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 would rather be slightly overweight than count calories for every single mouthful consumed, or never drink alcohol or coffee again.

I'm not fat - 5ft 10 and 10st 2lb - I'm a nurse so very active at work, I have 3 dogs that need a lot of walking, I have 4 children and a limited budget for food. I cook lots of chicken dishes supplemented with heaps of vegetables. I have an airfryer.

I do drink wine, gin and tonic, eat crisps - I'm not bothered about chocolate and sweet stuff, I love cheese though.

I think the answer to being naturally slender is to recognise when you are eating for hunger and when you are eating because 'ooh that looks nice' or 'I've had a bad day, I deserve this' and not because you are actually needing food.

I used to to overeat - had a bit of an eating disorder/bulimia. Realised I needed to sort it out in my late 20s.

Got a smaller plate (so I didn't overeat), didn't exclude any foods, just ate smaller portions. Tried not to snack, and to have slow energy releasers if I did - oatcakes, nuts etc. This got rid of my sugar highs/lows that were causing obsessive overeating of high carb foods. My goal was to get back in touch with when I was hungry and when I was sated - which I did.
This latter is key. You can train yourself to know when you are hungry to stop eating when sated. If you do this you are on course to have a stress--free relationship with food where you can eat what you want, as what you want will keep you a healthy weight.

This is a fascinating thread. I've always been about a stone overweight, even when I ran loads. I have always drink and eaten a fair bit. I don't like it, in fact it really upsets me, but I like eating and drinking more.

This made me laugh. I could relate from the other weigh round:

I'm 5ft6 and about 54kg. The fact I'd rather be hungry than fat helps a lot. For me the taste of something nice in my mouth outweighs discomfort in my stomach of over eating.

It seems from reading this there are:

People who eat very little because they don't want to eat any more
People who eat little because they are controlled and their weight/shape is important to them
People who are lucky (genetics)

The women in my family are short and stout, the men are all slim.

I eat little and often, don’t deny myself anything if I want it and enjoy cake and biscuits but in moderation. I have One glass of wine with my tea and then I’m happy. I also make sure I’m active.

Walking 10 miles a day. That's the main thing really, because it allows me to have a couple of treats each day. Before lockdown I swam a couple of times a week as well which helped.
Food wise - I try and stick to 3 meals a day , I can't eat big meals anymore because I get bad indigestion when I do. I also hate takeaways and fast food so they don't tempt me either.

I’m in the middle of the healthy BMI range.

-age (twenties)
-height (tall)
-no car (and so much walking and cycling)
-I’m no sportsperson but i get twitchy and agitated and sleep poorly if i’ve been sedentary all day
-teetotal
-taking the stairs more than the lift
-having recovered from eating disorders so no binging/extreme hunger.
-no forbidden foods - this way my caloric intake seems to even itself out because it breaks the attempted restriction/overeating cycle. If i fancy pizza/ice cream/crisps/chocolate i will have it, and if i don’t i won’t.
-very very vaguely keeping track of approximate calories over a day but mostly i just eat intuitively, which i never would have imagined being able to do but I can now. I usually find that if i eat more than my TDEE one day I’ll be less hungry the next, which i’m grateful for.
-fixing my sleep schedule
-finding a form of hormonal birth control which eases my otherwise life-ruining periods
-personally I never, ever weigh myself - I know to the nearest couple of kilos but don’t want or need to know exactly.

Sorry, that was long and boring! Although i worked hard to recover from eating disorders, i think there was and is a lot of luck in there as well.

Genetics and the fact that I honestly don't eat as much as other people. Although the fact that I don't eat as much as other people is not conscious - it may be a genetic predisposition too. I feel uncomfortable when full and just prefer to graze. Big meals are not for me.

Ooh lots of things.

Genes - until my 30s I could eat anything and stay slim. However my metabolism went downhill fast at 30, but I think having been slim till then really helped set my mindset iyswim, by then I had a self image of myself as slim and a wardrobe of small size clothes to fit into.

