What do you think of people who are naturally slim?

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  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Some people are naturally slim. My friend is just a little over 5 feet, 110 lbs soaking wet, near 40 years old with a kid. And I've seen what she eats. She's Italian and Sicilian so lots of pasta and she drinks regular soda. She also has great skin and looks 10 years younger then she is!

    Yes, another naturally slim person.

    But here come the comments - "she's really not eating as much as you think she is eating," or, "she's secretly running five miles a day and not telling you," or, "you don't know how much running around she has to do with that kid."

    Denial, denial, denial that there are naturally slim people because they have fast metabolisms.

    Metabolisms do vary, but not greatly given same size and body composition. Often people who eat a lot without gaining as much as expected simply aren't absorbing as much of what they eat as others. While metabolic rates don't vary greatly, guts do.

    Right, plus, as already been established, "lots of" pasta means different things to different people. I've lost weight eating while still eating lots of pasta. My definition of lots of pasta has also changed over the years. Pasta in and of itself doesn't make overweight unless you consume too many calories.
    Additionally, we can't glean from the original comment how this person eats the rest of the time when not with company, how active they are, etc... if she follows something like the Mediterranean diet, the basis for being able to eat that way is also to be as active as possible.

    The bolded section is important. I used to get the "you're so lucky to be naturally slim" remarks all the time because my BMI was low but when with friends I'd eat a lot. But I didn't eat like all the time. Most of the time I ate reasonable portions.

    Yeah. My dad had a coworker he exchanged rides to work with years ago. The coworker, a guy, was slim as a rail, and if someone was around only him at dinnertime, they could make the assessment that he must be naturally thin because all he eats is Taco Bell. However, dad was around him for the entire 12 hour shifts at work, and the two Taco Bell tacos was all this coworker ate the entire shift. Their jobs were fairly active, too.

    2 tacos? That's sounds like the guy was starving himself. Who would think a man was naturally slim because he ate 2 measly tacos? Even if he ate that for 3 meals a day he'd likely still be eating at a deficit.

    I think because people automatically assume fast food = high calories.

    Well certainly tacos can be made at home for less calories than Taco Bell but seriously, 2 tacos for a grown man? He must have had a large sugary soda with it. ;)
    I agree that does sound like a small amount, but depending on his height it could be that his TDEE is just that low.

    He also probably ate *something* at home

    Yeah, after he got home, it's hard to say what he ate, but I do know he was quite fond of drinking lots of beer..
    I couldn't see how a grown man could survive on it otherwise, either. I'd be ready to eat the desk if that's all I ate for 12 hours.

    Oh, did I misunderstand your previous post? Weren't you saying people thought he was 'naturally slim' because of the Taco Bell meal?

    Sorry, I tend to word things badly sometimes, I think.
    He usually had the one meal of two tacos.

    No one was actually saying he was naturally slim...I was just presenting the argument that if the only time someone spent with him was at dinnertime, they could think he was naturally slim, despite eating Taco Bell every night.

    Does that make better sense?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    robininfl wrote: »
    Again, just because it's behavior doesn't mean it's natural or unnatural.

    I literally forget to eat if I am not hungry, and if I drink too much coffee in the morning, or the aforementioned big breakfast, I will feel full until supper-time. I am kind of anxious naturally and feel much better and calmer if I exercise to exhaustion at least once a day, preferably twice. I have trouble sitting still. I sleep 7.5 hours every night and 9 if I can on weekends, and don't feel good if I don't.

    These things are part of my nature. They aren't learned responses, or don't feel like learned responses, they are the healthy behaviors of my normal body and mind if I am feeling good and not stressed. The things I do because they feel good, they keep me feeling good.

    And again - skinny grandma, slim mom, slender daughters. There is no way that some of this isn't genetic.

    Say you put everyone on the planet into their optimum shape and size. Those shapes and sizes would vary, right?

    It doesn't sound like genetics. It sounds like you don't overeat and exercise a lot. I suppose the anxiety may be genetic, but could just as likely be environmental.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    Over time, I've learned that these individuals who are naturally slim simply have better habits than I do. Their portion sizes are more reasonable, they don't eat excessively, they're more active, and so forth. My thinking was quite skewed in that women who fretted over gaining a pound or two, and exercised regularly, were "obsessed". I never thought to consider that their definition of eating "a lot" was probably very, very different than my definition of eating "a lot". For them, working out and eating conscientiously was THEIR normal - whereas mine was no exercise and unrestrained gluttony. I'm not "naturally fat", I just never bothered looking after my weight.

