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Naturally thin
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There was a very interesting thread on reddit about this once. I saw a story there that stuck with me, but of course I can't find it now. Here's a paraphrase.
The poster was a woman who was heavier than her boyfriend, who was a "naturally thin" person. One day she discovered a package of candy bars in his cupboard. After several subsequent visits over many weeks, she noticed that the candy bars were untouched. Perhaps one had been removed from the packaging.
Unable to understand what was going on, she finally asked him about it. "Don't you like those candy bars?", she asked. They've been sitting there for weeks. "They're my absolute favorite," said the boyfriend.
The poster had an epiphany. The boyfriend didn't feel compelled to eat all of the candy bars, as she would have been. He liked the candy, and ate it on occasion, but didn't desire to eat all of them up right away. The poster felt that, if she had a package of her favorite candy bars in her house, that they would be gone in a very short time. She realized that he was "naturally thin" in part not because he never ate candy, but because he didn't feel compelled to eat it all the time.
Yup. That's my wife. No chocolate is safe with her, and oaths that she'll eat it a little at a time mean nothing. A pint of ice cream? Gone in a half hour, with no awareness at all that it consisted of 4 servings. The idea that is should be possible to treat oneself in moderation is understood by her on an intellectual level, but it doesn't penetrate to actual behavior.4 -
Not everyone loses weight as easily, or in the same manner, but the formula is the same across the board. Someone may be considered "naturally thin" because they live a more active lifestyle and were raised with a healthier relationship with food which prevents them from overeating. Others may find it more difficult because from a young age they were placed in front of a television with a bag of doritos and a bottle of coke.
Regardless, a "naturally thin" person will still gain weight if their activity level doesn't keep up with their caloric intake. Inversely, a sedentary person will lose weight if they become more active and/or reduce their calories so they are consistently in a deficit. I feel like these questions arise because some people need to come up with reasons why weight loss is harder for them than others. Weight loss sucks, and it can be a huge obstacle to overcome for anyone.
I compare it to credit card debt. If one person was raised to carefully manage their finances and not overspend from an early age it would be more manageable for them to stay within their budget long term. Someone who was never trained to balance a check book or budget properly could easily fall way behind and then have a difficult time digging out of that deficit. The budgeting piece is still the same for both people though. If either person spends more money than they have they will be in the red, and in the opposite case they would be in the green.8 -
Need2Exerc1se 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.
This isn't always true unless you are with them 24/7. I was thin for most of my adult life. When others saw me eat they would often remark on how thin I was when I ate so much. Even though I told them I didn't always eat that way, they would still comment about how lucky I was to be naturally thin. At parties, gatherings, etc. I usually go all out and don't give calories a thought. Always have. It's a special occasion! But depending on how much I overindulged I would diet for a few days after or maybe even fast the next day. I was purposely thin.
I'm convinced that most of the obesity epidemic is directly related to the fact that Americans have become accustomed to eating every day as if they were celebrating a special occasion.15 -
There was a very interesting thread on reddit about this once. I saw a story there that stuck with me, but of course I can't find it now. Here's a paraphrase.
The poster was a woman who was heavier than her boyfriend, who was a "naturally thin" person. One day she discovered a package of candy bars in his cupboard. After several subsequent visits over many weeks, she noticed that the candy bars were untouched. Perhaps one had been removed from the packaging.
Unable to understand what was going on, she finally asked him about it. "Don't you like those candy bars?", she asked. They've been sitting there for weeks. "They're my absolute favorite," said the boyfriend.
The poster had an epiphany. The boyfriend didn't feel compelled to eat all of the candy bars, as she would have been. He liked the candy, and ate it on occasion, but didn't desire to eat all of them up right away. The poster felt that, if she had a package of her favorite candy bars in her house, that they would be gone in a very short time. She realized that he was "naturally thin" in part not because he never ate candy, but because he didn't feel compelled to eat it all the time.
Yup. That's my wife. No chocolate is safe with her, and oaths that she'll eat it a little at a time mean nothing. A pint of ice cream? Gone in a half hour, with no awareness at all that it consisted of 4 servings. The idea that is should be possible to treat oneself in moderation is understood by her on an intellectual level, but it doesn't penetrate to actual behavior.
Yeah. I can keep ice cream around for months. I lived with my grandmother for a month and I'd buy ice cream to eat when I got home. (Label it with my name and everything) and she'd eat it.1 -
There was a very interesting thread on reddit about this once. I saw a story there that stuck with me, but of course I can't find it now. Here's a paraphrase.
