Do naturally thin people actually think different?
Options
Replies
-
change4char wrote: »I think peoples answers will be different based on how they classify "naturally thin." When I hear this phrase I think of people who have high metabolisms. Two people could be the same height/sex/activity level and think about food the same. They may equally enjoy food and eat the same meals, but one could end up larger than the other.
The variation in base calorie requirements between reasonably healthy/normal people of the same size is much smaller than one might expect - a few hundred calories a day.
On the unhappy side of that differential, a few hundred calories seems like a lot . . . when someone else gets to eat it, but you don't. Totally true, totally understandable.
However, it's only something like one candy bar, a small sandwich, an order of fries, or half a mocha latte daily (not all of those - just one
). That's really easy to eat beyond, even for the lucky so-called "fast metabolism" people.
These (maximum, rare) few hundred calorie differences in resting metabolic rate are of roughly the same order of magnitude in calories as an extra daily workout; a moderately active vs. sedentary home, hobby, or work life; or being fidget-y vs. non-fidget-y (not all of those, either - just one ).
Metabolic differences alone are not enough to explain "naturally thin" people.
And, given that intentionally moving more can create the same magnitude of difference in calorie burn, many of those of us not "naturally thin" can pretty easily change our habits to burn as many calories as the "metabolically lucky".
Details about metabolic variability here:
https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/
There are myriad reasons why some of us get fat, and others remain thin . . . as many combinations of reasons as there are people, I'd guess. I think most of the "naturally thin" idea is a myth . . . wishful thinking by those of us who wish we were.
10 -
That sounds like a dreary outlook. I finally got a grip on weight management (yes, maintenance, long term) when I discovered that I could, and should, enjoy food; it was actually the depriving myself of enjoyment, that through a set of very explicable mechanisms, made me overeat.Some people have a mindset/attitude toward food of "eating to live", rather than "living to eat". Some people desire food because it looks/tastes/sounds good, while others look at food as fuel. My goal is to see food as fuel11 -
change4char wrote: »I think peoples answers will be different based on how they classify "naturally thin." When I hear this phrase I think of people who have high metabolisms. Two people could be the same height/sex/activity level and think about food the same. They may equally enjoy food and eat the same meals, but one could end up larger than the other.
The variation in base calorie requirements between reasonably healthy/normal people of the same size is much smaller than one might expect - a few hundred calories a day.
On the unhappy side of that differential, a few hundred calories seems like a lot . . . when someone else gets to eat it, but you don't. Totally true, totally understandable.
However, it's only something like one candy bar, a small sandwich, an order of fries, or half a mocha latte daily (not all of those - just one ). That's really easy to eat beyond, even for the lucky so-called "fast metabolism" people.
These (maximum, rare) few hundred calorie differences in resting metabolic rate are of roughly the same order of magnitude in calories as an extra daily workout; a moderately active vs. sedentary home, hobby, or work life; or being fidget-y vs. non-fidget-y (not all of those, either - just one ).
Metabolic differences alone are not enough to explain "naturally thin" people.
And, given that intentionally moving more can create the same magnitude of difference in calorie burn, many of those of us not "naturally thin" can pretty easily change our habits to burn as many calories as the "metabolically lucky".
Details about metabolic variability here:
https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/
There are myriad reasons why some of us get fat, and others remain thin . . . as many combinations of reasons as there are people, I'd guess. I think most of the "naturally thin" idea is a myth . . . wishful thinking by those of us who wish we were.
Thank you for posting this. I was going to post a similar link as a good portion of my job is analyzing populations studies and the metabolic shifts within. The difference in BMR/REE is astonishingly small. To the point it is almost statistically insignificant.
The small changes in behavior are critical over the long term and nearly undetectable in the small term. So many get frustrated as they lack the sight or ability to sacrifice in the present to reap the rewards of the future.
6 -
I do not believe there is any such thing as naturally thing. People eat within their caloric limits or they don't. It's very simple.10
-
Some people have a mindset/attitude toward food of "eating to live", rather than "living to eat". Some people desire food because it looks/tastes/sounds good, while others look at food as fuel. My goal is to see food as fuel
Thinking of food as math and budgeting it like money was a very effective tool for me, tbh.4 -
CasperNaegle wrote: »I do not believe there is any such thing as naturally thing. People eat within their caloric limits or they don't. It's very simple.
Obviously. But do some people do it 'naturally' (as in without tools or much thought) while others do not?6 -
I'd say that "thinking differently about food" is the very definition of "naturally thin".
