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.

Totally disagree that all slim ppl sit there controlling their portions.
I'm 5'3 size 8 have been all my life. I eat chocolate crisps ect every week and all my meals are normal but cooked from scratch.
Most of my family are slim too. I think the key is moderation and not eating whole cakes to yourself because that is just over eating imo.
I have bigger friends and have seen their eating habits. Pack of chocolate muffins for breakfast and just crap food upon crap food throughout the day. Not speaking for every bigger person just what iv seen personally.
So I think it's a mixture of ppl over eating and just eating utter crap/people starving themselves like you say or on a constant diet. Then there's ppl in the middle like me no starving no overeating just healthier cooking and treats in moderation.

People are different and have different drives around food.

I've always been slim, I'm just not thsr bothered about food. I can go to 4pm without eating. I rarely get hungry and can get faint and sick feeling before feeling hungry.

I understood how hard it must be for some people to have disaplin around food when I got pregnant, I've never known a drive to eat like thsr before.

I can also leave dinner after a small amount because I'm bored of eating.

Don't best yourself up for not being disaplined around food. Some people just naturally find it harder than others, it's in the genes.

the mad thing is that birds eat about half their own body weight every single day. Now THATS a diet I’m interested in If you were willing to workout like a bird exercise running from tree to tree, swooping down, jumping Jack every day you could easily eat half your body weight without gaining fat.
My nephew is slim toned with muscle he eats 2000 calories for breakfast he probably consumes 5/6000 calories a day for muscle and workout he is lean fit not a ounce of fat.

After catching up on supersize vs superskinny high calorie food intake with lack of exercise is the main reason excluding medical/thyroid/autoimmune issues

@TheMurk

Yes. This is it. But we aren’t allowed to say it out loud.

Slim people eat less and exercise more. Even people who naturally tend toward slimness, eat less and exercise more.

The slim people I know are all taller (I’m also 5ft 2 but more a 16) which helps. But if we sit for a coffee they will have a green tea, I have a latte with 4 sugars.

If they have a bit of cake with their tea, it really will be a bit of cake and it will be the only cake like thing they eat all week. Meanwhile I’ve sneaked a couple of chocolate buttons down my throat just after having three custard creams for breakfast- and then I’ll have the whole cake with my coffee.

People who are slim do not eat huge amounts of bad food. Or even huge amounts of good food. They just eat small amounts of mostly healthy stuff and have the very occasional treat.

I treat myself at breakfast lunch and dinner and also in between - and that’s the difference.

As To why - I’m not really sure.

I m calorie counting atm and am a small size 10 (I was a curvy 10 before). When friends tell me how lucky I am I explain that I do all the things you outlined. They sigh but choose to continue to treat themselves on a daily basis.

I'm pregnant atm. Also chunky. I have decided to be very serious about losing weight once the baby is born. I have stopped all unhealthy snacking now.
I finally feel that I am of the correct mindset to get slim again. It's a good feeling.

I was always fairly slim. Moved in with fat DH and it became obvious why he was fat. His portions are too large and have too many carbs, he adds unnecessary oil and cheese etc to meals, he drinks a glass of wine most evenings, has a dessert or even just a biscuit or sweets after every meal, snacks between meals, has a car and never walks, and he always eats when the clock says it’s dinner time regardless of whether he’s hungry. Of course I started eating larger meals and snacking like him, not skipping meals, riding in his car, and I gained 2st.

Since then I’ve returned to my normal habits of eating when I’m hungry and stopping when I’m full, avoiding carbs and alcohol and snacks, and the weight has mostly dropped off (I say mostly because I still ride in the car).

@GodOfPhwoar Perhaps you have a good propensity for building muscle as I believe much of it is genetic and hormonal etc.

Certain body types build muscle more easily than others. Mesomorphic body types natural put on muscle more easily. For women, mesomorphic builds have hourglass figures. I build muscle super easily. 20 minutes twice a week with a pair of 4.5kg dumbbells, and some sets of push-ups is enough for me to have large biceps, and well defined delts, triceps, etc and I'm getting towards pecs I can flex and which have definitely lifted my breasts up visibly.

In all honesty, I started using those dumbbells in order to strengthen my chest and possibly get that breast lift. I didn't think I wanted such muscular arms and shoulders. But I don't think my body would have gotten so muscular and strong so easily if it wasn't actually meant to have that kind of muscle. And now I don't ever want to lose that strength, in fact tbh, I want more. Being physically strong and capable makes so many practical aspects of my life better. Especially as I, like many women, have a close family history of osteoporosis. So I do my best to push the idea that women shouldn't look so strong out of my head.

As they say, no point in sugar coating it because they’ll eat that as well.

Jeeeesus, do people really say this?!!!

Anything's better than being that big of a twat!

Better to be fat then a total cunt!!

I’m 6ft, size 8 and 37yrs old. Two DC. Eat what I want when I want and don’t really put on any weight (only on my chin-never the boobs where I want it!). I couldn’t cope with calorie counting, I like a beer and a burger and am partial to a packet of crisp! I go to one exercise class a week (pre lockdown) which is clubbercise and that’s only because my friend runs the class and wanted moral support.
One day it will catch up with me but I’m enjoying it while I can lol

I love food but try to eat sensibly, balanced etc as I said above. I don't know if I'd call it discipline in my case though as it's not difficult for me, whereas I know some people really struggle with that

Agreed. I eat 3 meals a day, dinner is basically whatever I want - pizza, curry, lasagne, whatever - but I don't really snack. I quite like walking my dog and riding my bike. None of this requires any discipline from me.

Staying slim really doesn't require "discipline" if you have a healthy relationship with food and enjoy physical activity. The problem is that most people don't.

Age makes an enormous difference.

TartanTexan, I thought that until I upped my exercise and reduced my portion sizes. Fitness trackers are amazingly informative!