Normal weight people?
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serindipte
Posts: 1,557 Member
I've often wondered how people of normal, healthy weight maintain that? Not those who've lost weight and keep track of calories or what have you in order to stay lean, but the ones who've never struggled with weight.
Do their hunger cues simply work better? What about days they are more active? Are they then more hungry?
It makes me wonder what I may be lacking that they have.
Do their hunger cues simply work better? What about days they are more active? Are they then more hungry?
It makes me wonder what I may be lacking that they have.
1
Replies
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I have gained weight and had higher body fat, but i've never crossed over into the overweight/obese range before. I know this is purely anecdotal but...
1.) first of all these people live more active lifestyles. Maybe they walk around a lot, bike to their job, take the stairs, fidget more, or have more active jobs. They in general have higher NEAT. Or maybe they even play a sport or are a member of a club where they perform active things. Remember that simple things like walking, swimming, hiking, and other activities aren't often seen as "working out".
2.) these people who have never been overweight or obese have eating habits that fall in line with their level of hunger. They likely eat less calorically dense foods regularly, have a schedule that limits their overeating, etc.
3.) They will naturally have better hunger cues and less incidence of leptin resistance because they haven't stored too much body fat for too long.
I really think this is all that it comes down to... our habits. For some people these things that we have to strive for are simply "normal". Don't be confused, they are not gifted, special, or anything of the like. They don't have something that you don't and if they ate and exercised at your same level there is a great chance they'd be in your exact same position.
The notion that certain people are "blessed" by being "naturally skinny" is nonsense. Our bodies reflect our daily habits and routine and nothing more.18 -
I've always been a "normal "weight - medically,that is. I'm here to gain weight and muscle but in fact I was an ok weight for my height.
All I can say is,mostly I only ate when I was hungry and didn't feel compelled to eat everything on my plate once I was full.
I also eat slowly - I don't know if that has anything to do with it.
I don't eat for comfort (I tend to drink instead which isn't any healthier) Food to me is just food;though I do enjoy treats.3 -
Thank you both! It's something I've often wondered, but didn't want to walk up to a "normal weight person" and just ask lol3
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Have you always struggled with weight? If not, ask yourself, "what is different now?" I'd bet that much of the time, we continue to eat how we did when we were younger, but aren't nearly as active as we were. As such, there's nothing missing/lacking. I know that's the case for me.0
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Have you always struggled with weight? If not, ask yourself, "what is different now?" I'd bet that much of the time, we continue to eat how we did when we were younger, but aren't nearly as active as we were. As such, there's nothing missing/lacking. I know that's the case for me.
I have always been "chunky", yes. I'm sure it's the lower activity level that had me gaining above my old "normal", but even that was higher than it should have been.0 -
watch what these normal people eat. You'll see they stay away from the junk food. Eat smaller portions and are extremely active. Unless they are freaks. But pay attention!3
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I was either underweight or normal weight until mid-20s when I started coming home from work and relaxing with drinks. Didn't exercise or calorie count, I just never really ate that much. Usually just lunch and dinner, and maybe a snack if I was craving something. And I'd usually never finish my plate, especially eating out - maybe half a burger and fries, because I'd be full by that point. Food was rarely an interest to me; I'd eat something to satisfy the hunger so I could get back to something more interesting like a good book.
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I have struggled with my weight for over 20 years, but I'm effortlessly maintaining a healthy weight now, so I think I can answer your question even better than someone who has never been overweight.
Some normal weight people aren't very interested in food. They eat just because they have to, and would prefer to not have to. Others eat a lot but are also very active. Some love food and have to be careful to not eat too much. Some skip breakfast. Some eat mostly junk. Some eat breakfast every day. Others eat nothing but lean protein and vegetables. Confused? That's because none of these behaviors is the solution to the "riddle" that is weight management.
Normal weight people just balance their intake and expenditure. There are lots of different methods and approaches, but the all eat and move in a pattern that over time, makes their weight stable. Weight will fluctuate from day to day, and for many, through the year, but after it goes up, it goes down, it doesn't continue to go up.
