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

[ChristmasTreeLight]

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?

Also, I remember back in the early 90s I did the original rosemary Conley Hip and Thigh diet. It was before she introduced a bit of fat. I could basically eat anything but no fat. I ate large bowls of pasta(white) with a tomato based sauce, bread, very lean meat and fish(no tuna or salmon) and veggies. I lost lots of weight. I was a 12 and went to an 8 and have never been thinner in my adults life through any other diet. I never felt hungry due to the large portions either. But. I went on holiday and had a few ice creams and the spell was broken! Shortly after came the fat is good revelation.

You can see why people are confused though can't you? Not only turning the whole fat bad, carbs good thing on its head, but then it can be tough to know what's good carbs / bad carbs, high carbs low carbs. It will take a while for the message to get through I think.

FWIW I have just lost 4 stone. I reduced carbs a lot by cutting out processed and starchy carbs (as I think of them) ie bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. I'm not a massively sweet toothed person anyway.

The other thing about the hip and thigh zero fat diet was that I only lost weight from my fattest parts so didn't end up looking gaunt everywhere else as is normally the case for pear shapes.

The problem with any thread on diet is that they always deteriorate into posts on nutritional misinformation. What is this malarky about sugar spikes and seeded bread? First, GI info when it comes to real life info is not accurate. Food is eaten with other things which will change the actual glucose load the body will experience. In general, eating a "junk" carb like the whitest Chorlywood process bread with avocado and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds will change a high GI product to one which is moderate.

Lo carb, no cab, low fat, paleo, intermittent fasting, etc are all just different diets. none is better than others in terms of ability to cause weight loss. the best diet is one which will and can be followed for life and thus will depend on the individual.

This thread is full of contradictions re the carbs issue. [
First we are told we have all put on weight from the past. Did they not eat carbs in the past? Potatoes? Bread? In fact, meat has always been expensive and we now eat more meat than ever in history. And what about fresh vegetables in this country? We now have more available fresh fruit and vegs than ever in history. Second, China and Japan rely heavily on rice. So does India. Guess who has less obesity?
UK: 27%
China (rice) 11%
Japan (rice) 3,4 %
France (lots of white bread) 18%

There are only a few clear things: one, people are different and have different metabolisms. Two, we all eat more than we need to - richer and more developed countries have a higher obesity index. Three, we all drink more alcohol than we need to, particularly in the UK. And four, an active life is the answer. This doesn't necessarily mean going to the gym, but walking instead of driving, using the stairs, doing house chores at a good pace, get up from your computer, etc.

Shower, it's from memory so I don't have the data, but iirc newer shop-bought bread is nothing like the version we would have eaten even 50 years ago. More sugar and very processed flour, even in the "healthier" breads.

Totally agree beyond but then it's not about not eating carbs, it's about checking ingredients, buy good bread at the bakers, cook your pasta without preocessed sauces, don't cover your rice with ketchup or supermarket salsa, etc. It's not the carbs you eat but how you eat them.

As for potatoes, we now have the microwave to cook them in no time. Put them in whole, take out, open, drizzle some olive oil and salt on them. Delicious, healthy, warm. No harm at all.

shower
There is nothing at all wrong with Carbs.
They are wonderful
BUT
As I said way, way up thread
In the rich western world there is far too much food available far too cheaply
so people overeat.

The only way to stay a healthy size is to consciously moderate your intake
and that involves avoiding processed foods that give the body misleading signals (like the hidden fat and sugar in takeaways)

many processed foods are carb heavy
and the evidence is clear that protein keeps you fuller for longer
so reducing carbs helps to regulate intake
WHEN OTHER FOODS ARE AVAILABLE

@formerbabe
I haven't read past your comment but just wanted to say that sometimes I feel those types of thread aren't actually representative of the average person. I think they tend to attract people who are hyper aware of what they eat and perhaps what they weigh. It'd be more revealing if you got a couple of friends to show you a food diary if what they ate. If they didn't lie on it if coyrse!
( just remembering the homework my kids had to do one time - a weekly food diary )

"Eat smaller portions, don't snack, move more, cut down on sugar, refined carbs and unhealthy fatty and processed foods but not on good fats, eat lots of veg and good quality protein" seems to just about cover it.
Shame it's so hard to actually stick to though.

