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?

That's exactly how I feel about food!
Though sometimes my head says that's enough and I just stop eating

Will this nourish my body?

I am lucky as in I like healthy food. Never have takeaways - find the too expensive and full of salt. So much easier to throw some pasta or a stir fry together, or a pizza at worst.
We limit crisps to weekends and if we go out (only for special occasions, again as it's expensive) we just have what we want.
We do a lot of exercise though as a family.

If I have tasted the biscuit before then I just think well I’ve tried it before I know what it tastes like?
but if I haven’t tried it before and it looked delicious I would have it!
but I do find that snacking makes me not enjoy my meals as much so I would rather skip the biscuit and feel hungry and enjoy my dinner!

I think “am I hungry” or “do I want the thing being offered” and say yes or no accordingly.

I do hate feeling full so never carry on eating once I’m satiated, and I don’t even feel hungry or want to snack.

I eat fewer than 2,000 calories a day without putting any brain space or decision making into it. I went up a couple of Jean sizes recently (gained 5kg to 60kg) and wanted to lose that so I made decisions to stick within 1,500 calories a day which seems to have reset my metabolism and I’m a steady 55kg again. During that time I just looked at an item and decided whether I wanted to use the calories for the day on the biscuit, say, or on something more substantial later. Sometimes I chose the biscuit, sometimes I didn’t. But honestly, it comes pretty naturally - it’s not a conscious thought process.

I'd rather train than be too restrictive with my calories tbh. I've feel I've kind of hit my training peak at a 160kg deadlift but that's enough to burn insane amounts of calories. Sometimes I think I may need more than 2800 calories for my next bulking cycle.

My mum has always been slim but healthy and I am a bit overweight. I know from many years of knowing her that she just doesnt have much of a relationship with food at all. She will eat enough to not feel hungry. She can take or leave any kind of food and ahe eats very slowly. Chewing her food slowly, it takes her the same amount of time to eat a half dinner as it takes me to eat a dinner plus seconds.
Food just isnt a thing.
She does like certain dishes and they tend to be healthier fresh food. She never eats until she is stuffed.
If she is eating a sandwich she will eat one slice of bread folded.
She will choose a banana over a biscuit.
She will eat a three course meal ina reataurant but will not eat the bread as well, and will not eat all day as she knows she will bave to eat a lot at dinner.
Her relationship with food is more like sustenance, whereas mines almost like a comfort.

I just eat what I want. Whatever looks good on the menu. I never think about the calories. What I will say though is that I stop eating when I feel full. I wouldn't be one for "squeezing in a desert" if I was already full or eating all the biscuits in one go coz they were open. I stop when I am full. Sometimes, that's a mains and a desert or sometimes a starter and a main, the very odd time it will be all three but not often. My friend will eat until she feels sick. I find that hard to understand but then again I have emetophobia. So maybe that's why but I just have no desire to eat more food when my stomach is full. It's a horrible feeling.

Probably something like the Kate Moss saying but not in words. I used to be very slim and I just loved the feeling, loved my body, loved being in my body - didn’t want to compromise it. Of course sometimes I would overeat but then just rein it in for a week or two and I could easily shed 2 or 3 extra kilos. Sigh. Those were the days.

I think too many people focus on weight over body composition tbh.

I’ve always been quite slim - when I was younger I would have said that I could eat what I wanted, but as I’ve got older I realise that whilst I do eat whatever I want, I don’t eat it all day every day. I watched an interesting tv show about weight a few years ago focusing on ‘naturally’ thin people - it studied what they ate normally and also studied what happened when they were given food they had to eat and didn’t choose. It turned out all of the ‘naturally thin’ people stopped eating when they felt full and despite thinking of themselves as ‘naturally thin’ and able to eat what they liked, the main difference between them and other people was that they had a strong impulse to stop eating at a certain point. Interestingly, all of the ‘naturally thin’ people put on weight if they ate what they were given to eat rather than following their instinct to stop eating when full. The scientists concluded only one of the ‘naturally thin’ people actually had a different metabolic system (not sure that’s the word) as whilst he also put on weight, it was muscle rather than fat. It made me reflect and realise that whilst I might eat a lot when I go out to dinner leading people to think I eat a lot whilst staying slim, I don’t eat like that all the time - I never snack during the day / until after my final meal of the day and I can often forget to eat during the day with the result that I eat a lot at night with a large main meal. In terms of voices, I hear my mum’s voice - in my head and in real life - passing judgement on people who put on weight and gorge on food - rationally I don’t agree, but I have definitely taken on board some of it as I feel bad about myself if I eat to excess - eg a tub of ice cream or a packet of biscuits - and so I very rarely do this. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to sometimes though 😬

