How do naturally thin people eat?
April 5, 2011 1:45 PM Subscribe
Yet another Healthy Eating question! Naturally thin people (and people who've maintained significant weight loss for a long time): do you manage your meals/portions in such a way that you never are really concerned about how much you've eaten, OR, are you constantly compensating for eating too much or too calorically?
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively. (Feel free to correct that assumption if you think it's wrong.) But if you had to examine your eating habits, which would be most accurate for you:
Option 1: all your meals contain aproximately the same amount of calories from day to day.
Option A: meals where you overeat are compensated for by eating less at subsequent meals.
Which do you do, why do you think it works, and what tips (if any) do you have for others who want to eat like a naturally thin person (instead of like an obsessive dieter.)?
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively. (Feel free to correct that assumption if you think it's wrong.) But if you had to examine your eating habits, which would be most accurate for you:
Option 1: all your meals contain aproximately the same amount of calories from day to day.
Option A: meals where you overeat are compensated for by eating less at subsequent meals.
Which do you do, why do you think it works, and what tips (if any) do you have for others who want to eat like a naturally thin person (instead of like an obsessive dieter.)?
I guess I just don't think about it too much. Although right now I am trying to gain a bit of weight/muscle, so I'm thinking about food a bit more.
Option 1 and Option A both apply to my normal state, though. Most days I eat similar meals. However, sometimes I will go out to eat for lunch (big 'ol burrito!) or something, and naturally be less hungry for dinner when I get home. Sometimes dinner will be just snacks - nuts, crackers, cheese, fruit - on days like this.
One strange thing is that if I go out for a huge dinner, I will feel starving when I wake up. I attribute this (with no basis) on my stomach being stretched out from the previous night's meal, which has emptied into my gut.
posted by aganders3 at 1:53 PM on April 5, 2011
Option 1 and Option A both apply to my normal state, though. Most days I eat similar meals. However, sometimes I will go out to eat for lunch (big 'ol burrito!) or something, and naturally be less hungry for dinner when I get home. Sometimes dinner will be just snacks - nuts, crackers, cheese, fruit - on days like this.
One strange thing is that if I go out for a huge dinner, I will feel starving when I wake up. I attribute this (with no basis) on my stomach being stretched out from the previous night's meal, which has emptied into my gut.
posted by aganders3 at 1:53 PM on April 5, 2011
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively.
I'm pretty sure that this is wrong. Or, at least, it is wrong in my case.
posted by dfriedman at 1:53 PM on April 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
I'm pretty sure that this is wrong. Or, at least, it is wrong in my case.
posted by dfriedman at 1:53 PM on April 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
Mine would be Option A, and I don't think you would want to eat like a naturally thin person. At least, not like me.
I just eat whenever I get hungry, and sometimes I end up eating much more than I need to just because stuff is there. Then again, I also tend to skip random meals if I get to busy, so I might only eat once a day. You're right that I don't think a lot about my eating habits...that doesn't mean I go overboard though. I don't calorie count or restrict myself in any particular way, but I do have a hazy idea of how much food is enough for the day (example: I might have a large breakfast and then maybe a smaller dinner, it's almost like my stomach can only handle so much per day).
I don't know about the "naturally and intuitively" part. When I was younger I totally went crazy for junk food (and I still love fries!) but I guess now that I'm older I am more aware of what I eat. I actually can't handle too much junk now, but I know I'm definitely not getting enough veggies, etc. So I'd say (just personally) that as a naturally thin person I probably has a lot more freedom/peace of mind when it comes to eating habits--I'd say I'm a little bit careless?--but I know that outside appearance of healthy =/= inside health, so I still watch what I eat. Most of the time I just eat whatever I crave, whether it's salads or chocolate.
posted by sprezzy at 1:54 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
I just eat whenever I get hungry, and sometimes I end up eating much more than I need to just because stuff is there. Then again, I also tend to skip random meals if I get to busy, so I might only eat once a day. You're right that I don't think a lot about my eating habits...that doesn't mean I go overboard though. I don't calorie count or restrict myself in any particular way, but I do have a hazy idea of how much food is enough for the day (example: I might have a large breakfast and then maybe a smaller dinner, it's almost like my stomach can only handle so much per day).
I don't know about the "naturally and intuitively" part. When I was younger I totally went crazy for junk food (and I still love fries!) but I guess now that I'm older I am more aware of what I eat. I actually can't handle too much junk now, but I know I'm definitely not getting enough veggies, etc. So I'd say (just personally) that as a naturally thin person I probably has a lot more freedom/peace of mind when it comes to eating habits--I'd say I'm a little bit careless?--but I know that outside appearance of healthy =/= inside health, so I still watch what I eat. Most of the time I just eat whatever I crave, whether it's salads or chocolate.
posted by sprezzy at 1:54 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
Hi, naturally skinny person here. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. I never pay attention. I generally eat too little because I'm not a big fan of food or eating, but whether I stay the same calorically day-to-day... no clue, I don't usually have any idea how many calories anything I'm eating contains. I eat when I'm hungry or it's dinnertime and feel like getting food. When I'm not or don't, I don't. I don't eat especially "well" or especially "badly", I don't think, but food isn't anything but a solution to solve or prevent intermittent uncomfortable hunger.
posted by brainmouse at 1:54 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by brainmouse at 1:54 PM on April 5, 2011
I was "naturally thin" until college, because I had a high metabolism and ate at most two meals a day.
After college, I was thin again for a while, because I ate one meal a day (lunch).
posted by orthogonality at 1:54 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
After college, I was thin again for a while, because I ate one meal a day (lunch).
posted by orthogonality at 1:54 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively. (Feel free to correct that assumption if you think it's wrong.)
I don't think this is quite accurate, in that there are plenty of naturally thin people who don't eat "well," as in healthfully. They eat the same processed junk as obese people, they just eat less of it, and/or they're more active.
Option 1: all your meals contain aproximately the same amount of calories from day to day.
Option A: meals where you overeat are compensated for by eating less at subsequent meals.
I think the latter is going to be true for almost everyone. While most people tend to eat similarly day to day, the body has hormones that are supposed to regulate appetite as well as other physiological functions in order to maintain homeostasis. This is why there are skinny people who can e.g. pig out at a buffet and stay skinny -- because while they may eat a lot in one sitting, over a larger time period their body will compensate for that intake one way or another.
posted by Anatoly Pisarenko at 1:59 PM on April 5, 2011
I don't think this is quite accurate, in that there are plenty of naturally thin people who don't eat "well," as in healthfully. They eat the same processed junk as obese people, they just eat less of it, and/or they're more active.
