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 don't overeat, never have. I also exercise regularly.

@TaleOfTheContinents

I always thought it was good genes until I went abroad for a few years and then came back to visit my parents. I was shocked by how much smaller their portion sizes were than what I was eating at the time. I guess mine had gradually increased and I hadn't even realised it *(but had realised that I had put on weight in that time).

So now, I think that while many people think it's good genes, it's quite likely just the right combination of eating habits and activity, possibly from an upbringing that created those habits.

There is significant evidence that genes play a major role in weight.

For example, studies have been done on identical twins who were adopted and raised in different countries. Despite growing up in very different cultures with very different diets, the twins show remarkable similarity in weight and body mass in adulthood.

Small portions, being active and stopping eating when full, I think. I’m not skinny any more, but mid range of “normal” BMI. If clothes get a bit tight I just serve myself a bit less for a few days.

I also like vegetables, and don’t like fatty food, generally, which I guess helps.

Not being interested in cooking (happy to live on salad and jacket potoatoes) and having a dog and an active job!

Genetics and luck mainly, since I do have a huge sweet tooth and love a takeaway (or two!!)

With that said, I did fluctuate in my early twenties and stabilized it with:

Controlled portions
Tend to have main OR pudding, not both unless an occasion
Stop when full
Rarely drink alcohol or sugary drinks

I also move quickly, which sounds weird and I don't exercise - but I always walk fast no matter what, often power-walk-speed, and I always run up and down stairs. I think it maybe just keeps my metabolism 'awake' 🤷‍♀️

But most of it is just genetics!

Not eating as much as I would like to. Not drinking alcohol or fizzy drinks or fruit juice.

I don’t eat with my emotion - I enjoy food, and don’t deny myself anything I fancy (and I love chocolate, crisps, cake, pizza)

But I have normal sized portions - three slices of pizza and a handful of fries, normal bar of chocolate not a family size.

I don’t eat when I’m not full and most of the time I eat healthy food.

Today I ate:

Breakfast: porridge with blueberries and chia seeds, green tea

Snack: 2 x Ryvita with cream cheese, cucumber and bell pepper

Lunch: went to McDonald’s so had a Mc Chicken sandwich meal with a water

Snack: cup of tea and a bake well tart

Tea: small portion of rice, and lamb and vegetable curry with a Large side of broccoli and baby corn, large glass of red wine.

Supper: apple spread with real peanut butter

I’m not an avid gym goer but I am active.

Genetically I have a very slim family, no one is over weight.

Self discipline. I know that if I allowed myself to run riot I’d become overweight, so I don’t.

I stop eating when I feel full (no matter how much I’ve eaten- even if only a small amount) because overeating completely deadens the satiation cues sent to your brain by your stomach so you ignore it when you feel full and keep going.

I don’t eat when I’m bored, angry, emotional etc I question myself- am I really hungry or am I bored? Most of the time it’s boredom or habit. I eat lots of salads, fish, whole grains, healthy foods and I don’t keep sweets, cake or biscuits in the house.

So basically it’s discipline. There is no quick fix and it’s certainly not “luck” for me. Some might read what I wrote and say it sounds no fun or boring but actually- being overweight, out of shape, breathless, joint pain, and finding none of my clothes fit, not to mention a higher risk of developing cancer and heart disease, is far worse for my mental and physical health than avoiding biscuits!

Genetics, luck and lifestyle for me. Most women in my family are slim. I didnt put much weight on with either pregnancy and was straight back in my 6/8 clothes. Lucky in that I eat junk food every day , have roughly 2 takeaways a week and have a bad addiction to Pepsi. Bad diagnosed anxiety means I rarely sit down and always moving.

However my good friend who is several sizes bigger than me can out lift, out run and out do me in any physical test. So I would say she is far more all round healthier than me.

Basically dieting, pretty much every day of my life, since I was a teenager.
I’m not greedy or lazy, but if I ate exactly what I wanted when I wanted to, I would be morbidly obese. But I don’t want to be, so I constantly watch what I eat, and if the pounds creep on I tighten things up a bit.
It’s not fun, but I really don’t want to be fat. In the post pregnancy months I hated being big.

Carefully restricting my calorie intake. It’s the only thing that works for me.

Very active, outdoors lifestyle (walk/ cycle/ care for horse and dog).

