what do skinny people eat?!?

245

Replies

  • Posts: 1,296 Member
    In all seriousness, I learned to cook.
    I used to be a pop it out of the freezer and into the oven gal, but now I make a ton of 20-30 minute skillet meals, stir fries, etc.

    Also, I've found if I stay on the out skirts of the grocery store, I find better foods. Most of the processed stuff they keep in the middle.
    I still eat some processed stuff, because I still want to live my life and enjoy things, but for the most part I try and make healthier choices.

    This for me too! I have always cooked but not really healthy. I now follow a visual plate (veggie, veggie, protein) for dinner. If in fact you are the decision maker for meals, be strong for you and your kids.

    In all seriousness if you did yourself and your family 1 favor...STOP EATING OUT! Gain the control you need before you ever step foot in a restaurant again. Last night my husband and I got Chinese to go. Two years ago we would have each ordered off the menu and finished it all, last night we split 1 dinner and tossed what was left.

    Even if you drive to the park....GO THERE...get away from the kitchen and the food.
  • Posts: 317
    My favorite sweet treat is grapes! I freeze them and they're like little popsicles :D

    Chia pudding&berries, fruit, fresh veggies, protein powder, lean meat (99.9% chicken), whole grains, sandwiches with natural PB&reduced sugar preserves, BROCCOLI, and baby carrots...om nom nom!
  • Posts: 35
    A weakness for French fries notwithstanding, I do think there is A LOT of really good healthy food out there. Here are some things to try. I'm listing them in a Unhealthy vs. Healthy format:

    Potato Chips vs. Pita Chips and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Wal-Mart Deli)
    Ice Cream vs. Frozen blueberries blended with low-fat yogurt and honey (<-IT IS AMAZING!)
    Normal Hamburger vs. Laura's Lean Hamburger Patties (super low calorie, organic, green box in frozen food aisle)
    Bun vs. 100 cal. Sandwich Thin (Bread Aisle)
    Regular Brownie vs. Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie (snack aisle, very tasty!)
    Cookies vs. Dried Fruit or Popcorn
    Regular Hotdog vs. Hebrew National All Beef Hotdog (ONLY 45 CALORIES!)
    Sugar vs. Honey and Spices
    Regular Sausage vs. Turkey Sausage (I cannot tell the difference!!)
    Fried fish vs. White fish dipped in milk/egg, covered in bread crumbs and BAKED
    Fried Potatoes vs. Veggie 'Steamables' <-red bag, frozen food aisle
    Grilled Cheese vs. Broiled Roma Tomato Slices & Mozzerella on bread with spices. (Broiled is important here - only takes 4 min.)
    Soda Pop vs. Iced Tea (lightly sweetened if you want)
    Packaged Snack Food vs. Tortilla Chips w. Herdez Salsa (Herdez is made in Mexico, really good, avail. at Wal Mart)
    Fried Shrimp vs. Grilled or Sautéed Shrimp
    Pork Fried Rice vs. White Rice

    Hope this helps!
  • Posts: 507 Member
    I would like to know. Honestly I just know I need to change or I will never get this weight off. Not to mention I'm teaching all 3 of my daughters bad eating habits. I hate myself this weight and have been stuck around this weight for 2 1/2 years. My husband and I have horrible eating patterns fast food, pizza frozen or take out, lasagna, tacos and baked chicken nuggets and fries are basically our staples. I guess the surprise isn't that I now weight 280 lbs on my 5'4 frame. I'm drowning and I know if I don't change I will die, I've been dying on their inside. Please giver ideas of healthy eating.

    My bff and my husband are seeming naturally slender. They claim to eat anything they want and I see they do have hearty appetites. But when I really took a good look at their diet, I noticed it was different from mine (and similar to each other).

    For one they both LOVE salad and don't consider it a meal without one. I copied that and now I love salad and eat one or 2 a day too ;). And they both prefer a drizzle of oil & vinegar type dressings and not so much globs of ranch or Russian.

    They also like veggies, but not so much covered in cheese and/or butter ;). They both just happen to prefer it with some garlic & oil.

    I can't say I've ever seen them eager to reach for the bread basket for a dinner roll, but if they do I see they don't slather it in butter.

    If given a choice of ice cream or Italian ice or sherbert, they often say "yum! sherbert please!".

    They snack, but within reason ~ eg, some pepperoni & cheese, but they don't make a 'sandwich' outta it with Ritz crackers LOL And they aren't ga ga over dips ;)

    Etc, along that line are some differences I notice and have worked to emulate.

    Good luck!
  • Posts: 12,589 Member
    You can eat anything you want as long as you keep it within your calorie needs and maintain a deficit (to lose weight). Don't let any food nazi's scare you from any kind, type or specific food. Figure out your needs and stay within that.

    For example I at 24 oz (cooked weight, approx. 32 oz raw) of buffalo chicken breast, 1/2 pound of spinach, 1/2 pound of mixed veggies, & a 1/2 pound of white potato for dinner last night.

    For desert I had 3 cups of chocolate fiber one, 2 red velvet pop tarts, & a pint of Thin Mint ice cream. I am currently in weekly deficit. I eat the same amount of food daily and my exercise through out the week creates my deficit.
  • Posts: 1,222 Member
    They eat food, just like us fat people. They just eat less. And they move more. Pretty simple concept, really.

    Problem solved, end thread.
  • Posts: 361 Member
    They won't eat the whole, big portion, and opt to eat smaller portions, and they just keep active.
  • Posts: 10,161 Member
    I eat pizza and burgers and ice cream and Pop-tarts and tacos, and I'm skinny.

    I ate the same stuff when I was fat.

    The magic? I eat less of it now than before.
  • Posts: 10,161 Member
    A weakness for French fries notwithstanding, I do think there is A LOT of really good healthy food out there. Here are some things to try. I'm listing them in a Unhealthy vs. Healthy format:

    Potato Chips vs. Pita Chips and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Wal-Mart Deli)
    Ice Cream vs. Frozen blueberries blended with low-fat yogurt and honey (<-IT IS AMAZING!)
    Normal Hamburger vs. Laura's Lean Hamburger Patties (super low calorie, organic, green box in frozen food aisle)
    Bun vs. 100 cal. Sandwich Thin (Bread Aisle)
    Regular Brownie vs. Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie (snack aisle, very tasty!)
    Cookies vs. Dried Fruit or Popcorn
    Regular Hotdog vs. Hebrew National All Beef Hotdog (ONLY 45 CALORIES!)
    Sugar vs. Honey and Spices
    Regular Sausage vs. Turkey Sausage (I cannot tell the difference!!)
    Fried fish vs. White fish dipped in milk/egg, covered in bread crumbs and BAKED
    Fried Potatoes vs. Veggie 'Steamables' <-red bag, frozen food aisle
    Grilled Cheese vs. Broiled Roma Tomato Slices & Mozzerella on bread with spices. (Broiled is important here - only takes 4 min.)
    Soda Pop vs. Iced Tea (lightly sweetened if you want)
    Packaged Snack Food vs. Tortilla Chips w. Herdez Salsa (Herdez is made in Mexico, really good, avail. at Wal Mart)
    Fried Shrimp vs. Grilled or Sautéed Shrimp
    Pork Fried Rice vs. White Rice

    Hope this helps!

    I am not a fan of the whole substitute philosophy. If I want a brownie, I want a real brownie and not some high fiber diet version of a brownie. If I want pork fried rice, a bowl of plain white rice isn't going to cut it.
  • Posts: 1,896 Member
    As a newly minted member of the "skinny people" club, I eat:

    Anything I want. So long as I burn more (or the same) as I consume. Chocolate, cookies, ice cream, pizza, fried chicken, burgers, fries, donuts. Everything.
  • Posts: 135 Member
    I would like to know. Honestly I just know I need to change or I will never get this weight off. Not to mention I'm teaching all 3 of my daughters bad eating habits. I hate myself this weight and have been stuck around this weight for 2 1/2 years. My husband and I have horrible eating patterns fast food, pizza frozen or take out, lasagna, tacos and baked chicken nuggets and fries are basically our staples. I guess the surprise isn't that I now weight 280 lbs on my 5'4 frame. I'm drowning and I know if I don't change I will die, I've been dying on their inside. Please giver ideas of healthy eating.

    Cut out the fried food, eat less, and move more and you WILL see a difference.
  • Posts: 1,053 Member
    You need to learn to cook and make actual meals for your family, as opposed to frozen or take out meals. It isn't that difficult, it just takes time and planning. Chances are that you will even save money in the long run, cooking fresh meals is much less expensive then eating out all the time.
  • Posts: 20 Member
    I am not a skinny person - so I can't tell you what to eat. But I know to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you take in. it can be overwelming to get on a site like this - many ideas and opinions. I would agree with those who say to start small. Add salads, fruits and veggies to your meals. Someone said to take your kids with you to the store and let them pick - good idea. If you have a farmer's market, that would be a good idea. Start logging your calories and getting a sense of how many calories are in the foods you are eating. Take walks - add a little bit each day. if you have a smart phone, look at the Striiv app - it makes walking fun. Slow and steady wins the race. Hang in there!
  • Posts: 6,490 Member
    They eat food, just like us fat people. They just eat less. And they move more. Pretty simple concept, really.

    ^ This.

    And, just to emphasize, I also don't know any other fit people that survive on diet or substitute food.
  • Posts: 25 Member
    What really worked for me was completely leaving out any meats, fish and poultry. I understand this is not for everybody and will mostly work if you eat very unhealthy meat products. I dropped 40 pounds from quitting meat and fish and doing nothing else, I didn't work out more either so it's definitely a possibility however very radical but generally limiting your animal flesh intake will work, it makes it harder to find fast food and what you do find will be more expensive. Key point is you eat more greens when you don't have the meat option. This is from personal experience, skinnier people (who need to think about their calories and diet in general) will likely eat less meat.

    Again, personal experience :-)
  • Posts: 507 Member
    You can eat anything you want as long as you keep it within your calorie needs and maintain a deficit (to lose weight). Don't let any food nazi's scare you from any kind, type or specific food. Figure out your needs and stay within that...

    That's true, but I think it's important to note she mentioned wanting to teach her children good eating habits, so makes sense that she may want to consider adding more healthy foods to her family meals.
  • Posts: 17,299 Member
    A weakness for French fries notwithstanding, I do think there is A LOT of really good healthy food out there. Here are some things to try. I'm listing them in a Unhealthy vs. Healthy format:

    Potato Chips vs. Pita Chips and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Wal-Mart Deli)
    Ice Cream vs. Frozen blueberries blended with low-fat yogurt and honey (<-IT IS AMAZING!)
    Normal Hamburger vs. Laura's Lean Hamburger Patties (super low calorie, organic, green box in frozen food aisle)
    Bun vs. 100 cal. Sandwich Thin (Bread Aisle)
    Regular Brownie vs. Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie (snack aisle, very tasty!)
    Cookies vs. Dried Fruit or Popcorn
    Regular Hotdog vs. Hebrew National All Beef Hotdog (ONLY 45 CALORIES!)
    Sugar vs. Honey and Spices
    Regular Sausage vs. Turkey Sausage (I cannot tell the difference!!)
    Fried fish vs. White fish dipped in milk/egg, covered in bread crumbs and BAKED
    Fried Potatoes vs. Veggie 'Steamables' <-red bag, frozen food aisle
    Grilled Cheese vs. Broiled Roma Tomato Slices & Mozzerella on bread with spices. (Broiled is important here - only takes 4 min.)
    Soda Pop vs. Iced Tea (lightly sweetened if you want)
    Packaged Snack Food vs. Tortilla Chips w. Herdez Salsa (Herdez is made in Mexico, really good, avail. at Wal Mart)
    Fried Shrimp vs. Grilled or Sautéed Shrimp
    Pork Fried Rice vs. White Rice

    Hope this helps!

    While many of those may cut calories, they are not necessarily "healthier" options when both fit your calorie goals.
  • Posts: 12,589 Member
    A weakness for French fries notwithstanding, I do think there is A LOT of really good healthy food out there. Here are some things to try. I'm listing them in a Unhealthy vs. Healthy format:

    Potato Chips vs. Pita Chips and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Wal-Mart Deli)
    Ice Cream vs. Frozen blueberries blended with low-fat yogurt and honey (<-IT IS AMAZING!)
    Normal Hamburger vs. Laura's Lean Hamburger Patties (super low calorie, organic, green box in frozen food aisle)
    Bun vs. 100 cal. Sandwich Thin (Bread Aisle)
    Regular Brownie vs. Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie (snack aisle, very tasty!)
    Cookies vs. Dried Fruit or Popcorn
    Regular Hotdog vs. Hebrew National All Beef Hotdog (ONLY 45 CALORIES!)
    Sugar vs. Honey and Spices
    Regular Sausage vs. Turkey Sausage (I cannot tell the difference!!)
    Fried fish vs. White fish dipped in milk/egg, covered in bread crumbs and BAKED
    Fried Potatoes vs. Veggie 'Steamables' <-red bag, frozen food aisle
    Grilled Cheese vs. Broiled Roma Tomato Slices & Mozzerella on bread with spices. (Broiled is important here - only takes 4 min.)
    Soda Pop vs. Iced Tea (lightly sweetened if you want)
    Packaged Snack Food vs. Tortilla Chips w. Herdez Salsa (Herdez is made in Mexico, really good, avail. at Wal Mart)
    Fried Shrimp vs. Grilled or Sautéed Shrimp
    Pork Fried Rice vs. White Rice

    Hope this helps!

    My problem with this list is you're calling food unhealthy and healthy. No food is inherently unhealthy. There's nothing unhealthy about a single item you list in your unhealthy list.
  • Posts: 162 Member
    I reckon that naturally slim people are more sensitive to the messages from their stomach. I know that if my daughters leave the table to go to the loo during dinner for example, they find it hard to start eating again. My mum is the same - hard to eat when she's not hungry, hard to start eating after a break during a meal, eats so slowly. My trouble is that I inhale my food, can eat at anytime, and just generally don't know when to stop! Therefore I think I won't ever be like them and will have to rely on external sources to stop me eating - like monitoring my calories on MFP.
  • Posts: 17,299 Member

    My problem with this list is you're calling food unhealthy and healthy. No food is inherently unhealthy. There's nothing unhealthy about a single item you list in your unhealthy list.

    Except the hot dogs and sausage, depending on how you define "healthy food".
  • Posts: 361 Member
    When my 2nd child was young, our pediatrician noticed his BMI was creeping up. This is what she told me, which seems like good advice for grownups and children alike:

    #1 Move more! It was then end of winter, so we'd been inside a lot. She wanted me to get him out and running around.

    #2 Fast food no more than once a week, less if possible. Make these outings a treat rather than the norm after a busy day.

    #3 Replace cookies and other sweet snacks with fruit and raw veggies. The main go-to for snack has become apples, and grapes last about 1 hour in our house :laugh: We should also take out stock in Chiquita, with how many bananas we go through, and a veggie tray gets cheers.

    #4 Eat together. When we sit down as a family for a meal, we spend time talking and enjoying company, we build good eating habits as a family, and we tend to eat less than if everybody grabs a plate and goes back to the tv, etc.

    I would add to that, learn how to cook not using a lot of boxed and convenience food. We keep a supply of frozen veggies on hand (if they don't have anything else added, they are just as good as fresh), but only make something out of a box a couple of times a week. Plan your meals in advance and know how long each one takes to make so you don't get down to 6pm and you have an hour of prep before you can eat :wink: Using smaller plates is also a nice trick, you look like you've got a full plate but it's a smaller portion and take small bites, chew well, and talk with your family in between.

    That's it. Ten years later, this same child is skinny and active, and my other children have also developed similar habits. We do tend to have cookies around, but they aren't our main fare

    Love it! I will keep this advice for when my baby gets older.
  • Posts: 10,161 Member

    Except the hot dogs and sausage, depending on how you define "healthy food".

    I have no idea what you would consider about hot dogs, let alone sausage, unhealthy.
  • Posts: 3,134 Member
    Decrease starchy carbs, start cooking meals at home, eat butter, half & half, and get rid of that no fat, non fat food.
    Eat foods that are whole and are as close to their natural intended state besides cooking. Exercise.

    Very simple :wink:
    Good luck friend :drinker:
  • Posts: 198 Member
    They eat cleaner usually. but even a lot of skinny people eat very unhealthy food. you have to eat more fresh veggies and fruits in every single meal. and MOVE your body!!
  • Posts: 27 Member
    I just saw this morning that Stacy Keebler, George Clooney's GF, eats no sugar and does routine cleanses. No sugar includes natural sugar like fruits. No gluten, whey, or soy and like 100 other things. I am pretty sure she does a lot of deep breathing and drinking water. She's skinny and clearly found the solution on what to eat to stay that way... nothing. Good luck trying not to turn into a nut. You'll be fine eating healthy foods but George may stay out of our league unless we commit to ultimate restriction and that sounds like a real bummer.
  • Posts: 10,161 Member
    I just saw this morning that Stacy Keebler, George Clooney's GF, eats no sugar and does routine cleanses. No sugar includes natural sugar like fruits. No gluten, whey, or soy and like 100 other things. I am pretty sure she does a lot of deep breathing and drinking water. She's skinny and clearly found the solution on what to eat to stay that way... nothing. Good luck trying not to turn into a nut. You'll be fine eating healthy foods but George may stay out of our league unless we commit to ultimate restriction and that sounds like a real bummer.

