Normal weight people?

I will use my sister and myself as an example. We are two years apart. Offered the same foods growing up and the same activities. (Possible trigger as well down at the bottom)

My sister : Always in a healthy BMI. (We are the same height as well)
* would stop eating when full, even if it was cookies, or something she loved.
* was always very active, running around inside and outside, wanted to play sports, full of energy
* Doesn't have emotional connections to food.
* no major trauma in life.
* thinks about food when shes hungry

Me: never ever in a healthy BMI even as a toddler.
* will feel fullness cues and ignore them because i want more of whatever I am eating/ was allowed to eat as much as I wanted if I said I wasn't full.
* have never ever been active, if we went outside I would want to sit and read, hated sports
* very strong emotional ties to food. If its a rainy fall day I want pasta because I had it once on a rainy fall day as a kid and it was an enjoyable day.
* I was bullied in my family (only real fat person) and at school (one of three fat kids) as well as was raped at 13. I used to use food as a comfort and then when I stopped self harm I used it as another way to hurt myself. IE eat to the point of pain.
* thinks about food 24/7

I often wondered why we had such different bodies until I started looking at it. As a kid I was taught to eat as much as I wanted, big portions to start with. If I was having issues food was the answer. I had a paper route at 12 and lost 80 lbs in a year just from moving around, and thats when I was assaulted. I used food to hide myself since getting thinner is what I thought caused the assault to happen. I have super strong ties with food. I want it because I like it and even when I feel super full I still want more because it tastes good. I'm at my lowest weight since I was 12 and even then the only reason I got here was because of disordered restriction.

I know its bad but part of me blames my mom for allowing me to eat twice what she a grown woman would eat and not encouraging an active life style for me. Now that I'm an adult I know that I have to find the root of all my issues to move forward with having a balanced life style. Listening to hunger and fullness cues, breaking the super strong hold food has on me and just being more active. I'm finding a therapist that deals with food disorders and also trauma to help.

TL;DR

Naturally healthy BMI people tend to listen to fullness cues and are often very active.

ajwcyclist2016 wrote: »

I've always being slim. I have a fairly active job. Plus I cycle which uses lots of calories especially on long rides once I'm full maybe 2 more mouthfuls and stop, if too much on the plate. I'm usually pretty good at knowing how much to put on my plate. Try to eat at regular times so breakfast, mid morning, lunch, mid afternoon, dinner and possibly a snack if hungry but only if hungry. Never weigh my food but do keep a diary more just to be aware of what I'm eating for the training. I also don't rush as it takes 20 minutes to register it has food in the stomach. Last weekend I missed my lunch then went for s cycle that night when I ate I was still hungry so I had to eat more simple. I do eat more than most but stay away from rubbish most of the time I do have but keep them as treats I don't buy special offers of chocolate bars as truthfully it's for greed to buy I think. Plus I don't drink.

That's something else ... I've never been much of a drinker (alcohol). I didn't have my first drink until I was in my late 20s, and if I were to average it out over all the years since then, I've probably had about 1 drink/year. Some years I don't drink at all (like 2016, for example), other years I might have a drink at Christmas and maybe our anniversary.

In addition to that, way back in the late 1980s I made the decision not to drink my calories, in general. So probably 90% of the time since then, I drink black coffee, tea without milk or sugar, water, and diet beverages.

About the only time I drink fruit juice is when I've got a cold or right after a very long bicycle ride.
The only time I'll drink non-diet pop is on a very long bicycle ride ... and I will occasionally also drink sports drinks then too.
And I will select a Mocha when we go out to a cafe on rare occasions ... maybe a couple times a year.

Machka9 wrote: »

ajwcyclist2016 wrote: »

I've always being slim. I have a fairly active job. Plus I cycle which uses lots of calories especially on long rides once I'm full maybe 2 more mouthfuls and stop, if too much on the plate. I'm usually pretty good at knowing how much to put on my plate. Try to eat at regular times so breakfast, mid morning, lunch, mid afternoon, dinner and possibly a snack if hungry but only if hungry. Never weigh my food but do keep a diary more just to be aware of what I'm eating for the training. I also don't rush as it takes 20 minutes to register it has food in the stomach. Last weekend I missed my lunch then went for s cycle that night when I ate I was still hungry so I had to eat more simple. I do eat more than most but stay away from rubbish most of the time I do have but keep them as treats I don't buy special offers of chocolate bars as truthfully it's for greed to buy I think. Plus I don't drink.

That's something else ... I've never been much of a drinker (alcohol). I didn't have my first drink until I was in my late 20s, and if I were to average it out over all the years since then, I've probably had about 1 drink/year. Some years I don't drink at all (like 2016, for example), other years I might have a drink at Christmas and maybe our anniversary.

