Having a great metabolism is like winning a lottery

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slava977
slava977 Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
They say "calories in/calories out" but so much depends on the person's metabolism! My slightly younger sister (I'm 38) is about my height (I'm 5/7 and she is closer to 5/8) - I weigh 172 lbs and she weighs 118 lbs. I carefully watch what I eat, exercise and barely drink any alcohol. When I go to visit my sister - her fridge is full of cheeses, artichoke/spinach dips, salami, full fat milk, etc. She and her fiance drink a lot of alcohol (including Sangria, Mojitos, white wine, etc.) on weekends as they love to party with friends. She also eats out about 5-8 times a week as her company provides a "lunch card" which can be used at nearby restaurants and she has 1-2 dinners out as well . She doesn't work out on a regular basis (a walk here or there). She never gains weight. Even after Christmas celebrations - she stays the same weight while I gain 3-4 lbs (we spend 3-4 days together so I see that she eats as much if not more than me). She comes back from an all-inclusive in Mexico - skinnier than she was before the trip. I'm very happy for her but at the same time frustrated that I wasn't blessed the same way. So how does the science explain this I wonder? Her body utilizes calories differently? She has a desk job and drives to work. So I know that her overall caloric intake is much higher than her expenditure.. yet there is no weight gain.
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Replies

  • slava977
    slava977 Posts: 20 Member
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    Again, when I say " So I know that her overall caloric intake is much higher than her expenditure"... I mean I know that her overall caloric intake is high.. but I guess when a "normal" woman burns 10 calories doing activity X - she must be burning like 30 calories doing the same.
  • akf2000
    akf2000 Posts: 278 Member
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    there was one of those hyper-threads about this last week

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10408809/how-can-some-people-eat-so-much-junk-and-gain-no-weight/p1
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    For some people, overfeeding results in a greater compensation in calories burned than for others. So if someone eats X calories over maintenance, their body may automatically burn those extra calories through higher (unintentional) activity, whereas for someone else those same calories may instead be stored as fat.
  • Harunan
    Harunan Posts: 22 Member
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    Do you see and track everything she eats and all of the physical movement she does? I'm willing to bet that you burn more calories in a day than she does. Your TDEE is all determined by your body mass and how much you move. Also she's underweight. That's not a good thing
  • slava977
    slava977 Posts: 20 Member
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    akf, thanks for sharing - interesting story.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Yes, there are people with higher metabolisms naturally. But even then, there isn't a huge difference.

    I wish I could find the link to the two friends who have the metabolism checked. One friend is overweight and both describe her as not eating a lot but can't lose weight. The other friend is thin and both claim she's always eating high calorie food and never gains.

    They have their BMR checked, and the bigger friend actually has the higher rate (because she is heavier).
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    ammo7 wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    Yes, there are people with higher metabolisms naturally. But even then, there isn't a huge difference.

    I wish I could find the link to the two friends who have the metabolism checked. One friend is overweight and both describe her as not eating a lot but can't lose weight. The other friend is thin and both claim she's always eating high calorie food and never gains.

    They have their BMR checked, and the bigger friend actually has the higher rate (because she is heavier).
    It's a great video! Similar to this one, I think.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o

    It's similar but it is really great because it shows different perceptions.
    Both women claim the thin one eats a ton of food all the time. But they measure her calories (without her knowing) over a period of time and she actually consumes less overall.
    I've tried everything and I can't find it.
  • ammo7
    ammo7 Posts: 188 Member
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    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    ammo7 wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    Yes, there are people with higher metabolisms naturally. But even then, there isn't a huge difference.

    I wish I could find the link to the two friends who have the metabolism checked. One friend is overweight and both describe her as not eating a lot but can't lose weight. The other friend is thin and both claim she's always eating high calorie food and never gains.

    They have their BMR checked, and the bigger friend actually has the higher rate (because she is heavier).
    It's a great video! Similar to this one, I think.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o

    It's similar but it is really great because it shows different perceptions.
    Both women claim the thin one eats a ton of food all the time. But they measure her calories (without her knowing) over a period of time and she actually consumes less overall.
    I've tried everything and I can't find it.

    I can't find it either, it seems like it's even gone from the BBC website. They mention the 'experiment' between friends at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/slim/fatthin.shtml
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    edited June 2016
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    ammo7 wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    ammo7 wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    Yes, there are people with higher metabolisms naturally. But even then, there isn't a huge difference.

