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?

I do a fair amount of exercise and eat regularly without restriction (so don’t diet but don’t binge either) mostly home cooked food, being tall so appear slimmer than I would if I was 6 inches shorter, But probably most genes.

• knowing the difference between being hungry and having an appetite.

and only eating until you are not hungry anymore, not until full.

• never eating snacks
• not drink calories, i.e tea or coffe without sugar or milk, no juice/smoothies, alkohol very limited
• exercise one hour a day, half of which getting the heart rate up.

Genetics help, plus regular exercise. I exercise pretty much every day- not excessively ( about 45 mins) but it keeps things ticking over.

I gain weight more easily now I’m in my 40’s, but I still have treats. If I gain weight, I cut down/step up the exercise. I don’t obsess about a couple of extra pounds though, life’s too short.

Genetics and the fact that I don’t eat that much (I snack a lot tho!)

Genes.

I don’t eat that much although my portions aren’t small. Nothing before 1pm only drinks, dinner by about 7 at the latest. Also don’t have a sweet tooth, I can’t remember when I last ate sweets chocolate cake or biscuits. I do however love wine and crisps.

Oh and I don’t drink much alcohol. As a student I absolutely ballooned, I think it was the booze. And never have takeaways, I think MSG is really bad for weight gain.

Being in an active job. I'm on my feet at least 8 hours a day, and often forget to eat at work, managing mainly on coffee! I do then tend to eat a whole pizza on an evening though. I sell cake for a living, people often ask how I'm not fat but I don't eat it! Everyone in my family is slim though so could be down to genetics in part. I do eat chocolate and drink wine without worry but hardly ever eat out or have takeaways

Being really mindful of my weight and the calorie content of what I eat.
Not eating unless I’m hungry. I rarely eat breakfast and wouldn’t eat just because it was a meal time.
Stopping when I feel full or just before, I hate feeling bloated.
Eating lots of vegetables.
I’ve recently done C25K but I couldn’t say that regular formal exercise was something I’d done before that but I do generally move a lot and quickly.

Anxiety.

I swing between overweight and slim; I am only ever slim when I stringently restrict my food intake. The reason it yo-yos is that for ages I will agree that "nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels" and be happy to give up enjoying the range of food and I drink I like so as to achieve a certain weight and size, and then something will shift and I will think "being skinny is not worth this at all" and eat what I want instead.

We thought for years that DH was just naturally thin, turns out he had undiagnosed thyroid disease. Since that's been treated he has gone from hovering around underweight (he's 6'4" and used to dip below 11 stone with alarming ease if we didn't keep him fed with an equivalent of 5 big meals a day) to at the upper end of a healthy weight for his height.

Mainly genetics I would say and also the eating habits that were instilled in me as a child. I eat treats like they are treats so not all the time - although this varies at different times of the year like most people. My meat intake is limited and when I eat meat its not processed (just because this is what I'm used to and stuff like nuggets and sausages look grim to me). Reasonable portions - stop eating when I'm full at a meal. Don't eat thing I don't really enjoy. I don't really enjoy sports but I love walking so that's my exercise x

Genetics I think. I also eat 3 meals a day with healthy snacks (I don’t ban sugary snacks). I’m on my feet a lot, an active job.

Oh and I rarely drink and don’t eat takeaways. Alcohol has a lot of calories.

I don’t cut out anything (except meat and fish), but I’ll only have a little bit of anything that’s generally considered a “treat” couple of slices of pizza, a few chips or crisps, a slither of cake, a small chocolate bar and otherwise my diet is healthyish
I’m also a huge fidget, apart from when I’m tied to my desk, working, I rarely sit down, until approx 8.30pm. That’s not a conscious thing, I’ve always been active

Moderation. I love food, sweets, wine but I'm (usually) quite good at moderating myself. I'll eat something sweet when I fancy it, but I'm not generally tempted just because 'it's there' iyswim. I think I'm probably quite lucky in that respect.

Also I grew up with a mother and grandmother who were obsessed with weight, dieting, calories, half a pound lost here, 4 pounds gained there, day after day & year after year. A constant cycle of gluttony followed by deprivation followed by gluttony with a good dollop of judging other women about their size, and I swore I'd never live that life.

Small portion sizes and resistance training. Cardio makes me starving and I pile on. Will power. For some people though genetics are worrying against them.

I'm 5ft 1 and 8.5 stone

Wow, that's brilliant! Ideal BMI for your height. I'm also 5 ft.1 and am 9 stone 8. I have lost some as I was 10.2. .

What keeps me slim-ish is worry! Loads of lovely worry!! Ha ha!! (Laughs maniacally)

Living alone. If I just fancy cheese on toast for tea that's what I'll have.
I put weight on when married due to the expectation of sitting down to a full meal every night.

What was the other thread please

Good habits....regular exercise, even if it's just a brisk 30 minute walk. And thinking, do I actually need any more than that on my plate. Thinking about what i put in my body. Which includes chocolate and crisps, just not lots. Packing as much flavour as possible in to food so it is more satisfying.

Watching what I eat and minimum booze .
Certain foods trigger my endometriosis flare ups and it's all the yummy stuff so that helps

I’m 5ft 6 and 9st 7lb and a size 10/12. I was a size 16 when I was younger but I lost about 2 stone in my late 20s and I’ve kept it off through sheer bloody determination.
I have a terrible sweet tooth but only have sweets & choc a few times a week and no cakes & biscuits unless we eat out. I eat 3 meals a day and try not to eat my evening meal after 6.30 ish.
I am a busy person and I exercise several times a week without fail - running and/or biking and yoga and my average step count is approx 13,000 a day.
I always cut out bread and diet down to 9st for a few weeks before going on hols abroad & Xmas, so I can put the weight back on and then not have to diet after indulging too much.
I must admit I find it harder to maintain now in my 50s.

Not eating too much (never snacking - I'd eat crisps, but don't buy them, so I can't). Smallish portions. Don't like puddings or chocolate. Lots of exercise (because I like it). I drink wine and gin 5 foot 2 and about 7 3/4 stone.

I think genes play a huge part. My DS and DB are very thin and just don't put weight on, even though they both will eat 4 or 5 packets of crisp in a row, sharing bags of chocolate and often have take outs. Myself and my other DB would be huge if we ate like that.

So for me it's plenty of veg, and reducing carbs. And strictly no snacking between meals. I do allow myself treats (like cake, wine etc) but only every now and then, usually once every few weeks. And this is normally planned, like I'll bake a lovely dessert with my son and have a nice glass of wine with it. I do find it hard tbh, I wish I didn't have to work so hard to be a healthy weight.