Do you ever watch what skinny people eat?

katherines2230
katherines2230 Posts: 276 Member
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
I've been paying attention a lot lately and had an ah-ha moment. I always said I couldn't wait to be at my goal weight so I could eat what I wanted and not have to count calories. I forgot about the whole lifestyle thing. They still eat lean cuisines and drink diet cokes. I used to see it and think" you barely weigh 100 pounds why on earth are you eating lean cuisines?? Now I understand thats the reason they ARE still skinny.

Replies

  • Jess21684
    Jess21684 Posts: 202 Member
    good way to put it. you do hafta still watch calories and b conscious of what goes into your mouth and keep up with daily excercise. it is a LIFESTYLE Change and you basically have to do what your doing the rest of your life.. once your at your goal weight, you dont have to cut back your calories so much, as you will be eating to just maintain so you will have a little more calories and keeping active helps to let you eat more.. but there are also better choices and many healthy foods other than just lean cuisine tv dinners! ;)
  • mkeller234
    mkeller234 Posts: 121 Member
    While it's true that you can't cut loose after you hit your goal, you will be able to eat more calories than if you were trying to lose weight. It's entirely possible that once you reach your goal you will have a better understanding of what proper eating is and not feel the need to count calories. Counting calories is a GREAT tool, but no one technically needs to do it.
  • MsAnnMJones
    MsAnnMJones Posts: 1
    lol.... I do that all the time. It's from one extreme to the other. Some eat lite, others eat alot & some eat several small meals. It just reaffirms for me that I just have to do what's best at my address. That's is too funny- thought it was just me! I'm the only one of my friends who looks & asks...so sad.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I have looked at what other people eat, but it is usually NOT the slender ones. I will go around the grocery store peeking at the other end of the spectrum...to see what they are buying and mentally making a determination of whether or not I want to buy that as well. It breaks my heart to see an overweight mother with 3 overweight children and a grocery cart full of fatty, sugary foods or bags and bags of chips and cheese puffs. Maybe it's wrong of me, but that's sometimes what motivates me to not put those things in my cart while I am shopping. I would *never* say anything or make comments because rude people infuriate me...but if I do see someone who is at least 400 pounds buying a huge package of hot dogs I mentally make a note to purchase something more healthy because I don't want to gain my weight back!
  • katherines2230
    katherines2230 Posts: 276 Member
    I'm at work and just watched one of my pregnant coworkers who was thin before, eat one of those pizza lean cuisines and a side salad. She ate regular ranch but instead of drenching the salad with the ranch she dipped her fork in a pile of ranch then forked up some salad. And drank water. When I was preggo i used it as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted...which is why I gained 60 pounds and am still holding on to 20 of it!
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I'm at work and just watched one of my pregnant coworkers who was thin before, eat one of those pizza lean cuisines and a side salad. She ate regular ranch but instead of drenching the salad with the ranch she dipped her fork in a pile of ranch then forked up some salad. And drank water. When I was preggo i used it as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted...which is why I gained 60 pounds and am still holding on to 20 of it!

    This is what freaks me out about the coming years...I am getting married in July and I have this annoying gut feeling that literally like right after I get to my goal weight, I will get pregnant and turn into an eating machine, lol! :laugh:
  • Luckymam
    Luckymam Posts: 300
    I actually think it's more down to portion control rather than types of food. I have a friend who is very slim and I used to think how unfair it was that she could eat whatever she wanted and not gain weight. I now realise that it's because she eats whatever she wants, just not TONS of it. She also exercises regularly. I really believe that that's the key. If we go for a meal, she has a starter, a main, but doesn't have a dessert - not because she's depriving herself because it's "bad", but just because she is no longer hungry. She eats when she's hungry, enjoys what she's eating because it's what she WANTS to eat, then stops when she's full.