Option 1: all your meals contain aproximately the same amount of calories from day to day.
Option A: meals where you overeat are compensated for by eating less at subsequent meals.
I think the latter is going to be true for almost everyone. While most people tend to eat similarly day to day, the body has hormones that are supposed to regulate appetite as well as other physiological functions in order to maintain homeostasis. This is why there are skinny people who can e.g. pig out at a buffet and stay skinny -- because while they may eat a lot in one sitting, over a larger time period their body will compensate for that intake one way or another.
posted by Anatoly Pisarenko at 1:59 PM on April 5, 2011
I might not be the demographic that you're looking for. When I have a meal that is light in calories, I need to be sure I make up for it with a cheeseburger, stat.
Some folks' "naturally thing" is another person's "struggling to the keep the weight on."
I'm not aware of the actual calorie numbers in any given food, but I know that cheese and crackers, or a handful of nuts, is going to take me farther than an orange.
I tend to eat fewer vegetables than I know I should, because they are filling without giving me the energy to, ya know, keep going. I half joke that vegetables are nothing more to me than vehicles for 1) blue cheese dressing 2) Butter 3) hummus.
When I take ADD medication, I need to be very careful about remembering to eat. When I'm laid up like today, I need to be very careful to get enough to eat. Thankfully, I'm going out for dinner tonight, so I'll "catch up" on some calories with an app, entree, and dessert. But currently I'm feeling woozy even after cheese, crackers, and juice.
However, I did take Human Nutrition courses in college, and one important thing that many people do no know, is serving size matters. At the time, the smallest french fry container at a particular chain held two servings and was something like eleventy billion calories. On a more day to day note, a slice of bread is one serving. So if you're eating a sandwich made at home, you've had two servings of bread. A serving of cheese is one ounce. So if you eat an entire block of cracker barrel cheese you are eating many servings.
posted by bilabial at 1:59 PM on April 5, 2011
Some folks' "naturally thing" is another person's "struggling to the keep the weight on."
I'm not aware of the actual calorie numbers in any given food, but I know that cheese and crackers, or a handful of nuts, is going to take me farther than an orange.
I tend to eat fewer vegetables than I know I should, because they are filling without giving me the energy to, ya know, keep going. I half joke that vegetables are nothing more to me than vehicles for 1) blue cheese dressing 2) Butter 3) hummus.
When I take ADD medication, I need to be very careful about remembering to eat. When I'm laid up like today, I need to be very careful to get enough to eat. Thankfully, I'm going out for dinner tonight, so I'll "catch up" on some calories with an app, entree, and dessert. But currently I'm feeling woozy even after cheese, crackers, and juice.
However, I did take Human Nutrition courses in college, and one important thing that many people do no know, is serving size matters. At the time, the smallest french fry container at a particular chain held two servings and was something like eleventy billion calories. On a more day to day note, a slice of bread is one serving. So if you're eating a sandwich made at home, you've had two servings of bread. A serving of cheese is one ounce. So if you eat an entire block of cracker barrel cheese you are eating many servings.
posted by bilabial at 1:59 PM on April 5, 2011
I think I have a high metabolism, but my strategy for eating has been to eat when I'm hungry, don't feel like I have to finish my plate (having a tote bag all the time I can throw leftovers in and keep running is nice), and there are a lot of foods that happen to be high-fat that I don't really like (mayonnaise for one).
posted by blandcamp at 1:59 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by blandcamp at 1:59 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't have this particular condition myself, but I've known several women who had trouble putting on weight regardless of what they ate. Then they turned [some age], usually between 35 and 40, and bam there's an extra twenty-to-thirty pounds.
Some people are just skinny. Sometimes this changes. Both appear to be luck of the draw a lot of the time.
posted by valkyryn at 2:00 PM on April 5, 2011
Some people are just skinny. Sometimes this changes. Both appear to be luck of the draw a lot of the time.
posted by valkyryn at 2:00 PM on April 5, 2011
I'd like to amend my answer to say it mostly relates to portion sizes for me.
As for calories, I tend not to think about them at all, though I do try to eat "clean" because I just feel better on what seems to be a balanced diet - limited carbs and sugar, as many veggies as possible, fruit and nuts for snacks, almost entirely no pop (like 1 a month), etc.
posted by aganders3 at 2:01 PM on April 5, 2011
As for calories, I tend not to think about them at all, though I do try to eat "clean" because I just feel better on what seems to be a balanced diet - limited carbs and sugar, as many veggies as possible, fruit and nuts for snacks, almost entirely no pop (like 1 a month), etc.
posted by aganders3 at 2:01 PM on April 5, 2011
I'm at a healthy weight and I exercise nearly every day and have to consistently monitor my food intake in order to stay this way.
Most "naturally thin" adults I have come across in my life genuinely do not think or care about food as much as I do. I love eating and I think about it all the time.
posted by something something at 2:01 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Most "naturally thin" adults I have come across in my life genuinely do not think or care about food as much as I do. I love eating and I think about it all the time.
posted by something something at 2:01 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I have to closely monitor what and how much I eat and drink, or I will gain weight almost instantly. It's uncanny.
posted by halogen at 2:04 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by halogen at 2:04 PM on April 5, 2011
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively.
This is not accurate for me. I think about food and nutrition a lot.
what tips (if any) do you have for others who want to eat like a naturally thin person
I'll repeat a few of the tips I gave in my much longer answer to the first question I linked in the first comment:
Avoid restaurants. If you do eat at restaurants, don't eat everything they serve you (white bread, pats of butter, etc.).
Never drink soda, even if it's offered to you for free. Juice isn't that much better (it doesn't matter how much the label insists that's it's healthy and replenishing). Instead, drink water or seltzer.
If you don't want to find yourself regularly eating a certain food, don't buy it in the store in the first place. If you buy cookies, you WILL be eating cookies on a regular basis. Crackers or chips, same thing. Ice cream, same thing. I'm not saying never to eat these foods. But the main determinant of whether you're eating them a lot doesn't happen when you grab them from the kitchen and put them in your mouth; it's when you grab them from the supermarket aisle and put them in your cart.
