How people at a normal weight eat!

natalie412

1. Small quantities is relative - I do eat smaller portion than I used to and usually no seconds.

2. I finish everything - sometime not when going out to eat though (portion sizes can be ridiculous)

3. Not a huge talker here

4. Moving around while eating, huh?

5. Saving half the lunch - I guess if it is a restaurant with huge portions, maybe.

6. One piece of candy\cookie - more true than not.

7. Food for energy: While I still love food and eat for enjoyment, there was a slight shift to also seeing it as energy for me. Not having it be something that I want all the time. But I still LOVE to cook and eat tasty food! It is one of the great pleasures in life!

8. Over indulgence happens occasionally, but not often.

9. I do eat slower and really savor my food.

10. No pigging out happens and if it does, it's not the overweight person's version of pigging out. True!

A big thing for me is not snacking - especially on non-filling, but high calorie things like chips and salsa, etc.

shelbyfrootcake

Well um, I know people at a "normal" weight that don't do any of the things you've mentioned.

And number 7 is sad.

QFT.

bananapancakebella

I'm at a normal weight, always have been. None of these are really true for me or my brother (also always at a normal weight). I don't know if you can vastly generalize the eating habits of all "normal weight" people. One thing I know is true for my brother and I, we don't eat past being satiated. It's not something either of us think about. I'm not hungry anymore, I stop eating. I can't remember the last time my stomach was stuffed.

EvgeniZyntx

Number 7 - just wrong.

Codefox

I also disagree with most but #7 is pretty sad. I love to travel and one of the best things that other areas of the country and world have to offer is their unique food experiences. I think you can't experience a culture without really experiencing their food!

smantha32

I also disagree with most but #7 is pretty sad. I love to travel and one of the best things that other areas of the country and world have to offer is their unique food experiences. I think you can't experience a culture without really experiencing their food!

unless it's bugs. ugh.

IrishHarpy1

So tell me, OP... ever get vertigo looking down from that high horse? :huh:

/end snarkiness

Kindly note that not all "normal" people got to be overweight simply because of what/how much/when they ate. Some had medical issues, others had personal setbacks -- but nothing can be generalized under "normal." I eat chocolate every day (sometimes several pieces if it fits into my plan), indulge in fast food, love desserts, and generally ENJOY eating.

I'm also healthier than I've ever been.

Besides... "normal" is pretty frakkin' boring, TBH.

smantha32

So tell me, OP... ever get vertigo looking down from that high horse? :huh:

/end snarkiness

I don't get the impression she was being superior. She was just sharing a list she made of eating habits she noticed with thin people. Posting that list isn't an attack on people who don't fit the profile.

Sweet_Potato

These aren't hard and fast rules, though. I've always been a normal weight and don't follow many of these habits.

MemphisKitten

3. They talk while eating instead of stuffing their faces.

I have also noticed this!

And I don't know why so many know-it-alls are attacking you for posting this. Thank you for sharing your observations; I think it could help someone. :flowerforyou:

bellydancer124

I'm guilty of talking while I eat, and I eat sooooo slowly because of it. I can't seem to stop talking, like, ever. :ohwell:

ChristyRunStarr

Just further proof that I am not a normal person! That's ok with me. I'm creating my "new normal". I love food. I usually eat the entire plate because I've pre-logged it. I'm just learning to eat more of the right things "most" of the time.

Agreed

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Whatever. I am not sure who cares about being normal over healthy, but it is not me. No over indulgence? Only eating for energy -- bahaha.

Now, back to enjoying my life....

bagsandbows

This!! Thank you so much for this post!

1. They eat small quantities of food.
I think you're confusing quantity and calories. The caloric density of foods varies substantially, and the bodies of healthy weight people tend to naturally compensate for this--so for example, people will generally eat more of a green salad (without fatty dressing, etc.) than they will a pasta covered in cream sauce. In chronically overweight people, this system appears to not work well.

2. They don't finish everything on their plate.
Again, finishing everything on your plate is relative. If your plate contains reasonable serving sizes, there is nothing wrong with finishing all your food. At home my (perpetually thin) husband almost always finishing his plate of food, because I plate small plates (we eat off salad plates), he even usually goes back for seconds, taking small portions of food until he is full. I think what you are trying to get at here is that they eat until they are sated, not to some arbitrary stopping point (like an empty plate)

3. They talk while eating instead of stuffing their faces.
It's also easy to get some wrapped up in talking that you don't realize how much you've eaten. The difference may be that the normal weight people you are observing are pausing to give their body time to realize when they are full--a good habit.

4. They move around more just because.
True on average I am guessing, but there are plenty of highly sedentary thin people.

5. They are able to save half their lunch (often times) as leftovers for the next day.
This depends entirely on how they are getting lunch. Restaurant portions are often way too large, so this would be a good practice. If you are bringing food from home, however, half of lunch might not be enough calories. I pack lunches for one day, if I don't eat the whole thing (and don't eat something else), I'm not eating enough.

6. They eat maybe one piece of candy, or a cookie, after a meal. Not 2, not 5, not 10.
In most cases, yes.

7. Food (as a couple explained to me) is not for pleasure, even tasty food. It's for energy.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying your food. Eating is a necessary part of being alive, and like other important functions (e.g. reproduction) we have evolved to find it enjoyable--there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. The problem is when we substitute food for other sources of pleasure, or use it excessively in other ways.

8. Over indulgence just doesn't happen.
No, it just doesn't happen regularly.

9. They eat slowly.
This is what you meant by number 3. Although this is far from universally true. If you doubt me, you can come eat dinner with my perpetually thin husband sometime.

10. No pigging out happens and if it does, it's not the overweight person's version of pigging out.
You're assuming all overweight people binge.

Edited for typos.

IrishHarpy1

So tell me, OP... ever get vertigo looking down from that high horse? :huh:

/end snarkiness

I don't get the impression she was being superior. She was just sharing a list she made of eating habits she noticed with thin people. Posting that list isn't an attack on people who don't fit the profile.

Did you even *read* my entire post? I wasn't bashing the OP's opinion, just the fact that the OP was making a generalization. Thin =/= healthy, neither does someone's perception of a "normal weight" indicate quality of health.

bcattoes

So tell me, OP... ever get vertigo looking down from that high horse? :huh:

/end snarkiness

I don't get the impression she was being superior. She was just sharing a list she made of eating habits she noticed with thin people. Posting that list isn't an attack on people who don't fit the profile.

Did you even *read* my entire post? I wasn't bashing the OP's opinion, just the fact that the OP was making a generalization. Thin =/= healthy, neither does someone's perception of a "normal weight" indicate quality of health.

The OP didn't say anything about the co-workers being healthy.

smantha32

So tell me, OP... ever get vertigo looking down from that high horse? :huh:

/end snarkiness

I don't get the impression she was being superior. She was just sharing a list she made of eating habits she noticed with thin people. Posting that list isn't an attack on people who don't fit the profile.

Did you even *read* my entire post? I wasn't bashing the OP's opinion, just the fact that the OP was making a generalization. Thin =/= healthy, neither does someone's perception of a "normal weight" indicate quality of health.

The OP didn't say anything about the co-workers being healthy.

And accusing the OP of needing to come down from their "high horse" sure sounds like you were bashing their opinion.

As you said, she posted a generalization. She didn't post it as fact, or demand everyone comply with it.

Mr_Bad_Example

I hear that normal weight people chew 47 times before swallowing their food. That must be the secret to maintaining a healthy weight, not diet and exercise. If only I'd known!