    My sister gets frustrated when people accuse her of being "naturally thin" and "oh, you can just eat whatever you want!" They generally have no idea that she used to weigh about 220 lbs. They have no idea that despite happily chowing down on a generous slice of cake, she is otherwise very careful about how she eats.

    Not everyone that is "naturally thin' has healthy habits. Thin doesn't naturally mean healthy.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    zamphir66 wrote: »
    Yes, another naturally slim person.

    But here come the comments - "she's really not eating as much as you think she is eating," or, "she's secretly running five miles a day and not telling you," or, "you don't know how much running around she has to do with that kid."

    Denial, denial, denial that there are naturally slim people because they have fast metabolisms.
    The reason people take issue with c) is that 2 standard deviations in metabolism is not that much. Given a TDEE of 2000, 2 SDs covers 1680 -- 2320 a day. 96% of people fall in that range. I can pretty easily cover that spread with a tablespoon, a jar of peanut butter, and a couple of spare mindless minutes.
    I never really understood that study as to whether they were referring to BMR or TDEE. If TDEE, I don't get it. People who are overweight or obese are by default going to have a higher TDEE than someone of normal or below normal weight (assuming equal activity level), and yet over half of the population is comprised of these people. So if someone has a TDEE of 2350, that's to say that they're in that small of a minority with a TDEE that high? That's about what calculators would estimate the TDEE for an average weight male who who has an activity level of sedentary to lightly active.

  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    robininfl wrote: »
    Again, just because it's behavior doesn't mean it's natural or unnatural.

    I literally forget to eat if I am not hungry, and if I drink too much coffee in the morning, or the aforementioned big breakfast, I will feel full until supper-time. I am kind of anxious naturally and feel much better and calmer if I exercise to exhaustion at least once a day, preferably twice. I have trouble sitting still. I sleep 7.5 hours every night and 9 if I can on weekends, and don't feel good if I don't.

    These things are part of my nature. They aren't learned responses, or don't feel like learned responses, they are the healthy behaviors of my normal body and mind if I am feeling good and not stressed. The things I do because they feel good, they keep me feeling good.

    And again - skinny grandma, slim mom, slender daughters. There is no way that some of this isn't genetic.

    Say you put everyone on the planet into their optimum shape and size. Those shapes and sizes would vary, right?

    To be fair though, you could say there's a nature vs nurture argument there. Isn't it possible you learned your eating habits and preferences from your mom and grandma? Isn't it possible you all could have been heavier, but you learned a lifestyle that keeps you active, well rested, and in-tune to your hunger signals that is being passed down from one generation to the next? And they make you feel good because it is how you were raised and what you are used to?

    The entire maternal side of my family struggles with their weight. They show love through food. There is constant pressure to clean your plate and take more. They can't be together for 5 minutes without food and wine and dessert. They love to bake and eat desserts constantly. Not very active. They will swear all around that they are genetically predisposed to gain weight. But I recognized the lifestyle that was causing the issues and refused to fall in line. They all roll their eyes at me for being "naturally thin". They get annoyed with me when I won't take seconds. They make fun of me for wearing my fitbit. But they say it's unfair I'm naturally thin! Just my 2 cents :drinker:
    But different people have different bone structures, which is going to influence what constitutes a healthy weight for a given individual. I would say a small boned person is genetically programmed to be naturally thin from that perspective. While yes a small boned person could still overeat and become fat, they're wired to be thinner than others.

  • LokiGrrl
    LokiGrrl Posts: 156 Member
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    robininfl wrote: »
    Again, just because it's behavior doesn't mean it's natural or unnatural.

    I literally forget to eat if I am not hungry, and if I drink too much coffee in the morning, or the aforementioned big breakfast, I will feel full until supper-time. I am kind of anxious naturally and feel much better and calmer if I exercise to exhaustion at least once a day, preferably twice. I have trouble sitting still. I sleep 7.5 hours every night and 9 if I can on weekends, and don't feel good if I don't.