Have I been following these tips all my life "intuitively"? Not at all. But I've tried to follow them more and more, and I lost a good 25-30 pounds in the past 3 years or so. (I was not trying to put myself on any kind of weight-loss regimen, just trying to eat well.) I mostly attribute to this to learning to cook, enjoying making dinner at home, and eating lots of vegetables (and being a vegetarian, but I don't think this automatically leads to losing weight; it makes some people lose weight and makes others gain weight).
posted by John Cohen at 2:04 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
This is not accurate for me. I think about food and nutrition a lot.
what tips (if any) do you have for others who want to eat like a naturally thin person
I'll repeat a few of the tips I gave in my much longer answer to the first question I linked in the first comment:
Avoid restaurants. If you do eat at restaurants, don't eat everything they serve you (white bread, pats of butter, etc.).
Never drink soda, even if it's offered to you for free. Juice isn't that much better (it doesn't matter how much the label insists that's it's healthy and replenishing). Instead, drink water or seltzer.
If you don't want to find yourself regularly eating a certain food, don't buy it in the store in the first place. If you buy cookies, you WILL be eating cookies on a regular basis. Crackers or chips, same thing. Ice cream, same thing. I'm not saying never to eat these foods. But the main determinant of whether you're eating them a lot doesn't happen when you grab them from the kitchen and put them in your mouth; it's when you grab them from the supermarket aisle and put them in your cart.
Have I been following these tips all my life "intuitively"? Not at all. But I've tried to follow them more and more, and I lost a good 25-30 pounds in the past 3 years or so. (I was not trying to put myself on any kind of weight-loss regimen, just trying to eat well.) I mostly attribute to this to learning to cook, enjoying making dinner at home, and eating lots of vegetables (and being a vegetarian, but I don't think this automatically leads to losing weight; it makes some people lose weight and makes others gain weight).
posted by John Cohen at 2:04 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm a pretty standard size, I suppose, and my weight doesn't really fluctuate much. My girlfriend's usually underweight.
Very, very rarely do I "compensate" for overeating. Usually this means realizing that I ate a basket of fries and buffalo wings for dinner and maybe going for a salad or some lean protein the next day. Usually, though, big high calorie meals (especially if we go to a restaurant) fill me up enough that I'm not hungry for awhile. Afternoon cook-out with friends means I usually won't eat until breakfast the next morning because I'm just not hungry.
I make no claims about the efficacy of our diets, but most of what we eat is homemade and contains mostly natural ingredients. I cook a lot of meat and sometimes with a lot of fat - not just butter and oil, but bacon drippings and duckfat and whatever else I've rendered out of yesterday's carcass. What we DO avoid, though is a lot of trans-fats and artificial sweeteners because we're using all fresh ingredients, homemade sauces, things like that. We bring leftovers for lunch. I eat a lot of apples. The only thing I eat regularly that's pre-made is breakfast cereal.
My personal belief (and I don't have any evidence to back this up) is that compensating for meals is like trying to "catch up" on missed sleep - it doesn't actually do anything. And if you skip meals or skimp in order to balance things out, you're just going to make yourself hungrier and overeat later.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:04 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Very, very rarely do I "compensate" for overeating. Usually this means realizing that I ate a basket of fries and buffalo wings for dinner and maybe going for a salad or some lean protein the next day. Usually, though, big high calorie meals (especially if we go to a restaurant) fill me up enough that I'm not hungry for awhile. Afternoon cook-out with friends means I usually won't eat until breakfast the next morning because I'm just not hungry.
I make no claims about the efficacy of our diets, but most of what we eat is homemade and contains mostly natural ingredients. I cook a lot of meat and sometimes with a lot of fat - not just butter and oil, but bacon drippings and duckfat and whatever else I've rendered out of yesterday's carcass. What we DO avoid, though is a lot of trans-fats and artificial sweeteners because we're using all fresh ingredients, homemade sauces, things like that. We bring leftovers for lunch. I eat a lot of apples. The only thing I eat regularly that's pre-made is breakfast cereal.
My personal belief (and I don't have any evidence to back this up) is that compensating for meals is like trying to "catch up" on missed sleep - it doesn't actually do anything. And if you skip meals or skimp in order to balance things out, you're just going to make yourself hungrier and overeat later.
posted by backseatpilot at 2:04 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Most "naturally thin" adults I have come across in my life genuinely do not think or care about food as much as I do. I love eating and I think about it all the time.
haha well I do love eating and I think about it all the time.
I guess naturally thin just means--to me--that I can 1) eat how I want 2) not exercise as much 3) and keep my slim figure.
I'm perfectly aware that this is going to change though. I'm in my 20's and I expect it to hit me any day now. Must. change. habits.
posted by sprezzy at 2:06 PM on April 5, 2011
haha well I do love eating and I think about it all the time.
I guess naturally thin just means--to me--that I can 1) eat how I want 2) not exercise as much 3) and keep my slim figure.
I'm perfectly aware that this is going to change though. I'm in my 20's and I expect it to hit me any day now. Must. change. habits.
posted by sprezzy at 2:06 PM on April 5, 2011
I'm perfectly aware that this is going to change though. I'm in my 20's and I expect it to hit me any day now. Must. change. habits.
Yep, it hit my husband around age 30. He was completely flummoxed.
posted by something something at 2:07 PM on April 5, 2011
Yep, it hit my husband around age 30. He was completely flummoxed.
posted by something something at 2:07 PM on April 5, 2011
I have been in the naturally thin (often bordering on struggling to keep weight on) all my life; for me, it's mostly just a metabolism/body type thing. With the exception of doing the obligatory college-girl-vegetarian thing for a couple of years in my early 20s, I literally never thought once about anything I ever ate (calories, portion size, nutrition, etc.) till my early 30s, at which point I became much more concerned about making sure I got enough fiber.
I also started tracking my protein intake in my mid-30s as I started working out more and trying to gain weight through building muscle (I live in Bizarro World, where I lose weight if I don't exercise, and only gain weight when I do exercise). I stopped eating fast food (which though my 20s I ate up to a few times a week) in my early 30s mainly because it started to upset my stomach. I regularly eat dairy (never low-fat), though not quite as much as I used to. I cut back on red meat a few years ago because I also found it harder to digest; I eat it only occasionally, and only organic/family-farm produced when I do.
