How normal, thin people eat.

freckledrats

My boyfriend is very thin and when he talks about it he says, "I have a very fast metabolism" or "I eat whatever I want, I just don't gain"

Well, I've been with him 3 1/2 years now, and I can tell you, his metabolism is the same as any other man his age and size. He definitely eats a LOT when he sits down to have a meal, but that's maybe 2-3 times a week. He'll eat food I cook, so I've been cooking as much as I can stand, and he'll gain weight if I keep it up. But during the day? He barely touches calories for breakfast. He has 200 calories of smoothie and a coffee before he goes to work. He often does not eat lunch til 1 or 2, then sometimes it's small, and sometimes it's big.

For dinner? He will outright forget about eating if he had a 2 pm lunch that was pretty big. So those 1000 calories he had at lunch? Combine them with the 200 he had at breakfast and that's all he had all day. That's what I net while dieting, and his job involves plenty of physical labor, so he's definitely not eating what he should.

But he IS eating absolutely whatever he wants. Whatever he wants to eat just doesn't add up to very much.

KarenJean91

This is exactly what I've observed with my thin friends.

Sheila_KI

Early on in our relationship my husband and I were talking about food and eating. At 59 he is the same size he was in high school - size 32 jeans. He commented...Why would you eat if you aren't hungry. My immediate reply - What does hunger have to do with eating? I am definitely an emotional eater. Working on that and staying away from foods that would trigger a binge. Breaking long long held habits.

Calliope610

BUMP - for future reference.

tayjenks08

Great information! Thanks for sharing.

Sweet_Potato

I don't know about this. I'm probably what you'd call "naturally thin" but I'm obsessed with food and enjoy a good binge every now and then. And obviously I count calories, although that's a relatively recent development. I think it has more to do with being active and eating high-quality foods that you really enjoy.

raquel424

Makes me think about what we also teach our children. I know for my first one I never let her be done with dinner until she finished her plate and now as a teenager she has emotional attachments as you described to food. This time around when my little one says I'm ok mom as I try to feed her just one more spoon, I just stop and let her go. I was taught by my parents that throwing away food is disrespectful, so as a mom I felt guilty when my little one didn't finish her last bite and I would finish it so I don't have to see thrown ..

MochaMixAZ

They only eat when they're hungry & they know when to stop.

I appreciate your reflection and the time you took to write it. I can't say I agree with everything you said... and unfortunately, a lot of "normal" and "thin" people aren't healthy people.

But I do agree with the quoted statement. Listening to our body cues is something I know I have to work on.

My best to you!

AmazonRDH

A lot of it is metabolism. My brother would eat 3 whoppers and a bag of doritos for dinner and was 6'5" and had a 28" waist, he was so super skinny all of his bones were sticking out everywhere. I would eat healthy and always had a weight problem. "SIGH"

Lbekah72

Well written!!
And agree with all... Many of times I’ve been a 4-6 pizza slice kind of girl too... lol


It’s an entire change in our mindset, that’s not an easy transition..
But, we will get there.

donyellemoniquex3

The definition of normal was not found

peopletalk

how about my friends that's crazy thin. she smokes and she eats more than i could ever. one night we drunkenly went to mcdonalds. i got a big mac and fries. she got 2 chicken burgers and 2 big macs and large fries. she ate hers then ate MY left overs. lol
and this girl is skinnier than ever. and she ALWAYS eats like that.

marieautumn

I think many of the OP observations are true. People who are "naturally thin" have a different relationship with food then those who are overweight.
but i think counting calories and being conscious of what type of fuel you are putting in your body will train you to naturally make good decisions. I’ve been at this for almost a year and my eating and excerise habits have completely changed.
I see people on these forums complaining that "different people lose weight differently" and i just dont really buy it. I think everyone has the option to be overweight or not be overweight depending on their lifestyle choices.

LorinaLynn

I used to think I was "naturally thin," but I really was an active person with not-so-great eating habits. Sure, I could "eat whatever I wanted," but what I wanted was typically small portions, not nutritionally sound, with the occasional binge. Yeah, people would see me eating Auntie Anne's pretzels and McDonalds or Arbys for lunch... they didn't see that I skipped breakfast and had Ramen noodles for dinner.

