Is it REALLY possible for people to be naturally thin and never gain weight?

amberkhan75

I didn't read all of the comments so I apologize if I'm repeating something. If you look around you in a crowd of people, you will see so many different body types. Tall, short, slim, heavyset, 'skin-and-bones', athletic, pear-shaped, etc. Every BODY is different. That said, just because a person can eat whatever they want, doesn't mean they are healthy. Quite the contrary. Have you heard of skinny-fat? This is the visceral fat that accumulates around the organs. It's very dangerous and usually undected in these individuals.

girlviernes

I think that we have natural healthy ranges and that those vary from person to person. Lots of adjustments happen to keep us in those ranges, which are quite slim for some and somewhat heavier for others. But for at least the majority of us it is fairly easy to go above the set range in the context of overeating.

Showcase_Brodown

gabrielleelliott90 wrote: »

However is it possible to have a body that never gains weight no matter what it consumes?

No.

I am one of those "naturally thin" people according to everyone I know, but I can testify that weight gain/loss for me works exactly like it does for everyone else. People may have seen me devour pizza that one time at an outing, but they have no idea what I'm eating or doing the rest of my life. The math all works out.

Lourdesong

I don't think so. I hear some thin people claim they "eat tons" and so forth, but I suspect their idea of eating tons is quite likely very different than my idea of it.

They also can seem to eat more and not gain because they aren't burdened by carrying weight that might force them to be more sedentary. More active lifestyles usually equates to a higher lean body mass, which then equates to a higher metabolism.

Unless someone has some genetic disease such as that it is next to impossible to build lean body mass, I don't see how thin people genetics is any more special than fat people's genetics.

gabrielleelliott90

Thanks for all your replies. Very interesting.

gabrielleelliott90

I mean when I was naturally thin, before the age of 19, I would drink a ton of water, which most likely filled me up, and I was eating less. At one point I was sleeping during the day, awake at night, and I guess that somehow stopped me eating that much. I'd eat heaps of crisps but all those wouldn't of been enough for maintaining weight.

ythannah

wilsoncl6 wrote: »

Some peoples metabolism just runs faster for longer because of genetics.

Yep. I'm living proof -- been underweight all my adult life, just like my dad. Although I've been slowly creeping toward normal weight with age, at a rate of about half a pound every two years.

And I don't eat less. In fact, I eat significantly more than most women my size/age. I eat as much as my 250 lb SO, sometimes even more. Nor do I do lots of cardio. I didn't start doing any regular exercise until a couple of years ago.

Chief_Rocka

NEAT

nogreenthumb

It could be possible for those people to eat all kinds of crap food and not gain an ounce, but in the end, is it really all that healthy?

gabrielleelliott90

amberkhan75 wrote: »

I didn't read all of the comments so I apologize if I'm repeating something. If you look around you in a crowd of people, you will see so many different body types. Tall, short, slim, heavyset, 'skin-and-bones', athletic, pear-shaped, etc. Every BODY is different. That said, just because a person can eat whatever they want, doesn't mean they are healthy. Quite the contrary. Have you heard of skinny-fat? This is the visceral fat that accumulates around the organs. It's very dangerous and usually undected in these individuals.

Unfortunately, I have heard of skinny-fat. I have it. I'm thin and I still carry fat on my stomach, abs and lovehandles, very unhealthy place to carry it, but hey that's genetics. Pain in the butt to get rid of.

Basilin

There are different "types" of metabolisms that affect the speed of breaking down foods and other substances. It's studied heavily in the pharmaceutical industry (if you can imagine). Here is an example: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081127204342.htm

When I was a kid people frequently commented on how much I ate. I'm told I ate as much as an adult when I was six or so, having an entire plate of food and then asking for seconds, and then wanting to eat two hours later, and people were confused because I was small; I was even called anorexic in middle school. I ate like that up until I was about 23, and finally at 25 - 26 realized that I couldn't eat whatever I wanted anymore without consequences. Can't drink anymore either. My body says, "LOL NOPE" for pretty much any sort of indulgence. It does change as you age...

maria0elisa

I used to be like you.... never thought about food and was naturally skinny. Then I did start overeating just a tiny bit- it added up, and I suddenly became one of those people who had to think about food and watching my weight

I think 'naturally skinny' people just have never gone overboard with food and are used to having small portions, so don't have large appetite.