I will say I generally preferred a pretty well-balanced diet my whole life, including plenty of vegetables/salads/fruits etc., but I also ate lots of sweets, carbs, etc. whenever I felt like it. Rarely ate non-sweet junk food (chips, crackers, pretzels, etc.) because I had less of a taste for it. So when I adjusted my eating habits in my 30s it was more a matter of becoming a more conscious of adding in whole grains and, as I said, making sure to get enough protein. To this day I still don't know the calorie count of anything I eat.
posted by scody at 2:11 PM on April 5, 2011
I also started tracking my protein intake in my mid-30s as I started working out more and trying to gain weight through building muscle (I live in Bizarro World, where I lose weight if I don't exercise, and only gain weight when I do exercise). I stopped eating fast food (which though my 20s I ate up to a few times a week) in my early 30s mainly because it started to upset my stomach. I regularly eat dairy (never low-fat), though not quite as much as I used to. I cut back on red meat a few years ago because I also found it harder to digest; I eat it only occasionally, and only organic/family-farm produced when I do.
I will say I generally preferred a pretty well-balanced diet my whole life, including plenty of vegetables/salads/fruits etc., but I also ate lots of sweets, carbs, etc. whenever I felt like it. Rarely ate non-sweet junk food (chips, crackers, pretzels, etc.) because I had less of a taste for it. So when I adjusted my eating habits in my 30s it was more a matter of becoming a more conscious of adding in whole grains and, as I said, making sure to get enough protein. To this day I still don't know the calorie count of anything I eat.
posted by scody at 2:11 PM on April 5, 2011
I don't know if I'm naturally skinny, but I lost about 20lbs about 5 years ago (I wasn't really overweight, but not as toned as I wanted to be, I guess), and some of the stuff I started doing there seemed to work - and I do most of it still. I had always been super skinny, but once I hit my late twenties and a desk job, this started to change. Here are some things I did/do:
* Started counting my calories. I don't do this anymore, but I guess I have a pretty good idea of what is worth what. I don't keep a mental tally anymore.
* Joined a gym - still going often.
* I switched to whole wheat pasta and bread , plus brown rice, as much as possible.
* Smaller portions. Instead of the 12" sub I went for the 6". If I did eat a burger, I'd skip the fries.
* Started eating breakfast. I had a lot of smoothies when I was first starting out - basically yogurt * banana + orange juice. Now I usually eat a bowl of cereal, or I'll have yogurt and cereal - sometimes with some fruit and often with nuts (almonds, usually).
* Drank lots of water. I still try to keep this up. In the winter it tends to be tea.
* Stopped drinking soda. I was never much of a soda drinker, but I drink even less now. Only three cans this year. Same goes for juice - I mostly just drink water and tea, and coffee.
* Recognized my vices. If I have unhealthy desserts or snacks in the house (not to mention cheese), I'll eat them - so I don't buy potato chips unless I know people are coming over.
Really, those are the "big" things. I don't eat out all that much, and since I don't keep any really bad foods in the house, when I'm eating at home I'm usually eating pretty well. My other vice is lattes, but I restrict those to about one a week - and that's mostly just because I get the kind loaded with sugar, and not for any weight fears.
When I run down to the fridge for some water, I'll munch on some almonds which I keep on hand. I keep some fruit on hand too, and if I'm hungry between meals I'll usually eat some of those. I think I've got a pretty good understanding of food and nutrition, which helps.
If I had to pick the one trick that works for me, it'd be: don't buy any snacks. I'm lucky because I buy food for myself - if you don't, maybe it's best to make sure whoever does do the shopping skips the snack aisle - or at least hides them from you.
posted by backwards guitar at 2:14 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
* Started counting my calories. I don't do this anymore, but I guess I have a pretty good idea of what is worth what. I don't keep a mental tally anymore.
* Joined a gym - still going often.
* I switched to whole wheat pasta and bread , plus brown rice, as much as possible.
* Smaller portions. Instead of the 12" sub I went for the 6". If I did eat a burger, I'd skip the fries.
* Started eating breakfast. I had a lot of smoothies when I was first starting out - basically yogurt * banana + orange juice. Now I usually eat a bowl of cereal, or I'll have yogurt and cereal - sometimes with some fruit and often with nuts (almonds, usually).
* Drank lots of water. I still try to keep this up. In the winter it tends to be tea.
* Stopped drinking soda. I was never much of a soda drinker, but I drink even less now. Only three cans this year. Same goes for juice - I mostly just drink water and tea, and coffee.
* Recognized my vices. If I have unhealthy desserts or snacks in the house (not to mention cheese), I'll eat them - so I don't buy potato chips unless I know people are coming over.
Really, those are the "big" things. I don't eat out all that much, and since I don't keep any really bad foods in the house, when I'm eating at home I'm usually eating pretty well. My other vice is lattes, but I restrict those to about one a week - and that's mostly just because I get the kind loaded with sugar, and not for any weight fears.
When I run down to the fridge for some water, I'll munch on some almonds which I keep on hand. I keep some fruit on hand too, and if I'm hungry between meals I'll usually eat some of those. I think I've got a pretty good understanding of food and nutrition, which helps.
If I had to pick the one trick that works for me, it'd be: don't buy any snacks. I'm lucky because I buy food for myself - if you don't, maybe it's best to make sure whoever does do the shopping skips the snack aisle - or at least hides them from you.
posted by backwards guitar at 2:14 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
There's not a whole lot of evidence for the idea that, on average, thin people and fat people eat substantially differently. In the mid-70s, a bunch of studies were done on how people eat, and the findings were that the average caloric intake for thin and fat people was about the same, as was the macronutrient balance of their food and the speed and frequency at which they ate. Some people just metabolize and use calories differently than other people do.
There have been a number of studies attempting to make thin people fat by having them eat what fat people are assumed to be eating: huge numbers of calories of low-quality, fatty food. (Note, again that there's little evidence that most fat people actually eat that way.) The Vermont Prison Overfeeding Study is the most famous of these, and the result was that even consuming up to 10,000 calories a day, the thin people struggled to gain 15-25% of their starting weights.
Now, there may be controllable reasons that people metabolize calories differently. There have been all sorts of attempts to prove that various chemicals make people fat, or that thin people fidget more and burn more calories, or that fat people are lacking some hormone or have too much of some enzyme. I'm not aware that any of those attempts have proven much. The only factor that has been statistically significant is smoking. Smokers are, controlling for other factors, thinner than nonsmokers.
