Naturally thin people
Replies
-
There are folks who are naturally thin. It could be genetics or just a higher metabolism but that doesn't mean that they are healthy. Remember that unfortunately we as a society confused being thin as being healthy when that is just the opposite. Eventually when they get older it all the junk they ate will catch up to them as their metabolism will slow down.
Word of advice. Never ever compare yourself to someone else. We all have our own bodies and different ways of how our bodies handle food and exercise. If we did that everyone would have an eating disorder because we are trying to be like each other. Just focus on your goals and completing them.0 -
I was one of those people until I was 28 years old. I don't know what happened. I guess age just caught up with me. :-(
But even at my highest weight, I was a size 12, so I've never been extremely overweight even eating crappy and not exercising at all.
I know a few people (people I know very well) who are naturally thin -- no exercise and eat whatever and are not overweight. That obviously doesn't mean they're the healthiest, though they're not exactly dropping dead, either.0 -
I was naturally thin and ate whatever I wanted until I hit about 38. Big wake up call to have to watch what I eat!:sick:0
-
My brother is a stick...has been all his life. He tried to get into the army and needed to gain 5lbs to meet the weight criteria. He ended up loosing 10lbs. He eats what he wants whenever he wants, drinking coffee instead of water and does little movement other than around the house. He still at almost 43 wears a 29-30 waist pants. Just in the genes I guess. A couple of my uncles were the same way.0
-
Are there truly naturally thin people? I see some folks who seem to be able to eat whatever they want, whenever they want and don't appear to ever gain weight. I know they may or may not be healthy, but it's the weight thing I'm interested in. What is different in a thin person who doesn't seem to have to be aware of every portion and minute of exercise to maintain an acceptable weight, and a person like me, who needs to exercise good self control and motivation to prevent gaining? Would every person gain weight if they didn't practice this self-control? Do the 'naturally thin' people exercise portion control and motivation to exercise without even having to think about it? Are the obese (like me) just the humans for whom eating without paying attention results in weight gain?
Thoughts?
Sort of. They are called Ectomorphs. A somatype. Usually long limbed, delicate, fast metabolisms or poor appetites, little muscle mass and have a hard time developing muscle mass. A lot of the times they are "skinny fat". A lot of people think this is ideal because they are "skinny" but a lot of time these people lack aesthetic shape (women have no natural curves, and men no X frame to their structure). Mostly though you'd find some people just eat very little or their food sources aren't as calorie dense and they are more active then people perceive.0 -
There ARE naturally thin people. I have a good friend who is one. She's almost 30 and still a size 2 with a 34c chest. It's their genetics & metabolism. I found out I have an incredibly slow metabolism, so I have to make huge constant efforts in food and exercise just to NOT GAIN anything.
Here's my example that shows proof: She and I had a 5 day girls' trip together in San Diego. We ate the same things at restaurants (like literally I was watching the portions, and we were sharing large dishes & eating/drinking the same amounts), getting the same amount of treats. We did all the same activities: hiking, biking, beach, Magic Mountain walking all day, shopping, sightseeing, getting the same amount of rest, etc. At the end of the five days, she exclaims: "Oh wow, I've lost 3 pounds this trip, with all our walking around!" I checked my weight, and I'd GAINED 3 pounds. A SIX pound difference between us. Even if you expect slighly different food portions to have happened, there is no other way to account for a 21,000 calorie diference (3,500 a lb multiplied by 6 lbs), unless it's just her body burning it all off SO MUCH FASTER than mine, NATURALLY.
Well... I don't know.
Recently, I went on vacation, and when I came back, I'd lost about two pounds. I feel I made decent decisions on vacation and did a lot of walking, but I think the main contributor to this was that prior to the vacation, I'd been eating healthy, but my body was, I assume, retaining water. I rarely lose weight in a consistent fashion but rather stay the same weight for a while and lose two pounds at once.
So if your friend had been holding onto water that she lost after walking around or naturally after time, that could account for her loss, while water retention from high sodium consumption could account for your gain, and nobody had to gain or lose three pounds of fat during that vacation.0 -
My answer is going to be yes - but no. I speak from experience - I lived with three naturally thin people last year. Breakfast would be donuts and soda, lunch would be nacho cheese dip, taquitos, and soda, and dinner would be pizza, breadsticks, and soda. They would take in 2,000-3,000 calories a day with less than 30 minutes of exercise for the whole week. The phrases "portion control" and "nutrition" are not in their vocabularies. They ate like this for an entire year - pizza, ramen noodles, pasta, cheese dip, cheeseburgers, milkshakes, fried chicken, and not a vegetable or lean protein in sight. For the entirety of the year, they remained the same size -- size 00, 0, and 2.