In addition to that, way back in the late 1980s I made the decision not to drink my calories, in general. So probably 90% of the time since then, I drink black coffee, tea without milk or sugar, water, and diet beverages.

About the only time I drink fruit juice is when I've got a cold or right after a very long bicycle ride.
The only time I'll drink non-diet pop is on a very long bicycle ride ... and I will occasionally also drink sports drinks then too.
And I will select a Mocha when we go out to a cafe on rare occasions ... maybe a couple times a year.

Sorry. I drink like a fish (I have a wine cellar and collect wine ffs). I've still never been overweight. The only other things I drink are black coffee and water though. I have noticed that the people who I know who don't drink alcohol have a really sweet tooth (I don't) so maybe it's a tastebud thing?

gradchica27 wrote: »

My husband has always been thin. Not "slim", thin. He often forgets to eat, usually has coffee for breakfast, skips lunch, eats a normal size dinner and dessert/snack (not much more than I would). If he doesn't like something, he won't eat it. He won't eat just to eat, to be polite , bc it's time to eat, etc.

He eats if he's hungry and he likes the food. If he doesn't really want it, he won't eat. He also stops when he's not hungry--He will eat a few Oreos and be done...the box can sit next to him in the couch for an hour and he won't eat another one. Then he'll put the box up and forget about it. A month later, he'll ask "Didn't we have Oreos?" No, no we don't have the Oreos from last month--I ate them!

That was one of the reasons I put on weight in recent years! I was trying to keep up with my husband. He's the type that will eat an entire package of cookies in a sitting, and I'm the type that will have 1 cookie each day. So we'd buy a package of Tim Tams to share, and if I didn't get in there and eat my half in one sitting with him, I would miss out.

About 2 months before joining MFP, I had started making some changes, and one of them was that I bought a type of cookie that he doesn't like, but I do, and he bought the cookies he likes. That way, I can have one cookie now and then, and I know if I do want one, they'll be there.

BTW - my husband works a physically active job 8 hours a day plus walks and cycles with me, so he can eat an entire package of cookies if he wants and not put on weight. Me ... I sit all day, so an entire package of cookies sits right there in my hips with me.

ugofatcat wrote: »

This is a really interesting question. Nutrition researchers are starting to look at why some people remain thin despite the fact many people are getting fat. Here are some things they have learned:

1. Obese and lean people do not eat the same amounts of food. At a restaurant, obese people will clean their plate. Lean people will not.
2. Lean people "compensate" when they eat a lot, weather or not they realize it. For example, if they have a large meal, they may not eat the rest of the day or they may not eat much the next day. Obese people do not do this.
3. Obese people will get the medium or large, lean people get the small.
4. Lean people move around more, get up more throughout the day. Obese people do not.
5. Obese people will eat food if you put it in front of them. Lean people will not.

If you have any lean friends, start watching how much they eat. Do they clean their plates? Do they eat in between meals? What do they drink? How fast do they eat?

This is me! I've never been overweight (I joined mfp to gain a bit of weight and build muscle )
I rarely finish what's on my plate and in fact I dislike feeling overfull. If I eat a meal that's larger than usual,if I'm eating out for example, I then eat less for the rest of the day. I don't have to think about it -I just do it. I tend to have quite small portions and if I'm not hungry I don't eat,or will just eat enough to keep me going. I am a slow eater - always have been. My husband,who's always struggled with his weight,practically inhales his food!
Don't get me wrong: I love and enjoy food and I also love cooking but it's not the be all and end all of my life.
When I came here and started increasing my calories to fuel my workouts it was hard at first because I had to eat more than I wanted. Now I've noticed my eating habits have changed and I'm snacking when I'm not even hungry which is something I never used to do!
Edit: plus,I'm constantly on the move and rarely relax- even when I'm sitting down I'm fidgeting. It's a family joke that our car and dog won't sit on my lap because I don't keep still!

I have always had a normal body weight, I have eaten whole/healthy foods my whole life and never been into candy/soda, including/especially any low fat or low calorie foods. I have a huge fondness for savory foods so I do love fast foods but since about 90% of the time I eat things like salmon/chicken/spinach/fruits/yogurt/eggs cooked only in olive oil it's never significantly impacts my weight.

Until recently I never watched my calories or tracked exercise but in the last few years I have become less active so I gained some weight, I still have a normal bmi but want to be at a lower normal, or gain muscle.