The point is that, for most people who are fat, attempting to eat the way that their thin brethren do will not cause them to become thin. Yes, there are statistical outliers--thin people who consume very little and fat people who do, in fact, eat 10,000 calories a day. Those people likely could change their body composition by normalizing their eating. But for most of us, our eating is pretty normal to begin with, and we probably won't drastically change our bodies by eating more like other normal people whose bodies look the way we wish ours did.
TLDR: thin and fat people, for the most part, eat alike already. If you're hoping to change your body from fat to thin, eating the way that naturally thin people do is unlikely to make a huge difference, because the average fat person already eats pretty much the same way the average thin person does.
posted by decathecting at 2:19 PM on April 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
There have been a number of studies attempting to make thin people fat by having them eat what fat people are assumed to be eating: huge numbers of calories of low-quality, fatty food. (Note, again that there's little evidence that most fat people actually eat that way.) The Vermont Prison Overfeeding Study is the most famous of these, and the result was that even consuming up to 10,000 calories a day, the thin people struggled to gain 15-25% of their starting weights.
Now, there may be controllable reasons that people metabolize calories differently. There have been all sorts of attempts to prove that various chemicals make people fat, or that thin people fidget more and burn more calories, or that fat people are lacking some hormone or have too much of some enzyme. I'm not aware that any of those attempts have proven much. The only factor that has been statistically significant is smoking. Smokers are, controlling for other factors, thinner than nonsmokers.
The point is that, for most people who are fat, attempting to eat the way that their thin brethren do will not cause them to become thin. Yes, there are statistical outliers--thin people who consume very little and fat people who do, in fact, eat 10,000 calories a day. Those people likely could change their body composition by normalizing their eating. But for most of us, our eating is pretty normal to begin with, and we probably won't drastically change our bodies by eating more like other normal people whose bodies look the way we wish ours did.
TLDR: thin and fat people, for the most part, eat alike already. If you're hoping to change your body from fat to thin, eating the way that naturally thin people do is unlikely to make a huge difference, because the average fat person already eats pretty much the same way the average thin person does.
posted by decathecting at 2:19 PM on April 5, 2011 [5 favorites]
people who've maintained significant weight loss for a long time
I did this (for ~12 years, then gained some back for non-eating/food related reasons.) I did it by counting every darn calorie I ever ate. OK, not every one. But most of the time; I'd say 80% of the time. That might sound hard but it was second nature, and took only a few minutes each day.
Having spent a lifetime observing the habits of naturally thin friends, and comparing them to myself, I will say this. They a) get hungry a lot more often, b) eat a lot more food, and c) are more aware of getting full, and therefore less susceptable to eating too much just because it's there and they're not actively counting it.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 2:21 PM on April 5, 2011
I did this (for ~12 years, then gained some back for non-eating/food related reasons.) I did it by counting every darn calorie I ever ate. OK, not every one. But most of the time; I'd say 80% of the time. That might sound hard but it was second nature, and took only a few minutes each day.
Having spent a lifetime observing the habits of naturally thin friends, and comparing them to myself, I will say this. They a) get hungry a lot more often, b) eat a lot more food, and c) are more aware of getting full, and therefore less susceptable to eating too much just because it's there and they're not actively counting it.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 2:21 PM on April 5, 2011
Male, 6'2" 190lbs here, work out quite a lot. Managed to lose 20 lbs of chub around waist and other areas this way.
* Get a food scale. They're cheap.
* Figure out a protein/carb/fat ratio to use (I like this one.)
* either do all the calculations on paper or if you know Excel, make a simple spreadsheet so that as values change, everything else does too
* Use FitDay.com or download MyNetDiary from iTunes to figure out caloric and nutrient values (protein, carbs, fat). You'll use these sources to figure out how much to eat.
Then it's a matter of following a program you devise for a few weeks. Using a scale will educate you and your sense of how much you should be eating.
Then, after a while, you will be suitably restrained in expectations and you won't need the scale as much.
I know this sounds like homework but I was getting tired of not knowing for sure what I was doing, right or wrong. So through brute force and numbers, I figured it out.
PS I also weighed and did electronic fat readings using a scale each day. The reading isn't precise, but the trend over time will show you that most big weight fluctuations day-to-day are water weight and retention. If you graph the trend, you will see the real differences over time.
posted by teedee2000 at 2:25 PM on April 5, 2011
* Get a food scale. They're cheap.
* Figure out a protein/carb/fat ratio to use (I like this one.)
* either do all the calculations on paper or if you know Excel, make a simple spreadsheet so that as values change, everything else does too
* Use FitDay.com or download MyNetDiary from iTunes to figure out caloric and nutrient values (protein, carbs, fat). You'll use these sources to figure out how much to eat.
Then it's a matter of following a program you devise for a few weeks. Using a scale will educate you and your sense of how much you should be eating.
Then, after a while, you will be suitably restrained in expectations and you won't need the scale as much.
I know this sounds like homework but I was getting tired of not knowing for sure what I was doing, right or wrong. So through brute force and numbers, I figured it out.
PS I also weighed and did electronic fat readings using a scale each day. The reading isn't precise, but the trend over time will show you that most big weight fluctuations day-to-day are water weight and retention. If you graph the trend, you will see the real differences over time.
posted by teedee2000 at 2:25 PM on April 5, 2011
I eat whatever I want and don't get fat (although I am just past 30 and wouldn't be surprised to find this starts to change soon).
I don't eat very big meals; when I'm full I really don't want to eat any more at all - although if snack food is in easy reach I will continue troughing on it until it is gone. I don't think the size of my meals varies very much at all. I'm not good at skipping meals; if I don't eat a meal I'll start to get wobbly.
Mostly what I eat is not super healthy - lots of chocolate biscuits and coffee with sugar in it; not much fruit and veg - although I don't like soda and I mostly cook meals from scratch. If I eat a couple of unusually greasy meals in a row I start to crave salad; if I eat healthy stuff for several meals in a row I'll start craving trifle.
posted by emilyw at 2:25 PM on April 5, 2011
I don't eat very big meals; when I'm full I really don't want to eat any more at all - although if snack food is in easy reach I will continue troughing on it until it is gone. I don't think the size of my meals varies very much at all. I'm not good at skipping meals; if I don't eat a meal I'll start to get wobbly.
Mostly what I eat is not super healthy - lots of chocolate biscuits and coffee with sugar in it; not much fruit and veg - although I don't like soda and I mostly cook meals from scratch. If I eat a couple of unusually greasy meals in a row I start to crave salad; if I eat healthy stuff for several meals in a row I'll start craving trifle.
posted by emilyw at 2:25 PM on April 5, 2011
I don't have a very strong appetite, especially in the morning. I usually get full fairly fast. My main nutritional concerns are trying to eat more vegetables and protein and less sugary carby stuff (because that's what I'm inclined to eat when I have the option). If I eat a really junky meal, I'll try to eat something more nutritious next time. I don't worry much about calories in general since my problem is usually having too few (I drink those nutritional shakes for old people in the mornings now and have been able to get up to a non-underweight weight), only if something I'm eating is shitty and has a lot of calories (like desserts and stuff).
posted by elpea at 2:25 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by elpea at 2:25 PM on April 5, 2011
I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I usually want meat or fish, potato and vegetable. I very rarely every want anything sweet. I stop eating when I'm not hungry anymore. I often (but not always) wind up taking home a box when I eat out. Depending on my schedule, I usually eat one or two big meals a day (big defined as regular restaurant portion size) OR I'll snack on lots of small meals during the day. Some days, I only eat once. Other days, my meals are so small and so frequent that I never stop eating at all.
posted by yeolcoatl at 2:26 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by yeolcoatl at 2:26 PM on April 5, 2011
I would consider myself naturally thin, but some people might agree. My clothing size has ranged 4 sizes my adult life, and the only time I've felt it was unhealthy was at the smallest size. Right now I'm having trouble maintaining weight due to stomach issues.
Until my health forced me too, I did not keep track of what and how much I was eating. If I ate too much junk food, I would feel gross and crave veggies and clean fresh food. I have always needed to eat and drink regularly - I fall apart when not fed and watered regularly. I never liked soda, but like sweets and booze. The only thing about calories was that a chocolate bar was around 250 cal. I was/am always pretty active, don't like public transit, so I try to walk or bike commute.
What my recent health has forced me to do - Be responsible for my own food. I can't rely on cafeteria food or take-out, I have to plan ahead and bring food with me where ever I go. I eat ridiculously healthy now, but I have to or my body makes me pay ... promptly.
On preview - I agree with decathecting that your not going to get any secrets. One side of my family has no problems with obesity and has lifelong struggles with weight and associated health issues. I just got lucky.
posted by Gor-ella at 2:29 PM on April 5, 2011
Until my health forced me too, I did not keep track of what and how much I was eating. If I ate too much junk food, I would feel gross and crave veggies and clean fresh food. I have always needed to eat and drink regularly - I fall apart when not fed and watered regularly. I never liked soda, but like sweets and booze. The only thing about calories was that a chocolate bar was around 250 cal. I was/am always pretty active, don't like public transit, so I try to walk or bike commute.
What my recent health has forced me to do - Be responsible for my own food. I can't rely on cafeteria food or take-out, I have to plan ahead and bring food with me where ever I go. I eat ridiculously healthy now, but I have to or my body makes me pay ... promptly.
On preview - I agree with decathecting that your not going to get any secrets. One side of my family has no problems with obesity and has lifelong struggles with weight and associated health issues. I just got lucky.
posted by Gor-ella at 2:29 PM on April 5, 2011
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively. (Feel free to correct that assumption if you think it's wrong.)
I think part of it's wrong. I do think it's true that a lot of skinny people don't think too much about what they eat. But that doesn't mean they eat well. I'm not sure skinny people eat all that much "better," on average, than non-skinny people.
Some people are naturally skinny and some people are naturally fatter, and I don't think it's really all that much their fault, and I'm skeptical of assertions to the contrary. Plenty of skinny people are like that despite eating just as shittily as non-skinny folks.
what tips (if any) do you have for others who want to eat like a naturally thin person
Just eat like anybody else. That's what "naturally thin" people do. The real question is, are YOU a naturally thin person? If so, you'll be thin. If not, you won't. If you aren't, and you WANT to be thin, you'll probably need to eat very differently from someone who naturally is.
posted by fugitivefromchaingang at 2:31 PM on April 5, 2011
I think part of it's wrong. I do think it's true that a lot of skinny people don't think too much about what they eat. But that doesn't mean they eat well. I'm not sure skinny people eat all that much "better," on average, than non-skinny people.
Some people are naturally skinny and some people are naturally fatter, and I don't think it's really all that much their fault, and I'm skeptical of assertions to the contrary. Plenty of skinny people are like that despite eating just as shittily as non-skinny folks.
what tips (if any) do you have for others who want to eat like a naturally thin person
Just eat like anybody else. That's what "naturally thin" people do. The real question is, are YOU a naturally thin person? If so, you'll be thin. If not, you won't. If you aren't, and you WANT to be thin, you'll probably need to eat very differently from someone who naturally is.
posted by fugitivefromchaingang at 2:31 PM on April 5, 2011
Naturally skinny dude here. I don't know that either one of those options really applies, but I guess I'd go with 1--speaking in very general terms, all my meals, taken together, contain approximately the same amount of calories from day to day. When I do take in more calories (maybe once a week) I'm not sure how I compensate for that...other than that my body just returns, over a short period, to its scrawny "set point". I do eat pretty healthfully (except when I don't) and always clean my plate. Don't have a sweet tooth. I definitely enjoy eating but have never eaten "emotionally". So yeah, I guess I do eat somewhat intuitively. Wish it wasn't so darn difficult to put on muscle mass though!
posted by bennett being thrown at 2:37 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by bennett being thrown at 2:37 PM on April 5, 2011
they just eat well, naturally and intuitively.
ahahaha, no. Not in my case. My diet is full of junk, but I don't eat very much of it. Simply put, eating is mostly a chore. When I lived by myself, I'd often forget to eat. I am extremely lazy in the kitchen, and often I'd rather NOT EAT than go through the work make something. It just doesn't seem worth it. And when I do make something for myself, it's the quickest and easiest thing I have available. When I was single, sometimes I'd have a bowl of oatmeal for dinner, and nothing else. I've gained a few pounds since getting married, because mr. desjardins cooks dinner, but usually I skip breakfast and sometimes lunch. I'm at the very low end of the "normal" weight range for my height; last year was the first time I'd hit 100 lbs.
tl;dr: I'm thin because I don't really like eating or cooking.