    These things are part of my nature. They aren't learned responses, or don't feel like learned responses, they are the healthy behaviors of my normal body and mind if I am feeling good and not stressed. The things I do because they feel good, they keep me feeling good.

    And again - skinny grandma, slim mom, slender daughters. There is no way that some of this isn't genetic.

    Say you put everyone on the planet into their optimum shape and size. Those shapes and sizes would vary, right?

    Naw, my granny was a rail, her dad was really tall and muscular but not fat (even though he drank like a fish), and my mom and her brother were always heavy. Conversely, my father's mother was tall and fat, and he's 5'10" and slim (in his late 70s), as are his sisters (I never knew his father but from all accounts he was in the normal range of weight and height). My brother was always the "chubby kid" and now he's very fit. I used to be "naturally" skinny and now I'm fat (which is of course why I'm here). One of my doctors was completely embarassed because he assumed I'd always been overweight, but then I told him my history and he was at a loss. I'll give you that body type in regard to bone mass and height and that sort of thing probably gets passed down, but I don't think it's a super solid predictor. Eating habits, maybe. I think activity is a key factor and your body needs the right fuel or it's not going anywhere.
  • LokiGrrl
    LokiGrrl Posts: 156 Member
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    Hurray for unclear language. By "her dad" I mean my mom's dad, my granny's husband.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    edited July 2016
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    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    robininfl wrote: »
    Again, just because it's behavior doesn't mean it's natural or unnatural.

    I literally forget to eat if I am not hungry, and if I drink too much coffee in the morning, or the aforementioned big breakfast, I will feel full until supper-time. I am kind of anxious naturally and feel much better and calmer if I exercise to exhaustion at least once a day, preferably twice. I have trouble sitting still. I sleep 7.5 hours every night and 9 if I can on weekends, and don't feel good if I don't.

    These things are part of my nature. They aren't learned responses, or don't feel like learned responses, they are the healthy behaviors of my normal body and mind if I am feeling good and not stressed. The things I do because they feel good, they keep me feeling good.

    And again - skinny grandma, slim mom, slender daughters. There is no way that some of this isn't genetic.

    Say you put everyone on the planet into their optimum shape and size. Those shapes and sizes would vary, right?

    I don't think anyone's really disputing this level of detail. We're saying, lots of people probably don't have 113 lb 5'9" friends who eat 3000 calories everyday, sit on their heine all day and never gain a pound. Yeah I definitely know people who will take you to their favorite restaurant in the world, then not eat a thing because they just aren't hungry. Or you bought the same yummy food early in the day, I'm already on my fourth meal by nightfall and they still haven't eaten it or anything else. I'd have hunger burning a hole in my stomach by then and certainly couldn't do it

    Seeing how that's far, FAR into the upper 2% of metabolisms (lacking exact numbers but I'd say far into the 0.X% even), I'd say that's an understatement.

    Actually, can someone who is adept at statistics calculate the percentage of people that are that high if the mean seems to be around 2000 and 96% are within +-300 of that?
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
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    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    robininfl wrote: »
    Again, just because it's behavior doesn't mean it's natural or unnatural.

    I literally forget to eat if I am not hungry, and if I drink too much coffee in the morning, or the aforementioned big breakfast, I will feel full until supper-time. I am kind of anxious naturally and feel much better and calmer if I exercise to exhaustion at least once a day, preferably twice. I have trouble sitting still. I sleep 7.5 hours every night and 9 if I can on weekends, and don't feel good if I don't.

    These things are part of my nature. They aren't learned responses, or don't feel like learned responses, they are the healthy behaviors of my normal body and mind if I am feeling good and not stressed. The things I do because they feel good, they keep me feeling good.

    And again - skinny grandma, slim mom, slender daughters. There is no way that some of this isn't genetic.

    Say you put everyone on the planet into their optimum shape and size. Those shapes and sizes would vary, right?

    I don't think anyone's really disputing this level of detail. We're saying, lots of people probably don't have 113 lb 5'9" friends who eat 3000 calories everyday, sit on their heine all day and never gain a pound. Yeah I definitely know people who will take you to their favorite restaurant in the world, then not eat a thing because they just aren't hungry. Or you bought the same yummy food early in the day, I'm already on my fourth meal by nightfall and they still haven't eaten it or anything else. I'd have hunger burning a hole in my stomach by then and certainly couldn't do it

    Seeing how that's far, FAR into the upper 2% of metabolisms (lacking exact numbers but I'd say far into the 0.X% even), I'd say that's an understatement.