Approaching food mainly as fuel doesn't have to be dreary, and it doesn't mean you don't enjoy food. It means that you don't indulge yourself in that particular pleasure unnecessarily. Most pleasures can be harmful if overdone, and eating is no different.kommodevaran wrote: »
That sounds like a dreary outlook. I finally got a grip on weight management (yes, maintenance, long term) when I discovered that I could, and should, enjoy food; it was actually the depriving myself of enjoyment, that through a set of very explicable mechanisms, made me overeat.Some people have a mindset/attitude toward food of "eating to live", rather than "living to eat". Some people desire food because it looks/tastes/sounds good, while others look at food as fuel. My goal is to see food as fuel4 -
I guess I would consider myself naturally thin. Even in University when I put on a few lbs due to being more sedentary and overeating... pants get tight, I take action. Nothing crazy, just cut some snacks out, eat a bit better, move more. Also I find I get the urge to move more if I am sitting more or eating more.. and if I overeat one day, I am typically not hungry the next day and tend to eat light..so it's as if my body kind of knows when it is being overfueled. I love food though.. I love the experience of nice dinners and eating with family. I don't like feeling overfull or unable to move, so I rarely get to that point (unless I'm trying to gain). I do forget to eat sometimes. And if I am stressed I tend to lose my appetite.
I am trying to gain weight right now and it can be difficult because my brain doesn't want to eat so much and all I want to do is move, so I have to fight against it to do what I want it to do5 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »CasperNaegle wrote: »I do not believe there is any such thing as naturally thing. People eat within their caloric limits or they don't. It's very simple.
Obviously. But do some people do it 'naturally' (as in without tools or much thought) while others do not?
Yeah, this is what I'm seeing as the difference.
Sometimes you have tools and don't realize it, though, since they are just there and you don't have to think about it. I was "naturally thin" until my late 20s because I didn't snack often, didn't tend to have high cal meals that often, and was pretty active. In my mid-20s I got a job that was really stressful and cut down on my activity (I didn't have to, but the things that had made me active without thinking about it no longer existed in some respects), I started having more high cal meals (side effect or perk of the job), and increasingly I took advantage of opportunities to have more (thinking that if I have to work until 10 or 11 or all weekend or whatever at least I can eat an indulgent meal my employer pays for) and also increasingly would take advantage of snack opportunities (leftover sweets from a meeting or whatnot) as I saw others doing it, and my social life increasingly got high cal too.
So in one lifestyle I didn't think about food and was a healthy weight. In the other I didn't think I really thought about food and started getting fat. Yet when I got fat I felt like it was something that had happened to me, I had to think about it before I saw the obvious (and that was about 5 years after I'd started gaining, when I was 60 lbs above what I wanted to be).6 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »All the "naturally thin" people I know (my husband and all my in-laws) genuinely don't want food if they're not hungry. That's the main difference I notice.
They also get antsy when they have eaten a lot, and want to get up and go for a long walk or something. It's not necessarily the same day, might be the following day, but it happens. They also eat less on following days.
It's not a difference in how they and I *think*. They barely think about it at all. It's a difference in feelings and reactions.
Intuitive eating like that just blows my mind. I know a lot of people like this. The concept of body and mind being so in tune and autoregulating the calorie intake and expendurw without much concious awareness of the process! That's how our bodies are supposed to.work idea. But I don't think i'll ever be alble to learn this. I've had disordered eating since I was 10 and later a full blown ED. My hunger cues are forever messed up. Still I often dream that some day I'll ve able to mentain not trough logging, not even through habit but intuitively.3 -
I doubt you can generalize it like this. My fiance is "naturally" thin (in that he can eat whatever he wants and he never seems to gain weight), and he does feel the same way as me about food. He stresses over it, worries about his weight, sometimes feels out of control around food, etc.
And anyway. You never know if someone is "naturally" thin. When I was thin, a lot of people thought I was just that way naturally (even had my therapist assume my fear of gaining weight while pregnant was because I'd never been overweight), but I wasn't. I was pretty much eating at a deficit to maintain a weight that wasn't healthy for my body.3 -
My roommate is naturally thin. She eats delicious take out every night. The thing is...she has leftovers for THREE nights. I would have eaten it all in one sitting, easily. She can have a bag of chips in the cupboard that will literally go very stale before she even gets over half way through them. I can't even bring chips in the house.16
-
My roommate is naturally thin. She eats delicious take out every night. The thing is...she has leftovers for THREE nights. I would have eaten it all in one sitting, easily. She can have a bag of chips in the cupboard that will literally go very stale before she even gets over half way through them. I can't even bring chips in the house.
Years ago, a friend who also struggled with his weight asked me if I had ever watched another "naturally thin" friend eat. The skinny guy would take one cookie, nibble on it, and then set it down; during the time he ate one cookie, my fat friend and me would polish off the rest of the box. He was also antsy and kept moving - without having to think about it.