posted by desjardins at 2:38 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
ahahaha, no. Not in my case. My diet is full of junk, but I don't eat very much of it. Simply put, eating is mostly a chore. When I lived by myself, I'd often forget to eat. I am extremely lazy in the kitchen, and often I'd rather NOT EAT than go through the work make something. It just doesn't seem worth it. And when I do make something for myself, it's the quickest and easiest thing I have available. When I was single, sometimes I'd have a bowl of oatmeal for dinner, and nothing else. I've gained a few pounds since getting married, because mr. desjardins cooks dinner, but usually I skip breakfast and sometimes lunch. I'm at the very low end of the "normal" weight range for my height; last year was the first time I'd hit 100 lbs.
tl;dr: I'm thin because I don't really like eating or cooking.
posted by desjardins at 2:38 PM on April 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
There's not a whole lot of evidence for the idea that, on average, thin people and fat people eat substantially differently. In the mid-70s, a bunch of studies were done on how people eat, and the findings were that the average caloric intake for thin and fat people was about the same, as was the macronutrient balance of their food and the speed and frequency at which they ate. Some people just metabolize and use calories differently than other people do.
It's really not so clearcut as that. See e.g. this article, which has links to some studies.
posted by Anatoly Pisarenko at 2:41 PM on April 5, 2011
It's really not so clearcut as that. See e.g. this article, which has links to some studies.
posted by Anatoly Pisarenko at 2:41 PM on April 5, 2011
I am a thin person who is constantly compensating, fitness-wise, for how much I overeat. I find myself exercising a lot in response to my transgressions. It all seems to even out, but one day I'll get injured or naturally slow down and then I'll probably gain like 20 pounds overnight.
Also, see my answer in the first "previously" linked thread.
posted by hermitosis at 2:42 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, see my answer in the first "previously" linked thread.
posted by hermitosis at 2:42 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am not "naturally thin" but my dad is, and has trouble maintaining his weight at 5'3" (or so). However, he is super health conscious, only eats when he gets hungry (3 meals a day), and eats very lightly at night. He eats out/breaks away from routine about once a week.
Breakfast: 2 slices of whole wheat toast with almond butter (or something similar), with jelly or jam. An apple, homemade chai made with whole or 2% milk and like 23 ingredients he grinds himself. Organic fruit juice (with pulp/fiber). A whole bunch of nuts. A handful of dried fruit. Sometimes an omelet on top of this.
Lunch: fish (occasionally replaced with some other kind of meat) and some cooked veggies with rice (white or brown). A half apple or so. A bunch of nuts. Mixed salad greens.
Dinner: veggie soup, or vegetables and rice. More nuts.
Before bed snack: half an apple or so, maybe some dried fruit
At similar heights, my siblings and I are in awe of how much he eats, especially for breakfast. He eats healthily, but it's quite a lot of food. If I ate that much in the morning or in one sitting, I would be completely sick every day.
posted by raztaj at 2:45 PM on April 5, 2011
Breakfast: 2 slices of whole wheat toast with almond butter (or something similar), with jelly or jam. An apple, homemade chai made with whole or 2% milk and like 23 ingredients he grinds himself. Organic fruit juice (with pulp/fiber). A whole bunch of nuts. A handful of dried fruit. Sometimes an omelet on top of this.
Lunch: fish (occasionally replaced with some other kind of meat) and some cooked veggies with rice (white or brown). A half apple or so. A bunch of nuts. Mixed salad greens.
Dinner: veggie soup, or vegetables and rice. More nuts.
Before bed snack: half an apple or so, maybe some dried fruit
At similar heights, my siblings and I are in awe of how much he eats, especially for breakfast. He eats healthily, but it's quite a lot of food. If I ate that much in the morning or in one sitting, I would be completely sick every day.
posted by raztaj at 2:45 PM on April 5, 2011
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively.
This is certainly true for me. That said, since I was around 18 I have tended to put on weight. Though I'm still well below the American average. So while I don't really think a lot about what I eat, I'm not sure that I'm a good person to emulate simply because I'm "naturally thin". If you eat how I eat, you will probably gradually gain wait until, like me, you are no longer quite as thin as you once were.
But if you had to examine your eating habits, which would be most accurate for you:
Option 1: all your meals contain aproximately the same amount of calories from day to day.
Option A: meals where you overeat are compensated for by eating less at subsequent meals.
Hm. This is definitely not something I think about consciously. However, based on the few times I've tracked my caloric intake (mainly out of curiosity, sometimes out of social pressure to be a size 4 rather than a size 6 or some dumb shit like that), I would guess that I'm the second option. Though, again, this is definitely not something I consciously do. Sometimes I eat french fries. Sometimes I eat carrot sticks. It all sort of evens out in the end (again, except for the part where I've gained 20-30 lbs since my teens).
There's also simple logic, which states that different meals and social situations are going to involve more or less calories. Breakfast is often coffee and a cup of yogurt or some oatmeal, while dinner is likely to be pasta, curry, or a big salad with cheese and nuts. I crave heartier foods in the winter and lighter foods in the summer. I'll eat a big plate of turkey and sides at Thanksgiving, but grilled veggies and watermelon at the Fourth of July. Know what I mean?
posted by Sara C. at 2:50 PM on April 5, 2011
This is certainly true for me. That said, since I was around 18 I have tended to put on weight. Though I'm still well below the American average. So while I don't really think a lot about what I eat, I'm not sure that I'm a good person to emulate simply because I'm "naturally thin". If you eat how I eat, you will probably gradually gain wait until, like me, you are no longer quite as thin as you once were.
But if you had to examine your eating habits, which would be most accurate for you:
Option 1: all your meals contain aproximately the same amount of calories from day to day.
Option A: meals where you overeat are compensated for by eating less at subsequent meals.
Hm. This is definitely not something I think about consciously. However, based on the few times I've tracked my caloric intake (mainly out of curiosity, sometimes out of social pressure to be a size 4 rather than a size 6 or some dumb shit like that), I would guess that I'm the second option. Though, again, this is definitely not something I consciously do. Sometimes I eat french fries. Sometimes I eat carrot sticks. It all sort of evens out in the end (again, except for the part where I've gained 20-30 lbs since my teens).
