Can you be thin/slim/in shape and still get enough to eat?

neffyworld · November 2021

I watched a documentary called "Embrace" and a few former models claimed when they were at their peak, they were always starving, eating cotton balls dipped in gaterade to stay slim and completely miserable.

But then I see people on mfp who are small and happy, people who have gone from a large size to a size xs or smaller.

So what's the difference? Are the people here eating back their exercise calories, or do they look small because they have a high muscle mass? or are runway models/magazine models just so much smaller that they can't eat more than like 600 calories a day?

paperpudding · November 2021

perhaps the models were trying to maintain a too thin body - ie were trying to maintain at an underweight level.

This would not surprise me at all.

Xellercin · November 2021

Models are typically extremely underweight, not slim and fit.

The last time I was at a major fashion show, part of the show was clothes being modeled by ballerinas, who are notoriously skinny, and usually underweight.

Well the ballerinas, who looked under weight, looked plump and almost chunky compared to the models. The models were so painfully skinny many of them had poor posture because they had so little muscle mass. They had BMIs as low as 14, which is not uncommon in that industry. Many famous actresses and "curvier" Victoria secret type models whose bodies we idealized have BMIs 16-18, well below the lower healthy limit of BMI 18.5.

So yes, you can very easily have a *healthy* low weight while not starving yourself, but it is very difficult for most people to maintain a significantly underweight BMI without unhealthy restriction, which is why you hear so much about starvation in female celebrities because so many of them don't maintain a healthy weight.

snowflake954 · November 2021

I would also like to add that some people on MFP that are "small" actually weigh more than you think. When you have a good muscle mass your body can appear slim, and posture (muscle mass) can help this.

nooshi713 · November 2021

Runway models including Victoria’s Secret models are underweight, not “in shape”. The camera really adds weight. Living in LA I have seen a few celebrities in person who are very slim but who look *curvy* in person.

cwolfman13 · November 2021

I've never seen a runway model that looked remotely fit or "in shape". They are skin and bone...malnourished and underweight. I know a lot of lean and fit women, and they eat.

This is healthy lean and very fit...

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And I can assure you she eats far more than 600 calories per day...like a lot, lot, lot more. She is a fitness model and former track and field Olympic hurdler. At 5'8" she weighs around 145 Lbs.

wunderkindking · November 2021

So. I what I eat now is only 200 calories lower than what I ate when I was obese. My calorie deficit at points of loss was pretty high, and at times losing I was certainly eating less than I am now.

But while I was pretty active before I lost, I got MORE active when I got thinner and it was more fun and I had more energy. Not the gym or things I didn't like but more PLAY (paddleboarding, swimming, hiking further and more often, etc, trail riding (horses) etc.)

The foods I eat now are also have more volume AND higher satiety than I did when I was obese. Ie: I started getting enough protein and that keeps me full longer.

So, yeah, you can be small and fit and eat plenty. I eat 1800-2000 calories most days. That involves avocado, nut butters, bread, full fat dairy, and a candybar or ice cream most days -- and also other protein, veg, and fruit. Obese I ate basically that but more carbs, almost no protein. So I got hungry faster and my energy dropped faster leading me to eating again sooner (and going with high calorie, simple carbs which then provided the shot of energy which burned off fast, led to a crash, etc.)

I eat plenty. I eat about the same calories as when I was obese. I just eat BETTER and move more than I used to.

That said I am 5'5" and weigh about 125. That's a BMI of about 21. If I wanted to have a sub 18 BMI I'd probably die or murder someone from hangry.

nooshi713 · November 2021

nooshi713 wrote: »

Runway models including Victoria’s Secret models are underweight, not “in shape”. The camera really adds weight. Living in LA I have seen a few celebrities in person who are very slim but who look *curvy* in person.

This should have said look very slim in person but look curvy on TV.

SnifterPug · November 2021

I'm 5'10" and am slap bang in the healthy BMI range. My TDEE is currently 2300 calories even with a fairly high body fat percentage (around 33/34%), which I would like to reduce a little.

33gail33 · November 2021

I don't think a 21 or healthy BMI is what the OP is referencing. I am 5' 10" and before I was pregnant for the first time at 24 I weighed about 130 which is at 18.7 BMI is the most I had ever weighed up to that point. When I was a late teen/early 20's (which I think maybe most models are?) I weighed like 115-125 ish. It's not like I was starving myself it's just the way I was built at the time. I wasn't an athlete but I was healthy and functioning, but yeah I ate a lot less than I do now.

