Spent the weekend with slim people and I now see why I'm overweight

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After having spent the weekend with slim people, it appears that they:

a) don't need as much food to feel full,
I couldn't believe that after X amount of food, they were full - I could have happily carried on eating.

b) can go much longer between meals without eating,
At one point in the afternoon, I was ready to gnaw my arm off, I asked if anyone wanted to stop for a snack (thinking they'd be starving) but no, they were happy to keep going

c) don't crave sweet stuff in the way I do.
I I need sweet things as pudding, I was almost desperate for some chocolate, whereas again they just did not seem to feel that urge.

I am a size 14 and they are 8-10 and now I can see why. It's led me to wonder is it something innate, something physical? Are you just born like that, not to have the appetite or the sweet tooth? Am I simply fighting a losing battle in the vain dream of being a size 10 one day?

@CaveMum thanks for the tip!

I'm off to look at Pinterest now. I may be some time .

I stopped eating sugar 10 weeks ago and can honestly say I no longer feel the urge to eat between meals.
Carbs are a type of sugar too so watch out for overdoing it with them with your main meals.

I lived in Japan for a while and was intrigued how beautifully and daintily the women ate there; small morsels of thinly cut fish and meat with pickles and soup and a bowl of rice.

It was always very aesthetic and delicious. They were all without fail slim and enjoyed their food. If you eat with chopsticks it helps slow your eating down and you savour individual tastes too. Worth a try?

If you eat lentil soup with chopsticks you'll definitely lose weight

I just find the whole thing so difficult . We are fighting nature, as our bodies are made to store food / fat in case of famine (unlikely in 21st century Britain).

I hope the answer is getting back to real food and avoiding the excesses of alcohol, processed crap and a relatively sedentary lifestyle.

I've just put my height and ideal weight into Fish's Basal metabolic rate link upthread.

Depressingly, if I ever reach that weight, then I would need to stick to 1200 calories per day to stay the same. Which is not a lot. I can't get my head around that. Food for thought .

Right. Stabbing Galaxy with chopsticks right now!

Planning to hook one through the handle of a beer tankard later!

Just another voice to say: feeling "full", needing a snack, and craving sugar are all learned behaviours. When you stop feeding your body food you don't need, you will feel absolutely starving for a few weeks, but you will actually adjust thereafter to need less food. As with any slightly addictive habit - smoking, drinking - it's getting through the first bit that's the worst.

Thanks for your post on this. It's really focused my mind. I have about 1.5 - 2 stones to lose and have started well today.

Much of it is the habits, behaviours and expectations of slim people that is the difference.

One thing I have noticed about naturally thin people is that they eat very slowly. My DH and DM both fall into this category (both technically underweight on BMI scale, but have been so all their lives). DH takes about 20 minutes to eat a Mars Bar, whereas I (if I ever dare have such a thing ) can eat one in less than 2 minutes.

I was once in a cafe with DH and DM where we all had the same sandwich and salad. I knew they would take much longer than me to eat it; I tried my utmost to eke mine out, pausing between mouthfuls, chewing very thoroughly etc. but I was still left sitting for 20 minutes while they ate theirs .

Of course there is always the wine taster's method which is not to be recommended if you have an eating disorder but fantastic if you just crave the taste.

Basically you don't swallow so you would need to be discreet and use a suitable receptacle.

Not suitable for eating in company but healthier than binge eating or throwing it all up which is what the Romans did!

I work with health-freaks. There was an active lifestyle challenge and I won. They are all faster better runners/athletes than me, but I won the challenge b/c I do lots of errands walking or on bike.

"approx 65% of calories from fat, 25% protein, 10% carbs"

tbh, that sounds revolting to me. It means getting 125grams of protein a day, for instance, if 2000 calories a day. I have no interest in that much meat (or tofu). I guess if you are on 1200 kcal/day it means 24 grams of carbs a day, which is extremely low.

I'm another who found that 5:2 re-set my ability to stop when I'm full, not eat if I don't fancy what's on offer and not be afraid of feeling hungry. I still find I need to fast a couple of times a month, otherwise I find myself wanting (and therefore buying) sweets, which I normally don't fancy at all.

I love the freedom of just not eating for a day - particularly when I'm really busy at work. And then the next day everything tastes amazing!

I've maintained a size 10 like this for about four years now.