    I have been doing this (also with the help of Paul McKenna's 'I Can Make You Thin') and honestly believe it is THAT simple.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    [quote}
    This is what freaks me out about the coming years...I am getting married in July and I have this annoying gut feeling that literally like right after I get to my goal weight, I will get pregnant and turn into an eating machine, lol! :laugh:
    [/quote]

    I used to worry I wouldn't be able to lose baby weight or be eating like crazy when I was pregnant. But since you already have the KNOW how when it comes to being healthy, this is a huge advantage to you! I gained about 20 lbs when I got pregnant. Ate healthy most of the time. Even corrected people when they would tell me "Eat! You are eating for two!" Lost it all in 11 days after having my baby (nursing helps!). And now I'm running and exercising and weigh less than I did when I got pregnant. My baby is 7 months old. This morning my motivation is "Being healthy after having a baby is still an option!" :)
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    I'm at work and just watched one of my pregnant coworkers who was thin before, eat one of those pizza lean cuisines and a side salad. She ate regular ranch but instead of drenching the salad with the ranch she dipped her fork in a pile of ranch then forked up some salad. And drank water. When I was preggo i used it as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted...which is why I gained 60 pounds and am still holding on to 20 of it!

    This is what freaks me out about the coming years...I am getting married in July and I have this annoying gut feeling that literally like right after I get to my goal weight, I will get pregnant and turn into an eating machine, lol! :laugh:
  • ababygrace
    ababygrace Posts: 123
    I have actually watched my thin friends as well as told them to give a journal of what they eat for 48 hours. Most of them eat regular foods that we love but they don't overeat them and don't they don't think about food all day like we do.
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
    I think there is a huge difference between what a naturally slim person eats and what a newly slim person used to eat before they were slim - if that makes sense?

    My friends are all mainly slim and the stark difference I see between those who have always been slim and myself is that they do not seem to have the same preoccupation with food that I do?

    They eat when they are hungry, never out of boredom or stress. They don't stress about calories and working out and they never feel guilty about what they eat.

    Another huge difference is that my slim freinds all seem to have an innate portion control (so will never clear the plate or ask for more food unless they are still hungry!!) and they always pick healthy options as that is what they PREFER.

    My best friend has never weighed more than112lbs (she is very pettie). When we go out to eat or when either of us cook I notice that she never clears her plate, she eats slowly and tends to put down her cutlery between mouthfalls. She never opts for chips but goes for extra veg or salad - although she will happliy have a handful of my chips - and she'll split a dessert as opposed to have her own. This is not because she is watching her weight. This is how thin people eat!!

    I've known her 15 years and her habits have always been the same...
  • wriglucy
    wriglucy Posts: 1,064 Member
    I'm at work and just watched one of my pregnant coworkers who was thin before, eat one of those pizza lean cuisines and a side salad. She ate regular ranch but instead of drenching the salad with the ranch she dipped her fork in a pile of ranch then forked up some salad. And drank water. When I was preggo i used it as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted...which is why I gained 60 pounds and am still holding on to 20 of it!

    This is what freaks me out about the coming years...I am getting married in July and I have this annoying gut feeling that literally like right after I get to my goal weight, I will get pregnant and turn into an eating machine, lol! :laugh:

    Me tooo!!! My husband and I are plannin on having a baby in about 2 years. Aye...how scary for the body :) However, I have heard somewhere, and do tend to believe it, that the younger you are when you have kids, the easier it is to get your body back. Too bad I'll be in my 30's. Guess I'll have to work twice as hard after :)
    I do have to say too, that I know pregnant people can't eat certain things, especially diet things. I do the whole, dip my fork in a little dressing and then put it in my salad...it really lessens the amount of dressing you eat! That is if you don't take a HUGE glob of it :)
  • GiGi76
    GiGi76 Posts: 876 Member
    I have looked at what other people eat, but it is usually NOT the slender ones. I will go around the grocery store peeking at the other end of the spectrum...to see what they are buying and mentally making a determination of whether or not I want to buy that as well. It breaks my heart to see an overweight mother with 3 overweight children and a grocery cart full of fatty, sugary foods or bags and bags of chips and cheese puffs. Maybe it's wrong of me, but that's sometimes what motivates me to not put those things in my cart while I am shopping. I would *never* say anything or make comments because rude people infuriate me...but if I do see someone who is at least 400 pounds buying a huge package of hot dogs I mentally make a note to purchase something more healthy because I don't want to gain my weight back!

    Girl i do the same thing!!!
  • backinthenines
    backinthenines Posts: 1,083 Member
    see an overweight mother with 3 overweight children and a grocery cart full of fatty, sugary foods or bags and bags of chips and cheese puffs.

    I agree I think the content of people's supermarket trolleys are the biggest eye opener.