BUT there are a few things to take into consideration. For these girls, they will not be thin forever. They say looking at a girl's mother is the best indicator for how she will age; while I'm sure that there are quite a few exceptions, I think this is a fair rule.
Also, these girls who were naturally thin had terrible immune systems. They were able to physically eat whatever they wanted with no weight/inch gaining consequences, but they were giving themselves the nutrients they needed to ward off disease.
So ultimately, yes -- there are naturally thin people. Even worse, there are some people who are naturally thin no matter what they eat; however, this comes with a price tag.
Just my two cents
0 -
I have one brother who is 175 and 6'1 and nothing he does puts weight on him. One month he devoted to eating unhealthy and lots of it - ate out fast food, fries, donuts etc every day. He lost 5lbs the first week! He does not tend to enjoy food though and said he eats to exist. He eats tons (compared to my hubby!). His wife had problems gaining weight before they got married, had a baby and is now 30lbs overweight . . all in 2 years LOL.
I have two BIL who are insanely thin and just can't put a lot of food away. The one's wife and her entire family is also extremely thin BUT, when she comes from a really stressful family situation. When she got married she became rather stress free and put on 30lbs immediately. She got injured and put on more weight, but now she is back down to a healthy weight without trying (she said).
When my brother first started dating his wife, he used to tell us that she ate 2x as much as him. He said he'd buy a large pizza and look forward to eating half and taking it home, and she would eat half and then ask for the last piece LOL. He would go to the fair and she would eat 3 hotdogs to his 1. She is so trim and gorgeous and has 4 babies and loses weight easily. Even now when we visit, the amount of food she makes for them is incredible - she'll come out with her plate loaded and her hubby will ask "Did you leave any lasagna in the pan for me?" When we go on a picnic, she makes herself food and she will make 4 sandwiches. She is size 2.
My dad is healthy weight with a bit of a tummy. He lives above his computer store, NEVER goes outside (he moved into town with my Mom so he would not have to drive to commute or do any lawn mowing). He eats whatever he wants, he snacks on garbage (My Mom does not and he has to buy it and put it in his shop because she won't let him have it in the house due to allergies in my other sister). He then says, "I'm going to lose weight.", marches to the post office (2 blocks) instead of driving for 2 days and is 5lbs lighter. My one brother is much like him (figures the fact that he is trim means he is healthy when he lives on donuts . . . ), and my other brother gains weight rather easily. My Mom moved off the farm and into the apartment in town and gained 40lbs the last 4 years.
Situations are so different, but I know for a fact some people eat like a horse and do not gain weight, as I have 2 brothers who do, and a SIL who does. But others just aren't hungry or don't enjoy eating and watching them you can see it. You can see the difference in body type in my husband's family - they are all excess thin or overweight. He has one sister who looks just like him (freckles, red hair and fair skinned) and is heavier like him. His mom is horribly obese. They also have insane carb addictions - I mean when there is bread around they can't stop eating it like it is going out of style, when they put honey on bread it is 1/2 inch thick and dripping off, they leave the peanut butter jar out and eat it by the spoonful every time they walk by it, if they buy something for a treat they eat the entire package of double stuff oreos in one sitting, they put 1/4 cup of mayo on their sandwich - heck they have mayo sandwiches with nothing else in them or eat it out of the jar - he puts ranch dressing on top of the mayo on his sandwich . . . they have very very little self control so for my husband it has to be avoidance - he doesn't even do splurge days usually, but when he does a bit of exercising his weight melts off. His other 3 siblings are as thin as a rail like his Dad, but they do not eat that way. DH and his sister are very close to their Mom and she talks constantly about her love of food and not wanting to feel like food is forbidden, her tea parties are oreos dipped in marshmallow cream with jelly beans on top and when my children go there she is constantly talking to them about these being special treats (instead of garbage!) and I am SURE she affected them growing up - he was very obese as a child and lost weight when he went to college. If I lose weight her first thing is concern for me getting too thin . . .
I have a long way to go before I'm too thin *G*0 -
My mother has been overweight her entire life. I inherited my father's metabolism. You get genes from both parents, so you can't look at a woman's mother and say, "That's where she's going to end up," because she may take after her father.They say looking at a girl's mother is the best indicator for how she will age; while I'm sure that there are quite a few exceptions, I think this is a fair rule.
My cousins all take after their father, as well. My mother's sister is very short with dark hair and has struggled with her weight her entire life. Her husband is tall, naturally thin and blond. ALL four kids (including their one daughter) look exactly like their father and none have weight problems. The oldest is 41 years old.
