If you’re thin, what does the voice in your head say?

[SunshineAndFizz]

If you’re offered a biscuit, or need to make a selection in a restaurant, what does the voice in your head say to help you make a healthy choice?

Kate Moss famously said ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’. And my aunt used to say ‘oh I don’t like to feel full’.

If you’re thin, do you have a healthy phrase you tell yourself to help keep on the right track?

I don't have a voice or anything like that. I eat whatever I fancy just not loads and loads of it as I can't physically eat that much. I'm not particularly healthy and love burgers, carbonara, biscuits, crisps but don't eat huge portions.

I say to myself 'i don't eat that'

I find it useful to tell myself what I am / do / etc with a lot of things, it helps me become / do that thing.

E.g. "I am patient with my kids" "I drink water first thing" "I don't eat crap"

I'm right in the middle of my bmi, and I exercise regularly (commute 15 miles per day by bike).

I go through fazes. Sometimes its easy to eat healthily and I actually crave healthy foods (tuna salad, vegetable soups, plain yoghurt and fruit, whole grains, etc). Eating like this has many health benefits and makes me feel good, I feel comfortable in my body as my weight stays stable, skin is clear, and clothes fit nicely. Exercise feels easier. I walk past the biscuit tin at work with ease.

Then what normally happens is a hit a stressful period to do with work or illness (usually both), and I start craving starchy foods. I generally give into the cravings because I recon my body needs the extra fuel to get me through it. I try to make healthier choices like baked potatoes and complex carbs, but if I start eating processed foods out of convenience because I'm tired things can start to spiral a bit. If I put on more than 4 pounds I feel terrible, exercise feels harder, and the cravings for comfort food get worse.

Everything in moderation, not everyday.

Very very impressed with that deadlift!

I've had phases of lifting (nowhere near your level) and totally concur, it sends your metabolism through the roof.

"Like a blast furnace" was how I described mine (I'm from Sheffield lol)

I need to get back into it because without it I still eat the same amount, with predictable consequences!

For years I was slim with no particular effort.
The reaction to the biscuit might be yes or no but it wouldn’t be a weight based decision. No inner voice at all.

Now I’m hypothyroid, PCOS, peri… it’s very different. Now it’s a battle and I do have an inner voice.

Prue Leith’s “not worth the calories” is often in my head re sweet stuff as a lot of it is frankly crap - packaged biscuits/cake etc. And the really good sweet stuff (handmade cookies in coffee shops) costs a fortune, so my inner skinflint says “how much?” and that helps me resist those. I don’t bake.

Savoury stuff is harder to resist, especially as we have a house full of it. I managed to avoid snarfing 2 cheese slices yesterday by reminding myself they’d be perfect for a quick lunch toastie for DD today. So not a particular phrase but more a practical reason.

I find snacking on veg easier than not snacking at all, so I buy easy to grab veg like sugar snap peas, radishes, cherry tomatoes and eat those when I feel peckish. It’s probably not as good calorie wise as nothing but it’s a lot better than crisps or salami. Again not a phrase but a habit. I tried having a glass of water when I felt hungry but that really didn’t work!

I am slim...healthy range but low end. My weight is mostly down to my genes.

I definitely get food noise...I never miss a meal and am always looking forward to the next one. It annoys me a bit that people assume I don't.

Someone bought cakes into work today and I had one. It is completely alien to me to think that having 1 cake would affect my weight...it won't make 1 iota of difference to me. I also eat a packet of crisps every day as part of my lunch and it's just part of my normal diet.

Ive never had to think 'I cant have that due to weight' but I definitely think 'I shouldn't have that due to health.'. So today I ate a cake no problem but I wouldn't have 3. And I do generally have healthy meals for the same reason i.e. I would prefer to reduce my heart attack and cancer chances.

Having said all this, I have put a bit of weight on (still thin) during perimenopause and I've literally done nothing different...which again shows the impact of biology, I think.

What do I feel like eating - if I want it, I eat it.

Well lucky you 🙄

I’ve noticed that ‘effortlessly slim people’ tend to not have a sweet tooth and/or just don’t care about/like food that much. They can forget to eat, especially when anxious (as opposed to those of us who overeat when stressed).

All the people on this thread saying “there is no food noise” or they don’t have a food voice are a case in point. All the references to ‘a biscuit’ or ‘a piece of cake’ are really cute. Those of us who have historically had problems with food understand that we’re not talking about A biscuit, we’re talking about the whole packet, and that no, just having 1 and then putting the rest of the pack back in the cupboard just.doesn’t.work.

I absolutely love food, you're right that I don't have a sweet tooth though, cheese is my thing.
It's hardly a diet food though!