The poster was a woman who was heavier than her boyfriend, who was a "naturally thin" person. One day she discovered a package of candy bars in his cupboard. After several subsequent visits over many weeks, she noticed that the candy bars were untouched. Perhaps one had been removed from the packaging.
Unable to understand what was going on, she finally asked him about it. "Don't you like those candy bars?", she asked. They've been sitting there for weeks. "They're my absolute favorite," said the boyfriend.
The poster had an epiphany. The boyfriend didn't feel compelled to eat all of the candy bars, as she would have been. He liked the candy, and ate it on occasion, but didn't desire to eat all of them up right away. The poster felt that, if she had a package of her favorite candy bars in her house, that they would be gone in a very short time. She realized that he was "naturally thin" in part not because he never ate candy, but because he didn't feel compelled to eat it all the time.
Yup. That's my wife. No chocolate is safe with her, and oaths that she'll eat it a little at a time mean nothing. A pint of ice cream? Gone in a half hour, with no awareness at all that it consisted of 4 servings. The idea that is should be possible to treat oneself in moderation is understood by her on an intellectual level, but it doesn't penetrate to actual behavior.
Hah, that is my husband. A treat I like once in a while is a certain brand of chocolate chip cookie. I can buy a package and eat one. Then I put it in the cupboard and go back the next day. All the cookies are gone. Husband can't stop eating cookies until the cookies are gone. Obviously, we don't buy cookies anymore.
With me it is potato chips. If the bag is opened (no matter what the size) I have no ability to stop eating them. I may be able to have an unopened bag in the house for a day or two, but then I will stumble and open it. So no potato chips in the house. Husband doesn't mind too much because he is happy with tortilla chips as a snack, and I don't often eat corn chips, so that works for him.2 -
There was a very interesting thread on reddit about this once. I saw a story there that stuck with me, but of course I can't find it now. Here's a paraphrase.
The poster was a woman who was heavier than her boyfriend, who was a "naturally thin" person. One day she discovered a package of candy bars in his cupboard. After several subsequent visits over many weeks, she noticed that the candy bars were untouched. Perhaps one had been removed from the packaging.
Unable to understand what was going on, she finally asked him about it. "Don't you like those candy bars?", she asked. They've been sitting there for weeks. "They're my absolute favorite," said the boyfriend.
The poster had an epiphany. The boyfriend didn't feel compelled to eat all of the candy bars, as she would have been. He liked the candy, and ate it on occasion, but didn't desire to eat all of them up right away. The poster felt that, if she had a package of her favorite candy bars in her house, that they would be gone in a very short time. She realized that he was "naturally thin" in part not because he never ate candy, but because he didn't feel compelled to eat it all the time.
Yup. That's my wife. No chocolate is safe with her, and oaths that she'll eat it a little at a time mean nothing. A pint of ice cream? Gone in a half hour, with no awareness at all that it consisted of 4 servings. The idea that is should be possible to treat oneself in moderation is understood by her on an intellectual level, but it doesn't penetrate to actual behavior.
Hah, that is my husband. A treat I like once in a while is a certain brand of chocolate chip cookie. I can buy a package and eat one. Then I put it in the cupboard and go back the next day. All the cookies are gone. Husband can't stop eating cookies until the cookies are gone. Obviously, we don't buy cookies anymore.
With me it is potato chips. If the bag is opened (no matter what the size) I have no ability to stop eating them. I may be able to have an unopened bag in the house for a day or two, but then I will stumble and open it. So no potato chips in the house. Husband doesn't mind too much because he is happy with tortilla chips as a snack, and I don't often eat corn chips, so that works for him.
My husband does this for me. I'm a diabetic and having to live in the same house with certain sweets I can't handle anymore (such as chocolate chip cookies) is stressful, but fortunately I'm indifferent to pies, and he loves them. He also likes Pringles and Pop Tarts which don't even strike me as food. Sometimes I get a crazy carb craving and take a bite of his Pop Tart, and one bite is enough to remind me that I hate Pop Tarts. Now if we could work out a similar solution to bread, everything would be peachy - since I haven't been able to eat it (and I really can't, even a small piece spikes my blood glucose levels) I can smell bread all the way across the house. But I can't expect him to give up bread, I just have to deal.0 -
rheddmobile wrote: »There was a very interesting thread on reddit about this once. I saw a story there that stuck with me, but of course I can't find it now. Here's a paraphrase.
The poster was a woman who was heavier than her boyfriend, who was a "naturally thin" person. One day she discovered a package of candy bars in his cupboard. After several subsequent visits over many weeks, she noticed that the candy bars were untouched. Perhaps one had been removed from the packaging.