My own story is that I've returned to some of the behaviors I had as a (normal weight) child:
Eat meals, and not eat between meals.
Eat regular meals made up of real food.
Drinks between meals is water (or black coffee/tea as an adult).
I make exceptions to these rules, but not so often that they become rules.
I also wait until I'm hungry, and then eat anything I want, but serve myself reasonable portions.
I make a lot from scratch.
Attitude changes are also important:
I look forward to eating. I enjoy cooking and eating. I don't worry about eating "right". I don't eat just because food is there. I don't feel obligated to accept just to please other people. I know that there will be food tomorrow. I don't eat to soothe emotions or to pass the time.
And environment modifications:
I buy everything I need for my (planned) meals, and nothing else. Never buy large amounts of food I know I'll overeat.
Not directly food related:
I don't exercise, but I move naturally through the day.
I weigh myself every morning.
I aim to get 8 hours of undisturbed sleep every night.
I work on handling stress and anxiety.6 -
I would say a combination of habits - active lifestyle, overall food choices, hunger cues, etc.
Growing up we ate McDonald's, had dessert and ice cream, really sugary cereals.. but all occasionally.. I was also very active and more focused on activities vs food .. I would eat lunch just to eat and couldn't wait to get back to my arts, crafts, playing outside etc. My mom cooked meals every night, we always had vegetables and watching them enjoy salad and veggies and different types of food really makes you as a child grow up with them and develop a taste for a balanced and varied diet.
When I was in University, while I gained a little bit of weight, I mostly kept it off because I lived off campus and didn't have a car.. I had to walk everywhere, even in the freezing cold.
I had kind of a weight range I liked to stay in, if I went outside that range, I cut out some of the mindless snacking and increased my activity.
I have had two babies and had to lose baby weight twice so far, it isn't always easy and I have had to learn new things along the way. Right now I make fitness and balanced eating a priority in my life. Of course, life happens and habits change.. so who knows what the future holds.
That is just my personal experience of course.0 -
I was a relatively skinny child until puberty, and a normal healthy weight in my teens and early twenties. As a child I played outside, rode my bike, climbed trees, walked for miles with my friends. As I got older some of that stopped, but I still walked and cycled. When I was at college and in my first job I did a lot of walking between home and bus, bus and train, train and college/work, and then back again at the end of the day. My mum didn't drive, so if I wanted to go anywhere I had to get there mostly under my own power.
My family didn't necessarily eat "healthily" - there were steak and kidney pies with thick pastry crusts, deep-fried cod and chips on a Friday, cakes or donuts on Saturdays, fried breakfasts on Sundays. Sometimes we had burgers at a fast food place but not more than once a month, if that. We had dessert maybe a couple of times a week, not every day. I remember as a child eating bowls of porridge for breakfast that I put enough sugar on for it to form a crust on the top! My mum cooked just enough to feed us all and the portions were not usually huge - there were very rarely any leftovers. As far as I remember, I'd have a mid-morning snack at school and maybe be allowed a piece of toast when I came home, if I was really hungry then... I wasn't encouraged to eat whenever I wanted because I'd "spoil my tea". There weren't a lot of snacks in the house other than at Christmas or Easter, probably because my parents didn't have much money to spend on such things.
I never really thought about food or weight, and rarely weighed myself. I just ate what was provided (usually... I was a bit of a fussy eater), and that was that.
When I got older and got a car, that was probably the start of my slow downward spiral. I didn't need to walk everywhere. I had a job where the shift work messed with my meal times, and I started snacking more. We'd get fast food on the night shift, and my colleagues introduced me to weekly visits to the pub where my dad would have to come and collect me because I'd drunk too much to drive home. My job was relatively active so I didn't gain weight while I was there, but I imagine it set the tone for the years to come! After my marriage I got a desk job and my workplace had a cafe with the most delicious (and cheap!) cheese scones ("biscuits" to the NA folks), and I started to pack on the pounds...