Good habits - I wasn’t given pudding as a child, and I still don’t like really sweet things. Also we didn’t really have snacks and if we did they were healthy (my mum was the mum that brought almonds not crisps to school!). It wouldn’t occur to me to eat a bag of crisps if I’m hungry between meals.

(I do however have an issue around finishing the kids’ leftovers, because I hate waste... )

Hate driving - as mentioned above, this definitely helps, I walk everywhere even in the rain. I also fidget a lot.

Cutting calories, but in ways that I find easy, not diets - Since 30 I’ve had to eat less but would hate calorie counting or any kind of restrictive set diet. So instead I skip breakfast and eat a very small lunch. If I’ve eaten a lot eg on holiday I will consciously cut back when home. I don’t drink much alcohol and don’t mind that as I don’t love it (but I do love cocktails so on a night out will have a few of those!). Basically I will eat lovely things without guilt when they are available, and then cut back when the food is less exciting.

@Chickoletta

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!

Totally agree! It all sounds pretty joyless.

It’s simple, from someone who has spent years very slim and the last five middle aged ones overweight....

Move more, eat less, avoid alcohol and processed foods. It really really isn’t rocket science.

Genetics.

Good genes and no car!

I don't like the way I look when I'm fatter.

Being active as in generally moving about a lot.
Exercise at least 3 times a week eg tennis,swimming,hour long walk,gym class etc
I dont ever have a full portion of something that is "bad " for you eg have half or less of a portion of what you get from a takeaway,or 2 squares of a chocolate bar, half a chocolate biscuit for example
Try and limit sugary things
Try not eat white carbs
Don't eat puddings unless the occasional crumble

Small portions and exercise

Totally agree! It all sounds pretty joyless

Joy doesn’t only come from food lol!
I find joy in being with my family, having hobbies, spending time with my lovely friends, writing, running my business, jogging, dancing, feeling healthy and fit- that’s plenty of joy to go around! People find joy in different things dont they?

Portion size, no alcohol, and lots of walking/exercise. I started to gain weight over lockdown as I was snacking lots. Once I stopped and started moving more I lost the weight.

I think if a larger person asked a slimmer person to show them what they ate in a day, the larger person would be surprised at the smallness of the portions. And vice versa. Slim people will say they eat what they want, but they are likely to have been influenced at a very early age about what and how much is «normal».

I think the main thing is portion size. I sometimes eat shit but I eat a lot less of it in one sitting than an obese person would (generalising obvs)

One thing I have realised about eating is a lot of people will stop eating when they are full.

I stop eating when I am no longer hungry if that makes sense.

The full feeling to me is a horrible feeling and makes me feel sick. So I stop once I don’t feel hungry any more.

I never eat breakfast. That reduces both my calorie intake and my appetite. I have lost weight since retiring - a combination of exercising more( but I hate exercise so it’s only 2or 3 times a week ) , and not snacking. At work there were always cakes and biscuits. I didn’t think I was over indulgent but I an over a stone lighter now that that temptation isn’t around. And I still love my wine and an occasional takeaway .

Being young and a single mum and no car, walking everywhere and pushing pushchairs and carrying shopping 😁

Definitely can't be down to exercise.

I run 25 miles a week . Do 2 weight sessions and 1 HITT class and 1 core class and I'm still 2 stone overweight and have been for 3 years and I'm doing around 8 hours of exercise a week

I eat too much

With me lots of exercise including running. I do like my food (eg today I went out for lunch with colleagues and I ate a whole pizza and they shared one) but I don't overdo things. Also don't drink too much alcohol, about 5 glasses of wine a week.

Genetics, 16:8, exercise, only pigging out at the weekend or holidays, weighing myself everyday so I can take quick action if I put weight on.

None of these things are hard or feel like they impact heavily on my life.