AIBU to ask how people stay slim without strict dieting?

[Coffeeloveer]

If you are wanting to lose weight or if you maintain a slim figure but dont go on a specific diet or calorie count. What eating patterns/ habits do you have to achieve this? I have a busy and a social lifestyle so conventional diets don’t work for me and to be honest I just end up breaking them.. how do you achieve the above on the go etc

That is an absolute load of bollocks!

Maybe it’s down to genetics? Some people can eat what they want and not put on weight whereas others aren’t so fortunate.

I eat what I want, but I do find myself adjusting- so if I have a day where I've eaten a lot- e.g been out for dinner and eaten three courses and drunk lots of wine, I will find myself being 'good' the next day, or actually skipping breakfast the following day as I still feel full from the day before etc.

I also don't eat huge portions of anything at meal times, and generally eat a well balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg.

I'm not skinny- I'm 5'7" and a size 12 and weigh around 10.5 stone but I've been the same size and weight for 20 years.

I’m 50 & not super slim but I’m a healthy weight and I’ve lost about a stone gradually over the last year. I am super strict Monday - Thursday. I eat healthily (high protein, low fat & carb, nothing after 5pm) and try to go to the gym x3 per week to do weights and go for a walk every day. But I cut very loose at the weekends…usually I still eat well for breakfast and lunch but have whatever I want for dinner and booze galore. Appreciate I’m probably lucky with my genetics etc.

Cook from scratch - limited UPF. I have loads of dinners I can cook up in under 30 mins.

Tend not to have rich food most days - I don’t put butter on my butties , don’t add cream to stuff. Use tomatoe base for curry not coconut milk etc.
so I would make simple poached fish and mash and frozen veggies instead of a fish pie ( similar ingredients but a much richer sauce and cheese in the mash) . Fancy stuff only at weekends

My butties - it’s homemade bread so the average slice is smaller than a shop loaf and that means less cheese

I eat out / takeaway very very rarely

i eat lots of veggies , but basically a broad diet

i try to be sensible on portion sizes. Especially on treats - I’d have a small multipack bag of crisps not a standard size

i am very active - I will walk a lot - pace the office floor, walk a couple of miles to pick up a pint of milk rather than drive. Active hobbies. I need exercise every day

I don’t do anything special. I think unfairly so much of it is down to genetics/metabolism.

I have never been on a diet and I have always been slim and occasionally underweight. I think i eat whatever I want but it has been pointed out to me that what I want isn't that much calorie wise. I don't have very big meals and eat a lot of salad. I do like chocolate and crisps though. I never have takeaways and rarely eat out.

People who drink to excess often are very skinny - and dreadfully unhealthy. Erratic eating - aunt who would “eat loads” but really just a couple of bags of crisps for her dinner with the bottle of wine

3 meals a day. No snacking. All meals made from scratch. I’m lucky because I’m naturally drawn to healthier foods. I just enjoy them more and how they make me feel. I’m also really interested in nutrition and cooking. Good food for me is a real joy. I eat plenty of carbs but also run 3xs a week. I don’t drink except on holiday when I might have 2 or 3. Holidays are the time when I will indulge more as I love cakes but even then I might have cake maybe a couple of times not every day. I also make sure that what I’m eating is what I think I will genuinely enjoy.

Exercise.

I run a lot so I can eat and not think about it, fortunately I love running too. I was just thinking about it this evening when I got a bowl of ice cream and added some magic stars and caramel sauce on top. I was thinking about how prior to taking up running I'd feel bad about eating it and the next day eat less to compensate for it.

I have a condition that means if I eat a big meal I feel really bad(physically) so I tend to just non stop eat small meals and snacks throughout the day. I don't worry about calories though, I just try make sure I get enough carbs and protein.

I forgot to say that I also have celiac disease so biscuits/cakes/a lot of breads etc don't really feature in my diet. I don't really eat out/get takeaways either because the gluten free selection where I live is shite.

But some of us have always been slim, so haven't made some dramatic change to get here. I certainly haven't given up crisps or chocolate, and if I eat out I just order what I want, and have pudding if I want.
I don't know why some people proclaim that all slim people have to do what they do, as if nobody can be slim without effort.
I do run regularly and don't drink much.

Simple bloody self control, of the type that seems badly out of fashion these days.

I rarely snack.

I eat three healthy meals a day.

I walk as much as I can.

If I have a day or two of poor/excessive eating (like at Christmas for example) then I will be extra careful with what I eat for the next week, and I will try to up my walking.

I don’t eat low sugar or low fat food.

I rarely drink alcohol (I don’t particularly like the taste).

Presumably different weight distribution and/or shopping in shops that come up with different sizes.

I'm a size 10, 5ft 8 and 9.5 stone too. But often an 8 on top but a 12 in bottoms.

It is frustrating. The last mass measurement of bodies that came up with the 10, 12, 14 sizes etc was in the 1950s.

Some stores do their own measuring, but there is a lot of vanity sizing. I was only about 10 stone when I 18 but I was never a size 10, always a size 12.

The UK used to care more about weights and measures and now a size 10 in Hobbs is probably bigger than a size 10 in Zara or some young person's shop.

I posted that it could be down to genetics, but completely forgot about metabolism.
It definitely plays a big part in it.

Exercise and willpower to resist crap food.
Overweight people often think slim people are just lucky, but no, it is bloody hard work keeping in shape !
I'd much rather eat a bag of crisps than an apple, or watch TV than go for a cycle. But I know I feel- and look - SO much better after if I choose that apple and that cycle..

What they want is different.

I eat lots of leafy veg because I love it.

I don’t diet, or count calories. Don’t really exercise. I just naturally have a very small appetite. So if I go out for dinner I’ll never finish a meal - the portions are just too big. I can’t have three courses either.
I don’t snack between meals, as I just don’t get hungry.

This is very good advice OP. Similar to me apart from that I have to have 3 meals per day. They are calorie controlled though.

I'm slim and I eat 3 proper meals a day.

I would say a delayed breakfast - if at all: But I don’t really ‘think’ about food that much. So as long as I have 2 meals that are tasty and I feel satisfied; I don’t have need for snacks. (Apart from fruit or cups of tea).

Edited to add: All meals are from scratch. Unless eating out/takeaway.

Stay away from processed food. It is utter shit, addictive and very bad for you. I def think genetics plays a huge role but its not a given just maybe a predisposition. I have lost a significant amount of weight over the course of a few years and am currently keeping it off. I"m classed as overweight but close to 'normal'. I use a low dose weight loss injection. I feel it 'levels the field' with people who don't struggle with their weight. I dont usually eat sugar or processed rubbish. I would recommend you reading the shit to shiny method by Sally Wilkinson.

I think this is key. I eat what I want, when I want but most of what I want is healthy food and I choose to snack on nuts, fruit etc because I like it. I do also eat cake, biscuits etc but usually it's ones I've made myself.

Meanwhile DH snacks on cheese sandwiches at 10pm and has put weight on his belly.