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?

Eolian

You’re saying that over eating and under exercising is as addictive as nicotine if you’re saying it is as hard as gicinfup cigarettes.

Quite simply, you’re wrong.

Yes there are some compelling studies out there indicating addictive qualities to sugar but no one is saying it is remotely on the same level as nicotine.

This is half the problem. Looking for excuses rather than just owning it. Those who are successful with weight loss and actually maintain that weight loss are those that have really grasped that it is their “fault” they are overweight.

How do people stop late evening eating??? I don't snack in the evenings, but I AM hungry by 9 ish and I can't sleep if I am hungry! I typically eat a banana or bowl of Weetabix, but I really don't want to eat at this time! My meal times are 8am, 1.30, 4pm (typically a banana or handful of nuts) and 6.30 ish (when the kids have their's).
I am a slim build (5'6, 9st), so I don't have any weight issues, but I find it irritating that I have to seek food out at a time when I want to be winding down to sleep.
Any ideas?

creepint - 4pm is very early for your 'evening' meal, isn't it? Is it because you eat with the children?
I eat at 6pm and I think people in the south of England even find 6 early.

"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!"

Many people do lie, I think. I've met a few 'Oh, I'm a huge eater. I eat everything' people who are very thin. Do they take seconds? No. Their idea of eating everything is just being a foody, not being greedy.

We eat at 8pm (ish (often 9). 4pm would be extremely early for us. I also wouldn't be ready for dinner then if i only last ate 3.5 hrs ago.

creeping - sorry, I see that your evening meal is at 6.30 and it's just a snack at 4. Most people don't need to eat again if they eat around 6.30. Is it just a habit you've got used to? Your stomach will ask for food at a certain time if that's what it's used to. Or maybe you're not eating enough at your meals.
But then if you don't have any weight issues, there's not a big problem.

@ChristmasTreeLight - a size 14 is overweight? I'm a size 14. I weigh 10 stone and am 5 ft 9 inches. BMI 19. Not at all overweight. Perhaps think about your postings before you start 😊

Thanks Gwen. Yeah, I don't NEED to cut out evening eating, but I want to! You may have a point about habit - but it is genuine hunger, and if I don't eat then I will keep waking up throughout the night (and I run the risk of having a morning migraine, which I suspect is linked to low blood sugar). So all in all maybe I should just accept that that's the way I am made!

A somewhat goady post, @Runningwithscissors12, so I’m not going to bite.

If that was me at 9pm I'd have a hard boiled egg. I boil some every couple of days for moments like that.

Goady? I was actually feeling a bit sad that someone thought it kind to overtly body shame other women. But you go with goady if that makes you feel better - place the blame on me. 😬

Hi all,

We're just sending this thread over to weight loss chat at the OP's request.

Thank you @LornaMumsnet

A somewhat goady post, @Runningwithscissors12, so I’m not going to bite.

Eh?
Didn't strike me as being remotely goady.

I get where running is coming from. I'm 5'10 and at my skinniest I was 12 on top and 14 bottom. Constantly seeing (not just here op, but all over the place) "size 14 is obese" irks a bit.

Right now I'm 16/18, and looking forward to one day reaching that 14 again

Runningwithscissors12

I don't think it was a goady post, but I don't really understand the point you were making.

I'm a size 14, I'm also overweight (5ft 3). She wasn't 'body shaming' other women, she was talking about herself.

Who felt body shamed by it? Not me, it's a statement of fact.

Size 14 will be overweight for some people but not others. That solves that one.

Anyone who's struggling to control their eating/ stop snacking should read 'brain over binge' by Kathryn Hansen. It's written by an ex- bulimic, but would apply to anyone who feels like can't stop themselves eating.

I wouldn't say I binged exactly but I did snack, pick at leftovers and generally ate more than I should. And every time I dieted or even just ate healthily I bounced back and put all the weight back on. That book is the only thing that's really worked. I think it's amazing and recommend it to anyone struggling with their weight.

I battled with very disordered eating as a teen. I imagine that seeing all my friends - at a foot shorter - constantly commenting on size 14 (remember this is an XL in shops that size that way) being massive didn't help.

For anyone struggling with late night/post dinner snacking - a good tip I picked up from the 5:2 thread is to brush your teeth. The minty taste puts me off eating anything else. Worth a try!

You got to break the habit of sugar and carb and if you are able to do this then it becomes natural for you to choose the healthy stuff. I think little is attributed to physique or innate factors but rather it is psychological.

Goady? I was actually feeling a bit sad that someone thought it kind to overtly body shame other women. But you go with goady if that makes you feel better - place the blame on me

Yes but most women are savvy enough to know that whether they're overweight at a size 14, will depend entirely on their height/frame/BMI.

Did you not think about that before you started to feel sad?

I get that Beyond but, for some of us, size 14 is overweight. It's not 'normal' or 'the upper end of 'healthy weight'. We could be more overweight but we want to address it before we get to that point. Some of us were an 8, 10, then a 12 and now a 14 and can see our weight creeping up and want to do something to stop it before it gets any 'worse'.

That's not making any comment on other people, but I am a size 14. I personally cannot see how anyone can be healthy at this size/weight or bigger because I get out of breath and I can feel it on my joints. But that is my experience of it. Other people's will be different.

We shouldn't be shaming people for not being overweight enough before doing something about it either.

As a slim person I agree with all your points. Main thing for me to stay slim is not snacking and limiting sweat foods. However I do definitely enjoy food, just prefer main meals. When I was larger than I am now, I would eat when bored or for emotional reasons. Maintaining a low weight was only achieved when food and emotions were no longer linked.

@WorraLiberty - patently not. So foolish of me. 😂