On the other hand, my mother's mother is very thin and has been her entire life while her husband was heavy. Both their daughters got HIS metabolism.
My daughter does not take after me, body-wise, either. I'm not sure who she takes after, to be honest, but she does not look like me.0 -
People say this so so so often....an then the times those people actually put it to the test measuring calories in and exercise performed it always shows that thin people simply eat less and/or are more active.
There are illnesses that can cause you to lose or gain weight, but those are not the norm. Most people have pretty much the same standard metabolism which is calculable. In fact those who are heavier will actually have a higher metabolism to cope with all the extra fat they have. (By the same I mean proportionately. Obviously a 6ft 6 man won't have the same as a 5ft 0 woman).
Weight can be 'inherited' from parents in the sense that if they are overweight, then they will tend to be over-eating and/or inactive and will quite possibly pass those behaviours onto their children.
There are some who say that a 'higher metabolism' can be at least in part down to the fact that some people are more subconsciously active than others. That is they are constantly moving, even if very slightly. Fidgeting at the desk, crossing/uncrossing legs, moving around...whatever. Apparently, some people are more prone to this and therefore this is an additional source of calorie burning.
Also, some people (myself included) just don't care about eating. It is just an inconvenience. Trying to bulk up is a nightmare for me because of the volume I have to eat. It just feels so uncomfortable. Some people don't seem to have this sense and they can just keep eating.
The fundamental conclusion is that; illness aside, it comes down to calories in vs calories out. When you see your thin friends you are probably in a situation where they are likely to be eating. Also, what you will not see are the meals they miss and the days they go without food. I know these behaviours because I was that thin friend who would eat a cheeseburger and chips as a starter then move on to a pizza main.
People never noticed when I didn't eat for a whole weekend...0 -
Yup. My mate drinks beer and eats crap and has always been skinny. The kind of skinny that many people mistake for an eating disorder! She's in her late twenties now and starting to fill out a little- but still has the kind of figure most people are envious of! However, I am healthier inside 0
-
I have twin sons and can attest to the fact that some people are born skinny and stay that way. Both of them are healthy and are not overweight but one has to be careful with his portions and if he stops exercising he will gain weight. The other has to eat almost nonstop to maintain a normal weight.0
-
People always claim I'm naturally thin but I don't think that's the case- I know I gain weight when I eat more. I'm just generally avoiding junk food, am vegan and pretty active person. I grew up in a house where we weren't allowed any fizzy drinks or juice and only one snack a day.
This is an important "other" point. Whilst I come from a slim family (we eat well and exercise), many people say things like "Oh you're so lucky you're slim". This really annoys me because most people know that I'm active and keep an eye on what I eat. It's not luck, it's the average of 35 hours moderate to high intensity exercise a month (even when I injured myself and swapped to different exercise)!0 -
i have been thinking about this a lot. I have a lot of naturally thin friends and i watched them over years. So here it goes: they don't avoid ANY type of food, ANY time of the day. Say, if my friend is hungry at midnight she will have a sandwich.
They just stop eating when they are full. Even if it requires leaving some food on the plate (i've always had clean plate logic, didn't really listen to my body).
They don't eat when they are not hungry. Simple as that.0 -
I'm "naturally thin" as some people might call it (although I'm in bad shape), but not skinny. I think a little has to do with metabolism, but a lot has to do with portion control and activity. There are loads of times that I overeat, but when I started paying attention, found that often times my heavier friends would eat way more than me. I'd have one hot dog and some fries...they'd have two hot dogs. I played sports in high school...they didn't do any sports. If I overeat a ton and am pigging out every day, I gain weight, but if I eat normal portions when I'm hungry, I don't. So it comes naturally to me from lifestyle, not from genetics alone.0
-
I don't think so.
Even when I'm "lean" I'm big...and that's because I ate like a horse when I was a teenager and lifted a lot. I was 5'10" 240" in HS, gained up to 278 in college, then lost down to my lowest at 178 in grad. school.
At 178 I'm still a "big" normal and I felt like I was rail thin. That was "too thin" for me.
Still, I ate like 3000 cals/day then, and if you weren't around me all the time and only when I was eating, it looked like I was eating any and everything. People who didn't follow me around all the time wouldn't have seen all the exercise i was doing either.
I think thin people just eat a lot less or move a lot mre than people realize.0 -
People always claim I'm naturally thin but I don't think that's the case- I know I gain weight when I eat more. I'm just generally avoiding junk food, am vegan and pretty active person. I grew up in a house where we weren't allowed any fizzy drinks or juice and only one snack a day.
This is an important "other" point. Whilst I come from a slim family (we eat well and exercise), many people say things like "Oh you're so lucky you're slim". This really annoys me because most people know that I'm active and keep an eye on what I eat. It's not luck, it's the average of 35 hours moderate to high intensity exercise a month (even when I injured myself and swapped to different exercise)!
I know what you mean - it's funny, the harder I work, the luckier I get!
It's funny though, being fit you can't win. You are either lucky to the people who don't recognise the effort you put in, or obsessed to those who do...0 -
My boyfriend is naturally thin. I'd say "lean" rather than thin. He's over 6ft, maybe 6ft 3 in.
When I met him, he drank the most water out of anyone I knew (2litres a day, always. Sometimes more). He drinks water, and beer. No soda, no Gatorade, no sugary coffee drinks.
He's the kind of person who works all night on a project, sun comes up, he realizes he hasn't eaten. I often think he'd only eat cereal, goldfish and cheeseburgers if I wasn't around to make him healthy food.
He also hates mayo & ranch, anything creamy, and his favorite snack is original goldfish, not cookies, not ice cream. He LOVES fish and would eat it every meal of the day. Hates fried food, thinks it's a cop out for flavor.
He used to be on crew team, working out 3-4 hours a day. He enjoyed the rapport between his teammates, and exercise was just a by-product of hanging out with his friends.
I think all these little things, plus genetics, = naturally lean individual.
He has gained 3 or 4lbs since stopping crew, so he's not immune to gaining weight.0 -
I got friends who are naturally thin and they eat like lunatics, I mean it gets downright disgusting.
People's metabolisms vary and in that, some people can eat whatever they want and not gain weight and others have to watch every calorie. I think from a scientific perspective there are a lot of contributing factors, i.e. nature, nurture, history, etc.
And then you have those skinny fat people (most of the "thin" people us fluffies envy)...On the outside they look ideal, but inside their arteries and innards are just as messed up as a person weighing in 4 times their size.
Being healthy doesn't necessarily mean being skinny and being obese is only one of many symptoms of being unhealthy.
I am happy for the naturally thin people, but I don't think being naturally thin lets anyone off the hook from taking care of themselves.0 -
I think it's genetic, but with all genetics, it doesn't hit everyone. Some might be tall, some might be short. some might have red hair, some might have brown.
I was that naturally thin person until I hit 30 and my metabolism slowed down.
My youngest daughter is like that. She's 5'10 and 110. She can't gain weight no matter how much she tries. She's not the most active person in the world, either, where as I was highly active.
My oldest daughter was like that until she started taking medication and it changed that.
I'm not so much a "clean plate" mom, but more, if you're full, stop eating. But there isn't much junk food kept in the house.0 -
I don't believe that people are naturally "thin" or naturally "fat" but there are different body types: ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs. I'm an ectomorph. Ectomorphs are the body type that people usually think of as being naturally thin, but if ectomorphs eat enough of a calorie surplus on a daily basis, even they can get fat -- I did -- and we don't tend to carry extra weight as well as our endomorph and mesomorph friends.0
-
I've never been one of the struggling to put on weight types that people are bringing up - but for the most part, I've always been thin. The most weight I've ever wanted to lose is about 5 pounds. People tell me I'm lucky I can just eat whatever I want and be this way. I don't tell people I exercise because they tell me I don't "need to."
But the truth is, I don't sit around eating crap all day. I eat well. I exercise. I'm active. This is the product of that. But they never want to hear that.0 -
I believe your weight is affected by your background (physical activity and food consumption) growing up and your current environment. You can become more thin (or gain weight) by changing your beliefs and ideas on the subject. Your weight is not predetermined or set in concrete. The more exercise you do and the less caloric food you consume on an ongoing basis will decrease (or maintain) your weight.
Males tyically have an easier time losing weight than females. Males typically have more muscle mass per percentage body weight than females. Muscle burns more calories than the alternative.
Basically, I believe you can effect your weight by your current thoughts and activites. Your weight is not governed by genetics. Just remember: "You can't out exercise a bad diet." Clean up your diet and get a resonable amount of exercise to maintain or lose weight. You too can become a "thin(ner) person".0 -
I have 3 sisters who are naturally rail-thin...
I ate the same as them, but was always chunky.
It was to the point that Mom kept an eye out to make sure I wasn't sneaking food.
(I wasn't)
In many ways I was blessed to have a fat Mommy.
She understood the weight struggle, but she also said "food is fuel, you can't keep the engine going with out nutrition."
