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?

But who are they registered with rogue?

I study nutrition.
Right now I'm studying a Martini and shortly I'll be studying toad in the hole and veg with red wine.
Where do I register ?

wtfdoicare have a couple of prunes, the moist ones, not too dry. Sweet, nutritious and great for your guts!

Ta1kin

Nope! What you're doing is trying to explain away your poor choices as something you have no control over. You're overweight and eat junk food so as a result you have a bigger appetite and cravings for the sugar you've addicted yourself to. It would be one thing if you were talking about a skinny person who ate like a horse and shoveled junk in their face (because they certainly exist) but the title of your post shows that you know why they're healthier than you: they make better choices.

Exactly Mivery

So many excuses. So many reasons on this thread why people have over eaten and become overweight. Only a few have alluded to fact that it’s a case of their greed. I suspect that if anyone from this thread is going to successfully lose weight and keep it off - it will be those posters that have admitted to themselves that the excuses have to be thrown aside and their greed dealt with.

Ultimately junk food is NOT addictive. Yes there are very compelling studies that do demonstrate that there may be an addictive element to sugar, but in any event it’s not just sugar, is it? It’s over eating crisps, sausage rolls, burgers, pizza - food that contains minimal sugar if any.

It’s also about doing the bare minimum in terms of exercise.

Some medications may make people put on weight but absolutely not to any significant extent otherwise it wouldn’t be permitted to be given to the general public, would it? Because a drug causing obesity would be dangerous!

Since reading this thread when it started(3/12) I have lost 2lbs. Not a great deal but I was not overweight and all I have done is be really strict about 3 meals a day, mindful carb portions and left 5 hours between meals. I have also had 2 Christmas dos during this time and not held back though I don't do puddings anyway but do, do starters. I drink G&slimline or prosecco but don't drink Mon to Thurs and walk my dog daily 45 mins plus. I was starting to slip a bit on the picking between meals and had gained a few lbs. Thanks OP, hope you're doing well.

"Some medications may make people put on weight but absolutely not to any significant extent otherwise it wouldn’t be permitted to be given to the general public, would it? Because a drug causing obesity would be dangerous!"

To be fair, I think those drugs would still be given out because if a person is in pain, you have to do something to help them at the time. It's always a balance of the benefits of the drug against the side effects.
Having said that, only a minority of obese people are in that situation because of medication.

Plenty of potential side effects of drugs are dangerous, baffling that anyone would think that they wouldn't be given if that was the case.

To pick a random example, I'm on immunosuppressants that can cause an increased risk of cancer. Still worth it on a cost:benefit analysis.

Plenty of potential side effects of drugs are dangerous, baffling that anyone would think that they wouldn't be given if that was the case

Quite.

Agreed that potential for slight weight gain would be permitted as a side effect of a drug.

Significant weight gain? No. Not only could it dangerous for the health of the patient, and therefore not pass testing for public consumption, it would be very short sighted because simply creating more health issues (associated with obesity) for the individual later on down the line

A really interesting thread - gradually changing habits rather than a drastic change to diet seems successful for lots of people.

I've successfully lost weight this year, and am now maintaining by following some basic 'guidelines' of waiting until I'm actually hungry before eating; not drinking alcohol (my diet plan specified no alcohol and I have decided to stick with this as it makes a big difference to how much snacky stuff I eat at the time of eating but also the following day); keeping refined sugar to an occasional treat, not a daily staple. I'm also fairly active. It all seems to be working so far, and without too much effort.

I can see why there's an obesity problem in the UK, and why so many diets fail. Just reading all the conflicting options on here feels like sensory overload. I need a lay down and no mention of food or diets to recover.

Low carb is the best diet. No, low carb isn't sustainable. I lost 2 stone on low carb high fat, it's brilliant! But our ancestors ate carbs and they weren't fat. But they didn't have processed carbs. My mother lived off potato waffles in the 70s and she's never weighed more than a sparrow. It's all about eating a hearty breakfast. Yes, but no evil cereal, just eggs. No, that just makes you want to eat more, never eat breakfast. Our ancestors didn't eat breakfast and they were all thin. But i need breakfast or I feel faint. No you don't, it's a figment of your greedy imagination. I only eat during an 8 hour period. That's a myth, I did that and it doesn't work. It did for me, but I only actually eat once a day. I'm naturally thin and never even think about food, can easily skip a day of eating. That's the key: don't think about food so much, it's just fuel! No, the only way to succeed is to accept you'll be planning and counting calories in vs out for the rest of your life. Then a loud voice calls out "it really is all about eat less move more " and there's a collective sigh from the posters who can legitimately disprove that.