My husband was kind of the same - he says he used to be able to eat whatever he wanted and not put on weight. But he also used to ride his bike everywhere, and he had a very active job when he first left school. Once he got a car and a desk job, he started to put on a few pounds too. I'm not sure when our portions became larger, but I think they gradually increased in size over the years. Starting to weigh my food and learn what a real "serving" is, and how many calories are in our common foods, has been a shock for both of us!
I guess it really is what @rainbowbow said, that it comes down to habits. I had healthier habits as a child and young woman, despite the kind of food I was eating, than I did as an older adult. Now I'm having to learn new habits (or relearn some of the old ones) to reach and maintain a healthy weight again.
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my weight has always remained healthy naturally, despite eating whatever i wanted whenever i wanted and doing no extra exercise until that is, i stopped working at my active job. my activity level went from hero to zero but my appetite didn't really get the memo. after a few months of not working i've become nearly overweight. so i reckon it's an active lifestyle and accurate hunger cues (i.e not having the 'greedy gene')0
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kommodevaran wrote: »I have struggled with my weight for over 20 years, but I'm effortlessly maintaining a healthy weight now, so I think I can answer your question even better than someone who has never been overweight.
Some normal weight people aren't very interested in food. They eat just because they have to, and would prefer to not have to. Others eat a lot but are also very active. Some love food and have to be careful to not eat too much. Some skip breakfast. Some eat mostly junk. Some eat breakfast every day. Others eat nothing but lean protein and vegetables. Confused? That's because none of these behaviors is the solution to the "riddle" that is weight management.
Normal weight people just balance their intake and expenditure. There are lots of different methods and approaches, but the all eat and move in a pattern that over time, makes their weight stable. Weight will fluctuate from day to day, and for many, through the year, but after it goes up, it goes down, it doesn't continue to go up.
My own story is that I've returned to some of the behaviors I had as a (normal weight) child:
Eat meals, and not eat between meals.
Eat regular meals made up of real food.
Drinks between meals is water (or black coffee/tea as an adult).
I make exceptions to these rules, but not so often that they become rules.
I also wait until I'm hungry, and then eat anything I want, but serve myself reasonable portions.
I make a lot from scratch.
Attitude changes are also important:
I look forward to eating. I enjoy cooking and eating. I don't worry about eating "right". I don't eat just because food is there. I don't feel obligated to accept just to please other people. I know that there will be food tomorrow. I don't eat to soothe emotions or to pass the time.
And environment modifications:
I buy everything I need for my (planned) meals, and nothing else. Never buy large amounts of food I know I'll overeat.
Not directly food related:
I don't exercise, but I move naturally through the day.
I weigh myself every morning.
I aim to get 8 hours of undisturbed sleep every night.
I work on handling stress and anxiety.
This was amazingly helpful and I hope to be able to reach this point when I get to my own ideal weight! Thank you so much!!1 -
serindipte wrote: »I've often wondered how people of normal, healthy weight maintain that? Not those who've lost weight and keep track of calories or what have you in order to stay lean, but the ones who've never struggled with weight.
Do their hunger cues simply work better? What about days they are more active? Are they then more hungry?
It makes me wonder what I may be lacking that they have.
I know of exactly 3 people in real life who are like this, my in-laws and sister in-law. From knowing them for many years:
- they're all over 6ft tall (my sister in law is something like 6ft, 1 in) and with their heights they get more calories than me at 5ft, 6in.
-my father in-law has an incredibly physical job (construction). I witnessed him help my husband move a piano and two full sized pinball machines a few days ago (the kind you see at arcades), and he didn't even get out of breath (my husband was gasping for his dear life lol). His TDEE has got to be through the roof!
-and with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, they both have very stressful, demanding jobs (one is a teacher at an inner city school and the other is a special ed teacher), and they spend 9 months out of the year eating like birds due to their crazy schedules. My mother in-law eats a serving of oats and a piece of fruit before work, brings a small dish of leftovers to work for lunch (she makes extra on Sundays and this is what she brings to lunches all week), with a yogurt, and then at night she usually eats a small portion of meat with veggies. My sister in-law is similar and in addition to not eating a lot in general she also has a lot of food allergies which limits her food choices. Both have struggled with being underweight and getting in enough calories is an issue for them.
