Do naturally thin people actually think different?

aniracace

Is it true that a naturally thin person and an overweight person thinks differently about food? If so, what's the difference?

kazminchu

They must do. I've had (naturally slim) people tell me they "forgot to eat" meals. I would forget to breathe before I forget to eat.

cmriverside

Which one are you and what do you think about food?

quiksylver296

megs_1985

I have a “naturally” thin friend and she eats more sweets then I do though I think she’s better about portion control over all and not overdoing it regularly. She eats out and gets fried foods, sweets, etc all the time but she eats much more sparsely at home.

pinuplove

My husband forgets to eat, and he's not 'naturally thin.' Just absent-minded and able to ignore hunger pangs

There have been many discussions here over the years along these same lines. 'Naturally thin' isn't something that can be quantified. You don't know their activity level, nor do you follow them around all day counting what they consume (I hope!) They may simply be more active and/or eat less than you imagine.

Do some people get more enjoyment out of food than others? Certainly. Does that mean those who enjoy food to a greater degree are destined to be fat? Certainly not.

kristen8000

There is no such thing as "naturally thin".

AliceDark

That assumes that all "overweight" people think about food in the same way, which I think we would all agree isn't true. Everyone is an individual, and everyone has their own thoughts, issues and approaches they need to work through. Some people may have preferences or habits that make it easier for them to maintain their weight, and you can learn to use those habits to your advantage. Other people put in a lot of work to maintain theirs, and it's a little unfair not to give them credit for their hard work.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I absolutely do think this is true. I have a friend who is "naturally thin" and I was always so jealous of her. I couldn't figure out why she was so thin, even though she had an absolutely terrible diet (some days literally nothing but Hot Cheetos and beer, I kid you not)

We spent an afternoon one day lounging on the couch watching a movie, and I brought out a big chocolate bar to share. She had two pieces, and by the end of the movie, the bar was gone. I had mindlessly eaten the rest of it myself. It was a really interesting insight into our differing satiety levels. Some people naturally have a stronger "enough" signal that goes off when eating. She does, I clearly don't. Lol.

cwolfman13

I was always "naturally lean" until I started sitting behind a desk and my activity plummeted and I started drinking a lot of caffeinated soda. I never really had any thoughts about food...it was just food...pretty much breakfast, lunch, and dinner and maybe an afternoon snack.

I never used food as any kind of coping mechanism for stress or anxiety or sadness, etc. I've never had any particular issues with bingeing or anything like that. I'd occasionally over eat, but it was generally an occasion like a holiday or party or something...not any kind of regular occurrence.

I think "naturally lean" people also have a reasonable amount of activity in their lives whether that includes deliberate exercise or not...I don't think they really have any particular thoughts about food because it's not something they dwell on...I also don't think overweight people necessarily have any particular thoughts about food...like I said, I didn't...my activity just plummeted when I took a desk job.

Lounmoun

I don't think there are naturally thin people. Anyone can gain weight if they eat or drink enough calories.
Just like overweight people don't think the same, thin people don't all think the same.

There are people who are good at maintaining a certain weight for years by eating lower calorie foods most of the time. It might be a taste preference or a choice to eat lighter.
There are people who eat less. It might be due to stress/anxiety, illness or medication, low money, someone else portioning their food, habit or culture.
There are people who are fairly active and thus compensate for higher calorie foods or large portions that they enjoy.

Thought doesn't have much to do with some of those things. If conditions change those thin people could gain weight.

netitheyeti

My boyfriend is skinny, he's almost a foot taller than me and weighs less than I do (he's close to underweight)... He often either forgets or can't be bothered getting food until like 7pm and then just has a big dinner, though he'll occasionally snack on sweets or crackers... I don't know how he manages, I'd be cranky and have a hunger headache halfway through the day
His only exercise is a short walk to the bus station and back, he has a desk job and spends his free time playing videogames/doing sedentary stuff - he hates exercise

mom23mangos

I would call myself "naturally lean" as I've never been outside of the low to mid BMI range and for most of my life with no effort or thought. I don't really get hunger signals. I could go all day without eating if I was busy enough. I started adding some pounds with a desk job and boredom eating. I'm also a stress non-eater. As much as people will say it's not genetic, I think to a certain extent it is. My mom was the exact same way. Of course age and inactivity caught up with her too.

Need2Exerc1se

5738_Cassiel wrote: »

Is it true that a naturally thin person and an overweight person thinks differently about food? If so, what's the difference?

Yes. But everyone that is thin is not naturally thin. Many work at it just like people losing weight do, they simply do it proactively.

