Reality Check: Skinny People Must Have Fast Metabolisms

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  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    A lot of the skinny people who apparently eat "too much" live very active lifestyles. They might eat a big meal in your presence but burn tons of calories by moving. I watched one of those fat vs thin shows which had an obese and a thin person on it and the obese person was sure that her thin friend had fast metabolism and hers was slow. Turns out from testing that the obese friend's metabolism was much faster than her skinny friend's.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
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    A lot of the skinny people who apparently eat "too much" live very active lifestyles. They might eat a big meal in your presence but burn tons of calories by moving. I watched one of those fat vs thin shows which had an obese and a thin person on it and the obese person was sure that her thin friend had fast metabolism and hers was slow. Turns out from testing that the obese friend's metabolism was much faster than her skinny friend's.

    The Australian ladies right? Great video!
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    I can't remember which show. I have watched too many of them lol
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I've always thought I have a little bit faster than average metabolism (my first 16 weeks on MFP I had it set to lose .5 a week and I accidentally lost 16 pounds). I wish I would have started counting calories in my 20's because I swear I consumed over 3000 calories a day with a desk job and I was only on the boarder line of overweight and normal weight by BMI standards.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    I've always thought I have a little bit faster than average metabolism (my first 16 weeks on MFP I had it set to lose .5 a week and I accidentally lost 16 pounds). I wish I would have started counting calories in my 20's because I swear I consumed over 3000 calories a day with a desk job and I was only on the boarder line of overweight and normal weight by BMI standards.
    Or you just ate way more than you thought. I deal with people daily (those trying to lose and gain) and it's rare to find anyone that actually was correct on their intake. The overweight...............usually always underestimate their intake. Many times they were off my more than 1000 calories. The underweight........................ALWAYS overestimated. Saying they eat EVERYTHING, then finding out that they always were at maintenance or below what their TDEE was.
    Physiology is pretty consistent with general population. The population sometimes just looks for excuses to deny it.

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

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  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
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    This is so true, I hate how all of my overweight and obese relatives say "I just have a slow metabolism". It is frustrating because I wish they would lose for their health, but they say things like "I've tried calorie counting for a week, and didn't lose" etc. They are just so uninformed about how weight loss works and I wish I could inform them without being annoying.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
    edited December 2015
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    ...Most comparisons of energy intake and expenditures, confronting survey and the doubly-labeled water method, show a large degree of under-reporting of food intake. Very high levels of under-reporting are typically found in obese subjects, as well as in female athletes. In some individuals, under-reporting can be as high as 50% of energy expenditures (Schoeller, 1995)...

    http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1415-52732001000200006&script=sci_arttext

    Pulling out this section about underreporting being as high as 50% as I think it is very important. OPs sometimes get annoyed with the suggestion that they tighten up their logging, but studies like this show that underreporting is statistically likely.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    On the other end of the spectrum, my mom hovers above Underweight and eats very large meals volume wise, but she often forgets to eat. She doesn't have a super metabolism, she's just very active and often skips meals.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    edited December 2015
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    That British show is a goldmine. I could watch it over again & again. (And because of that show I ALWAYS have a glass of milk with any dessert I eat & imagine the dessert's fats passing right through my system... LOL)

    People really really want to believe their metabolisms are somehow 'wounded' or 'injured' when in reality they are Vikings keeping everyone with their poor personal habits alive!!!

    The only unconscious thing some skinny people do more is nervous movement like pacing, fidgeting, spot cleaning etc. and that's not metabolic, that's more personality driven.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    I've always thought I have a little bit faster than average metabolism (my first 16 weeks on MFP I had it set to lose .5 a week and I accidentally lost 16 pounds). I wish I would have started counting calories in my 20's because I swear I consumed over 3000 calories a day with a desk job and I was only on the boarder line of overweight and normal weight by BMI standards.
    Or you just ate way more than you thought. I deal with people daily (those trying to lose and gain) and it's rare to find anyone that actually was correct on their intake. The overweight...............usually always underestimate their intake. Many times they were off my more than 1000 calories. The underweight........................ALWAYS overestimated. Saying they eat EVERYTHING, then finding out that they always were at maintenance or below what their TDEE was.
    Physiology is pretty consistent with general population. The population sometimes just looks for excuses to deny it.