Otherwise everyone else I know is overweight/obese
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My normal weight friends just eat less, like they may eat out or eat junk but the dont' eat very much.3
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rainbowbow wrote: »I have gained weight and had higher body fat, but i've never crossed over into the overweight/obese range before. I know this is purely anecdotal but...
1.) first of all these people live more active lifestyles. Maybe they walk around a lot, bike to their job, take the stairs, fidget more, or have more active jobs. They in general have higher NEAT. Or maybe they even play a sport or are a member of a club where they perform active things. Remember that simple things like walking, swimming, hiking, and other activities aren't often seen as "working out".
2.) these people who have never been overweight or obese have eating habits that fall in line with their level of hunger. They likely eat less calorically dense foods regularly, have a schedule that limits their overeating, etc.
3.) They will naturally have better hunger cues and less incidence of leptin resistance because they haven't stored too much body fat for too long.
I really think this is all that it comes down to... our habits. For some people these things that we have to strive for are simply "normal". Don't be confused, they are not gifted, special, or anything of the like. They don't have something that you don't and if they ate and exercised at your same level there is a great chance they'd be in your exact same position.
The notion that certain people are "blessed" by being "naturally skinny" is nonsense. Our bodies reflect our daily habits and routine and nothing more.
I really like the statement that our bodies reflect our daily habits and routine and nothing more. It's funny how we can know something but seeing it in writing can be a light bulb moment.2 -
I have no clue, but I do have a story.
I have two granddogs - one is a pom-chi mix and the other a pug. The pom-chi is a delicate eater, takes his time, savours each bite, definitely has food preferences (he spits out peas) and has maintained his weight over the 10 years we have been blessed with him. The pug will eat anything that is not nailed down. He chugs his food, barely drawing a breath until its gone. He will not refuse anything edible (and even some stuff that isnt). He has had a weight problem that we have had to address by restricting his eating, and he has successfully regained his puppyish figure.
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My brother and his wife are into their mid 50's and have maintained their slim figures all their lives. Here's how:
When she cooks a meal, she cooks enough for each to get a proper portion. Each gets a proper portion, and then later there's another meal. It's really wasn't hard for her to keep 2-5 people properly nourished. They don't keep snacking supplies in their home.2 -
I agree CICO, activity level, lifestyle etc (except in medical steroid usage etc)) but can't help but wonder how it happened-- "Time" is what I came up with because it takes time to weigh 400 lbs and I'm not looking at the past 5 or 10 years just what I see in front of me
Its very sad to me to see Obese kids especially kids under 10 because its NOT their fault its their parents fault!!1 -
When you see a big box of chocolates or a large pizza which you can tell is like 3000kcal all together you just don't eat it, then you don't get fat1
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cross2bear wrote: »I have no clue, but I do have a story.
I have two granddogs - one is a pom-chi mix and the other a pug. The pom-chi is a delicate eater, takes his time, savours each bite, definitely has food preferences (he spits out peas) and has maintained his weight over the 10 years we have been blessed with him. The pug will eat anything that is not nailed down. He chugs his food, barely drawing a breath until its gone. He will not refuse anything edible (and even some stuff that isnt). He has had a weight problem that we have had to address by restricting his eating, and he has successfully regained his puppyish figure.
We have two cats-one's got to be in the obese category (his gut touches the floor!) and the other is really thin. I couldn't figure out why there was such a difference since they seem to have similar activity levels/lfestyles (lol). Then I watched them eat one time and realized the fat one is really aggressive with food and was eating his alotted amount and then he'd run over to the other cat's bowl and bully his way into eating all of the other cat's food as well. We now seperate them and the thin cat is still thin-I think he's been conditioned to only eat a little bit and then walk away. And the other cat acts like he's dying at feeding time because he only gets one bowl now- I've also caught him going to through trash and dirty dishes scrounging for food 2
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