How do people stay so slim without being on a diet?

[Cwoffeelover1]

How do people maintain a slim weight when not actively dieting does anyone have any tips on how they stay slim? I hate being on strict diet plans because it makes me crave the food more lol

Ffs I mean deserts!!

I've carried an extra one or two stones my whole adult life until I started low (not no) carbing last summer. I don't generally go into ketosis but just stick to only having carbs once per day. I've never been slimmer than I am now and I don't obsess about food anymore. In fact if I'm busy I sometimes forget to eat and that's something I couldn't have even imagined happening a couple of years ago! OP a book that really made everything make sense to me about how to lose weight and keep it off was The Obesity Code by Jason Fung.

For me it’s accidental intermittent fasting. I don’t diet and find diet talk boring. I love food and it was only when I was supervising a student doing a research paper in intermittent fasting that I discovered what it is. Suddenly I realised what all the IF threads here were about. When I’m in holiday with lovely breakfasts someone else has cooked I can easily put on a kilo in a week. Left to my own devices I 18:6 fast and in my 50s am 8.5 stone. Not bony skinny but light for someone who loves food and is greedy!

It's definitely nothing to do with exercise, I run 30 miles a week plus 2 gym classes and 2 strength session and I'm still 2 stone over weight

That exercise is probably helping you maintain your two stone overweight instead of gaining though.

I’ve found exercise very helpful for maintenance and also for making me look slimmer, especially when I’ve done a lot of weights.

Portion control and not eating between meals. So no type of food is off the agenda, just eat less of it. You very quickly get used to it, to the extent that I feel decidedly uncomfortable if I eat a big meal.

And Noom is a great programme as it doesn’t so much concentrate on WHAT you eat (although there’s calorie counting ) but WHY you eat. Really got rid of some of my worst habits

I was about to google nose candy as I thought that sounded interesting 😬

However, I control my portion sizes, mainly using side plates and keeping treats as treats, ie on rare occasions.

I'm v slim. I like food but don't fixate on it or think about depriving myself.
Dh is a huge foodie and quite overweight and thinks about food in a way that I just don't.
When I'm away with friends I'm always amazed by how much they eat and feel self conscious that I don't want as much. If I ate like that I'd feel horribly uncomfortable and bloated.
But I definitely don't feel I'm depriving myself, it just doesn't appeal.

I suppose it really does depend on the person. I don't often eat breakfast and never anything more than porridge or a crumpet. Portion size has a lot to answer for I think. Since being in my 30s I'm finding I do actually need to exercise a bit now too which has been a bit of a shock after being one of those smug eat anything they like people my whole life. I also increase my exercise and decrease my snacking as soon as I feel like I've gained a few lbs as I know I don't have the motivation to make more drastic changes were I to put on more weight than I'm comfortable with.

I would be interested to know how many effortlessly slim ladies are over 40? I too, was effortlessly slim before I turned 40!

I'm 43.

It's a misconception that weight is determined by calories in/calories out. Unfortunately more recent research is ago wing that it's not that simple. Gut bacteria are likely to have a big impact on how you process food and store fat.

I can't now (because my thyroid is broken) but when I was younger I used to eat whatever I wanted and did no exercise and stated slim. I used to eat all sorts of shit - pasties for breakfast, snack on chocolate all day, ear a massive baguette for lunch and then go home and snack all evening (or sugary shit usually) and eat a big dinner. A friend of line who has always struggled with her weight used to look at what I ate and pull her hair out. She ate really well home cooked meals and much fewer calories than me but really struggled to shift the weight.

Have a look at some of the work Prof Tim Spector has done. He's written a few books. There's a good podcast by Dr Ranjan Chatterjee which covers loads of interesting topics including this one.

The "naturally slim" people I live with love their food but won't eat unless they're hungry.

I was naturally slim no effort whatsoever but as aged and had kids it crept on until a routine medical confirmed I was 2 stone overweight. Lost 2 stone in 6 months and kept it off a year now - am 46.

They know how much they need to eat, and stick to it.

Which doesn't mean they're permanently on a diet. Or permanently denying themselves treats. Rather that they have got into the habit of eating in a way that matches their needs, as opposed to always exceeding them which inevitably leads to weight gain

I think it's just not having an emotional attachment to food. I love food but I don't use it to comfort myself which I find a lot of people do. I don't think of food as a treat or reward or being good or naughty which again is a problem for many. Also I HATE feeling overly full so I stop eating way before that point whereas my husband will eat tons and then complain about feeling sick.

This is not to say I don't have unhealthy issues in other areas but food isn't one of them.

Interesting to see people who restrict calories/miss meals on an ongoing basis! This is a diet.

The answer is always the same - eat less, move more. It is all there is. Do one of these or both. Eating less on its own can be very unhealthy.

@FunkBus I think that's it, it's the emotional side. I'm not arsed either way about food, don't get me wrong if I go to a lovely restaurant I'll really enjoy it, but on an everyday basis I'm not fussed. I have one friend who's outraged that I'll have beans on toast on a Friday night, as that's not a Friday night meal.

I walk everywhere. To and from work, and a long walk at the weekends. Usually ends up being around 10km a day most days. I eat a lot of sugary foods but it doesn't seem to negate the calories I burn off doing all the walking.

@FunkBus the relationship with food is what that Noom programme addresses. It’s really revealing (and I’m a paying customer, not spamming!)

@tanguero

Before you eat any meal, throw a small amount away. Over a year mounts up.

That’s the oddest thing I’ve read in here for awhile...and that’s saying something.

Op, manage your portions and calories over a week, if you over indulge one day, cut back the next, get exercise.

I rarely eat massive dinners
I exercise
I'm always busy
Takeaways only once a week
Alcohol only once or twice a week
Often I'll fast until late afternoon.

That keeps it in check but the day I start drinking more or go on holiday laying about and eating drinking it starts piling on

Then take some weeks to get it off after

I'm not always thinking about food though. I'd say the only time I do that is when I'm watching the telly. Maybe keeping hands busy is the trick.

@BefuddledPerson but restricting calories IS the “eat less” part of the equation surely? I certainly need the discipline of weighing food / using a calorie counting app to check portion control and to keep a balance after more indulgent days

I'm slim (size 8), mid-30s. I don't diet, but I don't think I eat that much. I don't eat if I'm not hungry so probably average 2 meals a day. I eat a lot of vegetables too so the bulk of what I eat is fairly low in calories. I don't exercise at the moment as I have two toddlers and can't be bothered.

Genetics. I’ve never been on a diet, I’ve weighed the same my whole adult life, don’t exercise, and I’m at the lower end of normal weight.