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?

yeah, really significant variations between people in metabolism are rare, probably vanishingly rare.

really significant variations in appetite are commonplace.

i'm definitely someone with a really big appetite and the potential to be fat. within the last couple of years i've been about 16 & a half stone. right now i'm slim-mish but always on a knife edge - e.g. there's a family pack of jaffa cakes in my kitchen [i think two tubes, maybe 24 jaffa cakes in total], i've not eaten one in months but i know i could easily eat both tubes over the next hour or so & not feel in any way queasy, i'd actually find it all very pleasant.

i got and stay [though i'll no doubt lapse at least partly back at some point in the future] slim by having what feels to me like zero tolerance on sugar, drink next to no booze, & being very, very tough on all carbs, moderately tough on fats too. try to eat loads of protein & green veg. but it's not really a crazy starvation diet or anything like that, it's basically just how normal people [i.e. not greedy pigs like me at my worst] eat, the sort of diet that actually everyone in the uk used to eat before junk became so widely affordable at the very back end of the twentieth century.

@applesareredandgreen I have also observed colleagues at work. I have never been able to understand why they would be happy having one or two Roses, or just one biscuit out of a full packet. Why don't they have a handful, I can't understand! But then why do I have a handful, even though Roses are plastic yack? This behaviour has got to come from somewhere, else we'd all do it.

Don't forget that sleep is an important part of wellness. You will find it hard to maintain or lose weight (i.e. avoid gaining weight) if you are not getting enough sleep.

Also a protein rich breakfast will keep you going until lunch.

We're a slim family and I do feel worried/guilty when some of my DD"s friends come...well one in particular. She's constantly unsatisified by what we eat and nags me for food a lot.

Another time, DH's friend came with his DD and I was exhausted for a week as I tried to cater enough for them...he was overweight but his dd wasn't.

OP i can totally ignore biscuits and chocolate at work. Crisps however are a weakness so I don't buy any unless we are having a party!

I used to be like you. Since I started eating low carb though, the hunger, the need to eat more to be full, the sugar cravings - all gone.

In my case I spent a period of my life binge eating and I believe I ended up with hyperinsulinemia - too much insulin. Having a lot of insulin meant my blood sugar was fine (as there was plenty of insulin to get the sugar from my blood) but caused other issues.

Insulin is raised the most by carbohydrates, then protein, then fat (hence why my binge eating carbs ended up making my insulin levels out of whack). It uptakes glucose from your blood but it's second job is to signal to your body to not burn stored energy (fat) as energy (food) is incoming. This signalling means your body doesn't burn your stored energy and you become more hungry, more quickly Often you will crave sugar/carbohydrates as this will be a quick hit of energy.

People who can go longer/don't need as much/don't crave sugar probably have normal healthy insulin levels. For me since switching to a low carb high fat diet around a year ago (generally approx 65% of calories from fat, 25% protein, 10% carbs) I can for the first time in my life go hours and hours before I'm hungry. My good cholesterol is up, bad is down, triglycerides are down. I've lost 50lbs.

When I eat a dessert or something as a treat I am noticeably hungrier for a couple of days til my insulin response calms down. It's really been astonishing.

Definitely see my slim friends eating less than me OP.

But I also know that they're a bit obsessed. They do 5:2 diet when they need to lose weight and run marathons all the time. Some of them
are skinny because they're unhappy.

I don't want to do 5:2 - but I do want to be healthy, eat less and move around more.

This thread is really interesting.

Competitive self denial
I have ultra slim friends who do that
BUT
A lot of people have other reasons for self denial

• in my case, damaged knees that are made much more painful with every pound I put on

I am trimmer than a lot of people whose food intake I get to notice.
They seem to eat lot less than me.
I drink a huge amount less than them (booze).
I do a huge amount more exercise.

Can your stomach stretch? Can it shrink back down??