Unknown

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JMcGee2018

From my experience, they sometimes forget to eat (what!?!) and then have this strange ability to actual STOP eating when they are full. Like they will be eating something delicious, and then all of the sudden say "I'm full" and put the fork down. It's madness!

HoneyBadger302

Much like @cwolfman13 I was always "naturally thin" - right up until I got the "professional" job that had me working long hours and sitting on my butt the vast majority of the day. Prior to that, I never really struggled with my weight - a few pounds here and there, but a little calorie counting and it would go away.

After the majority of my days became "sedentary" I piled on a fair bit of weight.

I haven't thought about food any differently before or after. If anything, I was just never worried about it when I was "thin" but it was REALLY obvious that my weight had to do with my activity levels over the course of a day as opposed to my eating habits.

It became pretty obvious that unless I wanted to start eating like a bird (and not care about my physical abilities to do things, compete in my sport, or just in general feel good about what my body could do), that I would just have to make fitness a priority, just like work. It would have to be THAT important to me, regardless of whether I "felt like it" or not.

So, that's where I'm at. Putting in some serious gym sessions, and eventually my body will catch back up, but it's going to take some time. I still have to watch food more than I did then, because of sitting around all day...but dang it, I like to eat, so the workouts at least allow me to consume some "real meals."

CattOfTheGarage

All the "naturally thin" people I know (my husband and all my in-laws) genuinely don't want food if they're not hungry. That's the main difference I notice.

They also get antsy when they have eaten a lot, and want to get up and go for a long walk or something. It's not necessarily the same day, might be the following day, but it happens. They also eat less on following days.

It's not a difference in how they and I *think*. They barely think about it at all. It's a difference in feelings and reactions.

lulalacroix

Two of my best friends have been very thin their entire lives, they are both in their fifties. Both eat about one meal a day. Neither cook or plan events around food. They don't eat when emotional or stressed. And I've never seen either of them eat a lot, although one does sleep binge at times. Neither exercises, but both keep constantly busy.

Then there's me. Currently about 30 pounds overweight. I start thinking about food when I wake. I plan meals, events around meals, and even participate in cooking contests. I care what goes into my body and exercise.

This is just my +1 and probably means nothing, but I do find it interesting.

steveko89

I think it's more apt to say "someone who's never been overweight thinks differently than someone who is or has been overweight".

I also think "naturally thin" is an unproductive and unnecessary label. As others have stated, you have no idea how any given person thinks about food, nutrition, exercise nor how much effort and thought they dedicate to those pursuits. Additionally, unless you've known a person for the entirety of their life, you don't know that they haven't needed to lose or possibly even gain weight to get to the perceived ideal/healthy weight where they are now and the requisite mental effects those journeys have had.

DX2JX2

Yes - naturally thin people don't tend to care about food as anything but nourishment. There's zero emotional attachment to it.

Jingsi84

I was "naturally thin" going through 40 years and one pregnancy without dieting and remaining the same weight since puberty. I'd only eat when I was hungry which meant I skipped meals all the time but when I did eat it would be all sorts of chocolate and ice cream. Then I started on a medication which increased my appetite and in about 18 months I put on 60 lbs. I went from the lowest healthy BMI to mildly obese. My mindset never changed but my appetite sure has.

TLDR: Biology plays a huge role in BMI; mindset, less so. Imho.

lemurcat12

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

All the "naturally thin" people I know (my husband and all my in-laws) genuinely don't want food if they're not hungry. That's the main difference I notice.

They also get antsy when they have eaten a lot, and want to get up and go for a long walk or something. It's not necessarily the same day, might be the following day, but it happens. They also eat less on following days.

It's not a difference in how they and I *think*. They barely think about it at all. It's a difference in feelings and reactions.

This is interesting and makes me think about my two cats. One is naturally thin (he doesn't eat every time I put out food but only if hungry, I am sure I could have food out all the time and he would not overeat, he's very active), and one is not (I have to struggle to keep him from being obese, he loves food, he is not all that active now).

One difference I notice is that my thin (actually just normal weight for a cat of his size) cat has hungry days and not hungry days. My other cat loves food, begs for food, watches for food, and if he gets his tail accidentally stepped on he runs to the bowl -- we joke he's an emotional eater. My thinner cat also will usually get super active soon after eating, whereas my other does not. My vet said that it can be really hard to get cats to lose weight (which I experienced), because they tend to reduce activity if you reduce food. I bet that varies too, or the ones that would not react so extremely are the ones who don't need to lose.

I think a few things make me prone to gaining weight if I don't watch it, but for humans it's hard to sort out how much they are "natural" vs. learned.

