S/O question about eating habits of thin people, what do you eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do any of you thin people really and truly enjoy food? I love food, especially carbs, good wine. In my experience, naturally thin people just don't crave food the way I do.

I love pasta, good wine, seafood (including fried), in-season fruit. Truly enjoy them and sometimes crave them. What I don't do is eat very much of foods that are just "meh" to me, just because they are on my plate, at the party, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do any of you thin people really and truly enjoy food? I love food, especially carbs, good wine. In my experience, naturally thin people just don't crave food the way I do.

I love food. Good food. My mother is an excellent cook, so I was raised on amazing home cooking. My family is full of "foodies." We plan parties and celebrations around restaurants we want to try. I consider picky eaters to be moral failures.

But, I understand moderation and am well-attuned to my cravings. If I want some really good bread and cheese, I'll find it and eat it, but a sensible amount.

I understand moderation intellectually but don't have the self discipline. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oh - when I say 47 and not super thin, I mean that I am 5'4 and 135 lbs - size 8.

LOL I'm almost 47, 5'6" and 155. I think you're pretty thin.

I suppose I am comparing myself to all these women who are my height and weight 110 - haven't been that weight since HS! Before kids I weighed 128 and was a size 4 - 6 and felt thin then. Post babies and now, gasp!, menopause, 135 is my weight. I am very comfortable at this weight and don't see myself trying to lose those 10 lbs to be a size 6 again. At 5'6 you probably appear the same weight as me! and I'm sure you too are comfortable where you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do any of you thin people really and truly enjoy food? I love food, especially carbs, good wine. In my experience, naturally thin people just don't crave food the way I do.

I love pasta, good wine, seafood (including fried), in-season fruit. Truly enjoy them and sometimes crave them. What I don't do is eat very much of foods that are just "meh" to me, just because they are on my plate, at the party, etc.

This is a habit of mine as well. If I know something is high in calorie, it better taste really good. And if it doesn't, I take one bite and don't finish it. Also, there are higher calorie items that I don't dislike, but I don't love. Like cheese. So if I'm at a party, I tend to skip a lot of cheese and head straight for the rich dessert, which is more my thing.

I once heard Bethenny Frankel talk about the concept of having a checking account for food. She said that you essentially have to make constant trade offs in what you eat to "spend" your balance. But you can more or less eat anything. When she described that approach, that really resonated for me. That's exactly what I've done for years, except very sub-consciously. I'm not a calorie counter. I'll skip the cheesy appetizer and order dessert instead. Or if I ate a huge dinner last night, better go light tonight. Etc. It just becomes part of who you are and not a "diet".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do any of you thin people really and truly enjoy food? I love food, especially carbs, good wine. In my experience, naturally thin people just don't crave food the way I do.

I love food. Good food. My mother is an excellent cook, so I was raised on amazing home cooking. My family is full of "foodies." We plan parties and celebrations around restaurants we want to try. I consider picky eaters to be moral failures.

But, I understand moderation and am well-attuned to my cravings. If I want some really good bread and cheese, I'll find it and eat it, but a sensible amount.

I understand moderation intellectually but don't have the self discipline. Ugh.

PP here. There are tricks to moderation. Put what you want to eat on a small plate. Put away the rest of the bread and cheese (or whatever). Sit down with no distractions (TV, reading). Enjoy the food. Before you go for seconds, wait a few minutes--or run an errand--or have a cup of tea or coffee.

Food studies show that if you actually plate food before serving it, people are less likely to overeat. So, you should plate things like carbs, fried foods, and desserts. However, you should leave on the dining table for self-serving a big bowl of things like salad and fruit--people will eat more. Also, you should use smaller plates and bowls. If you use big plates and bowls, people think that they eat less than they do; but if you use smaller plates and bowls, people think they've eaten more than they actually have.

[Anonymous]

"I once heard Bethenny Frankel talk about the concept of having a checking account for food. She said that you essentially have to make constant trade offs in what you eat to "spend" your balance. But you can more or less eat anything. When she described that approach, that really resonated for me. That's exactly what I've done for years, except very sub-consciously. I'm not a calorie counter. I'll skip the cheesy appetizer and order dessert instead. Or if I ate a huge dinner last night, better go light tonight. Etc. It just becomes part of who you are and not a "diet". "

I guess that's it. I have no problems whatsoever spending my $$$$ within a budget, because I don't crave many material things. I have net worth goals I'd rather achieve. But with food, it's the opposite. If eating = spending $$$, I'd be in serious credit card debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do any of you thin people really and truly enjoy food? I love food, especially carbs, good wine. In my experience, naturally thin people just don't crave food the way I do.

20:18- Yes, I truly love food and love good wine. We love trying new restaurants and always make it a point to hit the top restaurants in whatever city we travel to. I have no problem going somewhere and having the 7 course tasting menu. Of course, this is not something we do every week and I'll have a light lunch if I know I'm doing this for dinner. I love all kinds of ethnic foods, Italian, Indian, Tex-Mex, Asian, etc., but again, don't eat this kind of food on a daily basis. We go out to the Palm or Capital Grill about once a month, and I have no problem eating a steak (but I do prefer a petite filet mignon to other cuts) with a small portion of mashed potatoes and drinking 1/2 bottle of wine (sometimes more). I love pasta and don't have a problem ordering it when we're out, but when I cook at home, I use whole wheat pasta and tomato-based sauces.

Also, when I say I love food, I mean good food. I don't love crap. I honestly think fast food and processed foods are gross. I love a fresh baguette, but would never order or make a sandwhich on processed white bread. I'll have a homemade cookie, but would never eat an Oreo- let alone a whole box of Oreos.

A doctor once told me if you eat right 6 days a week, you can eat whatever you want on the 7th and not have to feel guilty about it. That's pretty much the way I live and I honesly don't feel deprived whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:20:18 that sounds awful. Is it safe to say you have to "work" at staying thin?

20:18 here. For me, it's not just about staying then, but being healthy. Although at 36 and post- two kids, I do have to work at keeping my stomach flat. I could eat all I wanted and I'd be thin everywhere except for my belly. In my 20s, I could eat anything I wanted and it would never show. Now, if I go on vacation for a week and don't watch my diet, my belly starts rounding out.

I don't consider my diet awful at all. I've never been much of a breakfast person and prefer cereal or yogurt to eggs or pancakes. I honestly love salads and most veggies and don't care much for sweets. Fried foods or heavy food makes me feel bloated and sick (this wasn't the case back in college when I fast food all the time. Now that I'm not used to it, it seems my body just doesn't tolerate junk food any more). I quit drinking soft drinks not b/c of the calories but because of the high fructose corn syrup, which the evidence suggests could cause all sorts of health issues. If they started selling Coke with sugar in the US, I'd probably start drinking it again. As much as I love things like chips and queso, I always feel yuck after eating them, so I just don't do it much (which is not to say that I don't occassionally eat them any way). When I'm at a party or out to a restaurant, I'm not as strict on myself, but wouldn't choose anything fried or too heavy b/c I don't like eating food like that anyway.

Do you also have a relatively average to low sex drive? I love all kinds of food and also have a high sex drive.

Before having kids 4 years ago, I had a high sex drive. Not so much any more when I don't get a moment's break from my active kids during the day and don't get a full night's sleep either, thanks to them. My diet has been essentially the same the last 20 years (since finishing school). My sex drive only decreased once I had kids, 4 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do any of you thin people really and truly enjoy food? I love food, especially carbs, good wine. In my experience, naturally thin people just don't crave food the way I do.

I LOVE food. Well, I should rephrase that I love good food. I won't waste my time eating any fast food or any processed food. I cook every night (we eat out twice a month or so, but only at nicer places (last time was the tasting menu at city zen)). By cooking every night I can get the food I love but make sure that it isn't laden with sodium. I also really control my portion size. Essentially, I can have a craving for chocolate but one square of a godiva bar (or whatever) is enough or I crave pasta but only eat 1/3 of a cup.

It took a LONG time to get to this point and a lot of work.

[Anonymous]

I'm 38. I LOVE FOOD. I LOVE WINE. I was skinny skinny skinny all my life. Somewhere between 30 and 33, I noticed that if I walked less or ate more during a given week, I'd gain a bit of weight. Mainly in the saddlebag, inside thighs, and slight bit under the navel. I could watch for a few days and take it right back off to a healthy weight. I could really deprive myself (it gets easier after the first few weeks where your body is like "give me pasta NOW bitch") and get model thin.

As I got older, it would take a bit longer, and I'd have to watch a bit more, to take the weight back off, and getting model thin meant more deprivation than ever. I had a kid right smack dab in the middle of my 30's. Took the weight off rapidly because I was nursing and thought I had a new lease on skinny. Looked pre-pregnancy weight in two months. Felt great, too. Ate like a horse, but genuinely healthy food. (I also did not gain that much during pregnancy, despite eating krispy kremes like it was my job). I'm still nursing but much less, and the weight is slowly creeping back on. I went to a size 8, which is my all time heaviest (except for pregnancy). It also wasn't sitting well on me. I looked really doughy. Maybe those donuts just took the long way to my ass? In any case, I'm now working it back off. I work from home now, so my built in exercise (used to walk almost a mile to and from metro every day) is gone. I take walks around my neighborhood now, and I put my 30 lb toddler in an ergo not a stroller. And I watch. Basically, as long as I do not overeat and exercise a little bit, I'm okay. I mean, I'm not going to be model thin on that M.O. anymore, but it's not really the objective now. I had a good run. I'm back to a size 4 and wouldn't mind if I stay here. It's a pretty healthy weight for me even if my arms are no longer to die for. The food trade off I'd have to make to get model thin now is not worth it. Plus my hubs likes my ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 41 and 5'9, 125lb, so on the thin side. For breakfast I have a latte with soy milk, and I eat a regular lunch and dinner (but really whatever I want). If I'm craving fast food I'll get it (probably 2x/month), but instead of a Big Mac I'll get a hamburger with small fries. I don't snack at all between meals, mainly because I don't have time. My daily calorie intake is probably around 1500 (give or take a couple hundred) most days. I work out regularly, too.

One thing I do is listen to my body. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat just because it's "time". So sometimes I eat lunch at 11am, sometimes at 2pm.

Okay I have a question. I have to eat whenever it fits into my schedule. I work 10 hours a day and have two children involved in evening activities. We eat by the clock so we can have dinner as a family. If you have children and work outside the home, how do you just eat when you're hungry?

I do work outside the home (7-8 hours, not 10), but my kids are only 2 and 3. My husband gets home late so during the week we don't have family dinners (aah, though I wish we could!). I might have a glass of wine while the kids are eating and then have dinner when my husband gets home. Unfortunately, this means I usually have to prepare 2 meals since the little ones are still way picky. If we are doing family dinner and I'm not hungry, I just lightly graze on what we are having. I'm often not hungry at "dinnertime" (especially if I have that glass of wine).

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP.I'm just not a grazer. I like the efficiency of three meals a day. I don't want to be in and out of the kitchen all evening.

[Anonymous]

I have always been super skinny. When I was in my early 20s, I weighed 110, and I am 5'9. I always ate a TON and ate whatever I wanted and never exercised. I know, it's weird. It's just how I had always been, so I never gave it much thought. By my late 20s, I was at 115. Still, no exercise, no dieting. (Before you get too jealous though, I have osteopenia (almost osteoporosis). So while I am naturally skinny and thin boned, I will probably eventually pay a price.)

While I never did diet, I also never overate. I didn't try not to, it was just how I was. I generally never ate breakfast (just not hungry in the morning). I would always eat a large lunch (pizza, burger, chicken sandwich - never just a salad). Dinners I usually ate out and would order an appetizer and entree. Never dessert - never really had a sweet tooth. I rarely snacked. I also had a super high stress job, so there would be days where I would miss lunch and not even realize it, or be so stressed I didn't have an appetite.

I got pregnant at 32, and unsurprisingly given how thin I was, I gained 60 pounds. I just finished weaning my daughter (who is 9 months old). I weigh 120 right now, but am actually exercising and trying to eat healthy to get back to my 115. I think for me it's a mental thing - that is what I'm supposed to be at. You can definitely see the extra weight in my muffin top! FWIW, when I was pregnant I ate like a PIG- anything and everything and ridiculously large portions. And I allowed myself to indulge. Now I am just trying to get back to normal portions, no doughnuts every day, etc.

So I guess the basic thing is that I think a lot of this is genetic. I have always been lucky in that what I ate has never been an issue for me. But I think as everyone gets older, they need to start thinking about diet/exercise, if not for vanity, but for general health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:105lbs PP here - I'm 31, and if my mother and aunts are any indication, I will become even thinner but with a flabby stomach - ugh! Hence the muscle-building, although I'd rather be naturally plump, but that apparently is not in my genes.

No you wouldn't. Please.

Hey, some genetically thin people really do admire fuller-figured people. I (though not the PP) am naturally lean, and I like my figure. But I need to exercise and eat right to stay looking okay. If I do gain weight, I just get a big belly and thick thighs and look silly. There are loads of different ways that women can look really beautiful with some plumpness on them. It just looks like crap on me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:105lbs PP here - I'm 31, and if my mother and aunts are any indication, I will become even thinner but with a flabby stomach - ugh! Hence the muscle-building, although I'd rather be naturally plump, but that apparently is not in my genes.

No you wouldn't. Please.

Hey, some genetically thin people really do admire fuller-figured people. I (though not the PP) am naturally lean, and I like my figure. But I need to exercise and eat right to stay looking okay. If I do gain weight, I just get a big belly and thick thighs and look silly. There are loads of different ways that women can look really beautiful with some plumpness on them. It just looks like crap on me.

I completely agree. I am skinny, and when I gain weight it ALL goes to my stomach. I look pregnant! If it would be evenly distributed, I would be okay with it. It just doesn't happen that way.