Thoughts on people who eat so much yet stay skinny

theologynerd

My ex-husband is one of these people. I have suspected that his caloric intake might be low enough to keep him skinny, despite the fact that ALL he eats is junk. He's not even 40, but I worry that he's going to die and break his daughters' hearts. For the longest time, I was frustrated that he could eat all that crap and complained about not being able to gain weight, when I was trying so hard to eat better and lose it. Now that I'm older and wiser, I don't even want that in the slightest, because if I could eat all that crap and lose weight, I WOULD. Then I would be in the same boat he is in- skinny and extremely unhealthy. So, all of us can think of it in that perspective: we have a built-in accountability system! When I was fat, it was pretty obvious to me and everyone around me that I was eating too much, and I had to clean up my act. Embarrassment can be a good motivator. Unlike my ex, I don't make comments like, "If I'm even alive then," when I talk about my future. My health choices aren't going to take me to an early grave.

WendyTerry420

It's not just that they are more active than you think, or they eat less than it seems. I live with my husband, I know how much junk food he eats, and how often. He will eat an entire pizza for lunch. He has always been lean, and toned and he never catches any problems from his doctor at check-ups (cholesterol, blood pressure etc) I am not sure how that works that way for him. Even so, I have been working on getting him to eat more healthy, not that he does or anything.

If his check-ups are fine, then leave him alone. There's nothing wrong with pizza. Why does everyone hate on pizza?

etoiles_argentees

http://youtu.be/nMrtTxwznm8

Wrong episode, I think part 6 is much more interesting - http://youtu.be/T5liKz1X-Tw
Check that Martin guy out, from 4 minutes or so on.

llkilgore

I used to know some people like that. Turns out when they age it catches up to them. My older sister is a great example of this. She used to eat a lot and never gain weight, she continued her eating habits and is now overweight with no real other changes to her diet or exercise routine. Just got older.

I used to think that about myself. I could eat whatever I wanted well into my 40s and was never more than borderline pudgy until past the age of 50. Advancing age and menopause, I thought, but I know now that changing habits had more than a little bit to do with it. I'd gotten lazy about cooking, so we were eating out once or twice a week and were eating way too much "heat and serve" food at home. I rue the day when I discovered I could buy bagged meals for 2 with grown up ingredients like artichoke hearts in them. And I'd gotten in the habit of keeping my refrigerator stocked with soft drinks, which was something I never did when I was younger. The excess weight has been off for ,more than a year now and the key to keeping it off has been breaking my coke classic habit and going back to cooking from scratch and eating the way I did 20 years ago. I do need to be more careful about portion control now, but I think that's largely because my standards had been corrupted by restaurant meals and prepared foods. It's not just the burger joints that super size their portions.

All that said, I do think I made out fairly well in the genetic lottery, though not as well as my sister. She's 5'9" and has never weighed as much as 130 pounds when she wasn't pregnant. I've always had a softer, more rounded build and my weight "set point" ran several pounds higher than hers during our prime years, despite the fact that I'm a couple of inches shorter. Maybe body types are nonsense, but by that site's description I have strong ectomorph tendencies and she's the real thing. So was our dad.

meeka472

Here is a nice video that BBC did on the topic with two friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTr1JUvEiUU&feature=g-hist

According to the ladies one friend could eat whatever she wanted and never gain weight and the friend that didn't eat as much just looked at food and gained weight. The scientists secretly checked what the two ladies were eating not by food diaries but isometric indicators in their water and what they found was that the heavier lady ate twice as much as the skinnier one. The friend that was heavy was underreporting her intake and the smaller friend was overrreporting.

gddrdld

K...but what about my husband, who can easily eat McDonald's (or similar) every day (and sometimes does), snacks like crazy on chips, chocolate and at LEAST a can of Coke a day....and has a sit down at a desk/in his car job......but is still super skinny! I KNOW he eats plenty, and that it's not healthy (because he is so boring to cook for...hates almost all veggies and he's so stubborn he won't try new study). I wish I had his metabolism or whatever it is....but I would still take care of myself and keep healthy.

Have him track his intake every day for a month. Until then, you don't know his caloric intake.

This.

alexis831

Here is a nice video that BBC did on the topic with two friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTr1JUvEiUU&feature=g-hist

According to the ladies one friend could eat whatever she wanted and never gain weight and the friend that didn't eat as much just looked at food and gained weight. The scientists secretly checked what the two ladies were eating not by food diaries but isometric indicators in their water and what they found was that the heavier lady ate twice as much as the skinnier one. The friend that was heavy was underreporting her intake and the smaller friend was overrreporting.

The link didn't work. Do you have a better one?

Pinkigloopyxie

I don't envy them. I have a friend who I see snacking all day, she has to eat lots of calories and try to keep within a reasonable budget. She always has snacks and seems always hungry, but she's so skinny and has health problems like very very low blood pressure to show it. She has some problem with her arm now that involves nerves and not enough fat or something, it's terrible and pains her constantly.

So no, I don't. I'd rather have my normal metabolism (which most of us overweight people have) and just learn to live properly. People like her have no choice. If they don't eat constantly, they literally will just wither away.

Meg_78

I guess I am one of these people....I'm 5'4" and just sitting on 107lbs...I eat min 2000 cals a day just to stay there, any thing less and I lose very quickly, and if i have an extra stressful week i will lose, even on 2000. I had to eat 2300-2500 for 12 weeks to get up to this weight, as i started at 97lbs.

I used to smoke, but quitting didn't help me gain, I eat ok, fairly healthy, I probably eat a little more "junk" now than before as i struggle to eat 2000 cals with out a few empty calories, though my meals are also fairly small in portion size, i cant eat big amounts in a sitting, so I eat often instead...I work out a few times a week...but I also hardly sit still, i fidget, i walk/ride everywhere, have moving physical job, and i am generally just an anxious person, so that adds to it too.

I am 34 now and have been this way all my life, including 2 pregnancies. It can be bothersome to have to eat so much just to maintain, but i would rather have this type of super racy metabolism than a sluggish one.

rrhennen

Most often, yes, I’m jealous. But then I also consider that they could have a disease (ie: Cystic Fibrosis) or metabolic disorder that prevents them from gaining weight. On the outside of that, my husband can eat whatever and whenever he wants and is a stick! But he has a physically demanding job that keeps him active all day. On top of that he comes home and spends another 2-3 hours busy managing our farm property. I don’t think it’s possible for him to enough to get fat!

grimlaur

I used to know some people like that. Turns out when they age it catches up to them. My older sister is a great example of this. She used to eat a lot and never gain weight, she continued her eating habits and is now overweight with no real other changes to her diet or exercise routine. Just got older.

The act of physically growing does indeed take MANY calories. Most of us cannot continue to eat like we did when younger.

+1 Age

Cazzy34

This was my sister in law for years! She was always skinny and could eat anything..... well until she was diagnosed with an OVERactive Thyroid!

Doctor told her it had probably been slightly over for years and it was only after she had a baby that it was noticed. She didn't have any other symptoms apart from staying so slim!

Some people have slightly overactive thyroid glands without knowing it! This is another potential cause of the "see it and eat it all diet" But never get fat!!! lol

McAlyna

People who seem to eat what they want without gaining are either:
1. Very, very active
2. Not eating as much as you think

Example for #1 - my dad eats tons. But he never sits down. He has a physical job, is constantly moving, working on projects until it's bedtime, etc. He can eat a lot because his TDEE is high.

Example for #2 - A friend that packs away the food when we are out to dinner. But what I don't see is that she eats salad for lunch and yogurt for breakfast and very rarely snacks. She can eat what she wants in certain situations because she eats in moderation the rest of the time.

^_^ exactly.

I know many people in example #2. They acted as if they love foods so much and they don't exercise but they only eat mostly one meal a day.

careyannal

I used to be one of those people, but I had a serious drug problem that took years to overcome.

So, there's usually more to the story.

grimlaur

Also, i think skinny people are naturally more binge consumers.
We eat large quantities less often....


But very likely we eat for 3 straight days take a day or two off... we live a little more feast or famine.

This is the shocking truth about how I eat..... on the weekends I eat , a couple pineapples, A chicken, a box of cereal, Hot dogs, mashed potatoes, 2 lbs of Taco meat including all the cheese sour cream and vegetables, A whole pizza, A whole watermelon, a box of cookies and at least a gallon of whole milk .

Then often I don't eat Mondays sometimes Tuesdays, until Wednesday
Three squares a day? haven't done that since I left high school.

justlistening

Well my hubby is 50 now and only about 20 lbs heavier than me. I'm 5'2" he is 5'8". I weigh 135. He can eat anything as often as he wants w/o gaining weight. If he want to lose his almost non-existent gut he watches his food for a few days and its gone.

I have noticed though that he has what I call 'high through-put'. I don't think his body is as efficient at digesting and gleaming calories from food as mine. He seems to have a more sensitive stomach than me. So I have decided his through-put with his high metabolism is how he does it.

meeka472

Here is a nice video that BBC did on the topic with two friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTr1JUvEiUU&feature=g-hist

According to the ladies one friend could eat whatever she wanted and never gain weight and the friend that didn't eat as much just looked at food and gained weight. The scientists secretly checked what the two ladies were eating not by food diaries but isometric indicators in their water and what they found was that the heavier lady ate twice as much as the skinnier one. The friend that was heavy was underreporting her intake and the smaller friend was overrreporting.

The link didn't work. Do you have a better one?

Try this one:

http://youtu.be/eTr1JUvEiUU

grimlaur

Many of us have a 500 calorie a day deficit as we try to lose weight. But those that are maintaining or even trying to gain, must eat more. So, after months and months and maybe YEARS of eating a deficit, many of us see someone maintaining and think they eat SO much!

Also this is really big ... "months and months and maybe YEARS of eating a deficit "
it's inherently easy to never gain when you eat like this...

fun_b

I'm usually more curious than jealous. A few months ago, while waiting for a friend at the shopping centre, I was watching all these skinny ladies at the food court. I couldn't help but observe their food trays, It was all Pizza, KFC, Mcdonalds etc and they were eating
two/three times the amount of food I could eat. I know if I eat that much I will gain instantly. I Just kept staring and wondering what their secret was. I'm sure it is exercise and diet but still I kept staring as if they had the magic answers.

loztredders

People think this is me, as when we eat dinner out on special occasions I do tend to just pig out a little, what they don't seem to realise is that the rest of the time I try and be as healthy as possible and stick to my goals as much as I can and work out.