    Actually, can someone who is adept at statistics calculate the percentage of people that are that high if the mean seems to be around 2000 and 96% are within +-300 of that?

    Looking at that whole standard deviation stuff, it appears to be "infinitesimal", as it would be over 6 standard deviations from the mean.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    robininfl wrote: »
    Again, just because it's behavior doesn't mean it's natural or unnatural.

    I literally forget to eat if I am not hungry, and if I drink too much coffee in the morning, or the aforementioned big breakfast, I will feel full until supper-time. I am kind of anxious naturally and feel much better and calmer if I exercise to exhaustion at least once a day, preferably twice. I have trouble sitting still. I sleep 7.5 hours every night and 9 if I can on weekends, and don't feel good if I don't.

    These things are part of my nature. They aren't learned responses, or don't feel like learned responses, they are the healthy behaviors of my normal body and mind if I am feeling good and not stressed. The things I do because they feel good, they keep me feeling good.

    And again - skinny grandma, slim mom, slender daughters. There is no way that some of this isn't genetic.

    Say you put everyone on the planet into their optimum shape and size. Those shapes and sizes would vary, right?

    To be fair though, you could say there's a nature vs nurture argument there. Isn't it possible you learned your eating habits and preferences from your mom and grandma? Isn't it possible you all could have been heavier, but you learned a lifestyle that keeps you active, well rested, and in-tune to your hunger signals that is being passed down from one generation to the next? And they make you feel good because it is how you were raised and what you are used to?

    The entire maternal side of my family struggles with their weight. They show love through food. There is constant pressure to clean your plate and take more. They can't be together for 5 minutes without food and wine and dessert. They love to bake and eat desserts constantly. Not very active. They will swear all around that they are genetically predisposed to gain weight. But I recognized the lifestyle that was causing the issues and refused to fall in line. They all roll their eyes at me for being "naturally thin". They get annoyed with me when I won't take seconds. They make fun of me for wearing my fitbit. But they say it's unfair I'm naturally thin! Just my 2 cents :drinker:

    I dunno, my mom and dad's family is from New Orleans and we LOVE FOOD. The daughters love to cook, one makes fifteen kinds of cookies at Christmas and the other makes carefully crafted vegetarian suppers for us every night, none of what we eat is low fat or consciously made to keep anyone thin. We absolutely feed people who come to the house, offer drinks and stuff. Though not always dessert, I don't keep it around all the time. Food is Love too. My mom grew up with fried chicken, meat at supper every day, sweet tea.

    The Ex got fat while the rest of us stayed skinny, eating bigger portions I guess, but it was funny to me, we all had the same food and he would complain that we could all eat it without getting fat, why couldn't he?

    I did hear somewhere that a susceptibility to obesity was epigenetic, you can flip a switch by getting fat and pass the tendency on to your children? Through DNA...

    Getting off topic, but on the original question:

    I don't really think about it much, I work in an office filled with athletic people so most everyone is pretty thin or at a healthy size. I think of that as normal. I do, however, believe that it's easier for some people than others.


  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
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    trjjoy wrote: »
    No-one is "naturally slim". Some people eat less than others. Other people have a higher NEAT than others. It's a question of CI < CO

    I really don't think it's this simple. Yea, CI CO, but I'm sure we've all had those friends who just don't gain weight.

    One of my friends is stick thin, maybe 140 lbs, and he tried to gain weight by eating 5000-6000 calories a day without much activity (eating jars of hummus with bread, etc.) and he couldn't gain a pound. I'm not a geneticist so I can't speak to the genes behind metabolic adaptation but something has to give.
  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
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    Over time, I've learned that these individuals who are naturally slim simply have better habits than I do. Their portion sizes are more reasonable, they don't eat excessively, they're more active, and so forth. My thinking was quite skewed in that women who fretted over gaining a pound or two, and exercised regularly, were "obsessed". I never thought to consider that their definition of eating "a lot" was probably very, very different than my definition of eating "a lot". For them, working out and eating conscientiously was THEIR normal - whereas mine was no exercise and unrestrained gluttony. I'm not "naturally fat", I just never bothered looking after my weight.