I don't feel compelled to be active. I like it and tend to be in shape when I am consistently active, but it's really easy for me to also just be sedentary for days. I know people who can't stand that, or respond to stress by feeling like they need to go work it off physically. I know mentally I'll feel better if I go run or something and generally do, but I don't feel like I need to move around.

I'm not super fidgity either. I have more natural movement when I'm in shape, true, but from an early age (I was praised for it as a kid), I've been able to sit really sit and would sit and calmly read when cousins were running around being wild.

I definitely mindlessly eat and use food as boredom or stress relief or emotional numbing. My sister actively does things that keep her thin; I don't think she's more "naturally thin" than me, necessarily, but she does not have this tendency or learned behavior or whatever. I don't get being too sad or stressed to eat, I eat more.

I don't have strong hunger or satiety cues. In a way this is helpful -- I am good about eating only to a planned schedule and can skip meals if I need to. But it also means I don't have a strong impetus against eating way too much, and rarely feel like I couldn't eat more. I control eating by mind, not body. Again, I do think this is something different -- I generally don't feel like a need to eat, but I also will always want to eat if something tasty is available.

I enjoy food and trying new things, it's a hobby. I think this has the least to do with "naturally thin" as many foodies are far thinner than many people who aren't interested in or adventurous with food at all, but I do know people (a former SO of my sister, for example) who just aren't that interested in food or eating. (He was quite thin. If she didn't make dinner he'd often just have some rice for dinner or something like that.) This is another thing that can be helpful in that it means I like to cook and can come up with tasty low cal things, but it's again something where I really have to use my mind, and not rely on just inclinations.

janejellyroll

DX2JX2 wrote: »

Yes - naturally thin people don't tend to care about food as anything but nourishment. There's zero emotional attachment to it.

I'm not sure how you define "naturally thin," but I know plenty of people in the normal weight range who don't seem to employ any specific strategies to manage their weight and they still have favorite foods, things they prefer to eat, and foods that bring up emotional reactions or memories for them, etc.

Obviously we can never get inside someone else's head, but I don't think it's accurate to say that these people don't care about food as anything but nourishment.

lemurcat12

Oh, after all that, I was never overweight in my childhood or most of my 20s, despite that, because my lifestyle prevented it.

etherealanwar

I was 'naturally thin' until I started on my anti-psychotic medications. I generally had less of an appetite and would get full very fast making over eating a rare occasion. Oh how I miss my pre-bipolar days haha. Sucks that everything is reversed for me now, meds causing insatiable appetite and don't get the full feeling as easily.

hesn92

I guess they just eat when they’re hungry unlike most of us who have a love of food. My son is like that he doesn’t seem to care much about eating. He just eats when he’s hungry. But he can easily miss dinner and not really care. Does not compute.

HoneyBadger302

Someone above mentioned another point - figgiting.

Even at my fattest, I was about 35 pounds over my "ideal" weight, despite the desk job, no working out, and not really caring what I ate (in all fairness though, I always liked vegetables and "healthy" foods, they weren't a bad thing to me).

But, I'm pretty sure my insistent need to figgit is probably why I didn't put on more weight. I can't sit still for any length of time. Just always been that way. There was one job where our work area had a camera over it, and reviewing video it became really obvious as my coworkers could just sit there and focus, and I'd be putzing with this, looking at that, swinging my chair slightly sideways, readjusting how I was sitting - and the whole time they were just sitting still with hardly a noticeable movement LOL.

change4char

I think peoples answers will be different based on how they classify "naturally thin." When I hear this phrase I think of people who have high metabolisms. Two people could be the same height/sex/activity level and think about food the same. They may equally enjoy food and eat the same meals, but one could end up larger than the other.

janejellyroll

change4char wrote: »

I think peoples answers will be different based on how they classify "naturally thin." When I hear this phrase I think of people who have high metabolisms. Two people could be the same height/sex/activity level and think about food the same. They may equally enjoy food and eat the same meals, but one could end up larger than the other.

But studies have shown that this is pretty rare. For the most part, differences in weight between two people of the same height and sex can be summed by their overall activity (not just intentional exercise) and the amount of calories they consume. So the "naturally thin" are either more active than other people or they're eating less (or a combination of the two).

MegaMooseEsq

DX2JX2 wrote: »

Yes - naturally thin people don't tend to care about food as anything but nourishment. There's zero emotional attachment to it.

That seems like a massive generalization. Maybe you could say that thinner people are less likely to self-medicate with food, but to say they don't care about food as anything but nourishment? No way. I know lots of thin people who love food, work in the food industry, and so on. They just eat fewer or equal to the number of calories they burn. Sometimes without thinking about it, sometimes with effort.