I vaguely low carb - I say vaguely because I’m not at all religious about it. I’ve been crazy busy lately and my diet has been pretty appalling but my work is very physical, and I haven’t put any weight on, and my figure probably looks better than it’s ever looked. But before I was doing 3 hours + exercise a day through work I did have to have regular chats with myself. I was hard on myself and after a couple of weeks of no sugar or carbs I genuinely stopped craving them, so the inner chats relaxed.

As others have said, there's no voice.

I have an established meal routine that suits me thus I don't eat between meals. I buy cookies and waffles and such like for my daughter and husband and I never eat any of it, I always stick to the same snack every evening with a cup of tea (a bag of pom bears or wotsits and a small wispa or small crunchie).

None of this is conscious decision making, it's just what I do. The only conscious decision I make is a Friday (takeaway night). I have brunch on a Friday which is two boiled eggs and a slice of toast (that's all I eat the full day until my takeaway at 6pm). I eat out most Saturday's too, I usually have two slices of seeded bread toasted on a Saturday morning and that's it until my meal out about 5pm (I only eat a main course, I'm always content with that, I rarely fancy pudding. If I do get pudding, I end up eating the corners of it and leaving the rest 😂).

It's pleasure, too. I don't see it as just fuel, I don't get that any more than I get so called 'food noise'.

I don’t have treats in the house. If I do it’s because it’s a special occasion or a birthday but that’s it. I don’t buy them because if they’re there I will eat them.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opened the cupboard looking for a chocolatey snack knowing there’s nothing there and being devastated anyway. I’ve been over weight and underweight in my life and I definitely still have food noise even though I’ve been a healthy weight for over 10 years now.

I say no to a takeaway the majority of the time because once I start eating shit I give up for the day/ week and it’s never worth it. I always feel awful after a takeout. DH and I always comment and say this is why we don’t eat them because it’s not worth how awful we feel after it. We used to eat them pretty regularly and I don’t know how we did. My skin gets spotty, I feel sluggish and bloated and it impacts what I can lift at the gym.

I don’t diet currently I just eat very healthily. 3 meals a day and no snack. If I go to a restaurant I never get dessert (I’d prefer a starter anyway). If someone offers me food like a biscuit or a cake I always say no. It’s easier to say no than to only take one imo. It’s easy for your hand to creep into a biscuit packet.

No, I don't have anything like that. I don't get the "food noise" people talk about at all. I've never experienced it. Cravings - not really - not even in pregnancy. Maybe very occasionally I think ooh I'd love to eat XYZ but if it's not available it goes away again very quickly.

The thing that seems to "keep me thin" is that I don't feel hungry very often and I'm not that interested in food. I also don't have much of a sweet tooth and am not that keen on fried foods. I'll eat all of them but I genuinely love things like fruit salad more than chocolate cake.

Also if I'm anxious or upset or nervous my appetite totally goes - if I'm extremely upset I will actually feel nauseous and have been physically sick from being upset on I think 2 occasions. (Once was over a boy I was desperately in love with as a teenager! I can't remember the other).

If someone offers me a biscuit I only really think about if I fancy it or not, and I don't always fancy it. When I choose in a restaurant I balance cost against how much I think I'll enjoy eating that thing. Never really think about healthiness or not of what I'm eating. Like some others said I wouldn't order something ginormous in a restaurant because it would feel like a waste, unless it's the kind of place you can take leftovers home - but then I'd keep them for lunch the next day.

