Thin Women: How Do You Do It

[Anonymous]

People who struggle with their weight often do better when they measure their portions. You are thin, as you've said, so it doesn't sound like this is an issue for you. Congrats, but stop judging.

Umm.. yes. This is often one of the first steps someone is told to use when trying to lose weight. Weigh and measure. I used to be almost too thin. Ate what I wanted when I wanted etc. Exercise was not in my vocabulary.

Now, at 45? Pfft. If I don't keep an eye on it the weight piles on in one hell of a hurry.

I remember years ago being out for an office lunch. One (thin and fit) woman ordered a salad and half a sandwich. My boss commented "How come it's always the thin ones who order a salad and half a sandwich or something??" I looked at her for a second and then said, with a bit of a smile, "maybe that's how they stay thin."

I didn't like my boss much, and she had recently been talking about wanting to lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Quick question: will eating a sandwich for lunch daily be a negative due to the carb content? I plan on only eating bread at lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who are thin, how to do it? Do you workout like a mad woman daily; eat a really strict diet; count calories; skip meals; ED; etc.

It seems like everytime I turn around, I'm standing next to a thin woman and I feel like a hippo. I could stand to lose a few pounds and it seems like the thinner you are, the easier it is to maintain it.

I live in a walkable neighborhood and walk to as much as I can. I usually walk 10,000 steps by 9 am simply by taking kids to daycare and then walking to work from there. At work I take the stairs instead of the elevator, etc.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I used my MYFitness Pal app for a couple months to lose some weight. It's very eye-opening to see how many calories I was actually eating. Once I lost a few pounds, I kind of got into a routine and could figure out how much I could eat to lose weight without the app. I've maintained my weight loss for a couple years now (I'm 5'2" and usually around 113 pounds). I workout about three days a week (very hard workouts). I'm 49 years old.

I'm honestly curious how this works for so many people. Every time I try to track my calories I just end up being discouraged and quiting because it's nearly impossible to do. Unless you eat mostly foods that come out of packages, how do you know how many calories are exactly in your chicken salad? Or how much oatmeal you ended up eating from your serving (was it 1/2 cup or really 1/3 cup)? Are you actually measuring with cups and spoons all your food, even for a few weeks in the beginning? Are you making pretty much all your own food and not eating out ever?

It just seems so daunting and impossible but then again I'm still overweight and maybe that is just my excuse for actually being accountable.

Measuring cups/spoons and food scale (Amazon has lots of models for about $20) are essentials. You will likely find you are underestimating your intake by 100-300 calories a day otherwise.

+1. Get a good kitchen scale. It's a bit of a pain in the beginning but it makes a huge difference if you want to accurately count calories.

Omg, this discussion has gone down to anorexia-Ville.
Measuring spoons? Kitchen scales? Just keep busy, don't stuff your face and get on with your lives.
Do you really look at your own daughters and want them measuring their food on kitchen scales?

NP. Please. I don't have anorexia, and I use measuring cups and a kitchen scale (which, btw, also comes in very handy when you want to bake). I eat 1500-1600 calories a day when I'm working on my health and fitness, and these are tools I use.

Yowsa. I can't imagine living like this.

Living like what? If I have full-fat yogurt with granola, a sliced banana, and a drizzle of honey for breakfast, how is it "disordered" to use a 1/4-cup measure instead of a spoon to scoop the yogurt out of the container? FWIW, that 1500-1600 calories includes lots of tasty, nutrient-rich stuff (I'm at a wine-and-cheese place right now), and also chocolate.

Do i need to spell it out for you? Measuring very morsel of food that goes into your mouth and keeping track of calories is no way to live. Maybe you're not disordered now but it's a slippery slope. I just can't believe that someone would do this and consider it normal. What do you do? Measure each morsel of dinner with Measuring cups before you sit down to eat?

- thin person who eats what I want whenever I'm hungry and stops when full

Bully for you! Not everyone is like you. I weigh everything at the suggestion on my nutritionist. Portions have gotten out of control in this country and some need to measure to know what a serving size looks like. But great for you if you don't! Now STFU.

[Anonymous]

I have somehow put on 25 pounds in the past 5 years. I have never been "thin" but I was never overweight--until now. (I'm just "barely" overweight, if you know what I mean. From a medical standpoint. From a confidence standpoint, I feel like a cow.) I'm in my early 40s. I think my body/metabolism has changed. I think my hormones are changing. I think my eating/drinking habits have changed. Anyway, I'm unhappy and finally put in the effort to change.

For the past several months, I've made a concerted effort to not engage in certain eating behaviors. For example, I almost never have a dessert. My husband and child eat them 3-4 times a week. I will maybe have 1-2 a month and even then, it will be maybe 1/2 portion or less. I also don't snack between meals. I also don't drink a lot of alcohol. And yet... STILL my weight hovers around the same. I struggled with trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. I downloaded "my fitness tracker." It's free. I entered in my weight goals and it calculated what my caloric intake should be. And I entered in what I was eating. Turns out, I'm eating more calories than I need to. Consistently. Every day. So while I'm not eating in a way that will cause me to gain more weight, I'm eating too much to lose.

So now I that I have that information, I'm hoping it will help me to make the changes I need to make. If I was honest with myself, I'd admit that I tend to eat all of whatever I have in front of me. I don't stop to think about whether I'm full or not. Sure, sometimes I will realize I'm TOO full and will stop then. But wow that is too late. I'm not invested enough in losing weight that I'm going to starve myself or anything, but I really do need to start eating more consciously and "checking in" with myself while I eat as to whether I'm continuing to eat because I'm hungry or because it's there.

The truth is, some folks can identify just one thing that they need to cut down on (sugar, carbs, alcohol, etc.) and bam they lose the weight. But I also think that a lot of us are just overeating--and maybe not by a lot, but it adds up. If you want to lose weight, focus on the very simple math of Calories in minus Calories out = (total calorie count needed to meet weight goals). keep a food diary for a week and see how you're doing. I think you'll be much better informed about what's going on (and how to address it). Then, with that info, you can decide what foods are most important to you. Because I want to be able to eat 2 pieces of pizza with my kid at home for dinner, I will eat lighter in the day. It's all about having the info. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

For me, I eat small meals and graze all day with random snacks. I rarely eat a full meal at once - I graze in portions. It helps with portion control and I never get too hungry. I think it also helps with how the calories burn. I'm not consistently active, but when I am I just eat larger portions. Eat until you are not hungry, not until you are stuffed.

[Anonymous]

I'm 43, 5'6" and weigh between 125 and 130 pounds. I have basically been this weight since I was 20 (I was anorexic as a teenager). My highest weight thus far was 135 pounds-that was in my early 30's when I was still drinking and eating like I did in my 20's even though my metabolism had changed. I never had kids.

I enjoy exercise and run, walk, go to the gym, lift weights or work out at home on an aerobic step every day unless i'm sick. I exercise primarily for my mental health-I feel better when I do it.

I don't count calories but i do weigh myself daily and cut back if I start to see the pounds creeping up. I try to eat healthfully (lean protein, whole grains, fruits and veggies) but I love sweets and usually have some kind of treat every day and eat junk food every now and then. I don't drink alcohol much anymore-i basically stopped drinking in my late 30's except for a few times a year.

We'll see how it goes. I definitely have noticed that while my metabolism is still pretty good it's not like it used to be. When I was in my 20's after I recovered from the anorexia I ate and drank whatever I wanted and maintained the same weight (I always exercised though). I have to watch it more now that i'm older.

[Anonymous]

I've always been slim but for me it's not genetics, both my parents are obese and have struggled with their weight for decades. Growing up we mainly ate unhealthy food, tons of junk food. My parents still eat that way. I was always slim though.