    My sister gets frustrated when people accuse her of being "naturally thin" and "oh, you can just eat whatever you want!" They generally have no idea that she used to weigh about 220 lbs. They have no idea that despite happily chowing down on a generous slice of cake, she is otherwise very careful about how she eats.

    So you are going to tell me with a straight face that if you took, say, 200 women who are 5'6" and 150 lbs., and gave them the exact same number of calories for two months, and they did the same amount of exercise in those two months, that at the end of two months they would have all lost the same weight?

    You're not really saying that, are you?

  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
    edited July 2016
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Some people are naturally slim. My friend is just a little over 5 feet, 110 lbs soaking wet, near 40 years old with a kid. And I've seen what she eats. She's Italian and Sicilian so lots of pasta and she drinks regular soda. She also has great skin and looks 10 years younger then she is!
    But HOW MUCH she eats matters. Unless you're with her 24 hours a day, you can't say she's slim just because when you see her she eats that way.

    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


    This is the usual cop out answer because nobody is with anybody 24 hours a day. Therefore you cannot "prove" there is such a thing as a naturally skinny person. Obviously, these people who we think are naturally skinny have this rare condition where they can only eat when other people are around, and cannot eat when nobody is looking.

    Ridiculous. And I am speaking as someone who was skin and bones in college, did zero exercise, and ate more than most of my fraternity brothers.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Some people are naturally slim. My friend is just a little over 5 feet, 110 lbs soaking wet, near 40 years old with a kid. And I've seen what she eats. She's Italian and Sicilian so lots of pasta and she drinks regular soda. She also has great skin and looks 10 years younger then she is!
    But HOW MUCH she eats matters. Unless you're with her 24 hours a day, you can't say she's slim just because when you see her she eats that way.

    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


    This is the usual cop out answer because nobody is with anybody 24 hours a day. Therefore you cannot "prove" there is such a thing as a naturally skinny person. Obviously, these people who you think are naturally skinny have this rare condition where they can only eat when other people are around, and cannot eat when nobody is looking.

    Ridiculous. And I am speaking as someone who was skin and bones in college, did zero exercise, and ate more than most of my fraternity brothers.

    And on that same note, are we supposed to believe you too? I don't believe you either.
  • gonetothedogs19
    gonetothedogs19 Posts: 325 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Some people are naturally slim. My friend is just a little over 5 feet, 110 lbs soaking wet, near 40 years old with a kid. And I've seen what she eats. She's Italian and Sicilian so lots of pasta and she drinks regular soda. She also has great skin and looks 10 years younger then she is!
    But HOW MUCH she eats matters. Unless you're with her 24 hours a day, you can't say she's slim just because when you see her she eats that way.

    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


    This is the usual cop out answer because nobody is with anybody 24 hours a day. Therefore you cannot "prove" there is such a thing as a naturally skinny person. Obviously, these people who you think are naturally skinny have this rare condition where they can only eat when other people are around, and cannot eat when nobody is looking.

    Ridiculous. And I am speaking as someone who was skin and bones in college, did zero exercise, and ate more than most of my fraternity brothers.

    And on that same note, are we supposed to believe you too? I don't believe you either.

    Why would I lie? Am I trying to sell something?

    There are naturally skinny people (usually under 25) who can eat and eat and eat and not gain weight. It is in an undeniable and irrefutable fact of life. It's called FAST METABOLISM. There bodies burn more calories than what is normal. How hard is this to understand?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Some people are naturally slim. My friend is just a little over 5 feet, 110 lbs soaking wet, near 40 years old with a kid. And I've seen what she eats. She's Italian and Sicilian so lots of pasta and she drinks regular soda. She also has great skin and looks 10 years younger then she is!
    But HOW MUCH she eats matters. Unless you're with her 24 hours a day, you can't say she's slim just because when you see her she eats that way.

    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


    This is the usual cop out answer because nobody is with anybody 24 hours a day. Therefore you cannot "prove" there is such a thing as a naturally skinny person. Obviously, these people who you think are naturally skinny have this rare condition where they can only eat when other people are around, and cannot eat when nobody is looking.