This is such a great threat. How can we get it moved to Classics? So much great info.

Eolian

As a very slim person, and have been all my life, I read that list and it doesn’t seem hard in the slightest. It’s my life as i have always known it.

Eat well, exercise, move.

Whereas the opposite... eat junk and be sedentary seems a crap way to live.

And I thinks there’s the root of it. To many slim people out there, eating well and moving is not a hardship. It’s a pleasure.

I basically lost my weight with: eat less, move more.

Seems boring and old-fashioned doesn't it?

The reason I ate fewer processed carbs was because they seemed "expensive" to me in terms of calories eg I'd rather have bacon and eggs for breakfast than cereal because it seemed tastier and more filling to me for the same calories. Now eating far fewer carbs (eg never more than 100g of potatoes, pasta very rarely etc) is just the way I eat

The reason I ate fewer processed carbs was because they seemed "expensive" to me in terms of calories eg I'd rather have bacon and eggs for breakfast than cereal because it seemed tastier and more filling to me for the same calories.

This! No, carbs in themselves aren't bad. It's the amount of calories we take in. If I eat chilli on a bed of veg I eat far less calories than if I eat that same chilli on a bed of rice.

Plus it just is a fact that if you eat carbs you get cravings when your sugar dips. At least it is a fact for me and for so many people.

And to the poster who wrote about people in other countries eating carbs as a stable e.g. China or Japan, have you ever been to those countries and seen for yourself? The rice doesn't fill as much of the plate as it would for the average brit here. So quantities eaten of carbs are much less. Plus there is much less carby snacking.

In terms of China and Japan and other E asian countries, portions are smaller full stop. Great hunks of meat or not eaten, nor are copiously large salads. Everything is in much smaller portions.

Watching this thread with interest. I’ve gone from a 12 to 18 in the past 5 years after my mum and best friend passed. I comfort ate to ease my anxiety and grief and can now barely walk 10 minutes without feeling out of breath. On the plus side I think I’ve finally reached the bottom and enough is enough. I have no idea yet how I’m going to do this, but I know I have to for the sake of my health. Hope I can get some inspiration here. Good luck all; lack of control over such a basic need is such an awful feeling.

Go on XL 2018 will be your year!

PS The No S Diet was a good read.
www.nosdiet.com

Thanks MsHarry

@HillaryWinshaw I'm not sure it's worthy of Classics! But I have asked MNHQ if they can move this thread to Weight Loss Chat as I think there's lots of good advice in here that would be a shame to lose.

I am taking my 'mindful' eating a step further and am going to start properly calorie counting, because I'm wondering if that will be the next level of 'shocking' me into how much I am really eating. Small steps perhaps, but lots and lots of thinking. I am going to crack this.

And I thinks there’s the root of it. To many slim people out there, eating well and moving is not a hardship. It’s a pleasure.

Well yes, but that's a bit like me saying it's easy to not smoke (when I've never smoked). If you have eaten healthily and been slim all your life then maybe it is easy. But it's clearly not easy for a hell of a lot of people, otherwise we wouldn't have an obesity crisis.

People want to be slim and healthy, but eating isn't an addiction you can just quit - you have to eat! So the internal battle about what, when and how much to eat is a battle you have to fight every waking minute of every day for the rest of your life if you want to lose weight and keep it off. That's why people fail over and over again.

In India, China and Japan

• they snack less if ever
• portions are tiny

I read this thread a few days ago and it kickstarted me a little bit. I have started to drink more water and eat less biscuits. But that's it. Before when I got hungry Id reach for the digestives. Now I have been drinking water instead and reminding myself that the hunger will disappear as its not real hunger or I will eat soon anyway. Plus it wont kill me if Im hungry for an hour or so.

The next step is to cut out the supper (usually have a nibble of something about 9PM). That's going to be in Jan. Im a bit worried. The first week is going to be really hard. Dont know if I'll manage it TBH. Any tips?

I want to do the 16-8 (last couple of days its been more like 14-10 due to the 9PM snacking) properly in the new year.

I am taking my 'mindful' eating a step further and am going to start properly calorie counting,

This is what really motivated me. I was really shocked to see how many calories I was actually eating when I started logging and looking at calories. Really helped me stop reaching for those extra roasties or bedtime mini chocolate roll or two