MsHarryWinston

I had a friend in the 8th grade. She was the "skinny" friend in the group. I would say she was slim. Average slim girl. She ate TONS of calorie dense food all the time and never gained a pound for years. We told her that her metabolism may slow down one day but she said it never would. She turned 19 and BAM!!! She flipping BALLOONED. Like, her puberty clock flipped and and was like "NOPE NOPE NOPE SUCKA!"

Whereas my bestie was INSANELY skinny in highschool. Like baby giraffe, all long limbs. Once she hit her 20s she filled out all super gorgeous but still very slim. Extra small/small size but 5'8". Her dad is the same. 6 foot something and INSANELY a skinny. She eats junk food sometimes but it's mostly pretty healthy foods. Smaller quantities and not really insanely calorie dense 24/7. She grew up eating really healthy. Also she's always been super sporty.
Shes always had a REALLY hard time gaining weight. But her lifestyle and eating habits also just aren't conducive to it. She would need to actively overhaul her eating and start lifting weights in order to pack on the pounds in a healthy way.

Anyway this is just my two examples of how the whole "naturally slim" thing can go.

castlefuzz

I guess it depends on the person and the person body.Everyone is different.For some people have medical conditions like my self with seizures.Other people are not as motivated as other people.

DawnieB1977

I've known people who can eat loads and not gain. I had a French friend who was 5'10 and a UK size 10 (us6) and I've actually never known anyone eat so much. She kept a tub of Nutella in her room lol. She said her dad was the same and one of her sisters, but her other sister just normal! It's genetic, and people do have different metabolisms. Of course it's not necessarily healthy to be able to eat lots of junk!

Ruzuki

I was dating a guy once who was one of those skinny people who ate like a cow, mostly junk food... he played video games most of the day, his part time job only required him to sit in a chair at a mall stand... I lived with him for a few years and saw just what he ate, and how much of it, and how little physical activity he did, and he never gained any weight. Last time I saw him, he was STILL super skinny. Made me so mad...

DawnieB1977

ythannah wrote: »

wilsoncl6 wrote: »

Some peoples metabolism just runs faster for longer because of genetics.

Yep. I'm living proof -- been underweight all my adult life, just like my dad. Although I've been slowly creeping toward normal weight with age, at a rate of about half a pound every two years.

And I don't eat less. In fact, I eat significantly more than most women my size/age. I eat as much as my 250 lb SO, sometimes even more. Nor do I do lots of cardio. I didn't start doing any regular exercise until a couple of years ago.

I'm sure someone will come along to disprove this now! Not sure why people are so against the idea we all have different metabolisms and genetics.

darrensurrey

__drmerc__ wrote: »

She eats less that's all, no magic

Agreed. She probably also does a lot of exercise, avoids food between meals, maybe even pokes her tonsils a bit.

At the moment, I can pretty much eat what I want and not put on weight because I'm doing so much exercise. As a minimum, it means 5 hours of tai chi a week and 3 hours of strength training but depending on the weather and time, I can also do up to 5 hours of tennis and 3 hours of dodgeball. It's no wonder I can happily eat a Chinese buffet insolvent. On Monday, I ate the equivalent of 3 share bags of crisps ("chips").

paperpudding

For most slim people, yes I think they just eat less and are more active, wtihout conciously trying to do so.

But metabolism does vary between people - and there are some people who could never get fat without eating a very specific diet, so IRL this is very unlikely to happen - you know, people with medical conditions that interfere with absorption of food - like Crohn's disease.