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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to want to know what all them slim people eat that are not on a diet and never gained a pound....

189 replies

FairLadyRantALot · 30/05/2009 19:46

well, am I?

OP posts:
LeonieSoSleepy · 30/05/2009 22:27

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Shitemum · 30/05/2009 22:30

I eat like a pig and am pretty slim (except for the slighty flabby bit in the middle after 2 pregnancys)
If I eat less I lose a kilo or two.

My thighs are starting to rub together when I walk, it's a horrible sensation.

Horton · 30/05/2009 22:32

I'm one of those skinny people who eats what she wants and doesn't gain weight. I'm forty, I weigh about 7 and a half stone and I've never been more than 8 stone unless heavily pregnant at the time.

I think it might be portion sizes for me. I can't eat a whole adult portion of food in a restaurant. It makes me feel sick - it's just plain too big. But I do eat plenty of high calorie stuff - love butter and cream etc - so am eating about 3000 cals a day. I just eat it in v small portions. I also never carry on eating when I'm full as I know it will make me feel sick and horrible. I do eat fairly healthily apart from the high fat content of my diet, lots of fruit and veg and brown rice/bread etc. Also, I'm not one for sweet things. I'd much rather eat a packet of prawns or a slice of ham or a stick of celery for a snack than a piece of cake, a biscuit or some chocolate.

meltedmarsbars · 30/05/2009 22:34

Surely, looking in the fatter peoples' trolleys in the supermarket will tell you the answer.

If you buy the junk, pop, cakes, biscuits and crisps, then someone in the house will be eating them!

Don't buy them unless for a special occasion. Therefore they are not in the cupboard calling out to be eaten.

LovelyTinOfSpam · 30/05/2009 22:38

I used to eat like you Horton, very similar diet.

Also would stop when full and found restaurant portions bizarrely huge.

That has changed gradually over the years though.

I really do think that portion size has an awful lot to do with it.

Shitemum my thighs started doing that and they started getting really sore. I now wear these and they work a treat, although best not to wear them for a hot date i guess. No more sore thighs

busybeingmum · 30/05/2009 22:57

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Horton · 30/05/2009 23:03

I agree, Spam, often a starter can be more than enough for a main course, especially if you have a salad or something with it too.

Sorry to hear about your friend, busy. How very sad for you and her and of course her family.

herbietea · 30/05/2009 23:04

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mrsmaidamess · 30/05/2009 23:04

I think its emotional attitudes to food that dictate whether you are slim or not.

tinkerbellex · 30/05/2009 23:08

No Just remember it all lands on the hips/bums and thighs eventually.
I used to be very very skinny (in the genes) and could and did eat like horse. I would eat huge portions and snack constantly, eat a fair amount of junk food and still look like pug from the bash street kids (very skinny with very boney sticky out kneecaps) I still have the kneecaps but am now filling out much bigger than I want to everywhere else and I feel uncomfortable. For the first time in my life I am considering dieting and I don't know where to start !!!!

busybeingmum · 30/05/2009 23:15

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SarfEast · 30/05/2009 23:27

I am a size 10 and eat what I like, mix of good genes and a fast metabolism. Since having LO I do a lot of walking, and obviously never get a chance for a leisurely lunch so have lost weight since she was born was a size 12. I have never really bothered about diets despite having a brother/father/g'father who used to tease me for having a 'fat arse'. I could never really be bothered to diet as I like food too much

I eat pasta (a lot) cheese ham sandwiches, meat and two veg dinners and toast for breakfast - a carb and protein rich diet with some fruit and veg on the side. Am probably in line for a heart attack...

OrmIrian · 31/05/2009 06:44

Depression and/or stress can help . Last summer I was eating more or less what I liked and losing weight hand over fist. Then I went to the GP, got some pills, got happier and fatter. I could do with less fat but do not want to be the way I was last year.

MummyDragon · 31/05/2009 07:39

I think it's definitely a combination of everything: genetics, emotion/stress, portion sizes, exercise and what you eat. I'm a size 6 (before you shoot me, FairLady, I no longer have any boobs at all after having 2 DCs - hardly fill and A cup and used to be B-C so there is some justice I guess ... ooh, might be a new thread there ...! ) ...

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I think we all have different reasons for the weight that we are. Food-wise, I love love LOVE food but I can't eat very much of it at one sitting - I just feel full quite quickly, and if I have something stressful or emotional going on I find that I am quite simply unable to eat at all. I do eat chocolate, biscuits, butter etc but not in particularly large quantities (one of my best friends is a much larger lady and her idea of a "regular" portion is surprisingly larger than mine). I do exercise almost every day tbh, even if it's just walking the dog. I also run around a lot after my exceedingly active kids (my DS is known as Tigger on Speed by many who know him) ...

I'll gladly analyse my diet over a couple of days if it helps you FairLady but at the end of the day I don't think there's a one sieze fits all answer ... Everything in moderation, I think

MummyDragon · 31/05/2009 07:40

sorry for typos, haven't had rocket-fuel coffee yet ...