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

    9285851.png

    I'm saying I was at a desk job consuming, probably, 3000 calories a day and maintaining my weight at boarderline overweight/ normal bmi. I feel like I should have been morbidly obese with everything I ate.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
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    Yes, my metabolism is a hero. It's a wonder I don't weigh 600 lbs and have my own TLC show!!
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,499 Member
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    I used to think I had a fast metabolism when I was in college because one semester I ate pretty much nothing but pizza. Twice a day I went to the campus cafe and had two slices of pepperoni pizza and a 20 ounce Dr. Pepper. I stayed around 100 pounds, so it must have been my metabolism, right? Or it was the fact that I was consuming only about 1800 calories a day (Assuming 300 calories a slice and for each drink), I walked 15 minutes to the cafe and back, I lived on the 4th floor of a building with no elevator, I walked about 10 minutes between each class, etc.. My metabolism wasn't over active. I was.

    Conversely, when I was at my heaviest I was also eating my "healthiest." My usual breakfast was an egg/sausage/cheese sandwich, a pint of cut fruit with yogurt and walnuts on top, and coffee with a ton of creamer. I now estimate that breakfast to be over 800 calories - more than two slices of pepperoni pizza! And that was my "light" meal. Lunch was usually soup or a sandwich and a salad, covered in dressing, maybe some pasta for dinner with yummy Alfredo sauce. I thought I "didn't eat that much" because I didn't eat to the point of physical discomfort. So, I blamed my getting older for the weight increase. I now estimate I was consuming close to 3000 calories a day. I didn't mean to lie to myself, but I did.

    Also, to the lady who said she did not gain while sedentary with injuries: broken bones take a lot of calories to heal! Right now I have a broken bone in my wrist and had to add about 200-300 calories over maintenance just to heal and maintain my weight. My BMR is about 1200, so that's a pretty serious increase.
  • ChiliPepperLifter
    ChiliPepperLifter Posts: 279 Member
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    Boom, headshot.

    Do you play LoL? This just reminds me of cait, lol.
    Anyway, yes, I always talk about this myth to people. Metabolismssss
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    I've always thought I have a little bit faster than average metabolism (my first 16 weeks on MFP I had it set to lose .5 a week and I accidentally lost 16 pounds). I wish I would have started counting calories in my 20's because I swear I consumed over 3000 calories a day with a desk job and I was only on the boarder line of overweight and normal weight by BMI standards.
    Or you just ate way more than you thought. I deal with people daily (those trying to lose and gain) and it's rare to find anyone that actually was correct on their intake. The overweight...............usually always underestimate their intake. Many times they were off my more than 1000 calories. The underweight........................ALWAYS overestimated. Saying they eat EVERYTHING, then finding out that they always were at maintenance or below what their TDEE was.
    Physiology is pretty consistent with general population. The population sometimes just looks for excuses to deny it.

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

    9285851.png

    I'm saying I was at a desk job consuming, probably, 3000 calories a day and maintaining my weight at boarderline overweight/ normal bmi. I feel like I should have been morbidly obese with everything I ate.
    What you feel and what actually happens are two different things. If you didn't get morbidly obese, then obviously you weren't eating enough to get to that point.

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

    9285851.png

  • riceflourde
    riceflourde Posts: 58 Member
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    There are people who under estimate what they eat but it doesn't mean metabolism is a myth. People with over active thyroids can eat like a horse and not keep weight on. People with under active thyroids can gain while being completely compliant food plans that work wonders for others.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    There are people who under estimate what they eat but it doesn't mean metabolism is a myth. People with over active thyroids can eat like a horse and not keep weight on. People with under active thyroids can gain while being completely compliant food plans that work wonders for others.
    That's a CONDITION though. In general, with the general population who don't suffer from any health maladies or issues, CICO is the basis of weight loss/gain/maintenance.

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

    9285851.png

  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    There are people who under estimate what they eat but it doesn't mean metabolism is a myth. People with over active thyroids can eat like a horse and not keep weight on. People with under active thyroids can gain while being completely compliant food plans that work wonders for others.

    You have really missed the point. If someone is sitting around overweight, underweight, whatever, and saying "it must be my metabolism" even though they've never had their metabolism tested, they are LYING and making excuses. They just can't be bothered with the truth or the work of solving the issue. If they really thought something was wrong, and CARED that something was wrong, they'd be getting tested, treated, and finding ways to overcome their condition so that they can be the healthiest they can be.