Why do some people stay slim, and never gain weight?
xfc1
Posts: 69 Member
I'm not talking about biological factors where there is some factor preventing them from gaining. I'm talking about when they have made a decision to keep slim. I have my own theory as to why they want to do that (at least for some people), but I'm curious as to why you think that they do that. Let's exclude people who are in the business of being seen (models, acting) where being slim is part of their job.
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So you're asking why people choose to be slim/thin?6
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Because they know being fat is unhealthy.20
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Any other reasons?1
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Some people don't have the urge to overeat.19
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Some have eating disorders...4
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What is your theory because I sort of don't understand what you are asking... maybe if I see your logic, I might
I'm always more curious about people who seem to eat and eat (and not just healthy foods) and never get fat! 2 -
Some people must naturally just stop eating when they've had adequate calories for their activity levels (obviously, there are tons of thin, fit people that have never counted a calorie)
Not sure why I don't anymore but I definitely did as a teenager/child5 -
I have never been overweight, though I did gain 15 vanity lbs in my thirties. I didn't consciously stay slim, I just have really never been an over-eater and I tend to be fidgety and enjoy active pastimes.
I now choose to stay slim and make an effort to stay do so because I like how I look and feel that way. And because I know that carrying extra weight can be a symptom or cause of all sorts of chronic health conditions.
What is your theory?5 -
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Some people naturally have lower appetite and are very active daily. Those that seem to eat as much as they want typically only do so at one meal and eat much less the rest of the day/week because the larger meal was very filling to them. Some people also tend to gravitate towards foods that are not calorie dense, so their calorie intake is going to be naturally lower.
They ask the same thing about people who seem to constantly gain weight and never stay slim. They don't understand why a person would snack all the time or why someone would keep eating once they are no longer hungry or after they are already stuffed. They don't understand how someone would enjoy sitting around all the time and not being active constantly.
People have different tastes and habits that contribute to whether they are slim or muscular or fat. Time and circumstances can change these.14 -
My motivation for maintaining a healthy weight is so I can more easily do the activities I enjoy, like backpacking, kayaking, and biking. I also want to be happier and healthier in the later years of my life.2
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The highest I've ever weighed was 160lbs, which is the higher end of Healthy for my weight. I've never gone above that because once I hit 160lbs, I don't like how I look anymore, I don't feel comfortable and I make an effort to get back to a lower weight. I don't know why 160 is my "magic number" but it's always just been like that! I usually hover between 140-160.1
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For me personally, I don't feel the need to eat a lot. I don't restrict on purpose and pretty much eat whatever I like, though I do make an effort to get all my nutrients. If I'm craving a cookie or chips, I will eat a cookie or some chips. However, I'm pretty much done after just the 1 cookie. I don't want any more.
Also, in recent years I have decided to always stay within a 5 lb weight range. I'm only 5'2, so my range is 105-110 lb. About 3 months ago I noticed that I was 113 lb, so I decided to use MFP and diet for a few weeks. I am now back down to 107 lb, so I'm done dieting and back to eating maintenance. If I ever gain weight past my range again, I cut calories again for a while.
I think this is a pretty good strategy for anyone already within their ideal weight range to stay always within range. Even if you gain only 3 lb over, go on a short diet immediately. 3 lb is so easy to lose. Don't brush that off because it looks like such a small gain. If you wait until you're 10 lb, 20 lb, or even more above your ideal range to start dieting, it will be so much harder.
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Having done that for about 40 years I can give one perspective. I don't like the way I look or feel when I'm fat, and I care about my health. It was as simple as that. I chose not to overeat to the point of getting fat because I liked being thin and healthy better.0
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Some people deliberately keep slim because they think that perpetually restricting calories will directly cause them to live an extra 30% of lifespan. That works for mice and worms.7
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I guess we should ask what you mean by "slim". I took it as normal, healthy weight range. But I see others are taking it as "underweight". What did you intend?3
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All of the people I know who have never needed to lose weight don't really care about food. While they enjoy a good meal, they more often or not are 'utility' eaters who only eat when they have to. Unlike many of us, food carries no emotion for them.
That said, those same people tend to have other crutches besides food. Things like shopping or smoking.9 -
Some people have really great metabolisms that haven't betrayed them yet. Or are moderately active during the day enough to keep their metabolism spiked10
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Dr. Beck talks a lot about how "naturally thin" people think about food in The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person, which was available in my library system.
Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Beck (Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems) contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck's six-week program adapts CBT, a therapeutic system developed by Beck's father, Aaron, in the 1960s, to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. Beck counsels readers day-by-day, introducing new elements (creating advantage response cards, choosing a diet, enlisting a diet coach, making a weight-loss graph) progressively and offering tools to help readers stay focused (writing exercises, to-do lists, ways to counter negative thoughts). There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach. (Apr.)2 -
mrsnattybulking wrote: »Some people must naturally just stop eating when they've had adequate calories for their activity levels (obviously, there are tons of thin, fit people that have never counted a calorie)
Not sure why I don't anymore but I definitely did as a teenager/child
Yeah, this was me in my teens and twenties (and then I went to law school and I discovered drunk stress eating and Bite Squad). I don't like to drive and didn't have a car until my 30s, so I took transit and walked all the time. I had time to take long walks on weekends and after work because I lived alone and didn't have to work two jobs to make ends meet. I didn't eat much fast food as a kid so I never really developed a taste for it, and have always lived in places where healthy food is available and within my budget. I didn't hang out with people who liked to drink so I didn't drink much either. And I don't really like the taste of very sweet foods, so I very rarely consumed sodas or candy. It wasn't willpower, I didn't make an effort to stay the same weight from age 12 to 30, it was genetics and privilege and circumstances. There were choices involved, but largely unrelated to weight.