Unable to understand what was going on, she finally asked him about it. "Don't you like those candy bars?", she asked. They've been sitting there for weeks. "They're my absolute favorite," said the boyfriend.
The poster had an epiphany. The boyfriend didn't feel compelled to eat all of the candy bars, as she would have been. He liked the candy, and ate it on occasion, but didn't desire to eat all of them up right away. The poster felt that, if she had a package of her favorite candy bars in her house, that they would be gone in a very short time. She realized that he was "naturally thin" in part not because he never ate candy, but because he didn't feel compelled to eat it all the time.
Yup. That's my wife. No chocolate is safe with her, and oaths that she'll eat it a little at a time mean nothing. A pint of ice cream? Gone in a half hour, with no awareness at all that it consisted of 4 servings. The idea that is should be possible to treat oneself in moderation is understood by her on an intellectual level, but it doesn't penetrate to actual behavior.
Hah, that is my husband. A treat I like once in a while is a certain brand of chocolate chip cookie. I can buy a package and eat one. Then I put it in the cupboard and go back the next day. All the cookies are gone. Husband can't stop eating cookies until the cookies are gone. Obviously, we don't buy cookies anymore.
With me it is potato chips. If the bag is opened (no matter what the size) I have no ability to stop eating them. I may be able to have an unopened bag in the house for a day or two, but then I will stumble and open it. So no potato chips in the house. Husband doesn't mind too much because he is happy with tortilla chips as a snack, and I don't often eat corn chips, so that works for him.
My husband does this for me. I'm a diabetic and having to live in the same house with certain sweets I can't handle anymore (such as chocolate chip cookies) is stressful, but fortunately I'm indifferent to pies, and he loves them. He also likes Pringles and Pop Tarts which don't even strike me as food. Sometimes I get a crazy carb craving and take a bite of his Pop Tart, and one bite is enough to remind me that I hate Pop Tarts. Now if we could work out a similar solution to bread, everything would be peachy - since I haven't been able to eat it (and I really can't, even a small piece spikes my blood glucose levels) I can smell bread all the way across the house. But I can't expect him to give up bread, I just have to deal.
I love Pop Tarts, but they have to be unfrosted. I see no point in putting a sugary glaze on top of something that's already that sweet.2 -
Just a reminder that 'naturally thin' does not mean healthy or even low body fat - internal organs can be covered in unhealthy yellow fat (visceral fat) and the MONW (Metabolically Obese Normal Weight) person doesn't appear to be 'fat.' American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: ajcn.nutrition.org/content/34/8/1617.short
National Institutes of Health: https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3610876/
Another thing to think about is that some 'naturally thin' people may have a higher proportion of brown adipose tissue to white/yellow fat. BAT actually burns calories when stimulated.2 -
There is not necessarily a direct relationship between a higher than average TDEE/NEAT and being "naturally thin".
Since starting calorie counting in 2015, I've learned that I can eat around 30% more calories than the average for my age/weight/activity level. I don't know why.
Despite that, I've spent most if my adult life obese. Why? I ate and drank more than my high TDEE.
When I compare my ungoverned behavior to that of friends who've always been slim, I perceive that they stop eating at a point where I'd happily keep going, and historically did.
A high TDEE/NEAT, by itself, isn't enough to keep someone thin. It's only a few hundred calories, and a few hundred from unknown metabolic factors is as easy to out-eat as a few hundred from exercise.4 -
There was a very interesting thread on reddit about this once. I saw a story there that stuck with me, but of course I can't find it now. Here's a paraphrase.
The poster was a woman who was heavier than her boyfriend, who was a "naturally thin" person. One day she discovered a package of candy bars in his cupboard. After several subsequent visits over many weeks, she noticed that the candy bars were untouched. Perhaps one had been removed from the packaging.
Unable to understand what was going on, she finally asked him about it. "Don't you like those candy bars?", she asked. They've been sitting there for weeks. "They're my absolute favorite," said the boyfriend.
The poster had an epiphany. The boyfriend didn't feel compelled to eat all of the candy bars, as she would have been. He liked the candy, and ate it on occasion, but didn't desire to eat all of them up right away. The poster felt that, if she had a package of her favorite candy bars in her house, that they would be gone in a very short time. She realized that he was "naturally thin" in part not because he never ate candy, but because he didn't feel compelled to eat it all the time.
Yup. That's my wife. No chocolate is safe with her, and oaths that she'll eat it a little at a time mean nothing. A pint of ice cream? Gone in a half hour, with no awareness at all that it consisted of 4 servings. The idea that is should be possible to treat oneself in moderation is understood by her on an intellectual level, but it doesn't penetrate to actual behavior.
