Thoughts on people who eat so much yet stay skinny

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  • grimlaur
    grimlaur Posts: 21
    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
    Cazzy34 Posts: 159 Member
    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
    McAlyna Posts: 123 Member
    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
    careyannal Posts: 161
    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
    grimlaur Posts: 21
    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
    justlistening Posts: 249 Member
    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
    meeka472 Posts: 283 Member
    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
    grimlaur Posts: 21
    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
    fun_b Posts: 199 Member
    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
    loztredders Posts: 142
    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.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    You know, I think when you work at losing the weight - you learn a lot of lessons a long with it.

    1 - Appreciation for your body and health
    2 - Pride
    3 - Understanding of those who are still struggling with their weight
    4 - Maintaining for life
    5 - conquering barriers, developing mental strength


    So even though there are many who can eat and eat without getting fat, I believe I was fat for a reason - to learn the lessons above.
  • fun_b
    fun_b Posts: 199 Member
    I think a lot of people that seemingly eat whatever they want and never gain weight actually only eat when they are hungry or are very active/athletic people. Very few people can eat like that and not gain anything if they're not one of those two things.

    Good point there. I remember a conversation once with a friend like that at university. I discussed binge eating and she admitted that she had never binged once. She said she only eats when she is hungry and stops when she is full even if there is a lot of food left over. Paul Mckenna mentions something similar in his book 'I can make you thin'.
  • BrunetteRunner87
    BrunetteRunner87 Posts: 591 Member
    That's my brother. Aside from Cross Country season he isn't active AT ALL and I watch him put away so much junk every day! And he's super skinny.

    It will catch up with him though when he gets to college I'm sure.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Back to the original post..
    I'm the kind of person who gains and loses weight quite easily, but of course, losing is relatively harder cos you need to work you *kitten* up.

    I mean, some of them might not be necessarily healthy, but do you feel jealous of them? Do you wish you can just eat and eat and eat without gaining a single pound (which, of course, does not translate to being healthy)?

    Just though of this a while ago, and I'd like to know what ya'll think.

    answering with a quotation by Eminem.. lol

    “I don't care if you're black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich or poor. If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. Simple as that.”
    ― Eminem
  • alvalaurie
    alvalaurie Posts: 369 Member
    Honestly not even joking my brother eats however much he wants whenever he wants and his diet consists of jack in the box, subway, chilli mac, thick peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pizza pockets, rock stars and beer and he literally has 8 percent body fat. He does have a physical job but that's it, he doesn't work out.... Plus he looked like that before he got that job.

    my dad is the same way he's 53 and has a six pack, doesn't work out and eats whatever.... He's a bartender and eats chicken wings all the time lol.

    wth..... Why didn't I get those jeans!

    Ditto!! My brother & my Dad are the same exact way. Only recently (like the past couple years) has my Dad acquired a tiny pot belly (I say its a beer belly). Meanwhile, I am KILLING myself everyday at the gym & have to record EVERY morsel that I eat just to maintain. Sickening, isn't it? Somehow though, I suspect in the end, you & I will be the healthier ones. I can't imagine what their cholesterol, blood pressure & blood sugar must be! Plus we get the satisfaction of bragging about how much we can deadlift & how fast we ran that 5k! Win, win for us, I'd say!

    (Forgot to add - my Dad just turned 70)
  • donteatmycookie
    donteatmycookie Posts: 21 Member
    I've always been told it's metabolism and genetics. I've also been told it will catch up will catch up once you hit thirty or so.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    The one middle-aged person I knew who could eat anything he wanted and was skinny as a rail turned out to be ill. He was very athletic, but it turned out that there was something wrong with him.

    After a certain point in life, it's so rare to find someone like that it would be like envying an alien from another planet.

    I am excluding thin, middle-aged folks who are thin because of drugs or chronic extreme dieting.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    oh yeah I am always jealous of those and hate to hear when they keep saying "serioulsy I swear I eat like a pig". LOL
    Get over with it.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I've always been told it's metabolism and genetics. I've also been told it will catch up will catch up once you hit thirty or so.

    It could be true. But many of them are so thin to begin with so gaining a pound a year really doesn't show any effect untill ...who knows.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I think a lot of people that seemingly eat whatever they want and never gain weight actually only eat when they are hungry or are very active/athletic people. Very few people can eat like that and not gain anything if they're not one of those two things.

    Good point there. I remember a conversation once with a friend like that at university. I discussed binge eating and she admitted that she had never binged once. She said she only eats when she is hungry and stops when she is full even if there is a lot of food left over. Paul Mckenna mentions something similar in his book 'I can make you thin'.

    I do this too: eating when I am hungry and stop when I am full. but I am not thin. :( I have to eat when I am hungry and stop before I am full to be thinner, but this seems taking for ever.

