a refrigerator, so I stick with the diet and exercise.

Just because you eat cake every day doesn't mean that you will be having 'extra' calories though. If you incorporate it as part of your diet then as long as you don't exceed the mount of calories that you are burning it's irrelevant where they come from in terms of weight gain.

@Staplemaple

It's weird how it's fine for people to say that thin people must have no life, never eat, no stamina, be boring and miserable; but if anyone ever says someone is overweight as they overeat or are too sedentary, that's not allowed. People always argue that it's fine as thin is the society ideal, but it's still hurtful to people. I've been underweight when we didnt have enough food growing up, to being overweight when in my teens my parents overcompensated with food as they could finally afford it, to a healthy weight now. So I've been all, and the reality is that I am mindful now of what I eat, but not miserable, happier with my body and with food than ever.

Eh? Loads of people in this thread have mentioned over eating. No-one has said it's "not allowed".

@PhoneLock

And people who think they're choosing face over arse, end up with a face with fat hanging down and puffy faces with no definition. And wrinkles

And a big arse.

Having said that, big arses are "in" at the moment

Big arses, not fat ones.

@PerfidiousAlbion she says “There’s a high probability that your BMR will lie somewhere between 1,400 and 2,000 kcal a day – unless you happen to fall into one of the two extremes of very high or very low body mass. The bottom line is that most people use far more than 1,500 kcal a day, but even people with extremely low consumption still need significantly more energy than 1,000 kcal. Which means it’s practically impossible not to lose weight on a daily calorie intake of 1,000 kcal.“
So presuming your BMR is above 1000 calories you’d still lose weight on a 1000 calories a day diet even if you were lying still.

Ok I want to talk pizza as I love pizza but it is something I try to watch carefully. I'm also a bit of a pizza nerd.

Domino's pizzas are as follows: Large: 1933 kcal, medium 1373 kcal, small 922 kcal, personal 526 kcal.

This is for the basic cheese and tomato pizza. No stuffed crust, no greasy meats, no sugary BBQ sauce base. This is about as healthy as it gets. A small pizza is easily a good portion of the calories you would get from meals, the rest being snacks, so I hope you skipped the other two meals.

As for oven pizzas, most range from around 700 kcal (tesco spinach and ricotta) to about 1100 (the more bready or larger ones). Some of the pizzas marketed as being 'take away style' are particularly large and calorific, such as the 'Chicago Town Takeaway Large Stuffed Cheese Pizza' which tops in at a whopping 1740 kcal.

So the very healthiest oven pizzas are not too bad for a meal, just as long as they aren't being served with chips or coke. The others should be eaten in halves or quarters.

As for proper Neapolitan style pizza, a very standard dough ball for a 12 inch pizza is 230g. This equates to around 137g of flour, clocking in at 492 kcal. Add in a 150g ball of mozzerella (the size of the small supermarket balls) and you add 354 kcal, making a total of 846 kcal, again excluding sauce, oil, toppings etc.

In short, a few slices of pizza is fine, but if you're eating a whole one, the chances are very very good its a calorie bomb.

This is about as healthy as it gets.

I make my own, I have a funny feeling this is healthier than anything Dominos is going to serve up.

I was overweight until 14 years ago when I decided to do something about it. I lost 5 stone and have generally kept it off (After 2 babies I had to work again to lose it)
I maintain around 10 stone, which for me is a size 10. I am at the very top of a healthy BMI.
In my personal experience when I was fat I was judged, now I’m a healthy weight I am judged. You cannot win. I’ve been told “You’re too skinny, you need to eat something” I eat plenty and don’t deprive myself of anything. I find that it’s generally overweight people who make these comments. I believe that we have lost sight of what a healthy weight/size looks like, because we are so used to people being overweight/obese And it is seen as the norm. 2/3 of adults in the U.K. are overweight or obese, therefore the 1/3 that aren’t are in the minority and told they are too skinny.

@millervino I think the comment was sarcastic.

@FreekStar

The secret to being slim is to never be fat in the first place. I don't know anyone who has been overweight and then managed to remain slim for a long time. Once your body has produced those fat cells they are there under the surface craving and ready to be filled in an instant!

Women I know who remain a healthy weight eat normally- they don't generally have big indulgent sessions often but enjoy their food, can go out for a meal and eat it all but eat healthily when at home. They don't drink excessively but enjoy a few glasses, or share a bottle of wine at weekends in a social situation, they exercise regularly. They don't think about eating cake and chocolate all the time or crave unhealthy food a lot!

Women I know who are really slim don't each much- they pick at their food and leave a lot!

I’m someone that lost weight and kept it off! 5 stone 14 years ago, lost what I needed to after having babies fairly easily. Now if I put on more than 2lbs I just make sure to get rid of them which only takes a few days.

Well done @Purplelion how did you lose it?

@lilgreen

I eat low carb Monday-Friday, weekends I don’t watch what I eat. I walk the dog 3-5 miles a day and have 2 toddlers to run around after!

Hasn’t this been done to death lately?

I’m slim (size 6-8 on top, 8-10 on bottom) I’m 5’3.

I eat pretty much what I want. Will always have 3 courses and go for the unhealthiest things when eating out. I binge drink at weekends.

I only eat 2 meals a day, breakfast and dinner. I haven’t eaten lunch since I was in high school I don’t think? I do dunk a couple of biscuits in my tea most afternoons about 4pm though. But just the 2. I could easily eat a whole pack, but if I did that everyday I’d pile on the pounds, wouldn’t I?

Not eating lunch IS a conscious thing to keep my weight stable to be fair, I can’t be arsed making a bland salad up each day (Which is what it would have to be to not impact my weight too much) I’d rather just have my 2 biscuits dunked into my tea tbh! I think it’s roughly 180 calories for those 2 buscuits, meh. That’s a lunch!

I walk 10,000 steps minimum each day walking the dog (except weekends when I’m hungover, then it’s more like 5000)

There, that’s it. I will literally eat whatever I want, I just don’t eat 3 meals a day (I’m not sure I even know that many people that do tbh) and also don’t eat a whole pack of biscuits if I’m having some.

Life IS too short
I’m now single and lost a lot of weight a few years ago

Compliments galore

But over winter and lockdown it crept back

I could bore everyone senseless on the whys and wherefore

But I can’t be arsed anymore

How do people get their 5 (minimum) fruit and veg a day on two meals?

I try to eat 6-10 different types of fruit and veg a day- I can only do this by incorporating them into every meal and a couple of fruit snacks between as well. If I skipped a meal a day and didn't snack my count would be well down.

@Purplelion that’s what I do when I need to lose a few pounds. It’s sensible, fairly easy and it works.