Will binge chocolate before period and I do like a sugary drink like coke, but in general if I had too much sweet stuff I'd feel sick, so I would stop (well before that point). So it's true I would not eat a whole cheesecake I can sometimes just keep going with biscuits or crisps at home - usually when I've skipped a meal and forgotten.

If I have a very big lunch I won't be hungry for dinner. Sometimes I forget to eat, or put off a meal for so long I just skip it and have the next one instead. I actually find it a bit of a chore - like FFS I have to prepare more food AGAIN. I eat slowly and making/eating/cleaning up after food seems to take up so much of my day that I almost resent it slightly.

I'm a healthy weight according to BMI. For me it's about balance. If I skip breakfast because I'm not hungry early, I eat a big lunch. I don't eat rice, bread or pasta so I can eat more meat and veggies. The size of my dinner depends on the size of my lunch. If I want a glass of wine in the evening, I'll eat healthier and lower calories food throughout the day. I generally stick to water and black coffee to save calories for food! I eat only what I really love or want and never graze for thr sake of it on crisps, cookies etc. don't really snack at all now I think about it, but that's because I prefer cooked meals.

Three things that help me, as a person who loves food and would never want to be too restrictive.

1.I’m very active. Obviously relationship between exercise and weight loss isn’t straightforward and weight loss is mainly about food consumption, however: (1) My muscle mass is high for a woman which I think helps to regulate weight and (2) exercise makes me feel good which makes me likely to make better food choices.

2.My ‘core’ diet is quite healthy but also enjoyable as I have lots of meals based around beans and pulses with lots of veg and flavour. I lean towards slight overeating but generally these meals keep me quite full and minimise cravings.

3.Sweet tooth is my main vice and I sometimes overindulge but rarely destructively. Most days, I eat something sweet but implement a weekend only rule from time to time if I feel I need to. To maintain control, I try to bake something at the weekend and then tell myself that’s my sweet stuff for the week. This helps me because (1) I took time to make it so want to appreciate it not scoff it and (2) it’s probably healthier than shop-bought junk.

ETA: Sorry @Pineapplesunshine , didn’t mean to quote you!

I find it weird people hate being full. I love being full, because it stops me being hungry for a while. Not Christmas dinner full, of course - no-one enjoys being in pain. But nicely full up - lovely. I can think about something else for a bit.

I've always been a bit overweight, since puberty. I've never had a body I liked or wanted to maintain. I've lost weight by restricting what I eat and counting calories in numerous ways over the years, but as soon as I decide I'm on a diet I immediately start craving chips and doughnuts. I do not routinely eat chips and doughnuts.

It's so unfair.

I am the same apart from the weighing.

I don’t have a food voice. I mostly eat what I want, but as a rule I eat home cooked food dinners and like veg, don’t snack overly (I have a bag of crisps a week as a treat, buy the occasional block of chocolate because my husband and I fancy it - but it takes days for us to get through), eat fruit

Nothing. I don’t even think about it. I will eat something if I want to, and I won’t if I don’t want to. There is no phrase or convincing myself.

I just eat what I want when I go out. I know my breakfast and lunches are all low calorie things so I don’t think about how many there are in restaurant meals. I don’t eat out every day do it doesn’t do any damage in the long run :)

It helps that I don’t have a sweet tooth and nor does my husband so we don’t keep snacks in the house bar some chocolate digestives. I have one with a cup of tea after lunch :)

I’m currently back to being a size 6/8 after ballooning to a 10/12 after having my daughter.

Oddly I find that when I intermittent fast I actually feel a type of hunger that I never normally feel due to eating every few hours. When I'm truly starving it doesn't take a whole lot to scratch the itch. IMO that's the distinction between real hunger and just being peckish.

I'm always fascinated by slim people who won't even have one bit of cake or a treat. I think to myself if I was thin I wouldn't deprive myself like that, which of course is why I've never been slim!!