It's amusing looking back now, but I was always about 5 lbs over BMI and would go through periods of hating myself for it. Little did I know how much I'd want to get back to 5 lbs over BMI one day!1 -
What is your theory because I sort of don't understand what you are asking... maybe if I see your logic, I might I'm always more curious about people who seem to eat and eat (and not just healthy foods) and never get fat!
The key word here is "seem". Humans are notorious for selective memory and confirmation bias.
Often these "naturally thin" people are very active. They are observed eating a large quantity of food, and the casual observer says "See? Look how much they eat and never gain weight!"8 -
Other than after my first pregnancy, I've never been overweight. I did gain ~8lbs over the course of a couple of years, but it turned out that I had thyroid cancer which was messing with my metabolism a bit. I managed to lose the weight before I was diagnosed.
I love food and I love to cook, but I'm also very active. While I have a sedentary job, and I tend to be sedentary outside of purposeful exercise, I love to exercise. I run 20-35 miles per week depending on the time of year, I lift weights, I paddleboard, and hike. And I usually walk at least 1 mile on each of my breaks at work every day. I garden and run after the chickens...1 -
My own reasons are that I feel a lot better at a healthy weight. I also find that physical performance is improved. But I can't discount wanting to look better in pictures and not wanting people to think I am a big tub of lard.2
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I'm originally from Bulgaria. Most Bulgarians are slim and obesity is not an issue there. I think there are two reasons. The first is that the weather is good most of the year so people naturally walk outside a lot. The second is that fresh fruit and veg are very cheap and very good quality and they have huge variety there so most people snack on them rather than on the so called junk foods. (If you don't know much about Bulgaria I'd say that it is not an underdeveloped country or anything. Bulgaria is a pretty normal European country. I live in the UK and it is not much different there.)5
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Some people deliberately keep slim because they think that perpetually restricting calories will directly cause them to live an extra 30% of lifespan. That works for mice and worms.
Not 30% but 8 years of life and more importantly 11 to 19 years of lower quality life
A study has estimated very obese men aged 20 to 39, with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or above, have a reduced life expectancy of eight years. This is as a result of their higher risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. For women of this age, the life expectancy is six years less. What is also worrying is the much larger number of healthy years of life lost because of the chronic illness caused by these two conditions, which are obesity related.
Obesity in this age group is estimated to cause 11 to 19 fewer years of healthy life, which could have a considerable negative impact on a person's quality of life.
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/12December/Pages/Obesity-could-rob-you-of-20-years-of-health.aspx2 -
Packerjohn wrote: »JeromeBarry1 wrote: »Some people deliberately keep slim because they think that perpetually restricting calories will directly cause them to live an extra 30% of lifespan. That works for mice and worms.
Not 30% but 8 years of life and more importantly 11 to 19 years of lower quality life
A study has estimated very obese men aged 20 to 39, with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or above, have a reduced life expectancy of eight years. This is as a result of their higher risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. For women of this age, the life expectancy is six years less. What is also worrying is the much larger number of healthy years of life lost because of the chronic illness caused by these two conditions, which are obesity related.
Obesity in this age group is estimated to cause 11 to 19 fewer years of healthy life, which could have a considerable negative impact on a person's quality of life.
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/12December/Pages/Obesity-could-rob-you-of-20-years-of-health.aspx
I think @Packerjohn is talking more about the idea of starvation-level diets extending lifespans, not living longer by avoiding premature death from obesity-related causes. Stuff like this:
http://gizmodo.com/how-living-near-the-starvation-point-can-extend-lifespa-1791290101
http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/29/want-to-live-longer-dont-try-caloric-restriction/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-hunger-gains-extreme-calorie-restriction-diet-shows-anti-aging-results/
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I have 'naturally slim' family members. It's not a conscious choice for them. It's just that they don't enjoy eating extra food. They find it uncomfortable and not enjoyable. Sure, they'll overeat at a birthday party once in a while, but then they won't be that hungry for a day or two, and unlike many of us, if they're not hungry, they really don't want to eat. If they do more activity, they get hungrier. If they do less, they get less hungry.
Basically, the system works for them as it ought to. I believe this is the case for most 'naturally slim' people. In my observation, it's not a question of not enjoying food. They do enjoy it - but only if they are actually hungry.12 -
I was just sat wondering how to condense a really long train of thought regarding my own personal experience into a short story when @CattOfTheGarage did the post above.
That sums me and my family(mum and 2 sisters) up to a T.
Up until recently, we are all post menopause, I was always the heaviest at 105 lbs (average), now, after losing 30, I am the lightest at 105 lbs.
None of us have ever been over normal BMI (my mum at 90 is a tad over, but there again she has shrunk about 4 in), weighed ourselves often, or worried about what we are eating.
We all love our food and drink, but hate the stuffed feeling, and eat when we are hungry.
I don't know whether having a happy childhood, and still being happy giggly women has anything to do with it.
Cheers, h.3
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