Why am I skinny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never thought of it that way.

I eat when I am hungry and I don't eat when I am not. I stop when I feel full.

Do many people not do this?

Many people don't feel hunger the same way you do. My DH rarely feels hungry even after not eating for a day+. He'll feel the effects of not eating (lack of energy, dizziness), but not hunger. Meanwhile I spent about 8 years where I experience hunger as nausea (similar to morning sickness), so would snack throughout the day in order to not feel sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You think you eat a ton, but actually don't. That is it. Your idea of a ton of food is different than that of a person that is 300lbs.

This is it. It isn’t so much what you eat, but you are eating what you body is using and not overeating. Many many people overeat and get fat. For a lot of reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never thought of it that way.

I eat when I am hungry and I don't eat when I am not. I stop when I feel full.

Do many people not do this?

If people did this we would not have the obesity problems that we do.

People also have different appetites and eat for reasons other than hunger (boredom, sad, depression, eating their feelings.. list goes on)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never thought of it that way.

I eat when I am hungry and I don't eat when I am not. I stop when I feel full.

Do many people not do this?

I know it's hard to imagine but people are different than you. Shocking I know.

I am recovering from an ED and I find your smarmy post very offensive. On the off chance you are just an idiot and not mean.

No. Many people do not do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never thought of it that way.

I eat when I am hungry and I don't eat when I am not. I stop when I feel full.

Do many people not do this?

I know it's hard to imagine but people are different than you. Shocking I know.

I am recovering from an ED and I find your smarmy post very offensive. On the off chance you are just an idiot and not mean.

No. Many people do not do this.

It truly wasn't meant that way. Food is just a means to an end for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never thought of it that way.

I eat when I am hungry and I don't eat when I am not. I stop when I feel full.

Do many people not do this?

Indeed, some of us just like to stuff our face or have a tendency to eat our feelings or eat mindlessly under stress. I am that way, so I am constantly shaving off the same 10 pounds. I am a pro at dieting though so I never have a problem to get to my preferred weight but I definitely am not able to keep it without consciously watching my calories.

There is so much about genetics and proteins that may be the underlying drivers to appetite, feelings of satiation, and more that we don't know. I am hopeful that continued research will help us better understand this stuff, and that therapies to help correct it eventually make it to market.

https://www.oist.jp/news-center/news/2021/10/15/key-protein-linked-appetite-and-obesity-mice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People said wait until 40 for me, but I’m 43 and still lean (not skinny, always had more of an athletic build and can put on muscle easily). I’m just trying to enjoy it while I can because I know it can’t last forever (esp the muscles).

I fell off a cliff at 40. I had no issues losing weight after any of my three kids. None. Then it felt like I gained weight overnight after 40.

[Anonymous]

I’m 5ft 9in and 124 lbs at 52 after a kid at 40. I eat whatever I want and never exercise. It’s always been this way. It’s genetic. Also when I am stressed I eat less for example last year I was really stressed and lost 14 pounds I’ve since regained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 5ft 9in and 124 lbs at 52 after a kid at 40. I eat whatever I want and never exercise. It’s always been this way. It’s genetic. Also when I am stressed I eat less for example last year I was really stressed and lost 14 pounds I’ve since regained.

I am a skinny person who lives with overweight people. I would also say that I eat whatever I want. But what I want is healthier and smaller than what my overweight family members want. They make unhealthier choices than I do, they overeat often, and they snack way too much. They aren't blind to any of this -- these are smart, successful people -- but they feel hungry much more often and more deeply than I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My whole family is overweight (like my mom and siblings) and it’s all I’ve ever known. One day I looked at a thin friend who loves food and eats all the time and wanted to cry thinking of what my life could have been like with her genetics.

Genetics.

My whole immediate family was thin. I was not and have never been but I am very active. I engaged in competitive sports in high school. I have exercised 30-60 minutes a day much of my adult life, am active with gardening and other physical activity and am still overweight. I have an autoimmune problem that makes it difficult to lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Genetics are fascinating. I am from an obese family and am not thin, but I am “normal” and my life is so much easier than my sisters. I am 5’7 and 140 and a size 6. We grew up in the same house eating the same things - lots of junk and then pasta with Ragu sauce, chicken and mashed potato, grilled cheese for dinner. My siblings are all obese. I somehow am not and was never overweight.

[Anonymous]

I think set points are real. I’ve never been overweight, but the few times I have intentionally lost weight (after pregnancies), it was hard until I maintained for a few months. It’s hard to lose 20 pounds but once you are there for a while, your body and appetite make it the “new normal” and it’s hard to gain. The problem is that most people who diet don’t maintain their low weight long enough for their body to recalibrate, so they gain back everything right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think set points are real. I’ve never been overweight, but the few times I have intentionally lost weight (after pregnancies), it was hard until I maintained for a few months. It’s hard to lose 20 pounds but once you are there for a while, your body and appetite make it the “new normal” and it’s hard to gain. The problem is that most people who diet don’t maintain their low weight long enough for their body to recalibrate, so they gain back everything right away.

There’s actually something to this. There’s some doctor whose prescribed method of weight loss is achingly slow and builds in plateaus so that the body learns not to defend to the higher set point.

But as someone who does not share OP’s thinness or ability to remain there, it is already achingly hard to change one’s habits and then to have so little feedback to know that you’re doing it right.

[Anonymous]

Troll post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never thought of it that way.

I eat when I am hungry and I don't eat when I am not. I stop when I feel full.

Do many people not do this?

I know it's hard to imagine but people are different than you. Shocking I know.

I am recovering from an ED and I find your smarmy post very offensive. On the off chance you are just an idiot and not mean.

No. Many people do not do this.

DP. There's nothing offensive in this post. If you are easily offended you should't be on forum where people are trying to discuss this complex subject and get closer to the facts.