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.

@BeChuille that's interesting. Does it actually fix your metabolism? ie increase your TDEE? Mine is shot to pieces by yo-yo dieting

Chuck out the refined carbs. Eat veg, pulses, beans, small amounts of whole grain carbs.

I am a size 10 and weigh within the NHS ideal weight range. I would like more slender arms and slimmer legs however I am not willing to cut out chocolate, wine and crisps.

I eat carbohydrates once a day
I eat my first meal of the day after midday
I rarely eat bread
I drink diluted drinks, avoiding fizz and sweet juices

I cycle and jog at least five times a week.

@Faith50

I am a size 10 and weigh within the NHS ideal weight range. I would like more slender arms and slimmer legs however I am not willing to cut out chocolate, wine and crisps.

I eat carbohydrates once a day
I eat my first meal of the day after midday
I rarely eat bread
I drink diluted drinks, avoiding fizz and sweet juices

I cycle and jog at least five times a week.

Good for you! Same here but I am overweight according to NHS. One size does not fit all

[quote justchecking1]@BeChuille that's interesting. Does it actually fix your metabolism? ie increase your TDEE? Mine is shot to pieces by yo-yo dieting [/quote]
I think so. I am lighter than ive been for years. Have not gone to bed hungry once. I did used to have to do that to lose weight. Eating foods i have been avoiding for decades.

Even before i heard of keto, i used to eat likeva diabetic to kickstart a weightloss plateau though. So it is all linked to hormones. The one that tells body to store fat and the one that makes you feel hunger.
I read dr jason fung (and watched him on youtube).

A lot of his message is about diabetes but it is relevant to everybody who is not properly fat but cant face dieting because they know they dont eat that much. That was me. I didnt have big portions.

I was doing a lot of things that didnt help me though so small tweaks have helped.

Ie, gone from cows milk to almond or soya milk as they are zero carbs and so im not spiking insulin every 30 mins with yet another cup of tea!

Nothing tastes as good as slim feels.

Oh I beg to differ. Praline chocolate just tastes divine. However, that tastes only lasts briefly, unless you mainline chocolate all day. The health benefits of being slim are more persistent. I do agree with PP who say that you don't need to deprive yourself to stay at a healthy weight. I still eat chocolate, just not in vast quantities.

"I just think it is really sad that people are so obsessed with their weight !!"

What @Grandmi said!!!

Find worth in something besides how little space you manage to inhabit FFS 🙄🙄🙄

@SummerNamechangeHappened. Easily said, when society is so judgemental.

Ye I see where you're coming from OP.

My very slim friends eat much less than I do! MUCH less! I'm not very happy with my weight at the moment but I'm still a size 10-12 at 5"6, would like to lose a good half stone. But I'm greedy, I treat myself a lot, I like chocolate, crisps, cake etc luckily I do like healthy food and eat that 80% of the time otherwise I think I'd be unhealthily obese. But the snack cupboard calls me.

It’s a big shock after menopause. If I was eating and exercising at 35 as I do now, the lbs would fall off! Every bit of weight loss now, is hard earned.

Don’t have a snack cupboard. If it’s not there you can’t eat it.

What is a snack cupboard? I eat snacks but most of the components need to be kept in the fridge.

I presume a cupboard full of snacks.

What is a snack cupboard?

Can you really not imagine what might be in a snack cupboard?

I have a biscuit tin. I usually forget then find it full of very old biscuits. DS pulled one out the other day ‘2018????? Uhhh muuuuuummmmm - is this okay to eat?’. Is if he’d looked in the bread bin he would have found a packet of kitkats...

Can you really not imagine what might be in a snack cupboard?

Errr... yes. A snack to me is something like leftovers, a bit of toast or a sandwich. How do you keep that in a cupboard?

Obviously, I'm missing something!

@PhoneLock

Can you really not imagine what might be in a snack cupboard?

Errr... yes. A snack to me is something like leftovers, a bit of toast or a sandwich. How do you keep that in a cupboard?

Obviously, I'm missing something!

Each to their own But what you’ve listed would be lunch time me.

Whereas a snack - some dried fruit, a handful of pretzels or a couple of rice cakes - all belong in a cupboard

@PhoneLock

Can you really not imagine what might be in a snack cupboard?

Errr... yes. A snack to me is something like leftovers, a bit of toast or a sandwich. How do you keep that in a cupboard?

Obviously, I'm missing something!

But you're deliberately missing it though, aren't you?

You know people snack on things like crisps, biscuits, popcorn etc and that those sorts of foods aren't refrigerated 🤷‍♀️

I was always very slim. Actually skinny as a child because I was such a fussy eater. Then willowy in my teens, I am 5ft 10. In my 20s I was always a size 10 and hovered around 10stone 4, sometimes going down to 9st something and then I would drop to a size 8 but never going higher than 10st 7lbs. In my 30s after living with ex and marrying etc, I inevitably put on a stone and a half as I was cooking at home and eating more takeaways and not going to the gym and using my car rather than walking everywhere as I had done in London and going clubbing. Dancing for 5 hours really does keep you thin!

I am currently a large 14 maybe more like a 16 in some brands. I know why it is. I don't do nearly as much exercise as I used to. I snack way too much. I have alcohol multiple times a week and I also do that thing of wanting to set a good example by sitting down to supper with family so I eat even if I am not hungry.

I know exactly what to do to lose weight but I choose not to consistently do those things. When I consistently cut down on carbs, stop with the sugary snacks and drink less alcohol I lose weight.

When I was in my 20s I still ate rubbish, in fact I mainly ate rubbish but was thin and this is no doubt to my metabolism at that age, not having had children and generally doing way more exercise and walking. The thin women you see are following rules for eating or calorie counting, or are vegan and therefore cutting out food groups etc. You just can't eat what you want and expect to stay as slim as you were at 20. If only.

But you're deliberately missing it though, aren't you?

No, I don't believe I am. Crisps, biscuits, popcorn are not what I regard as snacks, They are crisps, biscuits, popcorn etc. Treats, not real food and something I don't often eat. Crisps are the exception, I do eat them once or twice a week but only when accompanied by a drink.

A cupboard dedicated to treats is an alien concept to me.

Crisps, biscuits, popcorn are not what I regard as snacks.

Surely you know that a large part of the population do though? You must be being deliberately obtuse if you can’t get this.

What does having crisps with a drink do to their nutritional value/snack status?

I think 'being deliberately obtuse' hits the nail right on the head.

Surely you know that a large part of the population do though?

How would I know what a large part of the population does? How do you? I only have experience of my family and friends. So I assume that a large part of the population do the same as I and they do.

Presumably you have done the same.

I’m vegan.

When people order a surf and turf I know they’ll be getting a steak and seafood, not a vegan version.

It’s just very hard to believe that an adult has no idea what people typically mean when they’re talking about snacks between meals.

I can't believe my snack cupboard statement has caused so much discussion!

I mean it as a turn of phrase because of course some of my snacks are also in the fridge (yoghurts, cheese) but to be honest the majority are cupboard stored food, as pp have said: crisps, popcorn, rice cakes, crackers. Even DC snacks call me if there's no "adult" crisps, such as pom bears and quavers. And before anyone says I shouldn't buy these for my DC at all, they have a healthy diet and don't have crisps every day, but I'm not going to deprive them of one of their favourite occasional snacks because I can't be trusted