My appetite is the first thing to go when I’m anxious or under stress.
I get lots of “oh you need to eat” but it’s just not possible when you have no desire to and your throat feels closed up. The way I see it is that for a few days I’ll be ok. I do eat enough to get me through.
The only time I eat when I don’t feel hungry is when I’m racing (run).

I don’t like feeling uncomfortably full - it’s a really horrible feeling for me. So I stop eating when I can feel it getting near that point.

Also another one who looses all wanting to eat when stressed

I’m a healthy weight but have recently been overweight.

So for me, I try to keep to roughly a 80:20 idea - 80% of the week, I eat healthily and mindfully. 20% week (usually the weekend but doesn’t have to be) I chose what I fancy and don’t feel bad for it.

So if I’m offered a biscuit - I might jumpy straight on for one. BUT if i felt that maybe that week I’d already reached my ‘20%’ of indulgence I might turn it down. Meals out - I usually got for whatever I fancy as only go out maybe once a month. Takeaways (we have one weekly) I opt for something vegetable based and keep my eye on carbs.

There's no voice. I like nice food but am satisfied with a healthy amount. Same as being able to drink without being a problem drinker etc

I don't have food noise and I wouldn't think of certain food as treats. I eat what I want and only when I'm hungry. I may choose a banana or I may choose a twix. I eat lots and lots of cake because I really like it 🙂 but I would only eat it if I was hungry.

I'm an 'effortlessly slim person'

Always been skinny.

Thin, rather than slim.

I love to cook and eat but never consider it in terms of calories. I just eat what I want.

I do notice I eat smaller portions compared to others though.

Yes! The tight bra thing is ‘a thing’! Mine is a general ‘shit, I’ve lost a ton of weight, put all my clothes on Vinted and now my jeans are tight when I sit down’. To everyone I am thin, because they’ve never seen me a healthy weight. For reference I’m 5’2”, small build and 9st 7lbs (so very far from thin!).

Me too. I don’t really think about food. I eat because I’m hungry & don’t really give food much headspace on a day to day basis.

If someone offers me a biscuit I would eat it if its one I like and I was hungry. I've always been thin but only healthy more recently. I've always used to eat rubbish and have always found it hard to put weight on. I used an app at one point to try to gain weight and I had to eat over 3000 calories a day and I gained about half a stone in 6 months. I had a job where I was on my feet all day but I didn't exercise.
I decided during lock down when I was 37 to start running as its something I always wanted to do. I didn't really change my diet much though. I gained a bit of weight in muscle but only about a quarter of a stone but I liked how toned my body looked. I got fed up with only feeling safe doing certain routes and the bad weather so I then joined the gym. It's only now I have joined the gym and since turnng 40 that I have put more thought into what I eat but I never deny myself something I want. However I always recognise when I'm full or not hungry. I wouldn't just eat dinner because it's dinnertime if I wasn't hungry for example, not that that happens much. I also feel like I make more health conscious choices as I realise being skinny doesn't mean my inside are healthy! I've gained maybe another quarter of a stone in the 2 years I've been at the gym. But I have learnt to be content with what I have and to make it the healthiest and best it can be. I do feel like I actually like and crave healthier food now my body is used to eating it. When we went on holiday there was so much stodge and I really craved fruit and veg, which has never happened to me before!

I like and enjoy food but don’t like thinking about it and food disappointment is annoying to me especially when money is involved so I just eat when I feel up to it.

My DH loves food, asks me about food, talks about it and I have to constantly remind him I don’t think about food as much as he does. He is slim too, eats constantly (except when he is focused) drinks wine every night but he is also active. He has always been someone who thinks about food even as a child.

I do sometimes emotional eat but I’m aware when I’m doing it and then feel ridiculous for doing so and stop.

There's no voice telling me to resist temptation or to give in to temptation because I don't view food as good or bad. I don't consider certain food to be "treat food". I eat a wide range of food that I enjoy, that nourishes my body and helps me feel good. I don't demonise or idolise any food so I don't crave or have to resist it.

I would have some cheesecake if I want it. If I enjoy it I might have seconds. If it's disappointing then I wouldn't finish the first portion.

Sometimes I notice that my good habits have changed and my trousers are tight or I feel less good in myself and I will refocus on the things I know serve me better.

I've always been slim but as I hit perimenopause I have to work harder to avoid meno-belly.

So my inner voice always reminds me how that biscuit might stop me fitting into my fave skinny jeans. I'm determined that nothing will EVER do that.

It happened once, briefly, and I was adamant never again. And so far, touch wood, it hasn't. But once I had lost that little bit of weight I could totally understand KM's controversial 'NTAGASFs' comment.
Because it's true.