I've always been someone who was pretty thin and I fortunately never had to deal with trying to lose weight. I'm on here because I'm doing weight training and I'm actually trying to gain a little bit of weight the healthy way. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I have a very high metabolism, but my lifestyle is also noticeably different from the overweight people that I know:

1. I grew up with parents who cooked a healthy balanced meal every night and we always ate as a family.We would have pizza and fast food sometimes, but that was a treat. So I grew up eating really healthy and I genuinely like to eat healthy now as an adult. Of course I like having a treat and if I want to have a slice of pizza I will, and if I want to eat a donut I will, but I consider those treats and not a part of my every day diet. I don't deprive myself of sweets but I consider them treats; I consider fast food a treat and not something that should be a part of my weekly diet. That being said, I don't feel guilty when I indulge myself because I know I have a healthy balanced diet. I am naturally very thin and when I've gone out to eat with friends were overweight in the past whenever they would see me eating a healthy balanced meal, they would always tell me: Kassie you're so skinny you don't need to diet. And I would always reply: I'm not on a diet I just think everyone should eat healthy and just because I'm skinny doesn't mean I should eat poorly. And the thing is I don't follow a no carb, low-fat, fat free everything, sodium free diet; I do eat organic but other than that I eat regular food. The difference is I don't eat processed food and in our country that is so common that if you don't do that people automatically assume you're on a diet when in actuality people should be cooking their own meals and only eating processed food occasionally and not as their whole diet. I think that's a big difference in attitude, at any weight you should be eating healthy and nourishing your body with good things and that doesn't mean "I'm on a diet". I also follow the "I eat when I'm hungry and I stop when I'm full" mantra.

2. To piggyback off of that topic, I find that my attitude towards food is completely different than the overweight people that I know. When the girls I work with have talked about dieting and losing weight, they always say it so hard to lose weight because eating out is such a big part of their social and family lives. I don't understand that, when I go out with my friends it's not about the food it's about the company and I don't obsess about what I'm going to order. And if I decide to go with a healthier option I don't feel like I'm missing out because I'm not eating a greasy or fatty meal. I also don't sit around thinking about what food I'm going to eat, and I don't eat because I'm bored. I actually don't understand that concept at all, I eat because I'm hungry, and when I'm bored I do something for entertainment. I have a different relationship with food then overweight people do and I'm not going to speculate as to why completely because I've never been overweight so I don't know.

3. I've been active my whole life. I was never someone who was super athletic but my parents always required us to be in a physical activity because they didn't want us sitting around. That again translated to my adult life because I live a very active lifestyle and I like to exercise. Because I eat healthy, I have more energy to exercise as well. I think what is important is finding exercise that you like to do because then you're more likely to do it and that means you have to try a few different things. Don't feel like you have to force yourself to run if you're not a runner yet, because if you hate doing it you'll never do it. Instead try a few different classes and find something you like. I happen to really like strength training, so going to the gym is really fun for me. I used to really love yoga and Pilates so going to those classes was entertainment. And all-around I feel in comparison to the overweight people that I know I am more active. I take the stairs more, I walk more, I make time to be active and I don't make excuses. I work for 10-11 hour days at a very stressful job, with an average of five hours overtime a week, and I still manage to make it to the gym five days a week because fitness is a priority to me. Of course I could spend my three days off laying on the couch watching TV not doing anything but I take pride in my body because I only have one. And this may sound bad but some of the overweight people that I know really lack the discipline that I have. Everyone can make time to exercise, but you have to make it a priority and something that you want to do. If you want to have the body and the health that you want, you have to work for it. While I don't struggle weight wise, I am very toned and have muscle and I work for that. While I am blessed with a high metabolism, nobody is born being muscular and toned, that something you have to do yourself.

I hope that sort of answered your question. I know this topic is a little bit older, but I liked it so much I still wanted to answer!

My sister is naturally thin. Size 2. She eats what she wants and doesn't exercise. When I bust my *kitten* and really watch what I eat I can maybe get to a size 6 but then have to work hard to stay there. Some people just have good genes.

I was normal weight/underweight by default or design until I was 32.

I was then started on some medications that resulted in rapid weight gain, was only ever *just* overweight - BMI 26- but I looked fat, for me.

By addressing a few issues (getting rid of some meds, treating hypothyroidism, increasing exercise, decreasing caloric intake) I am back to my 'normal' weight, BMI 21 @ 35yrs.

............

It may be controversial but I do find it a bit hard taking weight loss/healthy eating advice from people who have been morbidly obese, lost a lot of weight and are now healthy weight when I have maintained a healthy weight for 32 of my years then had a slight gain (without actually really being that overweight) and gave recovered back to my projected normal.

There's a book by Judith Beck called, "How to Think Like a Thin Person." It gets to the bottom of behaviors that thin people have and that we can all learn. I enjoyed it and read it several times. I still do some of the behaviors that it teaches.