Some people intuitively manage their input and activity, others have to consciously learn how to do so. You can follow a diet "formula" to lose weight -- but to stay in maintenance forever, you need to learn and internalize new behaviors.
Those who want to understand how to "think like a thin person" should check out the Beck Diet Solution, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It's a cognitive-behavioral program developed by Dr. Judith Beck, the daughter of the guy who invented cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The first link is to Dr Beck's site, the second to her daughter's blog:
http://diet.beckinstitute.org
https://beckdietsolution.wordpress.com/what-is-the-beck-diet-solution/
Here's a Beck Diet Solution community (there are probably others around):
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp?gid=100716 -
Most of the people I know who have always been at a healthy weight work at it. They talk about health and healthy foods a lot. They make an effort to exercise regularly, not for weight loss but because it's good for them, helps them manage stress. They try to eat healthy because they feel better that way. They frequently talk about wanting to lose those pesky 5 pounds.
It's perhaps a mindset, but it isn't one that is far off from what MFP is all about: eat right and be active.3 -
No such thing as a "naturally" thin person. People who are leaner just have a habitual habit of not eating more than they need to.5738_Cassiel wrote: »Is it true that a naturally thin person and an overweight person thinks differently about food? If so, what's the difference?
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
11 -
I was always thin (I guess you would call it naturally thin, as I never tried to diet or change my body). I was always mindful of what I ate in terms of portion size but I ate whatever types of food I wanted. Somewhere along the line I started little changes in habit from being tired or stressed or feeling as though I deserved a treat. I'd finish a whole huge restaurant meal instead of having half, more than one soda per day, sweets after every meal. It was little changes that i didn't notice in my day to day but I packed on 60 pounds in 5 years. Now that I've got most of that weight off I notice that I think more like the old, thin me.4
-
First of all, I don't think there is such a thing as "naturally thin".
Most of my life people have thought I have been "naturally thin", but I can gain weight too if I eat more than I burn.
Secondly ...CattOfTheGarage wrote: »All the "naturally thin" people I know (my husband and all my in-laws) genuinely don't want food if they're not hungry. That's the main difference I notice.
They also get antsy when they have eaten a lot, and want to get up and go for a long walk or something. It's not necessarily the same day, might be the following day, but it happens. They also eat less on following days.
Yes.
Quite frankly, I don't understand how people can eat a lot, and have full stomachs ... and then just sit. For me, that's really, painfully uncomfortable. I need to get up and walk or something to help the digestion. If I eat a particularly large dinner, and can't go out for a walk after dinner for one reason or another, I'll busy myself with housework ... walking back and forth in the house, even just standing rather than sitting. When the food has digested a bit, then I can sit.
But this is also a motivation to eat to a certain point and no more. It hurts to eat more.
Thirdly ...
Someone else mentioned stress eating/not stress eating. When I get stressed, I don't want to eat ... I struggle to eat. And sometimes I'll go 2 or 3 days with < 500 cal/day because eating makes me feel really sick. Fortunately, this doesn't happen too often, like maybe every couple years. But in general, the more stressed I am, the less I want to eat.
And also ..
-- I do tend to think of food as fuel. I have foods I like and foods I don't like, and I do enjoy the foods I like, but much of the time I'm thinking about how much fuel I actually need.
-- A lot of food just simply doesn't live up to expectation. It's rare for me to find foods I really, really like. This is particularly true of restaurant food. I see something that looks really good, but when I go to eat it, it's just not anywhere near as good as I had hoped. I do know that I've got a slightly defective sense of taste/smell ... most food tastes pretty bland to me, and much the same. I tend to decide if I like something or not based on texture first, then flavour.
-- When I'm planning for a trip or a weekend or getting together with people or something, I think in terms of what we can do. Active activities. Lunch or dinner or whatever is right near the bottom of my list of concerns. I'd rather plan a cycling event, a hike, even a day walking through museums or something ... and if we happen to get hungry, I'm sure we can find something to eat somewhere, even if it is just a banana.
-- I don't just sit and watch TV in an evening. I can't just do one thing. The TV will be on, but as mentioned above, I'll be up and about doing housework, or (when I can) sitting and doing homework or working on a project.
-- When I get busy, I do forget to eat. I've been busy at work or with my studies, and have looked up to discover that many hours have passed and probably the reason why I'm having trouble concentrating is because I haven't eaten for the past 6 or 7 hours.
-- I exercise a lot. I love exercising!!
All that said, when I encounter a combination of a significant illness/injury with a move or extensive travel ... I gain weight.
I did in my early 20s when I had major surgery and then about 4 months later I moved 2 provinces over. As soon as I settled, I lost the weight.
I did in 2009 when I moved from Canada to Australia and then developed DVT. About a year later, when my DVT resolved and I could resume my activity level, I lost the weight.