Mine did

It stretched when I ate more. I forced myself to eat more and that made me want to eat more

Then after my first miscarriage the weight came tumbling off and I lost all my appetite. I never really got back to eating properly again and now for the most part I have to force myself to eat 3 meals a day

If I force myself to eat more I've no doubt I'll want to eat more again.

I think a lot of people don’t realise how many empty calories there are in booze - an average bottle of white wine has nearly 600 calories.

I think the "not eating between meals" is hugely significant.

I've found if I do this, no matter what size meals I have, I always lose weight.

I too have recently returned from a weekend away with friends ranging from size 8 to size 16/18.

The larger ones eat and drink (alcohol) more, it's as simple as that.

I'd happily take my food as a pill

"I've heard people say this before. I can't get my head round that mentality. Food is such a joy to me.”

Same here formerbabe. I love good food. It is one of life’s pleasures. I cannot imagine not enjoying my food. It sounds to me like bananafish has an eating disorder.

I’m slim and live to eat, not eat to live. I just don’t go overboard with quantities. For example I would never eat chips with a lasagne. Not from being sanctimonious, but because I would find it too stodgy and filling.

Oh don't go spoiling a thread by pseudo-diagnosing eating disorders. You have no idea.

There are days when I would like a 'food pill' as well and I don't think I have a disorder.

I have a good friend who eats to live and would gladly have a pill rather than have to faff with meals
he's not thin
but cannot smell
which explains it

Interesting thread.

It’s quite surprising to read posts regarding exercising heavily but not losing weight. I think it’s already been pointed out but it’s incredibly difficult to lose weight through exercise alone so it’s no surprise that people find it doesn’t work for them.

To put some perspective on it, a 10st person needs to walk more than 40 miles, at a brisk pace, to burn the calories in 1lb of fat.

Trying to lose weight through exercise isn’t going to work.

"Honestly, when i'm thinnest is when i'm drunkest. I find the more i drink the less i eat and the thinner i am."

Interesting. It's drinking that makes me give up on a diet usually. On top of the alcohol calories it makes me eat a lot more to soak it up.

Oh I feel ya OP.

Stopped at friends this weekend. Had two courses bit actually could have managed three as I was bloody starving. Then 6 hours later we had dinner and I had curry and rice. Skinny friends had a small starter.

Actually I'm hungry now. At points today over been so hungry I felt sick yet I know my slim friends could have had what o had and felt full

It sounds to me like bananafish has an eating disorder.

I'm just really sad. Lots of failed fertility treatment, miscarriages and being told we can't have children (nothing to do with my weight, my womb lining just doesn't work), grieving the passing of my mother, living with chronic pain from a spinal injury, a cancer scare

When I'm stressed or sad, I lose my appetite entirely

My pain meds also kill my appetite

Ironically I have PCOS, which is an endocrine disorder usually associated with insulin resistance and being overweight

There are some days where I eat loads, and really enjoy my food (these are days when I'm eating out, and someone else is preparing the food. If I have to make it myself, it'll be the laziest thing possible)

But mostly I'm just sad and stressed and food holds no appeal. Although all that said, I've always been very slight, which I assume to be genetic, as my Mum was teeny.

bananafish firstly I am sorry for your losses and health issues

Having PCOS is not a guarantee of weight issues, I have it too and my consultant referred to it as “skinny PCOS” as I do not have major weight issues, but ole ty of the other symptoms such as excess hair and spots prone skin.

bananafish81

Sorry to hear that, Bananafish. We're all different. Some people comfort-eat when they're sad, others just lose interest. I hope some brilliant things start happening for you very soon.

I'm about to start out too. I want to be a size 10 (currently a 14/16) and plan to do a mix of healthy eating and an exercise programme. I'll be rejoining the gym so I can do the necessary without my pre-schooler getting in the way and I definitely think I need to go cold turkey on sugar (difficult on the run up to Christmas!). I have a huge sweet tooth and love carbs.