Having a great metabolism is like winning a lottery
slava977
Posts: 20 Member
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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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.0
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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
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This just in: Life isn't fair.15
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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.1
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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 thing2
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akf, thanks for sharing - interesting story.0
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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).
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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.
It's interesting to think about another factor, aside from metabolism: some people can literally eat as much as they want because they don't desire to eat very much. To an outsider, it can seem like they have a high caloric intake: you can see that your sister has access to lots of calorie-dense foods and restaurants, and I can see that my husband is eating a huge pizza. However, it's all about the total amount of calories. Your sister may have a variety of delicious foods, but she may eat them in smaller portions. My husband just naturally makes up for higher calorie days by eating less in the subsequent days. He enjoys tasty food, but doesn't enjoy the actual act of eating the same way that I do, so he prefers to just eat high calorie meals (whereas I like to have lots of low-calories meals and snacks).10 -
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).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o5 -
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).
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.2 -
3dogsrunning 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).
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.shtml1 -
3dogsrunning 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).
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.0 -
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 .
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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?0 -
She is 9 years younger... but she's always been very slim, totally different "built" from mine.0
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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.1
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You would never see much chocolate, chips, ice cream, cookies, candy or cakes at any time in my house, when I was overweight. Because I eated it. Ups.
Envy can be like poison. Your sister is underweight. Please, please, just do you.5 -
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.
Somatotypes are bunk and have no scientific basis.15 -
I used to think some people were just "lucky." That I was overweight because I had a "slow metabolism." After years of that, guess what? Turns out I was completely, utterly wrong.
Those friends who could eat a burger and fries without gaining weight were either more active than I thought, or eating less at other meals, or making lower calorie choices than I thought. I was eating the burger. Then having "just a little snack." Then sitting at the computer. But no, it was my metabolism. Had to be. I couldn't've been overeating and lazy.
Now I get to be the "lucky" one. I had alcohol today. And candy. And a gigantic, delicious sandwich. And other foods... and I'm still under calories. I haven't exercised, though I need to start.
I've lost almost 30 lbs. All I had to do was do the work.
I've finally won the lottery. And it is awesome.14 -
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!3
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