She thought it wasn't fair to restrict my diet any more than my siblings. (She did set some boundaries for all of us.)
She never made me feel guilty for eating something my brothers and sister were eating.
When I was 14 I took the initiative to lose some weight.
I don't know how she did it, but she found gentle ways to educate me with out judging and always let me make my own choices.
Baked potato is healthier than Mashed
Pretzels are healthier than Potato chips.
Mustard is healthier than Mayo.
Now that I think about it, rather than out and out denial she always gave me an option.
Carrots, celery sticks, and peppers chopped up in the fridge
and "ice milk" in the freezer so I could choose that when everyone else was eating ice cream.
My 3 sister took after my Dad's side of the family.
I took after Mom's side. (My mom was always heavy and all my female cousins are all big)
Add on top of that how much more difficult the food industry has made it to make good choices.
(I thought I knew how to eat healthy, but was amazed to find how much "food" has changed in 35 years.)0 -
I am that person. Or, at least I used to be.
I have always been naturally thin, without ever worrying about what I ate.
But there are two things that need to be said and understood about this good fortune. I have always been extremely active, hyperactive almost. I played sports when I was younger. I started running regularly when I was 18 years old. etc.
I remember one time reading a study that found that skinnier people tend to fidget a lot more -- enough to result in appreciable calorie expenditure.
The other aspect to this that I think is misunderstood is that naturally thin people just do not eat when they are not hungry.
When I was about 27 years old I went on a trip to the old Soviet Union. It was an official exchange. There were not tourists who went to the Soviet Union in those days. As such, it was a big deal when we rolled into these little towns and farms and other places. So they rolled out the banquets. We were served meat for every meal.
Now, we were quite aware that our hosts were making huge sacrifices to serve us like that, and that the average Soviet family in those days ate serious meat only about once or twice a week. So, we felt obliged to leave nothing on our plates.
We also spent most of our days in meetings and on a bus or train.
When I got back after a month, I barely ate for about two weeks. I have always been so thin I never weighed myself, but I am sure I had gained weight, because I felt bad, and my body just dictated that I not eat until I was back at my determined weight.
That's were I am lucky, and where most thin people are lucky. Our bodies are just very insistent as to what weight they need to be and they stay there. I think if you closely observed most skinny people, you would find that they really do not eat much. I may eat a big meal and look like a glutton. But then watch, I will eat very little for the next 24 hours or so. I do not snack very much, I almost never nibble, and I drink probably less than one soda a week.
I have heard that anthropologists now have a theory about this. The prehistoric ancestors of naturally skinny people were primarily farmers and gatherers, while the ancestors of people who gain weight were primarily hunters. The reason for this is that your hunters were less likely to be assured of a steady food supply and meat spoils quickly. So, your hunter cavemen would gorge when they made a kill, and pack on the fat until the next successful hunt.
A farmer would have no reason to do that.0 -
<<<<<<<<<<< This guy...
I can thank my mom's genetics.0 -
Naturally 'thin' people can be a fat thin too. Unfortunatly ive never been either. Its frustrating yes, b/c sometimes we feel like they take for granted that little blessing some of us wish we could get. However, what I have had to realize, is even if they are skinny, it doesn't mean they are healthy. Heath has been my focus lately, and doing that it has also helped me start to get and feel skinny. I still have a long way to go, but im making progress.0
-
I'm not 100% what causes it but I know it happens. My friend Becky has (HAS) to eat a ton of fat -- she prefers to do this with ice cream -- just to MAINTAIN her weight. She's 5'4" and weighs just under 100 lbs. She is VERY self conscious about her weight and tells me how LUCKY I am to be bigger. She helps me keep my perspective. Just because you are thin, doesn't mean you're gonna be happy.0
-
My mother and my sister... My mom used to eat ice cream; M&M's and anything else she wanted with out concern... Moderation was not in her vocab. The Dr put her on a cholestrol diet because hers was soooooo bad and she lost weight so they took her off it. My whole life she was under 110lbs (she gave birth to 5 kids) until she was wheel chair bound.
My sister is the same way, she is 97lbs now after 2 kids and drinks soda like we should be drinking water... Now her daughter is in the same physical state, she's 11 and weighs about 50lbs.
They have just as hard a time gaining as I do losing. No one else has ever understood that, I saw my mom adding weight gainer to milk shakes and it did nothing!0 -
I have a dear friend that is naturally thin... she is almost 50 now and just started working out this year - seriously! She eats everything, and does not gain - she started working out to tone her "older" body - pilates and such. Genetics. She is the spagetti and I am the meatball!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions