naturally thin people

As mentioned, basically all "naturally thin" people are just not overeating calories vs what they burn.

Right. But some people naturally burn more than others.

Which most of those naturally thin people move a lot more than we think or eat less than you think. It's very common to under estimate your own calories and over estimate someone else.. it's part of human nature. If you saw my brother in law, you would think he is naturally skinny because he eats mcdonalds and cheesesteaks and drinks, but the fact is, he rarely eats breakfast, and when he does eat, it's generally a half of plate. Additionally, he walks a lot.

Again, I WAS one of those people and I live with one of those people. I know how much I moved and how much he moved.

so you tracked your calories as well as theirs?

BTW, i was naturally thin until junior year of college.. And if it makes you feel better, my wife thinks I have a tapeworm because she swears I can devourer anything. And while i do eat a lot, its the type of foods I am eating that don't add to high calories.


ps - during high school and most of college, it wasn't unusual for me to eat 3 big macs in one sitting.

As mentioned, basically all "naturally thin" people are just not overeating calories vs what they burn.

Right. But some people naturally burn more than others.

Which most of those naturally thin people move a lot more than we think or eat less than you think. It's very common to under estimate your own calories and over estimate someone else.. it's part of human nature. If you saw my brother in law, you would think he is naturally skinny because he eats mcdonalds and cheesesteaks and drinks, but the fact is, he rarely eats breakfast, and when he does eat, it's generally a half of plate. Additionally, he walks a lot.

Again, I WAS one of those people and I live with one of those people. I know how much I moved and how much he moved.

THIS. I was also one of those "naturally thin" people who hardly ever moved and ate taco bell, zaxbys, and chik fila for breakfast/lunch/dinner everyday. I didn't put weight on until I went through some major health issues and was put on countless meds/steroids, treatments for 6 months, and a few surgeries. after that i was put on BC which also contribued to it all.

So yeah -- some people are naturally thin without moving much and without eating healthy anything. They're out there -- living proof here. I also had a couple ex's that are this way as well. most of them drink on the weekends like their liver is untouchable and eat out almost every day. that's just life for some people.

All the 'naturally thin' people I knew had considerably smaller appetites than me. Like, we'd go to a restaurant and I'd have a starter, mains and dessert. They would struggle to just eat their mains. And they were people who left things on their plate when they were full. I was brought up to clear my plate every time!

I personally don't believe it. I used to think this way too and now see it as another convenient excuse. "Oh, she's so lucky to be naturally thin, why even bother trying to keep up". The only "natural" part of it is that these folks somehow figured out on their own how to balance their calories and activity in order to stay at a healthy weight instead of having to track and measure and schedule workouts, etc like many of the rest of us have to. Both of my best friends, my mother and several co-workers are like this. Seiously, my mother eats more ice cream than anyone else I know but aside from that she eats very little and is pretty active so she's able to maintain her weight without much effort. Hopefully one day, with continued practice towards bulding good eating habits, I will be so lucky!

This is the same argument as the obesity genetics debate IMHO. Yes, we're all different but with the exception of some rare instances, not to the extreme that causes obesity - maybe overweight, but not obese.

There are some genetic differences in metabolism, but I also think a lot of naturally thin people either eat less than it looks like, or exercise more than you realize. So a "naturally thin" person might have four pieces of pizza at a sitting, but that's about the only thing they eat that day. Or they have four pieces of pizza, and then they commute six miles on their bicycle. It's natural to them, but if you locked them in a room and fed them a high-calorie diet they'd gain weight just like anybody else.

that one ^^^ so True

I was actually thinking about posting something like this today. I work with 3 girls (they are 22, 23, & 26). The one who is 26 does exercise on e regular basis and eats pretty healthy. However, the 22 and 23 year old are so very skinny, eat whatever they want (i.e. donuts, bagels and cream cheese, cheese steaks and pizza, taco bell, and lots of alcohol) and they don't gain any weight. They don't exercise and sit pretty much all day long. I would say that they are naturally thin. When I was 23 I ate "whatever I wanted" but I had to exercise every single day for about an hour or two. Drives me nuts cause when they order pizza at work I want to eat some but I gain 5 pounds from just looking at it. While they have 3 slices each.

Naturally thin is a thing. This was an interesting program -- even though some of the people physically couldn't eat all of the required food. If you don't have time to watch all of it if you start at about 45 minutes you'll get the end results as well as a depressing closing about keeping weight off.

Why Are Thin People Not Fat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAQr77QMJiw

Unless there's a health issue or hormonal issue involved, those that believe people who are "naturally thin" will have to explain how these people stay lean while EXCEEDING their TDEE. It doesn't happen. They're thin for one reason, they burn off the calories they consume. Now whether it's due to exercise, N.E.A.T., drugs (yes there are people who use stimulants), or just a higher lean muscle/fat ratio would be the difference, but again observance of what you see them consuming (unless you're tallying every calorie they eat and knowing and counting calories they burn) is anecdotal. It's the same for people who think they have "slow metabolisms" (with the exception of hormonal or health issues as mentioned). People get fat by over consuming.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

When I married my husband he was 6' and weighed 138 lbs, Yes you read that right. That man was skinny. He had a metabolism as they say. Well actually he didn't, his family are all thin as well. Here is what I observed:

My mother-in-law made a pound of pasta for 5, and it was more than enough. My mother made a pound of pasta for 4 as a side dish and we ate it all.
My Sister-in-law walked in the house starving, ate 1/2 a sausage and she was full. Me I would have eaten 3 sausages.
My husband would be hungry, not find food he liked to eat and just wouldn't eat. When I am hungry, there is always something that I will eat.
My mother-in-law made a pan of Lasagna and each person ate one square. My house, a pan of Lasagna fed 3 people.
My husband's home, food was not the center of everything. Food was important, but not the center. My house, food was the center of all social gatherings.

My husband was a smoker at that time and he always had Acid Reflux. He found out his stomach produces too much acid, which is what I think contributed to what we thought was a high metabolism. Before he controled the acid he had a very high tolerance to medication, alcohol, etc. Basically if a drug was take every 6 hours, it completely wore off in 4 for him. He also quick smoking. Between both those things he gained about 50 lbs. He also go older and less active.

So based on what I saw, thinner people naturally eat less food, even if it is high calorie. My MIL cooked steak in oil, husband ate 1/2. I cooked same steak, no added oil, he ate the whole steak. My husband does not ENJOY food the same way I do. He likes food, but he could live without it, he eats to live. I eat sometimes cause well its Pizza.

Thin people eat when they are hungry and stop eating when full, they also don't do comfort eating. When stressed they don't eat. It is the opposite for someone like me, I comfort eat, I eat when stressed, I eat when bored, etc. Not true for thin people.

FYI, my daughter is also thin. I have seen her eat 1200 calories in one sitting at age 5 and the next day eat only 120 calories for the day.

I've always been slender so I suppose I fit the description for "naturally thin." Looking at my own personal experience, I can pretty easily point to genetics and learned behavior toward food from my folks. My mom was quite a bit smaller than I am now at 5'6'' and 107lbs up until she had kids. Like her, I will lose a whole lot of weight in a very short time if I drop the slightest bit below the necessary calories to live. So that bit I'd say is definitely genetic! However, that's paired with having grown up with a healthy approach toward food. I spent a chunk of my time growing up overseas where food is something to certainly enjoy, but in moderation and as a luxury, not an emotional crutch. My folks never used food as a reward either so I grew up looking to engage in active experiences such as going to a sports event or spending time with friends instead of turning to food.

Just me $0.02 from my own experience :flowerforyou: