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

[FairLadyRantALot]

well, am I?

hatwoman: the high cholesterol thing is something I worry quite a bit about - my dad was also skinny, but died of a heart attack at the age of 52 (a cholesterol problem went completely unnoticed).

thinking back, my mum - similar build and size to me - was told about 20 years ago she had high cholesterol. and I'm at that age where I'm starting to feel I ought to be more responsible (ie it's not just about me and how I look and feel - it's about dh and dds too iyswim) . I think I'm going to see what I can do to get it tested

hatwoman, you're right. When I went for my last smear test, the nurse asked if I wanted to take a cholesterol test just in case - the form's still sitting looking at me, the problem is you have to fast for 12 hours beforehand. Totally impossible!!

I've always been 8 stone, more or less. But I don't eat much. I don't have a sweet tooth so don't really go in for cakes, biscuits or chocolates. Savouries are my thing.

I tend to just have a yoghurt and a piece of fruit for breakfast. Then a sandwich and a bag of crisps for lunch, and a cooked meal at teatime. And I'm a very slow eater. I stop when I'm full, I don't feel as though I have to eat everything on the plate.

If I snack it's usually nuts or cheese or something like that.

Also I walk everywhere. We're a one car family.

bloss, I do have dumbells, up to 5 Kg's I think (I mena each dumbell), so, that should be adequat for femal starter outers...I suppose....
however, you lost me by "dumbbell row".......
I actually do have a Abdiet book, whihc has dumbell workouts in it...should really do the exercises again....sigh...
My other main problem is, that I can be highly motivated for month on end, and feel better and than I loose all motivation....probably because I start out doing lots and it isn't maintainable........

Thing is rubberduck I know someone who got a bull neck from doing a bit of kick boxing. Ditto my nextdoor neighbour really puts on muscle around her upper shoulders/neck (even just from lifting heavy toddlers!) so I do think it depends on how you exercise and the way you lay down muscle. Pilates and yoga plus exercise where are very cotrolled with movement is supposed to give leaner longer muscle definition -I'd prefer that!

I think Britney is the sort of person whowould have to be careful re the ol' bull neck look.

see...I know Pilates and Yoga is meant to be brilliant, and I am sure it is...it is just that I find it mindnumbingly boring....

I suppose if you are worried about building to muhc muscle, than cardio exercise mihgt be better, for those that don't like pilates or yoga...

Yeah cardio, it would burn fat and do your heart good. I dont know alot about the exercises you do and how it would tone/define muscle.

I use exercise dvd's at home, tbh....(well, I have lots and should be doing them...)...Nell McAndrews is brill for cardio, in my opinion...knackering but brill

I was also completely rubbish at school (apart from running) and still hate exercise where it feels you're doing a lot of work. Makes my options rather limited I know!!!

But I've really taken to cycling as a mode of transport. You can coast when you feel like it or speed up when the mood takes you or you're running late

Not so much fun being knocked off my bike though

dittany, I suppose if you do them slower, than they would be safer....I just am really clumsy at times, and have dodgy joints anyway (tbh, am wondering if I am developing Rheumatoid Arthritis....because so many of my joints hurt so often, that incldues my finger ones...)

I think cardio burns energy more intense whilst you do it and for a couple of hours after, but can lead to muscle loss (if overworked, i.e. to out of breath, etc...) and weights burn less at the time, but for a longer period afterwards, aswell, as a higher muscle ratio means you burn more calories even in standstill and when not exercising...or some such thing...

Oooo, might try them dittany. I twisted badly on a squat/lunge about 6 weeks ago and my right knee and ankle has felt very weak since. Think that would be good to regain strength?

dittany...it's not to bad with slower movement, i.e. I need to have control over it...toehrwise, I easily move the wrong way and twist something...

mostly the pain is fine, it's not a pain as such, more an ache...but I do wonder [paranoid emoticon]...

I'll give it a go, taking it easy and being aware of my body. It wasn't a bad injury - was still able to walk on it/put weight on it afterwards, for example. It just doesn't seem to be getting stronger very quickly - more frustrating than anything else.

And actually, thinking about it, those would be good for strengthening my stance/footwork for Wing Chun too

well...I have made a decision to try a little experiement...
basically, I will try to really listen to my body, and only eat until I start to feel full (rather than just keeping to stuff it down...), and should I feel hungry in between meals I will try to eat just a little snack...
this should decrease the amount I am eating, big time...(because I eat big portions...)...
I will try to be as active as I can be (which will be easier at the end of the month, because Uni will be finished...but I will try to do more now already....)
theoretically that should make me loose the weight I want, and hopefully retrain my brain to eat smaller portions, more suitable for my more sedetary lifestyle....

But I will NOT think of it as a diet, but an experiement

FLR- maybe it would help not to eat until you started to feel full, but to think about what your body needs- fullness should not be the issue.

I am not saying I have got it right, of that I am prefect, lol, but here's an example of what I mean- I have just had breakfast and had 1 boiled egg and 1 piece of (gluten free) toast. I could easily have eaten 3x that amount before I felt remotely full-but I know that the protein in an egg and the toast is enough to keep me going until lunchtime. Regardless of how I feel- full or not- I eat what my body can handle as I know that if I exceed it, the weight will pile on.

howto, I will take it step by step, and I don't think that going from ne extreme to the otehr would be helpful, iylkwi....what I am trying to do is find someway of eating that I find sustainable...
I don't have a massive amount to loose,and wjhilst my BMI is at the upper limit before it goes into overweight, I don't want to start to feel deprived...if that makes sense...
You have to consider, that at the moment I am ignoring my bosy's messages of fullness (I eat far to quick, whihc is a big part of that, and I eed to address that)...so...at the moment I want to learn my limits...

not sure if I am making sense...

I am one of them.

Unfortunately i lose weight to easily. Don't know why. I eat same as anyone.

Someone said 'wait til you have a baby then it will be different' well i have had my baby - where is my weight gain!

FairLady: yes, sustainability is definitely the key - that's what I liked about No S - it focuses on making HABITS your goal not the weight loss/gain whatever. Once it's a habit, you don't notice you're doing it and can dedicate your attention elsewhere, making the habit effortless to maintain.

One thing that worked for my mum is to eat a piece of fruit or a mug of vegetable soup or miso soup about half an hour before lunch and dinner. It fills you up just enough so that you don't feel like piling your plate up in quite the same way and a couple of extra portions of fruit or veg never did anyone any harm.

People said the 'wait till you have a baby' thing to me, too, islandlassie. It has worked a little bit. I'm no longer dipping down to 7 stone every time I'm busy or forget to eat, but it hasn't resulted in the weight gain I'd like to see! I'd love to be consistently eight stone. The actual pregnancy was pretty good for weight gain, and not just in the bump area, but I'm not very good at getting pregnant so haven't had the opportunity to do it again!

My DH has been losing weight and using FoodFocus to help him. I've also been using it, although not to lose weight as I'm a size 8 and always have been. My daily activity varies, as I run four days a week, but when I looked at it the other day, I had eaten EXACTLY the amount of calories I needed over the course of a week, even taking exercise into account. And I hadn't been trying to do it - in fact two days I had eaten lots and lots. But when I needed more calories, I'd been led to eat them

So it seems that I really do have an inbuilt "limiter" that makes sure I eat the right amount. Amazing really!