    Slim / athletic people usually have far more fresh produce in there and are obviously people who actually cook at home.

    Very often when you see obese people the trolley is rammed with convenience food, processed stuff / packs for the microwave, litres and litres of coke, huge bags of crisps etc.
  • oneIT
    oneIT Posts: 388 Member
    I see people eat alot of junk and still stay in shape (they work hard labor outside in florida though) so i think its all about how much exercise you get. Sitting at a desk gets me none.

    Also, cooking your food will cut alot of calories. I don't know what they put in fast food and resturant food but the calories are through the roof.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    Also, cooking your food will cut alot of calories. I don't know what they put in fast food and resturant food but the calories are through the roof.

    I know, right? It's insane! I just keep thinking of the pizza I make at home. I have a recipe from an Italian chef for pizza dough, and it's sooo good. And the *real* thing too, not cauliflower or pita bread, but real pizza dough. And I add low sugar sauce, reduced fat cheese and veggies...and my whole pizza has fewer calories than 2 slices at Domino's or Papa John's. I think they inject fat and sugar into the dough during baking, lol. I literally enjoy half of a large pizza every Sunday and still maintain my calorie goal for weight loss.
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    yeah seriously, i was with my 3 yr old at the grocery store pickin up a couple things, and there was a box of those chocolate cupcake things with the cream in the middle and the swirly of white on the top...well he asked for it and i was thinkin in my head...hmm should i say ok and just let him have one, once a week or so..it wont hurt him, but in that time a HUGE woman...like 300 something pounds, reached and grabbed a box of em, and i thought to myself..yeah nevermind. no offense to anyone on this site who is that big, because obviously you are trying to do something about it, and hell i aint small myself ; )
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
    The one skinny adult I ate lunch with (she's since retired) cooked for a husband with celiacs, so I'm not entirely sure she's a good example of how skinny folks eat. The other skinny folks I know are teenagers: they eat like it's going out of style, mostly because they're involved in sports.


    I'm now midrange in a healthy BMI, so not skinny, but I'm noticing I'm thinking about food way less frequently, can distinguish between hunger and boredom or anxiety (though not always before I've grabbed something salty), and feel like I can make pretty good choices, but I'd still feel weird if I knew people were scoping out my grocery cart and judging....

    So maybe we're all in the process of learning how to eat like a skinny person?
  • sweet_lotus
    sweet_lotus Posts: 194 Member
    I read a study about this a long time ago.

    People who are thin and able to maintain their weight are often more flexible in their eating habits. They'll indulge sometimes - order the appetizer plate at happy hour or try all of the cookies at the Christmas party buffet, but then they intuitively eat much less the next day or so. Their calories tend to even out to an average of the course of the week, even though the daily intake fluctuates.

    The same habits weren't present in people unable to maintain - after indulgences they didn't correct their calorie intake. So, over time those extra calories manifest as gradual weight gain.

    It's a neat trick, and definitely something that can be learned.

    Regarding other people's shopping carts - one time I was in the check out with a little basket of food. My niece and nephew were coming over for the night. I had the ingredients for a dinner (lettuce, red pepper, white beans, olives, garlic, parmesan cheese, whole wheat pasta), and a bulk bag of chocolate candy. Every time they come over I put candy in a little bowl and let them each pick two pieces for dessert. And after they leave it becomes my daily piece of chocolate.

    The woman in front of me examined every item and took pause over the bag of candy. Then she said, "You did really good until that bag of candy, dear. Don't eat it all at once!"

    I honestly didn't know what to say, and couldn't fathom that other women would judge my shopping basket! Words failed me and she moved away, and I looked at the cashier with my jaw still dropped. She burst out laughing and then I did too.

    Look yes, comment, no! ;)
  • cooki3s
    cooki3s Posts: 47

    The woman in front of me examined every item and took pause over the bag of candy. Then she said, "You did really good until that bag of candy, dear. Don't eat it all at once!"

    I honestly didn't know what to say, and couldn't fathom that other women would judge my shopping basket! Words failed me and she moved away, and I looked at the cashier with my jaw still dropped. She burst out laughing and then I did too.

    Look yes, comment, no! ;)


    Lol sweet lotus did you look in her shopping basket? or did she only have toiletries and such at the time?
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