So while I didn't go from large to XS,I have been both, I went the opposite, my weight now in my 50's is more than my highest pregnancy weight in my 20's. I can't imagine getting back to my lowest weight now - the lowest I have been as an "adult" (after having my 3 kids) was 138 about 10 years ago I doubt I will ever even get there again.

AnnPT77 · November 2021

I weigh about what I weighed in my early 20s, mid-120s pounds at 5'5", which is around BMI 20-21. I've been thinner as an adult (late teens, and briefly at age 60), down to 113-116 (BMI 18-point-something), just above underweight, which is a little too thin IMO.

Typical fashion models are much thinner for their height than BMI 20, and not muscular. As others have said, they're usually underweight according to BMI.

Around 125 is reasonably thin on my frame for a non-model regular human, and I'm not massively muscular, though maybe a bit more than average for my age. (I'll be 66 later this month.) I maintain around the low to mid 2000s calories (say 2100-2500 or so) daily, depending on activities. (I do eat my exercise calories, of course - especially now that I'm not trying to lose weight!) Eating 2000+ is enough to definitely be non-miserable, for me. I'm pretty happy.

For about 30 years, I was overweight to obese, though just over the line into class 1 obese for my height, 180s-190s for quite a few of those years. I used to wear something like size 20 jeans, now size 6 (US) fits nicely. I used to wear XL or 1X tops. My shoulders are too wide to wear anything women's XS or S with sleeves even now.

I'd hate to be built like a model, personally. I'd prefer to be built like an athlete, but I'm too lazy to pursue it 😉 . . . and not very appearance-motivated anyway.

Maintenance calories for a reasonably thin normal human don't need to be punitively low, typically.

I don't think you can be "in shape" if that means fit/strong, and be living on anything even remotely close to Gatorade on cottonballs. Fitness requires calories, and nutrition. I've known a few elite athletes . . . they eat. Quite a lot, and high nutrition. There's some periods of undereating, sometimes, among high-level athletes who need to make a low weight for a competition, but it's not usually reflective of their permanent lifestyle.

GymBunnyPaige · November 2021

Obviously, I cannot speak for anyone but myself, just to get that out of the way. For me, it is a combination of things. First and foremost, I have an extremely slim frame. My wrists are less than 6 inches around, my ribcage less than 30 inches around. While I technically could gain a ton of weight if I really tried, it would be exceedingly difficult to keep it on, and I would likely be very uncomfortable because my bone structure would struggle to support so much extra weight.
Secondly, I do have an above average amount of muscle mass, which makes a person appear lighter than they really are. Most people would not think I’m over 100 lbs, even though I’m 140. Most people think I’m really underweight. This isn’t my assumption; this is what people tell me directly. Muscle is denser than fat. It’s not as “fluffy” so it takes up less space on the body. Two people could weigh the same but if one has more muscle mass than the other, they will appear slimmer.
Now to answer your question directly: YES! It is entirely possible to be thin and in shape while eating enough! In fact, I’d argue that eating enough is (or should be) included in the definition of “in shape”.
Many people would be shocked and in disbelief that I’m eating just under 3k calories every day. When someone is heavily active, their body requires more nutrients and energy to fuel their lifestyle. We need hundreds of calories daily just for brain function!
600 calories a day is starvation. Especially for a runway model who would likely be quite active normally, practicing, trying on outfits, exercising, traveling to photoshoots, etc. Please, I really urge you to remember this: you can be a healthy weight, that is appropriate for your unique body, while also being happily well-fed! It is a very damaging myth that the only way to lose weight/be slim/in shape, is to starve yourself. That mindset helps no one.
I wish you the best of luck on your health journey. Please feel free to send me any questions or inquiries you may have.

rheddmobile · November 2021

It helps to be a tall 16 year old with good genetics!

When I was a model I was 5’8” and weighed about 112. I ate like an absolute hog, stuff like whole boxes of oreos dipped in cool whip. Wendy’s every day. I also moved constantly - once when I was camping there was a crime and someone had to run for help and I just ran over to the ranger station, about three miles, then back, to let people know someone was coming, then back again, and so on, probably 20 miles of just sprinting back and forth. I wasn’t an athlete I was just very active. I would go out clubbing and dance for six hours without sitting down.

That said, I was a local model who did mostly stuff like catalogs and bridal shows. To be a professional runway model I would have needed to be about twenty pounds thinner and two inches taller. (Also much prettier but that’s another story!) at the time I wore a size 8 (1990s sizes which are very different from today), which was the sample size for local shows, and designer samples were like, double zero.

Can you be thin/slim/in shape and still get enough to eat?

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