    Ridiculous. And I am speaking as someone who was skin and bones in college, did zero exercise, and ate more than most of my fraternity brothers.

    And on that same note, are we supposed to believe you too? I don't believe you either.

    Why would I lie? Am I trying to sell something?

    There are naturally skinny people (usually under 25) who can eat and eat and eat and not gain weight. It is in an undeniable and irrefutable fact of life. It's called FAST METABOLISM. There bodies burn more calories than what is normal. How hard is this to understand?

    Because as posts up thread have shown, the variations in the metabolism when studied and quantified, are not statistically significant. You've shown no counter studies which refute this, just your strong convictions and appeals to emotion that naturally skinny people exist who can eat and eat and eat and never gain weight.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    Over time, I've learned that these individuals who are naturally slim simply have better habits than I do. Their portion sizes are more reasonable, they don't eat excessively, they're more active, and so forth. My thinking was quite skewed in that women who fretted over gaining a pound or two, and exercised regularly, were "obsessed". I never thought to consider that their definition of eating "a lot" was probably very, very different than my definition of eating "a lot". For them, working out and eating conscientiously was THEIR normal - whereas mine was no exercise and unrestrained gluttony. I'm not "naturally fat", I just never bothered looking after my weight.

    My sister gets frustrated when people accuse her of being "naturally thin" and "oh, you can just eat whatever you want!" They generally have no idea that she used to weigh about 220 lbs. They have no idea that despite happily chowing down on a generous slice of cake, she is otherwise very careful about how she eats.

    So you are going to tell me with a straight face that if you took, say, 200 women who are 5'6" and 150 lbs., and gave them the exact same number of calories for two months, and they did the same amount of exercise in those two months, that at the end of two months they would have all lost the same weight?

    You're not really saying that, are you?

    IF you could control percentage of lean body mass, level of activity including fidgeting, waking hours, etc then yes...they would all be a remarkably similar weight at the end...but that's a big IF isn't it? And that's the point. When you add up all the variables you get an unlimited number of reasons why one person will gain weight while another won't.

    Are you trying to tell me with a straight face that if you put two people in the same room with all variables accounted for that one person will be fat and another will be skinny?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    robininfl wrote: »
    Again, just because it's behavior doesn't mean it's natural or unnatural.

    I literally forget to eat if I am not hungry, and if I drink too much coffee in the morning, or the aforementioned big breakfast, I will feel full until supper-time. I am kind of anxious naturally and feel much better and calmer if I exercise to exhaustion at least once a day, preferably twice. I have trouble sitting still. I sleep 7.5 hours every night and 9 if I can on weekends, and don't feel good if I don't.

    These things are part of my nature. They aren't learned responses, or don't feel like learned responses, they are the healthy behaviors of my normal body and mind if I am feeling good and not stressed. The things I do because they feel good, they keep me feeling good.

    And again - skinny grandma, slim mom, slender daughters. There is no way that some of this isn't genetic.

    Say you put everyone on the planet into their optimum shape and size. Those shapes and sizes would vary, right?

    To be fair though, you could say there's a nature vs nurture argument there. Isn't it possible you learned your eating habits and preferences from your mom and grandma? Isn't it possible you all could have been heavier, but you learned a lifestyle that keeps you active, well rested, and in-tune to your hunger signals that is being passed down from one generation to the next? And they make you feel good because it is how you were raised and what you are used to?

    The entire maternal side of my family struggles with their weight. They show love through food. There is constant pressure to clean your plate and take more. They can't be together for 5 minutes without food and wine and dessert. They love to bake and eat desserts constantly. Not very active. They will swear all around that they are genetically predisposed to gain weight. But I recognized the lifestyle that was causing the issues and refused to fall in line. They all roll their eyes at me for being "naturally thin". They get annoyed with me when I won't take seconds. They make fun of me for wearing my fitbit. But they say it's unfair I'm naturally thin! Just my 2 cents :drinker:

    I don't know. My father was always slim. My mother was on every fad diet that ever was written.
    I was "naturally thin" until I was involved in an accident when I was in my 30s.

    I know for me, my eating habits changed - as someone mentioned, more money meant meant more chances to explore food. And my activity level changed, my injuries meant my activity level dropped - which is when I gained the most weight.