And so it goes on and on.

I'm not claiming I have the answer, because I certainly dont. But I've come away from this thread more desperate and unhappy than I was at the beginning.

O don't think that's the message of the thread at all @DiscotequeJuliet

I think we have universally agreed

Less snacks
Fewer carbs
Eat when hungry
Stop when full
Move more
Eat smaller portions.

I reckon that's easy enough to understand

universally agreed

Nope I disagree with “wat when hungry”.

I am underweight but eat. A Lot. Very healthy fold though and o am religious aboitnhaving breakfast, lunch and dinner. No snacks.

If you eat when hungry then there is a very real possibility you will overeat and also snack whilst even preparing the food.

Whereas if you stick to a routine and then just adjust your portion size if you’re not particularly hungry, then you will never be “hungry”, which, let’s face it, can be pretty unpleasant. Rather you will feel satiated. Not full. But satisfied and no possibility of grabbing a packet of crisps etc whilst prepping your dinner because you’re so hungry.

“Eat when hungry”

See, immediate disagreement. So unfortunately not as clear cut as your summary @BitOutOfPractice

And simplistic statements like 'eat when hungry' and 'stop when full' are tricky to follow after 20 years of disordered eating.

Great thread. I've "binged" on it!

I've made some notes as I've gone along, just the odd thought which will help me.

I liked that cavemen don't eat breakfast.
And that losing weight is hard but so is being fat, so choose your hard.

This is a great thread which I keep coming back to.
I've been steadily losing weight over the past 6 months - after years of following one diet or other that left me with dysfunctional eating and attitudes to food til I ended up not knowing what was the right or the wrong way.
My plan is that I try to eat a range of foods and focus on eating what's right for me, so I I don't eat much processed foods or carbs or sugary foods as they set off my IBS. Nothing is banned, as I think it only leads to you to rebel and binge. I eat what I want but I aim for good quality and watch my quantities. I've cut my portions down and I don't snack. I eat 3 meals a day but I try to eat quite a smal meal for lunch like a yoghurt and fruit or soup and cheese and no bread.

I always used to have lots of little rituals around foods - like if I was in town I'd have a coffee and always with a cake whether I'm hungry or not. Or I'd always have glass (or two) of wine and some chocolate after my evening meal or I'd pack certain foods in because in my head I'd decided they were healthy or "good" for me but in actual fact I was perpetuating my habit of eating big portions.

It's my choice what I eat, but I also choose the consequences - so I'd rather have a tasty filling meal than a load of rubbish snacks that will leave me feeling bloated and uncomfortable and hungry an hour later
I don't talk to people about diets, if they ask me I just say I'm trying to eat what's right for me and I try to avoid getting caught in chatting about diets.

Some of these ideas I got from reading Gillian Riley's books and some I've just absorbed along the way.

@DiscotequeJuliet where did I say it was easy?

What amazes me is so many people seem to have a choice of what they eat or diet on but they're feeding a family at the same time? I couldn't prepare two different lunches and dinners. It would kill me. So I prepare healthy food for everyone and end up eating whatever DS and DH are eating. We eat together, always have. Luckily I'm underweight but if I wasn't and I needed to go on a diet or reduce carbs I don't know how I could possibly do it with a family?

"if I wasn't and I needed to go on a diet or reduce carbs I don't know how I could possibly do it with a family?"

Surely most families don't eat together for weekday lunch as people are at work or school and people make their own breakfasts, so there's only the evening meal. I think most people are not underweight and would not suffer too much from having one diet meal a day. Those not dieting could always add extra bread or potatoes to the fish and salad or whatever the dieting person is having. Also, it's quite common for a whole family to be overweight at the same time.

showersinger surely you just cook healthy meals for everyone but the "dieter" has smaller portion / fewer carbs.

Eg cook a curry, have yours with cauliflower rice, everyone else has ordinary rice, cook steak and have yours with just salad while everyone else has wedges and sauce. It's not that hard. Assuming you're cooking healthy stuff for the kids anyway.

I've found it really easy to low carb with a family. We have all the usual stuff but replace carbs with extra veg. I keep some bags of microwave rice for the kids to have with some meals and sometimes do potatoes or pasta like I would have done previously but don't eat that bit of the meal myself. Its very simple. We eat almosy all of our evening meals together like this.

OK, so now I'm going to ask a controversial one. If I was doing that in front of my teenager, give him/her pasta but not eat it myself, eat the veggies but not the wedges or whatever, will I not be asking for trouble afterwards in terms of teenager being obsessed/over-worried about food and weight?