@Amory I don’t know which of us has misread that link. I thought it was how many calories were needed just to sit still all day. Mine came out at 960

Yes, I'd agree with that too GreenBook.

I lost 2 stone doing 5:2 about 5 years ago. I kept it off even when I stopped following that WOE immediately following the desired weight loss. It was the takeaways and crap over the past 12 months or so that have seen this current weight gain rather than a failure of 5:2!

I lost weight on 5:2 but found it really really hard to sustain. It made me obsessed with food. Weirdly, I have found the more restrictive BootCamp (high fat, low carb) diet to work so much better for me and have stayed on it for 9 weeks now.

After I stopped 5.2 I PILED the pounds on, more than ever before. I think it totally confused my body.

I've been so scared to feeling hungry (as I said earlier) and this thread has helped already. It helps to know that my eating is not usually about actual hunger, more just habits. Thinking, 'Could I go another half an hour if I get on with something?' is entirely healthy. Baby steps.

Ive not read this whole thread, but i always hear people say ''ohh ive forgot to eat today'' HOW? I couldnt forget, im thinking about lunch right now!
I went out with a slim friend the other day and she said ''how can some people eat two packets of crisps a day'' i nodded in agreement knowing fine well im a greedy cow and could demolish 3 in a day if i wasnt watching what im eating

I agree with reducing salt. I do love salty food, but we no longer use it in cooking and don't keep salt in the house at all. I now notice how salty restaurant food often is and so I am really careful what I choose from the menu and we never have take aways as we just cannot eat such salty food anymore.

I would love to cut down sugar too.

As a slim person I’d say that general yes people do eat too much. Not always but I’m often amazed at the amount people can and do eat. Even ones that I don’t think are overweight. Not that I’d know just by looking anyway tbh.

I physically cannot eat what most people can. I can’t ever finish 3 courses unless its one of those places that serves tiny portions to be posh.

I love food but I just can’t eat a lot in one go or even in one day. I get full.

I’d say that I’m like the OP I do need something sweet after a meal - just a small something most of the time but I do probably eat some chocolate every day - a couple of pieces. Sometimes more though !

I one had a colleague comment that my eating was strange - that sometimes don’t eat much and other times I do. (Usually snacks when we are doing a lot - it’s a physical job at times)

And I was confused and said that I just eat when I’m hungry ? If I’m not I don’t.

Ofcourse it’s all very well saying that but if you are used to eating x amount a day for years and you reduce it you will feel hungry at first.

However even given the above - it is genetic I think to a point - my family are all very slim and petite people.

@hesterton I've never thought about this much beyond the basic idea of comfort eating. Perhaps apart from the basic physiology we also think about food in emotional or practical means. By that I don't mean just cold nourishment but simply that you eat to be nourished and if you are full then you stop.
I enjoy food, I wouldn't say that it gives me no comfort or emotional pleasure but I don't think it's the same as some people describe.

@ Princessofthesea I wish I could give up sugar too! Have tried several times now :/

Also my other thought was how hungry I can feel sometimes the morning after a big meal. I don't eat huge portions usually,but sometimes if I've been out in the past for a late meal, the next day I feel like my stomach is empty and I'm about to drop from hunger. I can see how over time that can turn into a habit and then continue

This thread is really interesting and I think has helped me realise why I hover around a size 14.

Both of my parents are morbidly obese (24+ stone) and fed me and my sister up as children. By the age of 8 my sister had moved on from children’s meals and was eating junior whoppers. They always told us to finish our meal, regardless of the size of the portion, then gave us massive puddings. Eating a lot was seen as good, there were always multiple snacks in the house.

This has led to really bad habits for me as an adult, I have a snack cupboard, I have a terrible sweet tooth and I always feel hungry. I also still eat way too much eg I have 3/4 of a 14” pizza from dominos on my own on Friday night. When I try to diet I seem to feel starving, the only diet I’ve had any success with was exante VLCD but found it too restrictive (I missed gin!).

I know what I need to do, I just can’t do it!

I had a bit of an epiphany when I was in Madrid with a friend recently.

A group of gorgeous ladies rocked up at the restaurant we were at, at around 10.30pm. All were very slim. I thought “I wonder what they eat?”

They ALL ordered the fish. No carbs.

And they shared two puddings between eight....

I have to say - I love carbs. So that one is not the case for me.

I do think I burn through my calories quite fast though - an increase in physical activity for me usually leads to weight loss without trying.