Hah, that is my husband. A treat I like once in a while is a certain brand of chocolate chip cookie. I can buy a package and eat one. Then I put it in the cupboard and go back the next day. All the cookies are gone. Husband can't stop eating cookies until the cookies are gone. Obviously, we don't buy cookies anymore.
My mum recently bought a box of bitesize flapjacks from asda and they were the most delicious flapjacks I have ever tasted. They were pretty much just square inches of butter and golden syrup held together with a few oats.
I'm "naturally thin" and when I had the flapjacks I ate them slowly to savour every tiny bite and I only had two flapjacks a day. My overweight parents on the other hand ate each flapjack in two bites and definitely had more than two a day at because the box of 26 only lasted about three days. We agreed never to get the flapjacks again.
My "naturally thin" sister didn't touch them at all because she doesn't like flapjacks.1 -
I think naturally thin can mean different things. As a small framed person, I need more calories per pound of bodyweight than someone who is 75 pounds heavier (assuming equal activity level). I've also always been thin my entire life.0
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If they AREN'T gaining weight, then they aren't overeating regardless of their size, shape, etc. Lots of people can eat lots and not gain weight because they just have more efficient metabolisms than others of the same stature.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »"Naturally thin" people have common traits. They just don't eat more than they need to.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Well, obviously they don't eat more than need to. I don't think anyone is questioning that. The question was, do some people eat more than should need to and not gain weight. Do they eat more than would make the majority of other people of the same size, shape, sex, everything gain weight.
The answer is yes. Absolutely yes. But not commonly yes.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Anecdote from a naturally thin person:
In high school I ran a lot and ate homecooked meals. My "naturally thin" body took care of the occasional junk I fed it. Take away the running and add lots more junk food... of course I gained about 30% of my body weight pretty quickly and have been struggling to lose it ever since.4 -
A former colleague was naturally thin, a luge long athlete, track team in high school, distance runner. Ran every day at lunch.
Died of cardiac arrest at the age of 31 a few hundred yards from the finish line of a half marathon.2 -
A former colleague was naturally thin, a luge long athlete, track team in high school, distance runner. Ran every day at lunch.
Died of cardiac arrest at the age of 31 a few hundred yards from the finish line of a half marathon.
I'd wager that it's pretty hard to determine if somebody who is an avid endurance athlete is "naturally thin."5 -
If they AREN'T gaining weight, then they aren't overeating regardless of their size, shape, etc. Lots of people can eat lots and not gain weight because they just have more efficient metabolisms than others of the same stature.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »"Naturally thin" people have common traits. They just don't eat more than they need to.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Well, obviously they don't eat more than need to. I don't think anyone is questioning that. The question was, do some people eat more than should need to and not gain weight. Do they eat more than would make the majority of other people of the same size, shape, sex, everything gain weight.
The answer is yes. Absolutely yes. But not commonly yes.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
And that was the OP's question.1 -
No, I think the OP thinks calories are processed differently by the individuals.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
If they AREN'T gaining weight, then they aren't overeating regardless of their size, shape, etc. Lots of people can eat lots and not gain weight because they just have more efficient metabolisms than others of the same stature.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »"Naturally thin" people have common traits. They just don't eat more than they need to.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Well, obviously they don't eat more than need to. I don't think anyone is questioning that. The question was, do some people eat more than should need to and not gain weight. Do they eat more than would make the majority of other people of the same size, shape, sex, everything gain weight.
The answer is yes. Absolutely yes. But not commonly yes.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
And that was the OP's question.
That would be a no. In general, if there's no health issue involved, people eat, digest, and then absorb macros and nutrients all the same way.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
1 -
A former colleague was naturally thin, a luge long athlete, track team in high school, distance runner. Ran every day at lunch.
Died of cardiac arrest at the age of 31 a few hundred yards from the finish line of a half marathon.
So?
Given that he was exercising and normal weigh he most likely lived longer with the poor hand he was dealt regarding his heart genetics vs someone that was fat and lived on the couch.2 -
ContraryMaryMary wrote: »Another characteristic of 'naturally thin' people is they tend to be active even when sedentary - they wriggle, fidget, and make hundreds of small movements while the overweight person sitting next to them is completely still. Start watching your 'naturally thin' friends while they're watching TV - How many times do they change position? Do they wave their arms about when they talk? Are they jiggling their foot? Do they get up often to make tea or grab something?.
I took some time away from this post and watched my husband, who is one of these "naturally thin" folks I speak of....he moves a lot. At work he takes the stairs, is always moving his feet, etc. It was interesting.3 -
"Naturally" being more inclined to be active, or to eat less, is still not the same as being "naturally thin" as most people use it.0
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