Now I'm 40, size 4. I never exercise and eat what I want, no counting calories. But I don't snack at all. Though I drink no water, only juice and tea.

But I think the main thing that has always kept me slim is that I don't really care about food/have little interest. I would be happy eating a grilled cheese and some frozen veggies for dinner every night, I hate to cook and I don't "savor" food--it's a means to an end, to get full and have energy. I'm the opposite of a foodie--I would have no interest in enjoying a foodie type meal. My mother, for instance, spends all her free time watching cooking shows and baking treats she reads about in Bon Appetit. I have never seen a cooking show nor read a food magazine, I have zero interest. I do cook from scratch most nights but it's simple things, no 5 course meals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quick question: will eating a sandwich for lunch daily be a negative due to the carb content? I plan on only eating bread at lunch.

Depends entirely on the person, my mom eats bread every single day for breakfast and is post menopausal and has to work to stay fit (we have the world's slowest metabolism! And don't lecture me about lifting, I always have had this as a D1 athlete!) for some people it works. For some you might have to cut it down to maybe 4 days a week to lose (or less) but be able to maintain easily with a daily sandwich

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I used my MYFitness Pal app for a couple months to lose some weight. It's very eye-opening to see how many calories I was actually eating. Once I lost a few pounds, I kind of got into a routine and could figure out how much I could eat to lose weight without the app. I've maintained my weight loss for a couple years now (I'm 5'2" and usually around 113 pounds). I workout about three days a week (very hard workouts). I'm 49 years old.

I'm honestly curious how this works for so many people. Every time I try to track my calories I just end up being discouraged and quiting because it's nearly impossible to do. Unless you eat mostly foods that come out of packages, how do you know how many calories are exactly in your chicken salad? Or how much oatmeal you ended up eating from your serving (was it 1/2 cup or really 1/3 cup)? Are you actually measuring with cups and spoons all your food, even for a few weeks in the beginning? Are you making pretty much all your own food and not eating out ever?

It just seems so daunting and impossible but then again I'm still overweight and maybe that is just my excuse for actually being accountable.

Measuring cups/spoons and food scale (Amazon has lots of models for about $20) are essentials. You will likely find you are underestimating your intake by 100-300 calories a day otherwise.

+1. How can you not realize that for some people the "full" trigger would be higher in their brains and would make them gain weight on your magic plan? Obtuse.
+1. Get a good kitchen scale. It's a bit of a pain in the beginning but it makes a huge difference if you want to accurately count calories.

Omg, this discussion has gone down to anorexia-Ville.
Measuring spoons? Kitchen scales? Just keep busy, don't stuff your face and get on with your lives.
Do you really look at your own daughters and want them measuring their food on kitchen scales?

NP. Please. I don't have anorexia, and I use measuring cups and a kitchen scale (which, btw, also comes in very handy when you want to bake). I eat 1500-1600 calories a day when I'm working on my health and fitness, and these are tools I use.

Yowsa. I can't imagine living like this.

Living like what? If I have full-fat yogurt with granola, a sliced banana, and a drizzle of honey for breakfast, how is it "disordered" to use a 1/4-cup measure instead of a spoon to scoop the yogurt out of the container? FWIW, that 1500-1600 calories includes lots of tasty, nutrient-rich stuff (I'm at a wine-and-cheese place right now), and also chocolate.

Do i need to spell it out for you? Measuring very morsel of food that goes into your mouth and keeping track of calories is no way to live. Maybe you're not disordered now but it's a slippery slope. I just can't believe that someone would do this and consider it normal. What do you do? Measure each morsel of dinner with Measuring cups before you sit down to eat?

- thin person who eats what I want whenever I'm hungry and stops when full

Bully for you! Not everyone is like you. I weigh everything at the suggestion on my nutritionist. Portions have gotten out of control in this country and some need to measure to know what a serving size looks like. But great for you if you don't! Now STFU.