    I wish I could find the link to the two friends who have the metabolism checked. One friend is overweight and both describe her as not eating a lot but can't lose weight. The other friend is thin and both claim she's always eating high calorie food and never gains.

    They have their BMR checked, and the bigger friend actually has the higher rate (because she is heavier).
    It's a great video! Similar to this one, I think.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o

    It's similar but it is really great because it shows different perceptions.
    Both women claim the thin one eats a ton of food all the time. But they measure her calories (without her knowing) over a period of time and she actually consumes less overall.
    I've tried everything and I can't find it.

    I can't find it either, it seems like it's even gone from the BBC website. They mention the 'experiment' between friends at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/truthaboutfood/slim/fatthin.shtml

    Yup. I found an old thread here with the video linked but the link now says it was removed. Boo.
  • delgrand
    delgrand Posts: 108 Member
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    I don't believe that there is anything called "people with fast metabolism"
    2 friends of mine , all their life claimed that they have "fast metabolism " , and they were asking fat people how can they get some fat on their bodies because they were very slim ! they claimed that each one ate 3000 cal +

    last year they had some exams that they had to sit for 8-10 months to study for. They did not work or do any activity, just sitting in their rooms studying, and eating ! guess what ? both of them gained at least 50 lbs.

    So what happened is that they were over estimating number of calories they were eating. when they sat at home to study for the exam and truly ate like what do fat people eat , they got overweight .

  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    slava977 wrote: »
    They say "calories in/calories out" but so much depends on the person's metabolism! My slightly younger sister (I'm 38) is about my height (I'm 5/7 and she is closer to 5/8) - I weigh 172 lbs and she weighs 118 lbs. I carefully watch what I eat, exercise and barely drink any alcohol. When I go to visit my sister - her fridge is full of cheeses, artichoke/spinach dips, salami, full fat milk, etc. She and her fiance drink a lot of alcohol (including Sangria, Mojitos, white wine, etc.) on weekends as they love to party with friends. She also eats out about 5-8 times a week as her company provides a "lunch card" which can be used at nearby restaurants and she has 1-2 dinners out as well . She doesn't work out on a regular basis (a walk here or there). She never gains weight. Even after Christmas celebrations - she stays the same weight while I gain 3-4 lbs (we spend 3-4 days together so I see that she eats as much if not more than me). She comes back from an all-inclusive in Mexico - skinnier than she was before the trip. I'm very happy for her but at the same time frustrated that I wasn't blessed the same way. So how does the science explain this I wonder? Her body utilizes calories differently? She has a desk job and drives to work. So I know that her overall caloric intake is much higher than her expenditure.. yet there is no weight gain.

    When you say your 'younger sister' curious how much younger?
  • slava977
    slava977 Posts: 20 Member
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    She is 9 years younger... but she's always been very slim, totally different "built" from mine.
  • kirayng2
    kirayng2 Posts: 36 Member
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    There are three different body types: endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph. Endos lose weight very easily and also have a hard time putting on muscle, mesomorph is the "norm" as in no trouble losing or gaining, ectomorph has trouble losing weight and puts on muscle easily.
  • Fluffy2Fit2Shredded
    Fluffy2Fit2Shredded Posts: 40 Member
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    I think you can overcome this. I believed it at first but ultimately it came down to my nutrition. As soon as I started tracking it accurately with MFP and went into a deficit then later truly understood what I should do as far as macros went with (low carb, fat goal, protein at 1g per pound) I started seeing insane results. I tried the fat burners, the get slim quick, the insane diets, the crazy workouts, and unknowingly, on those cheat days I'd accumulate my entire week or sometimes 2 or 3 weeks of calories in one sitting! A bowl of rice or a big bowl of pasta was easy for me to have not knowing how much carbs was in those things. Also, sugar, I eliminated that and just took in sugar from fruits and when I really had a sweet tooth is maybe have one bar but I'd keep the sugars to an all time low. I'd refeed or do a carb reload once a week so I could kee burning fat. And I learned about what foods did what to your body. That plus hyper trophy, immediate results. Look into what you're actually eating. I'm 5'6 was 235lb at 35% body fat who believed he was just inherited bad metabolism. I found ultimately you just have to watch your foods if you're not gifted with great natural metabolism. It's just science! Hope that helps. Good luck!

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