Slim and eat what you want
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Anonymous
Except your idea of skinny might not be everyone’s. I know my sil goes on and on about her Kids being so skinny and they are 20lbs more than my kids same height too. |
Anonymous
Admittedly, my kid has always been an athlete and so has muscle weight, but 115 at 5’7” is quite thin by most measures unless very small boned. Hence, the why LOL about small boned comment. |
Anonymous
| Small boned is a myth. |
Anonymous
I am an outlier because what I want isn't super-sugary over saccharine grease balls. Nor do I crave lard-filled pork chops and more than moderate amounts of red meat. Exercise helps me gain weight-cardio and in-house weight machine 3xs/wk. I lose belly stools by driving south. As soon as my body senses the humid, hot SC border, I have 6 six bowel movements and am bikini ready. Been that way my entire adult life, but I am not menopausal yet. |
Anonymous
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I don’t know what it is for me. It’s not genetics, because my parents both struggle with their weight, as do both of my brothers. I don’t really struggle, even in my forties.
As one pp said, “eating what you want” will be different for different people. I am a size 2 in most designers, 4 in mcqueen, but that’s about as big as my clothes get. I weigh the same I weighed in high school, law school. I was a little lower in college, but I got mono and lost a ton of weight, so that doesn’t count 
I “eat what I want.” What does that mean for me? It means very little red meat because of a genetic condition that causes high LDL, which is annoying (google Arthur Ashe mutation. Yes, the professional tennis player). It means dessert when I want it, which is…well…about 4 times a week. I do not discriminate about my desserts. If I want pie, I eat pie. If I want a cookie, I eat a cookie. If I want fruit, I eat fruit. I eat…what I want. It means at least 203 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I do not count carbs; I’d rather eat paste. I understand that one day I might have to, but until that day, I’d rather eat paste than count carbs. I cook with butter and use full fat milk, because it tastes good, and sugar is worse for you than fat. I do not eat processed food. I eat organic food whenever possible. I do not drink soda or juice. I drink wine 2-3 times a week. I have a cocktail on the weekends. This is all because this is what I like. I use full fat milk because it tastes good and is better for me (especially given that my dad has Type II diabetes, which I want to avoid). I don’t eat organic to lose weight; I eat organic because it’s better for me. I drink the amount of alcohol I like to drink, no more no less. I…eat what I want. I try to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. Most days I make it, but I work at a computer a lot, so some days I miss the mark. I play tennis, usually twice a week, but zero in the freezing weather. I ski on the weekends during the winter, usually 2x a month. I try to lift weights 1-2x a week, but truthfully that is boring to me, so not every week is perfect. I do yoga 1-2x a week. I hate cardio except for swimming and soul cycle, so in the winter and in the pandemic, I don’t get as much as I used to. None of this should really mean much to you, because this is what works for my random body. I have no explanations for why my body works the way it does other than it always has. I suspect I’ll have to do more in the way of cardio as I enter my fifties, and I’ll likely have less ability to eat dessert 5x a week with no abandon without expecting my dresses to get tight. For what it’s worth, those dresses are motivating—I don’t care what the scale says. Do the clothes I saved up to buy fit? Does my gorgeous carolina herrera fit? If so, carry on! If not, well, I probably will eat a little less pie for a week or so. Works for me, and as someone who thinks it’s important not to think a lot about food given family members’ struggles with disordered eating, I don’t plan to change. |
Anonymous
*2-3 servings of fruit and vegetables. Not 203
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Anonymous
Pork chops are one of the healthiest, leanest meat cuts |
Anonymous
This. My husband is 6’2” and 170lb. He as not deviated by more than 5lbs since his teens when he was still growing. He eats cheese, ice cream, pre pandemic he went out to lunch daily. He just doesn’t eat large portions. If he does have a big meal, he is not hungry later. He rarely snacks. He likes trying new foods and eating at nice restaurants but he doesn’t have cravings. He does not use food or alcohol to cope with stress. I would describe his relationship with food as carefree. He walks 2-3 miles a day and does yoga 2-3x a week. |
Anonymous
I’ll add both the biology and disposition are genetic. His parents are slim as are his adult sisters, even after having kids. They all have a very healthy relationship with food and just do what they feel like without worrying if food is good or bad. |
Anonymous
OK, so far, this sounds the most like me. I'm 50, 5'5", and I was around 115 until the past year, when I've been more like 120. I run four times a week, do yoga once, and am pretty active the rest of the time. I eat plenty of pizza. But I hate fast food, don't really like donuts, and I feel best when I eat moderate portions. |
Anonymous
| I am average to thin. 5’8” and 135. In the winter, I do yoga 1x per week and occasionally will stretch. In the warmer months I run 1.5 miles twice a week. I don’t have much appetite and have become much more picky about food. I eat whatever I want but typically I don’t want to eat much. |
Anonymous
Not, pp. I do. Asian and European vegetables are DELISH! I also prefer super-fresh seafood to pork. In Japan, I had sashimi that seemed liked it was served 5 minutes after it was plucked from the ocean. |
Anonymous
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The key phrase is “eat what you want.” If you naturally don’t want to eat much and don’t want to eat sweets or starchy or fatty foods, it’s much easier to remain slim.
How do you get to the point of not wanting to eat more than the calories you need to be slim is the tricky part. My body would require 1200-1500 a day for me to be slim. Really hard to get myself to not want to eat more than that. |
Anonymous
I also think the biggest difference is portion size. I have a super skinny SIL who says she’s just lucky and she can eat whatever she wants. In reality she eats super small portions. We’ve vacationed with them and she’ll gush about how delicious the lasagna is but she only eats one slice whereas everyone else will have seconds. It’s the same with everything. We’re both active but I’m probably a good 20 pounds heavier. We would both honestly say we “eat whatever we want.” It means something different fir each of us. Note I’m not overweight but I’m definitely not super skinny. |
Anonymous
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42, female, 5'5" and about 115 lb (I don't own a scale and never weigh myself but it's always around 115 at the doctor).
I walk pretty much everywhere and live in a 3rd floor walk up. I also do yoga, pilates, or barre 3 days a week. And then two runs a week (one shortish run during the week, just a couple miles, and a longer 4-5 mile run on the weekend). And if I don't get enough strength training in barre class, I will supplement with short bodyweight workouts at home -- squats, pushups, ab workout, pull-ups. I'd weight about the same if I did nothing, based on prior experience, but I feel better when I exercise. It took me a long time to get into a good workout habit in part because I didn't ever need to workout to lose weight. So it wasn't until my late 30s that I figured out that exercise is great for mood, sleep habits, and overall health. I know, obvious. But in my 20s all my girlfriends just did enormous amounts of cardio for the express purpose of losing weight, and I found it boring and figured I wasn't trying to lose weight, so I didn't bother. |