    :brokenheart: :sad:
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I know somebody who indeed eats a lot, well at least that is what she tells us. She said she can finish one pound of pistacho at one sitting. She eats 4 avocados everyday. She eats every 2 hours or so as she constantly feels hungry. She eats pastry like nobody's business. She's like 90 pounds all her life...

    Of course she has other issues.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    I was just such a person, until I hit thirty. And because I hadn't established any kind of healthy eating/exercise pattern, the weight just started piling on when the metabolism started dropping off. Ah metabolism. Thou art a heartless b*tch...
  • natalovesmusic
    natalovesmusic Posts: 49 Member
    My [older] sister is just over 100 lbs and has always been petite. She eats (1) a lot, (2) all the time. However, she is the slowest eater I know ..maybe that has something to do with it?
    We're both the same height and I've never felt any jealousy towards her because she's thinner :/
  • takumaku
    takumaku Posts: 352 Member
    I believe I fall into this category now. I tend to eat multiple plate fulls when I go out to eat. Even though I work a cubicle job, what keeps me 'skinny' is a) I am very active (6 mile daily run/walk, sometimes more on the weekends), b) my protein is very lean (greek yogurt, egg whites, etc.), c) my oils come from eating nuts, and d) my main plate is usually filled with non-starchy vegetables (cabbage, kraut, carrots, salads, squash, etc.). I love this my new lifestyle and eating this way, so it works for me.
  • WeatherGirl88
    WeatherGirl88 Posts: 41 Member
    Yeah, people think I do this. I'm stick skinny and all. But I burn so much exercising, and eat very little when I'm not around people.
  • Melionfire
    Melionfire Posts: 343 Member
    I gain weight when I look at food and my brother can't gain weight even when he tries. He is 6ft 3' and 150 pounds. He actually fits in a size 1 ladies pant. He tried, it was funny. He has tried gaining weight through upping his caloric intake and taking whey. He eats all the time as he is a waiter. I know he is active but when I see how thin he is compared to me it makes me cry a little. However, I am much more aware of my health and nutrition. I use to say why couldn't we have shared his metabolisme. I know it will probably catch up to him eventually and I know that being thin doesn't always mean being healthy. Part of me thinks it wouldn't be him if he wasn't thin and I wouldn't be me if I didn't struggle or work hard to maintain a healthy weight. We r who we r and we have to work with what we have. Eveyone is different!!!!
  • ash190489
    ash190489 Posts: 587 Member
    I can only wonder what their visceral fat might look like inside... genetics might be in their favour in relation to shape/size but if they are eating what ever they like and choosing horrible choices, I don't want to imagine what their insides look like in terms of fat sitting around and between their vital internal organs. :ohwell:
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
    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.

    Yes to these, and the "paid off the debt" post. Another factor is muscle mass. When I carry more muscle I can eat hundreds over my maintenance calorie estimate and stay the same weight. I did that last year for a while. When i was in High School i did an incredible amount of physical work. I ate over 4000 calories a day, and I'm a tiny female. My "metabolism" is higher for a reason at these times. When I'm not lifting weights or doing much for strength for a while I can't go over my maintenance calories, or I gain.

    When I'm very active I am that person that can eat bunches of food. What you don't see is me ever sitting down hardly at all in the day. When I was younger I had people say I must be that person that could eat anything, but it was really me burning a crazy amount up every day, or "eating like a skinny person" most of the time.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    I was that person in high school - couldn't gain weight no matter what I did, even thought I was trying to (for football). I easily ate enough for 2-3 people on a daily basis, plus drinking 2-3 weight-gainer protein shakes a day. People were amazed at the quantities of food I could put away (especially considering that I was so skinny), and I almost treated it like a sideshow. Several local restaurants had those "challenge" meals, and I'd mow through them and be looking for more - a 6-egg omelet smothered in chili with a pound of potatoes and 4 slices of toast? Easy. A 2 lb. cut of prime rib with a huge baked potato and a basket of garlic bread on the side? Wiped it out, ate my mom's leftovers, then had chocolate cake for dessert. Pizza buffet? My record was 23 slices of pizza, 6 chicken legs and a bunch of breaded/fried potato slices to top it off for good measure. However, I was also very active - played interscholastic sports year-round (football, basketball, track & field), raced BMX or rode dirt bikes on the weekends and played guitar in a rock band. I was basically on the go from 6:00 am until I fell in bed at 10 or 11 o'clock every night.

    32 years later, if I were to eat like that now I'd undoubtedly weigh 400+ lbs in pretty short order. I'm not near that active anymore and my metabolism is no longer fueled by raging teenage hormones. I'd still go back and give that 2 lb. prime rib dinner a go, though! :bigsmile:
  • uwdawg07
    uwdawg07 Posts: 372 Member
    Before I got ill and put on weight, I was one of those people. I ate ALL the time, and a lot. I ate at least every 3 hours. I never counted calories. I ate out all the time. I never put on a single ounce.

    But I was VERY active. I exercised like 2-3 hours a day (I was a figure skater), plus I was attending college so I was walking around all the time.

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