    Your mistake is thinking that you, or Stacy Keebler, needs to eat that way in order to be thin/healthy/lean/whatever.
  • Posts: 4 Member
    stay as close to the source as possible. salads, greens, beans fruits, veggies and pick broiled, bbqed items. no deep frying, cut back on butter, sugar, pastas, white flour, corn, green peas, desserts, fast food. fast food is loaded with calories and fat and doesnt' have much nutritional value. serving sizes are much smaller then we tend to eat. for example a portion of meat is the size of your palm. veggies etc. are just 1/2 cup. eat low cal snacks like celery, carrots, fruits.
  • Posts: 4,248 Member
    I wouldn't call myself skinny, but I am a healthy weight, and I just eat normally! I rarely eat processed or fast food and make most things from scratch. We usually eat pretty simple things, and my kids (age 2 and 4) usually eat the same as us, unless we're having something really spicy.

    Today for example we had scrambled egg, beans and toast for breakfast, fruit for a snack (and the kids had raisins) then lunch was a small jacket potato with tuna. We also had a small bit of green and black's chocolate after, but we don't usually do that. My 4 year old has chicken pox at the moment so we're all a bit tired and feeling sorry for ourselves! My husband and I will have leftover Thai green curry (homemade) for dinner and the kids will just have something light. We've been out for a long walk just now, the kids on their scooters.

    My kids have never, ever been to McDonald's and I intend to keep it that way!

    My children are healthy and slim, in fact my 4 year old son is a bit on the skinny side. They know to eat when they're hungry and stop when they're full. They do have treats now and again, I haven't restricted anything. We are also pretty active as a family and take the kids out all the time. They don't even really watch TV.

    Just cook meals yourself and be active.
  • Posts: 6,400 Member
    Skinny people don't all eat the same things. Some eat heatlhy and some do not. Some eat a lot and some eat a little.

    But it's good that you have your health as a focus. Forget "skinny" and keep that focus on health and fitness. Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, lean meats, vegetable fats and whole grains. Keep your calories in check and your treats as treats and not dietary staples. Prepare more of your meals from scratch rather than buying preprepared meals.

    Read this:

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/

    Excellent answer!!

    OP, trying to cut everything "bad" out of your diet might make this too hard on you. Take baby steps and consider how to make those meals you enjoy healthier. For instance, american chop suey (or goulash) - pasta, meat, sauce - to make this healthier, you could use less pasta or healthier pasta (whole wheat), use less meat or leaner meat and either make your own sauce with lots of veg or add lots of veg to a jarred sauce (carrot, celery, mushroom, bell peppers, spinach, zuchinni, etc If the husband or kiddos don't like the texture of veg, puree them in a food processor and no one will know the difference. This trick works for legumes too - I make a chili where I add 2 cans of kidney beans and all but about 1/2 cup of them get pureed. That way my fussy hubs still gets the nutrients without having to deal with the icky texture. And side bonus, the pureed beans thicken up the chili nicely.

    FYI, all ground turkey is not necessarily healthier, check your labels to make sure it's lean ground turkey. If not, it's really no better than ground beef.

    If you, your kids or hubs don't like veggies much, try them in different ways. Eat them raw in salads, saute them, roast them, grill them. Boiling and steaming are good but if you're not careful there is a tendency to overcook and then they're mushy and tasteless. Avoid canned veg, go for fresh or frozen with no added sauces.

    Good luck!
  • The way to go is to make healthy clean versions of the foods you enjoy, and be accurate with portion sizes/calorie counts so you can ensure you are staying within your calorie goals. The more you exercise, the more you can indulge and still keep your calories where they need to be.

    Find some low calorie snacks that you like to have on hand for those times when you feel hungry but don't want to over do it. Log everything - food, water, exercise into MFP so you can see how you are doing over the course of the week.

    I keep breakfast simple -
    ie. peanut butter on a slice of healthy wheat toast or bagel thin, chobani greek yogurt, spicy jalapeno cream cheese on a bagel thin with tomato and arugula - stuff like that

    Lunch:
    measured portions of left over dinner
    Sandwich on a bagel thin or other low calorie sandwich roll (quality deli roast beef, arugula, tomato, horseradish)
    tuna salad made with measured portion of mayo or avocado over salad greens or in a sandwich
    bone broth soup with salad or kale chips

    Dinners:
    Most anything can be made clean and (relatively healthy) - so long as you make it yourself and watch your portions, especially on the more caloric items. (meatloaf with mashed potatoes & cauliflower, smoked pork, grilled chicken or salmon, chicken wings, turkey burgers, spaghetti, etc...

    The big thing for me is measuring and weighing so I know what I am consuming and can make any appropriate adjustments.

    Don't think of it as DIET, think of it as changing to a healthier way of life.

    -Chrissy

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.