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Naturally thin

celiah909
celiah909 Posts: 141 Member
I have an honest question that I am not able to find an answer I trust online and I am really curious. Could part of the reason some people seem to be "naturally thin" be because their bodies process calories differently?

I know for a fact that overeating put me where I am, I am not questioning that but I have always questioned if they do process calories differently and burn slightly more.

For an example: if me and a "naturally thin" person both ate a chicken sandwich that has 1000 calories in it and my body absorbed 950 calories of it could the other person possibly absorb 800?

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Replies

  • celiah909
    celiah909 Posts: 141 Member
    nowine4me wrote: »
    Observe people you deem to be naturally thin and I think you'll see that they properly moderate calories, rather than process them differently. They are able to walk away from the plate when satisfied, not stuffed.

    I am going to sound like a creeper :D But I do get to observe quite a bit -- my husband and his siblings, plus parents are all thin, very thin. I do think part of what they do is eat only when actually hungry and tend to overeat less but not always.

  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
    Well, I don't know what to think. For most of my life (until I was in my late 30s) I was naturally thin. I've always had a very large appetite. I've never been into physical stuff or sports either.

    According to my mother, I've always had a big appetite. When I was 8 years old we used to go to this one steak house once a month. I started get adult meals then and eating a full-size prime rib, baked potato and salad bar. Soda? Yes please.

    In high school, I used to stop at our local dairy store and buy a pint of chocolate chip ice cream and eat an entire pint probably 3 nights a week. All while have 3 meals a day, snacks in between if I wanted.

    When I graduated high school I was 5'7" and 105 lbs. This went on for years. But around age 30, I was 130 lbs. Had 2 kids, landed at 140 pounds. It's been in my late 40s and 50s that I recently saw a rapid climb in weight quickly getting up to 160 lbs. Now I feel like I gain like most people do. But I didn't before and my eating habits were unbridled. I wasn't eating less or anything. I can't explain it.
  • celiah909
    celiah909 Posts: 141 Member
    celiah909 wrote: »
    nowine4me wrote: »
    Observe people you deem to be naturally thin and I think you'll see that they properly moderate calories, rather than process them differently. They are able to walk away from the plate when satisfied, not stuffed.

    I am going to sound like a creeper :D But I do get to observe quite a bit -- my husband and his siblings, plus parents are all thin, very thin. I do think part of what they do is eat only when actually hungry and tend to overeat less but not always.

    Wanted to add but I do agree. I know if I stop and look at my in laws or my husband we may eat the same at dinner BUT they snack less during the day than I do.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Everybody has different caloric needs. These "naturally thin" people either eat less or they are more active or they are younger. Or they just move more in general.
  • Biker_SuzCO
    Biker_SuzCO Posts: 54 Member
    I have two very thin friends. Think bony and almost nobody fat. Both of them eat much more than me and drink a ton. They don't seem to gain weight as I would. Their moms are also very thin so I think there's a genetic component to it. The women in my family are not fat, but none are lean either much like me.
  • Agent_Freckles
    Agent_Freckles Posts: 79 Member
    edited September 2017
    It has to do with their metabolism, and how fast they can get rid of their food. I can give an example. My ex, the father of my children tall and naturally thin yet muscular. Eats and poops within a few hours after he eats. Sorry if TMI. Just being honest. When my sister n law was younger she was adorably chubby ,like in her pre teen years, she ended up getting scarlett fever, she got through that ,after that for some reason her metabolism got turned up.She eats and poops within a few hours after eating. My other ex, the same thing,naturally thin ,eats and poops right away.their bodies process food very quickly and get rid of it.. Me, im always constipated, and I unlike them ,who eat steak,and chips and junk foods, eat fruit ,veggies, drink water,no soda,and poop every other day if im lucky. But then again, im on a medication that leaves me constipated all the time.Anyway thats been my experience. They arent the only ones like this that I know of. But yeah,metabolism is truly like a furnace it burns and stays burning so long as your giving it something to burn, if you give it the wrong things id imagine it to be a nasty ,smokey smelly toxic fire.(sorry i was imagine a fire burning plastic or Styrofoam, kinda like the junky foods,versus clean wood ,orvhealthy foods ) anyway, rambling now. That's my little input .lol. Have a great day.

    Digestion and metabolism are not the same thing. Also they are not pooping out the same food they ate in 4 hours unless they have an ileostomy or shortened digestive system. I guess all people with ileostomies should be super thin.
    I have two very thin friends. Think bony and almost nobody fat. Both of them eat much more than me and drink a ton. They don't seem to gain weight as I would. Their moms are also very thin so I think there's a genetic component to it. The women in my family are not fat, but none are lean either much like me.

    Are you with them 24/7? It seems as though the friends I have that are very thin and still go out and eat a lot with others tend to restrict later to make up for it. I have a very thin friend that had a Starbucks mocha, breakfast sandwich, and Taco Bell for lunch frequently. She never ate dinner.



    I don't see how people can do that. I can't skip a SINGLE meal. Actually, I used to when I was younger, but now that I'm older (31) if I skip a meal it's like my blood sugar drops to insane levels and I start feeling hangry, tired/exhausted, somewhat queasy, shaky, etc. It just isn't worth it to me. I do usually take around 1-3 hours to eat in the morning after waking up though. Anyone else the same way?
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    CMNVA wrote: »
    Well, I don't know what to think. For most of my life (until I was in my late 30s) I was naturally thin. I've always had a very large appetite. I've never been into physical stuff or sports either.

    According to my mother, I've always had a big appetite. When I was 8 years old we used to go to this one steak house once a month. I started get adult meals then and eating a full-size prime rib, baked potato and salad bar. Soda? Yes please.

    In high school, I used to stop at our local dairy store and buy a pint of chocolate chip ice cream and eat an entire pint probably 3 nights a week. All while have 3 meals a day, snacks in between if I wanted.

    When I graduated high school I was 5'7" and 105 lbs. This went on for years. But around age 30, I was 130 lbs. Had 2 kids, landed at 140 pounds. It's been in my late 40s and 50s that I recently saw a rapid climb in weight quickly getting up to 160 lbs. Now I feel like I gain like most people do. But I didn't before and my eating habits were unbridled. I wasn't eating less or anything. I can't explain it.
    Sounds like me, but I am 3" taller. But while I wasn't in any organized sports, I was very active. My high school was a big old school and it wasn't unusual to have one class at one end and then have to get to the other end. I loved to hike, ride my bike, rollerblade, dance and so on.

    I started to gain weight when a congenital deformity caught up and I started to lose mobility.
  • lindaloo1213
    lindaloo1213 Posts: 283 Member
    edited September 2017
    This thread is interesting to me because I wonder the same thing. My moms entire side of the family is heavy and my dads side is entirely thin people. Did these two households just learn completely different eating habits?

    I was thin until I was 25. I went from 140lb to 280lbs. I swear all I do is think about food.
  • Biker_SuzCO
    Biker_SuzCO Posts: 54 Member
    I have two very thin friends. Think bony and almost nobody fat. Both of them eat much more than me and drink a ton. They don't seem to gain weight as I would. Their moms are also very thin so I think there's a genetic component to it. The women in my family are not fat, but none are lean either much like me.

    Are you with them 24/7? It seems as though the friends I have that are very thin and still go out and eat a lot with others tend to restrict later to make up for it. I have a very thin friend that had a Starbucks mocha, breakfast sandwich, and Taco Bell for lunch frequently. She never ate dinner.

    I've spent lots of weekends and week long vacations with them. They eat and drink whatever they want--not unhealthy fast food, but maybe a whole container of chocolate almonds and 3 craft beers after dinner...they remain just as skinny as ever even as we get older.
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
    edited September 2017
    My mom is one of these "thin" people . She's 5'8 and the MOST she ever weight was 140 lbs when she was 9 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH ME. Seriously. Ugh. Anyhow - she has horrible eating habits. Eats a full 4 large calorie dense meals a day, and will sit down afterwards and eat a whole bag of chips. She did this my entire life. So I don't think for her it's an eating habits thing. That being said - I think she has what I call nervous energy. She literally never sits still. Is up at like 5:30 am and will *maybe* sit down at like 10/11pm on to watch a half hour tv. And she had a fairly physical job house cleaning all day. So I think with her she just burns a butt tonne of calories .

    Mind you - her brother is the same, as was her dad and I don't think any of them had similar eating habits or lifestyle habits. And other people in the family obviously struggle with their weight more , and especially gain it in certain areas etc. So I think there is some merit in there being differences in how people gain/lose weight. I read a few places that it's closely I linked to different hormones and the levels that people have. Maybe that's why certain programs (keto, IF, many small meals, etc) work more effectively for some people - it just works with their particular hormonal makeup better than others. (This isn't debating CI/CO btw. But hunger signals, satiation , cravings , are all altered by various hormones. So if a particular program agrees works well with or perhaps balances your particular hormone makeup, then it would be easier to stick within your calorie goal ?)
    Edit for clarity