I don't always log my calories. I take frequent breaks and never log on weekends or holidays. Half the time, I log to make sure I'm eating enough rather than eating too much. I look and feel better than ever before. Yeah, the stereotypical "I'm in better shape in my 40s than my 20s!" My dietary habits have certainly improved, but if I just "listened to my body," it would tell me that cookies and milk make a good breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In short, if logging food and exercise is unnatural, I'd rather be "unnaturally fit" than "naturally thin."

cwolfman13

I've pretty much made the same observations with a couple of my "naturally lean" buddies. Basically, they have a working fuel gauge and I do not...at least not yet. I hope for the day that I don't have to worry about counting the calories, but I'm nowhere near having a properly functioning fuel gauge.

I would add to the observations that my "naturally lean" buddies are also just generally active guys. They don't necessarily hit the gym everyday...they're just active and out and about doing stuff...hiking, riding their bikes...walking their dogs, etc...and doing these things pretty routinely...I didn't do much of anything except sit on the couch. A long walk with the dog was around the block and took all of 10 minutes.

Robin_Bin

But I swear.. some of the naturally thin people I know would eat at tdee or above, from my observation!!

But remember, you're probably seeing them when they're out -- having a special evening or socializing -- when it's likely they eat more than their "normal". I have some thin relatives who eat much less at home than they will in a restaurant.

Also, many "naturally thin" people have very active lives... even if they don't go to the gym or you don't see them exercising. For instance, some may have a "desk" job, but it involves going all over a large building to meet with people -- they walk and climb stairs as part of their "natural" routine. If you ask them whether they exercise regularly, they might say no, but they do.

(Edited to remove the part of the quote that wasn't relevant to this response.)

cynthiaj777

I have to agree. I have made the same observations.

1. They may eat completely crap food, but it is half a twinie...not the whole thing....then eat the other half 2 hours later, so that's one whole twinie in 3-4 hours.
2. Eating a small piece every few hours (which of course equals a whole by the end) means they are putting food into their body every few hours instead of one twinie at a time then not eating for 6 hours. i.e. increased metabolism because the body is getting feed every few hours.
3. ^^^^They might end up eating the same crap food we feel bad about, but I have noticed they are doing it more correctly.....I didn't even know it was possible to eat crap food "correctly."
4. They definitely don't feel the need to eat everything on their plate. I'm wasn't taught to eat everything on my plate, but I just genuinely feel bad wasting food.
5. They tend to nibble too. One bite of something, which may be crap food, every hr....where I would just eat it all within 20 minutes. This is another way of "correctly" eating crap food.
6. They do know when to stop. A meal from a restaurant is for eating to me. Not a few bites then done.

Some people just have different eating habits, and I think it all comes down to habits. These are learned habits. I believe they can be changed.

After 3 years on this site, I really want to let go and not count anymore, but I'm not to the point where I don't eat because it is GOOD. Or because I want to.

Still working.

366to266

I am a chocoholic and I cannot ever eat a bit and put the rest away. Whatever I have bought I have to eat it ALL that day.

The first time I went to my thin boyfriend's flat I was making tea and looked inside a cupboard and saw he had a multipack of 6 Mars Bars with 2 left in the pack. I asked if I could have one, and it was only pure embarassment that stopped me asking him for both. The whole time I was there I could not get that 2nd Mars out of my mind.

About two weeks later I visited again, and that last Mars Bar was still in the cupboard. I asked him why he bought them as it was clear he didn't like them much, and his reply stunned me. He said "They are my favourite chocolate bar."

In the end the only thing I could do was to go Cold Turkey. I don't think I could ever be like him.

kitkatkate77

I agree that naturally thin people do not obsess over food and eat to keep their bodies going. Sure, they don't count calories all day because their bodies know when to stop. Overweight people need to count calories (at least initially) because they don't know what a normal day looks like. They could easily eat 4000 calories a day or more and think nothing of it. We need to count calories because we need something tangible to see that tells us "okay, it's time to stop for the day."

This.

Most of us are heavy because we've never learned those habits and are trying to. We have to obsess for a little while. I, for one, long to be a "normal, naturally skinny" person. But I ain't.