TheBolter · 31/05/2009 08:16

Agree with LadyAga. I am naturally slim, BMI has always ranged over the 17's and 18's depending on lifestyle. I eat healthily most of the time, but really let my hair down when I go out. Which explains why a lot of people probably think I can get away with eating what I want. Of course it's not the case, because if I did eat like that I would put piles of weight on, as I did when pregnant and my 'eating inhibitor' button seemed to stop working!

I aslo agree with Haven'tslept - I naturally know how to balance what I eat out over a week, so if I feel I've been overdoing it for a couple of days I generally cut down for the next couple.

I have put on a few pounds since starting work as I'm not walking to and from the school everyday - making a big difference, so I know I'm going to have to stir myself into action soon with running or something ghastly, just trying to put it off!

FuriousGeorge · 31/05/2009 08:25

Mrs MH.
I was thinking about you last night.Did you find an acupuncturist?

TheArmadillo · 31/05/2009 09:19

I am a lardarse but dp has always been slim - until recently he has struggled to get up to a reasonable weight (though he's kept it steady for the last 2 years,yay).

The main differences are that he eats a lot slower and smaller portions - e.g. if we go out to a resturant he will not finish a main course and would only have one course. I think the eating slower means he notices more when he is full.

He also moves a lot more - even on the phone he paces round the room. When he had job sitting down all day he found it very difficult (though that's when he managed to get his weight up). He had always worked in shops before so always on his feet which he much preferred.

He does drink a lot of coke and a reasonable amount of beer and loves sweeties and stuff, but I think he just exercises it all off. If he's in bad mood he will go and do some exercising rather than e.g. turning to a chocolate bar. He also has never learnt to drive so always walks everywhere. He does one activity a week (historical fencing - the swords are heavy). He does sit at the computer for hours in the evening but is very active during the day.

I have lost a couple of stone by walking everywhere. (though have a million more to lose )

TheArmadillo · 31/05/2009 09:21

oh and even if he's just standing up in e.g. the kitchen he'll be jiggling about.

It annoys the fuck out of me that he can't just STAND STILL but I should probably be copying.

He also has no problem with leaving food on his plate and does at nearly every meal (this is something I have started to do which does help). Though I don't think I'm switching to the dp diet of mostly leftovers

Springfleurs · 31/05/2009 09:34

Coming from a family of plumper ladies, I am thin, not skinny but thin - around 9 stone.

I am 9 stone because I don't really eat. I rarely sit down to a full cooked meal, unless eating out. I graze throughout the day. If I eat three good meals a day I would be a lot bigger. If I have a sandwich I only eat half of it, if I fancy some chocolate I only eat half of it etc. I do eat a lot of salads and veg as well as not overly keen on meat.

It sounds hard to do but actually nothing is forbidden to me. I eat what I want, when I want but just not a lot of it.

Also run or swim 5 x a week, don't own a car so walk everywhere pushing a hefty toddler in a buggy.

beanieb · 31/05/2009 09:36

breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I think I was raised with a positive attitude towards food and so I have remained slim. I eat 'bad' stuff but not every day. Sometimes I can eat a whole ictoria sponge in one sitting but then I can go days and days without touching chocolate, cakes of crisps.

Fruit and nuts are my favourite snacks.

Original poster
FairLadyRantALot · 31/05/2009 10:04

thank you all...

dittany you asked how slim I owuld like to be...I'd settle for lower end of size 12, as size 10 seems to be unreachable anyway, even at my slimmest as an adult I owuld never be a size 10...I blame my build for that, lol....

it's interesting to see how people eat and how it affects them...isn't it....some say grazing, some say 3 meals a day....

OP posts:
howtotellmum · 31/05/2009 10:13

Did anyone see the TV prog, BBC1 last week- about dieting myths? Think it was either Tues or Weds evening at 8-ish. ( you might be able to watch again.)

They tested a woman's metabolism- it was normal, not sluggish as she wanted to believe. They also got her to keep a diary and a video of what she ate- and slso tested her wee to see how many calories she ate/used daily. The video gave a truthful account of her food intake- the diary was 40% short! Also, her food portions were huge- even when she ate healthy stuff.

The upshot of this was that most people unwittingly underestimate how much they are eating. Her calorie intake was over 3000 a day yet she thought she ate very little.

They then went on yo show another person that even by just moving around a bit more- taking stairs not lifts, not sitting all day long etc- they could lose 250 cals a day- which equated to 2 stones weight loss over 2 years!

The conclusion was- that most people eat more than they think they are /or need, and that doing even a bit of exercise can make a big difference.

dittany · 31/05/2009 12:12

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nkf · 31/05/2009 12:16

Slim people stop eating earlier than fat people. Watch a group of people out at dinner. The slimmest person stops first, the fattest person last.