And I did in 2012 when my husband and I did an 8-month round the world trip, then a series of moves after we got back, and then I had a small series of health problems. All of that brought me here to lose that weight. 5 -
change4char wrote: »I think peoples answers will be different based on how they classify "naturally thin." When I hear this phrase I think of people who have high metabolisms. Two people could be the same height/sex/activity level and think about food the same. They may equally enjoy food and eat the same meals, but one could end up larger than the other.
The variation in base calorie requirements between reasonably healthy/normal people of the same size is much smaller than one might expect - a few hundred calories a day.
On the unhappy side of that differential, a few hundred calories seems like a lot . . . when someone else gets to eat it, but you don't. Totally true, totally understandable.
However, it's only something like one candy bar, a small sandwich, an order of fries, or half a mocha latte daily (not all of those - just one ). That's really easy to eat beyond, even for the lucky so-called "fast metabolism" people.
These (maximum, rare) few hundred calorie differences in resting metabolic rate are of roughly the same order of magnitude in calories as an extra daily workout; a moderately active vs. sedentary home, hobby, or work life; or being fidget-y vs. non-fidget-y (not all of those, either - just one ).
Metabolic differences alone are not enough to explain "naturally thin" people.
And, given that intentionally moving more can create the same magnitude of difference in calorie burn, many of those of us not "naturally thin" can pretty easily change our habits to burn as many calories as the "metabolically lucky".
Details about metabolic variability here:
https://examine.com/nutrition/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people/
There are myriad reasons why some of us get fat, and others remain thin . . . as many combinations of reasons as there are people, I'd guess. I think most of the "naturally thin" idea is a myth . . . wishful thinking by those of us who wish we were.
Thank you for posting this. I was going to post a similar link as a good portion of my job is analyzing populations studies and the metabolic shifts within. The difference in BMR/REE is astonishingly small. To the point it is almost statistically insignificant.
The small changes in behavior are critical over the long term and nearly undetectable in the small term. So many get frustrated as they lack the sight or ability to sacrifice in the present to reap the rewards of the future.
I agree!
When I've gained weight, it isn't because I've started consuming massive quantities of food or anything, it's because I've gone slightly over maintenance.
I did a little calculation back in 2015, and put it into one my blogs. I quote ...
It took me 4 years to gain 15 kg.
Using the calculation of 1 lb = 3500 calories
15 kg = 33 lb
33*3500 = 115500 calories ... extra calories
115500/4 years = 28875 extra calories per year
28875/365 days = 79 calories per day
So ... over the past 4 years, I averaged 79 extra calories per day.
That's like an egg. Or an extra serving of veggies. Maybe an apple.
Or in terms of exercise ... that's less than a half hour walk.9 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »All the "naturally thin" people I know (my husband and all my in-laws) genuinely don't want food if they're not hungry. That's the main difference I notice.
They also get antsy when they have eaten a lot, and want to get up and go for a long walk or something. It's not necessarily the same day, might be the following day, but it happens. They also eat less on following days.
It's not a difference in how they and I *think*. They barely think about it at all. It's a difference in feelings and reactions.
Intuitive eating like that just blows my mind. I know a lot of people like this. The concept of body and mind being so in tune and autoregulating the calorie intake and expendurw without much concious awareness of the process! That's how our bodies are supposed to.work idea. But I don't think i'll ever be alble to learn this. I've had disordered eating since I was 10 and later a full blown ED. My hunger cues are forever messed up. Still I often dream that some day I'll ve able to mentain not trough logging, not even through habit but intuitively.
I don't actually think that's how our bodies are supposed to work or that not being able to do that makes you messed up.
For most of human history access to food was insecure and it was beneficial to be able to/want to eat when it was available, even if that meant putting on some weight, and to be able to go without for a while too. Thus, it seems totally normal and even beneficial to want to eat based on cues like food being available and nearby, even if you just ate, and to find food desirable when it has qualities consistent with it being high cal (high in fat and sugar), and for variety to mean that you eat more (during most of human history wanting a variety would have meant getting a variety of nutrients, and good for you, not wanting to eat pie after having a huge steak).
Thus, it's really not surprising to me that a majority of people seem to easily become overweight or obese in the current environment (more, really), and only a small minority seem not to have to work at staying slim to avoid obesity. I don't think that's because all of us who find it easy to overeat have messed up hunger signals (vs. just responding to cues in a normal human way).
I think emotional eating can be messed up signals, but wanting to eat easily more than you actually need is probably just normal. Some are different, but not because the rest of us must be screwed up.
That's why I don't believe in intuitive eating for myself (or probably most). I don't log at maintenance, but not because I can intuitively eat; because I make a point of mindfully eating.10
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.6K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 911 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions