If I know I am going to be treating myself to a restaurant meal / drinks I will eat nothing the rest of the day, and probably eat very lightly the next day. So then my friends see me eating a lot and say "You're so lucky you can eat whatever you want" when that's not the case.
If I eat "intuitively" my BMI hovers around 23; if I consciously restrict it is closer to 21 and I look a lot better. I'm short so it is easy to look dumpy.

Anonymous wrote:Youre at a fine, perfectly healthy weight. Probably very fertile. Why even worry about it?

Ew, OP said nothing about this, so why even bring it up? You sound like one of those red pillers.

I'm a very fine-boned 5'4" middle-aged Asian woman. If I eat above 1200 calories, I inexorably gain weight.

That's all. It's what I've noticed over a decade.

There's a lot of judgement about how much calories to eat, and a lot of incomprehension at the extreme (how naturally thin people and naturally large people are *supposed* to eat and exercise).

But you just have to do what works for you, OP. It starts with close observation, just like what you've been doing.

I am also 5'4, and 125-130 and I do NOT eat like that. As I get older, I need to pay more attention to how I eat because I feel like bloated death if I don't. I do not count calories or restrict, but here are my general rules for how I eat:
- very very few processed foods, I make almost everything from scratch
- drink only water, sparkling water, coffee, tea, and homemade kombucha (except alcohol)
- drink alcohol in moderation - seriously only 2-3 drinks per week (this has been the single biggest change in feeling better and keeping weight down as I get older)
- eat a ton of plants, whole grains, plant-based proteins, very little meat/fish, limited dairy
- I DO eat carbs, baked goods, etc. I just make them from scratch so feel better about no chemicals, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thin people eat normally, just smaller portions than the average slob

Lol!! This is so not true. All my thin friends restrict calories and drink diet coke/sugar free coffee drinks.

Well one of the biggest sources of calories is sugar-filled drinks, so it's not bad to drink sugar free beverages. Of course water would be healthier but I would rather drink diet Coke than regular Coke.

This is poor advice, as all the recent research shows that consumption of sugar free drinks sweetened by artificial sweeteners actually drives higher consumption of calories overall. This is likely because the brain and gut system is much more complex than we even understand entirely, but certainly the taste of sweet tells the brain calories are being consumed but when no actual energy source hits the gut, it drives the brain to keep consuming to get the energy. So again numerous studies have shown that overall those who consume those types of drinks end up eating more. It is far better for health to learn to consume water or unsweetened tea (green is especially healthful due to the polyphenols etc.) rather than consuming any fizzy or other sweets substitute drinks.

Maybe in people with poor self control around food. But if you have a Diet Coke, it isn’t going to make you gain weight if you don’t then go and overeat afterward.

They don't.

Anonymous wrote:What!? Of course not. I am 5’4 and flux between 120 and 125. The key is exercising and eating a ton of protein. Cut out sugar and alcohol at night.

Eating a ton of protein equals a life limiting diet, see all the research on this issue. 15% protein is the ideal for humans, potentially slightly more for humans specifically targeting muscle growth i.e., athletes.

Low protein high HEALTHY COMPLEX carbohydrates is the longevity diet for humans, the research is undisputed.

I’m pretty petite and I just eat when I’m hungry. Which sounds like “duh” but I think there is so much social conditioning in us to eat 3 meals per day. I realized I’m not hungry though until around noon each day (even though I’m up by 7). I just have no appetite for breakfast (just coffee, which I guess I shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach, but I have for years and it’s fine).

My natural hunger window is about 12-8. I eat mid size lunch, graze a bit more during the day, and then a decent size dinner. If I want a treat I have a bowl of ice cream or something, but not a giant bowl of it. For the most part I eat what I want but following my body’s natural cues. Sometimes that may be a 1,200 calories but other days could be 2,000+ if I’ve been really active.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thin people eat normally, just smaller portions than the average slob

Lol!! This is so not true. All my thin friends restrict calories and drink diet coke/sugar free coffee drinks.

Well one of the biggest sources of calories is sugar-filled drinks, so it's not bad to drink sugar free beverages. Of course water would be healthier but I would rather drink diet Coke than regular Coke.

This is poor advice, as all the recent research shows that consumption of sugar free drinks sweetened by artificial sweeteners actually drives higher consumption of calories overall. This is likely because the brain and gut system is much more complex than we even understand entirely, but certainly the taste of sweet tells the brain calories are being consumed but when no actual energy source hits the gut, it drives the brain to keep consuming to get the energy. So again numerous studies have shown that overall those who consume those types of drinks end up eating more. It is far better for health to learn to consume water or unsweetened tea (green is especially healthful due to the polyphenols etc.) rather than consuming any fizzy or other sweets substitute drinks.

I think the answer is yes. Im a thin person (5'6", 120, and that's been my weight for the last 25 years except when I had my two kids).

I don't know about 1000 calories, but I have noticed that I definitely eat less than my larger friends. I usually have one big meal per day (either dinner or lunch) -- a big, delicious meal with protein and fat and carbs. But then the other meals are pretty small (maybe a banana for breakfast, a big salad for dinner). I rarely eat between meals -- I do have a few pieces of chocolate every afternoon.

When I'm exercising a lot I have to increase it a little bit. But generally my day doesn't revolve around food that much, I only eat when I'm feeling hungry, and I stop eating when I feel full.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thin people eat normally, just smaller portions than the average slob

This is not true at all. Most of the overweight people I know are doing calorie restriction type diets and most of the thin people I know eat like crazy.

The "average" people eat like you describe above. But ACTUAL thin/skinny people need a lot of calories for their metabolism. Just shows the poster above doesn't really know how bodies work

Skinny people with higher metabolism will only need about 200 more calories max. It's been scientifically proven. It's a myth that the difference is big. Now if the skinny person is exercising a bunch that may make a big difference to caloric needs... metabolism, not so much.

I highly recommend the book ‘Eat Like the Animals’ - it’s written by two PhD biologists who have studied nutrition in insects and mammals for decades. The book is all science but explained in terms any lay person can grasp.

They posit the application of their science to humans, whose natural eating patterns developed over millennia of evolution have been totally disrupted by ultra processed foods in the food environment of humans. These foods disrupt our ability to respond to our bodies natural inclinations- like all living creatures studied - to eat macronutrients in the proportions most ideal for optimal health. The key is to get enough protein - but not too much, as all the research shows high protein low carb diets are life limiting in all kinds of creature including humans. Low protein high carb is the longevity diet in all creatures, but the carbs must be complex healthy carbs not the ultra processed junk most people consume.

After a stomach bug or other illness when our diet alters significantly, we are often primed to hear those natural inclinations toward the appropriate diet choices. Most folks eventually return to the food products that disrupt our brain’s ability to guide our diet wisely.

Try cutting all UPFs out of your diet and most refined sugar too, just take sweet in fruit or honey form. Make sure you get 15% protein and lean towards complex carbohydrates for 50% or even slightly more. See if that works for you like it does for so many of the creatures these biologists have studied. We don’t see many fat animals, after all - except those domesticated or held captive and fed by humans.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thin people eat normally, just smaller portions than the average slob

Agree...not with the slob part, but majority of people just eat way too much.

Thin people (women) will eat ice cream, but maybe half the cone then toss it. They aren’t ordering the triple scoop and finishing it. Or if they order burger and fries, they’ll eat half the burger and a couple fries. Generalization, but my observation is most thin people have a much better control of their intake amount.

When I have icecream, I skip a meal - lunch or dinner. One serving of icecream is about 300-500 calories. That's a meal for me. So, normally, I skip the icecream to get nutrients my body needs, but occasionally, I skip the nutrients to get the icecream. I suppose one could go halvsies on both, but I like a good portion of icecream!

Some effortlessly thin people naturally have less of an appetite. They were picky eaters as kids. I remember as a kid always being hungry and was never picky.

The short answer is yes.

I'm a bit shorter and eat 1200 calories a day. I'm very active and was a D1 athlete in college. The person who said you can't get all the nutrients is wrong. You need to eat a wide variety of different food, mostly veggies and lean meat. Just control you portion size. Children, small people, and slim folks get all the nutrients they need and just have smaller sizes. In the end it's all math - calories in and calories out.