A DH who is a nutrition and exercise fanatic, who keeps me on the straight and narrow! He insists on cooking healthy, balanced meals, largely vegetarian but with plenty of protein, and nags me to do a proper cardio workout and weight training at least weekly in addition to my active lifestyle. It's like living with a personal trainer.

It is getting harder to maintain my weight as I get further into my 40's. I have to watch what I eat much more than I did 10 years ago.

Lactose intolerance. Not eating dairy takes a lot of calories out, and I don't drink alcohol. Otherwise my diet is not really all that great and I hate exercise. (5ft 3 and 8st 12)

10 years ago I took a medication which edged up my appetite slightly. The result was I spent nearly 9 years overweight, despite only taking the drug for a year.

I had always been slim prior to this and I discovered that any hint of a diet, had me reaching for the snack cupboard.

I finally managed to get back to slim by fasting from waking up until lunch time every day, then stopping eating when I was full.

I'm 5ft6 and about 54kg. The fact I'd rather be hungry than fat helps a lot.

But also forgot to add I was never pushed to finish my dinner, I was always on the small side so think my DM just respected the fact I didnt need that much. In turn il stop eating when full, like pp said no matter how much I've eaten.

For me it's genetics, I weigh about 48kg and eat crisps and chocolate like they're going out of style. But I'm always on the move, play sport, walk a lot. But being thin doesn't equate to being healthy. I'm probably a prime candidate for type 2 diabetes.

Just not pigging out all the time. I eat what I want and when I want, I just don't eat huge amounts of it.

In my case: luck and an absolutely atrocious diet. Not every slim person in the ideal weight range is healthy and I do think its important to remember that for example my breakfast of a coffee and 3 biscuits is a rubbish meal but contains less calories than a bowl of porridge, and sugar free fizzy drinks are terrible for you but it doesn't stop me drinking 3 cans a day and then being too bloated to eat much dinner. I also have mental health issues that make it very hard to sit still for long so I suppose the constant pacing probably burns calories too.

I'm 35 and weight 7 stone. Been the same weight since I was 18.
I think it is:
-Genes to some extent.
-I am very fidgetty and get up and move around a lot.
-I rarely eat until I'm over-full. I hate that feeling. Small-ish portions but I do eat well and I never go hungry.
-Vegetarian
-I don't eat lots of cakes or creamy things. I'd have some cake maybe once every two weeks? If I want sugar then I have plain dark chocolate and some rich tea biscuits!
-I NEVER drink fizzy sugary drinks, rarely drink juice.
-Don't smoke, don't drink very much (maybe 1/2 pint a week or one glass of wine).

On the other hand:
-I don't exercise much, I eat LOADS of butter and peanut butter.

Mostly luck/circumstance:

Genetics
I don't drink (not bothered)
Had and breastfed lots of babies
Lots of running around after aforementioned offspring

I do feel fortunate, because I mainline bread and butter all day long, and we eat a fair few takeaways.
I've just hit 40, and have noticed a bit of 'softening' since my mid-30s, so am now doing Pilates to strengthen my core/improve my posture, which also helps to make me look better.

I wish it was genetic for me! I found the best way is not to deny myself of anything but also not to eat loads of sugary foods or carbs. I'll buy one chocolate bar instead of a multipack for example.

However, a big part of it for me is that I can't eat on work days (8hrs a day 5 days a week) because I don't have time. Also if people come into the office they always comment on me eating or what I'm eating and it just got to the point where I'm too anxious to eat for fear of the comments.

Genetics+cooking everytgink from scratch. Limited takeaways, maybe once a month. Limit alcohol to once a week.

I love these threads as they always remind me that I’d much better be a bit chubby (size 14) than live a life watching every morsel I eat and restricting things I love.

I’m fit (gym and swim multiple times per week, used to run marathons pre-kids) but keep up my fitness because I love it, not so that I can fit into a different size of jeans.

I love my food and drink and have a husband who fancies me more when I’m curvier. Cheers to that!

I have to watch what I eat every day. I have nothing except a cup of tea in the morning, a high protein, low-carb lunch at about 1.00. Then a normal meal in the evening at about 7pm, but never a large portion. No snacks. I drink alcohol only at the weekends. I only eat pudding if I have friends over or am eating out (either with friends/family or a restaurant).

I am 52, I am very active and energetic but being careful about what I eat and drink is the only way I can stay a size 10. If I ate and drank as much as I would really like to (as I love food and wine 😋), I would be very overweight.