If you are slim, what, in your opinion, keeps you that way?

[pepsicolagirl]

I read the other thread with interest and as an obese person a lot of the comments range true but it made me wonder. Those of you who are in the ideal/normal weight category, what do you attribute that to?

If I eat want I want and don't do any exercise then I'm still well within healthy BMI but a bit fatter than I'd like. I think that's because I eat ok and generally active.

At the moment I'm slimmer than usual, running quite a lot, bit of weight training and trying to eat really 'clean' with loads of fruit and veg.

I always drink too much so it's definitely not that!

I run about 20km per week and I eat unprocessed vegan. I have treats like a weekly Indian with wine.

Genetics play a big part, my dad is tall and lean and so was my grandmother (and she remained that way until she passed away at 94).

I love my food but eat a very healthy veggie diet. Metabolism has slowed a bit since I turned 46 so I do HIIT and rocket yoga mixed with heavy weights and have an 'outdoorsy' lifestyle, lots of long walks with the dogs, mountain biking, etc.

I am 5ft 6 and around 66kg (would love it to be slightly less but have J cup boobs so there’s more weight there!)

I run 3-4 times per week up to 20/25 miles over a week, plus enjoy being active in other ways- bike rides, hiking. I also usually do 2 x strength sessions a week.

I enjoy cooking and make a conscious effort to include lots of veggies in our diet as partner is on a weightloss journey. I try and fill us up with veg and protein and slightly less carbs (but wouldn’t say low carb). Once you’ve got 5-7 veg a day + 2 portions of protein that leaves us fairly full and not needing too many carbs.

A typical day might be no breakfast if I’m not exercising or bowl of Special K if I have run. Then a salad for lunch with 3/4 veggies, few small pieces of cheese and cold meat. Olive oil and lemon dressing. Dinner is always cooker from scratch- this week we have had pork and chorizo chilli with sweet potatoes, mixed bean and avo quesadillas, loaded wedges with BBQ chicken and black bean sauce. Most days will either have a small piece of homemade cake or small portion of ice cream. Drinks are water, green tea, coffee.

It all goes out the window at the weekend however- we usually get a takeaway one night and might have a pasta based ready meal on a busy day and some more home baking. We like BBQing in the summer so lots of meat, veg and salad.

Generally I enjoy the healthy food and never feel hungry or dissatisfied but equally by having no rules at the weekend I also never feel restricted. On holidays will have more treats but never go mad and always feel back in shape within a week of my normal routine.

I think I’m overall pretty balanced, lucky to have no emotional issues around food and an enjoyment of being active and feeling fit that I value more than eating “bad” food all the time.

Wow this takes some reading.

Limited interest in food; I'm not into fancy cooking or foodie type activities. It's just my opinion but I think it'd be harder to keep my weight down if I was into restaurants and fine dining. In reality, I suppose it's probably more to do with genetics; we aren't large/tall people.

I never understand why it has to be negative or "joyless".

If you live off green smoothie that make you gag, it must be a depressing life.

If you live normally, eat a balance between healthy you like and food you love but in reasonable portion, where does it have to be joyless? Why is it more enjoyable to eat an entire pizza than eating a slice or 2? (and not being unhappy about your jeans size in the process)

I could say it must be joyless to have to remove your clothes the minute you walk home because you are uncomfortable, or to feel guilty or unhappy after every meal.

What I do judge are parents who are starting their kids on a negative path: imposing juice/squash or fizzy drinks when water would be fine, giving them the habit of snacking all the time, not sitting down properly and eating a decent meal, giving them the mindset that haribo and crips are a daily food group and so on and so forth. It's not helping the child in any possible way and it's habits harder to break than not having them in the first place.

I think genetics must play a part in in, I honestly do. My bmi is about 22 and I put away a lot of calories in deserts, puddings, cakes, ice cream and I often wonder what people must eat to get to the size of ‘obese’ and I struggle to believe the put away so many more calories than me.

I can only conclude that my metabolism is faster therefore I’m lucky!

First 50 years of my life - genetics.
Last couple of years - low carb

Genetics, mostly. Even when my thyroid was completely out of whack, or when I was pregnant, or when I’ve been injured and couldn’t work out for months, I stayed thin.

Exercise just gives me muscle definition.

I don;t think it is genetics.
Obesity was rare during World War II.

Eating makes people big. It's not hard to work out.

Don’t snack. Ever. Have porridge or eggs for breakfast. A normal sandwich lunch and dinner with no pudding.

Genetics. Being active. That's it. I don't watch what I eat.

I don't order takeaways. They're very expensive and the food is poor quality. People I know seem to order multiple takeaways a week.

I don't binge on chocolate, biscuits or sweets. I was always told people 'didn't do this' but you see it loads of times in threads, people saying they do. So like... don't do that.

I don't eat "a snack" every five minutes because a marketer told me to.

I don't drink.

Calorie counting and portion control. Not obsessively, but I always have half an eye on it. If I eat a lot at one meal I won't eat much at the next.

I don't eat particularly healthily and don't do that much exercise!

Im not naturally slim and it's annoying that people assume you are. I do eat lots of sweet things but I don't drink alcohol or fizzy drinks

I try to do exercise, but I don't do half as much as I did more than 6 months ago, but I don't sit down much and I'm constantly on the go or pottering at least.

If my clothes feel tight, I work harder again.

Yeah, it's not genetics. It's just that you lack the desire or ability to force-feed yourself beyond comfort.

I train in strength sports and have deliberately gained weight, and I train with men who must gain considerably more. When you're used to earing properly, over-eating is very hard. You feel uncomfortable and ill and you can't face another bite. For the guys with high calorie intakes, they add oil to their shakes so they can take in the calories without having to feel so full.

If they had thin people follow fat people around all day for a month and eat what they did, they'd find it hard to put that many calories in without feeling sick.

Not having crap in the house. I never buy biscuits. Cooking from scratch. Thinking about whether I'm hungry or bored before I teach for a snack, and/or having tea instead. Pmt used to be a sweet food trap but mirena fixed that.

Genetics, mainly cooking from scratch, preferring to walk than drive

Genetics, no alcohol, few takeaways, average portions.

I'm surprised sometimes just how much some people eat behind closed doors. Massive dinners, massive snacks, always pudding.

I have small portions and never over eat.
I hate fry ups/junk food not a fan of cake and I'm always busy.
Supermarkets want us to be big that's why lots of things are in big packets, 3 for 2 etc. They make more money if we over buy and eat too much. It's hard to ignore good offers but just buy what you need.

Luckily I don't like cakes, buns or biscuits.

A huge amount of luck in genetics, as I can eat massive portions, and whatever I want (i.e. not the healthiest diet), and remain at a size 8-10 at 6'1".

I always suspect stress and anxious energy is a key factor though...

Keeping an eye on how my clothes fit me, never buying a bigger size and moderating my diet if they start to feel a bit snug!

Very small amounts of alcohol, I actually don’t like chocolate or sweets much at all. Love walking and hate feeling really full up.