There's also simple logic, which states that different meals and social situations are going to involve more or less calories. Breakfast is often coffee and a cup of yogurt or some oatmeal, while dinner is likely to be pasta, curry, or a big salad with cheese and nuts. I crave heartier foods in the winter and lighter foods in the summer. I'll eat a big plate of turkey and sides at Thanksgiving, but grilled veggies and watermelon at the Fourth of July. Know what I mean?
posted by Sara C. at 2:50 PM on April 5, 2011
I'm probably what most people would call naturally thin (not skinny, but healthy weight) and the short answer would be that I do not eat recreationally or for entertainment, at all. Ever. I get hungry, I eat something healthy*, I get full, I stop eating.
*This is the tricky part. What is healthy for me may not be for you, so there's no one single answer to this question.
posted by chez shoes at 2:52 PM on April 5, 2011
*This is the tricky part. What is healthy for me may not be for you, so there's no one single answer to this question.
posted by chez shoes at 2:52 PM on April 5, 2011
I assume that most naturally thin people don't think a lot about their eating habits - they just eat well, naturally and intuitively.
Kind of, but that intuition was something that was adopted over time-- I don't drink soda or add sugar to my coffee. I don't eat ice cream at home. For a while I just wouldn't have cheese in my refrigerator. I stopped eating pizza regularly one day and now only have it very occasionally. I have a repertoire of simple meals that I can cook for myself and eat over the course of the week-- the last bit is key: I don't really need a lot of variety on a day-to-day basis and stick to simple patterns/routines.
Another thing is that if I find myself consuming a lot of a certain food in one sitting (example: finishing a box of crackers), I will attempt to stop buying that food and having it around.
Do these habits work? Well, I'm not overweight, but I'm not "naturally thin." My weight is pretty stable, and I get a fair amount of exercise, but then, I'm pushing into my late 30s, and at this point, I think I would have to go to some dietary extremes to significantly affect my weight, and I'm not really willing to do that.
posted by deanc at 3:02 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Kind of, but that intuition was something that was adopted over time-- I don't drink soda or add sugar to my coffee. I don't eat ice cream at home. For a while I just wouldn't have cheese in my refrigerator. I stopped eating pizza regularly one day and now only have it very occasionally. I have a repertoire of simple meals that I can cook for myself and eat over the course of the week-- the last bit is key: I don't really need a lot of variety on a day-to-day basis and stick to simple patterns/routines.
Another thing is that if I find myself consuming a lot of a certain food in one sitting (example: finishing a box of crackers), I will attempt to stop buying that food and having it around.
Do these habits work? Well, I'm not overweight, but I'm not "naturally thin." My weight is pretty stable, and I get a fair amount of exercise, but then, I'm pushing into my late 30s, and at this point, I think I would have to go to some dietary extremes to significantly affect my weight, and I'm not really willing to do that.
posted by deanc at 3:02 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
My naturally thin husband (in his 30s) eats one big meal a day, and that's it. He'll have coffee for breakfast and maybe a bagel a few times a week, but he won't eat until dinner (which is around 9 for him, as he works afternoons and evenings), where he eats one serving of a big dinner. Sometimes the dinner is healthy, sometime it isn't. He'll snack a bit after (usually junk). He runs in the summer, but not in the winter. He doesn't gain weight when he's not exercising -- only loses tone. He never thinks about what he eats.
I'm naturally thin, but I think about what I eat because I love food. If I eat too much, I'll go up 5 pounds (still well in my normal range, but I'm comfortable 5 pounds lighter). When I hit that upper range, I cut back on my portions and make sure I eat healthier. I don't drink soda or eat sweets because I don't like either. I make a healthy dinner most evenings. I eat small portions for breakfast and lunch and a bigger dinner, but never more than one serving. I'll have a snack occasionally in the evening. I pig out every now and then, and I'll go a couple of days in a row where I eat out every meal. I'm in my 30s, and was very thin as a teenager.
posted by Laura Macbeth at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2011
I'm naturally thin, but I think about what I eat because I love food. If I eat too much, I'll go up 5 pounds (still well in my normal range, but I'm comfortable 5 pounds lighter). When I hit that upper range, I cut back on my portions and make sure I eat healthier. I don't drink soda or eat sweets because I don't like either. I make a healthy dinner most evenings. I eat small portions for breakfast and lunch and a bigger dinner, but never more than one serving. I'll have a snack occasionally in the evening. I pig out every now and then, and I'll go a couple of days in a row where I eat out every meal. I'm in my 30s, and was very thin as a teenager.
posted by Laura Macbeth at 3:07 PM on April 5, 2011
I am thinish (not scrawny, but not carrying a spare tire, either). I think I'd largely agree with the comments directly above as I type this.
I eat mostly like my fatter friends, but with some big differences, too. Our dinners look about the same, but I'm not snacking like they are. (I am not making a general statement about how fatter people eat; I'm just looking at my immediate friends and coworkers.) Over a week or year, those chips and donuts and bananas really add up. I can definitely see a change in my weight when I spend a week at a conference with snack tables everywhere.
So yeah, if I eat a lot at one meal I tend to eat less at another, and if I've eaten enough over a week to make my pants fit tighter, I eat less the following week. I keep my weight (or more accurately, my waistline) within really narrow bounds. Not by obsessive about it, but just by paying attention to my body and making frequent adjustments to my eating and activity.
posted by Forktine at 3:09 PM on April 5, 2011
I eat mostly like my fatter friends, but with some big differences, too. Our dinners look about the same, but I'm not snacking like they are. (I am not making a general statement about how fatter people eat; I'm just looking at my immediate friends and coworkers.) Over a week or year, those chips and donuts and bananas really add up. I can definitely see a change in my weight when I spend a week at a conference with snack tables everywhere.
So yeah, if I eat a lot at one meal I tend to eat less at another, and if I've eaten enough over a week to make my pants fit tighter, I eat less the following week. I keep my weight (or more accurately, my waistline) within really narrow bounds. Not by obsessive about it, but just by paying attention to my body and making frequent adjustments to my eating and activity.
posted by Forktine at 3:09 PM on April 5, 2011
I am 45 and have been the same weight (105-110 lbs) since I was about 15. I would say that for me, it's 1 and A. I love food, and cooking is one of my main interests, but for the most part I just don't have a desire to eat huge amounts of food. I stay on an even keel most of the time, and when I do overeat, it's pretty much self-correcting--I just feel gross, and want to get back to feeling the way I normally do, and naturally eat less until I do.
My observation, based on a lifetime of observing the radically disordered eating habits of some of my family members, is that I seem to be a lot more focused on how food makes me feel, and refuse to eat things that are going to make me feel bad, regardless of how hungry I am or how tasty they are. Just like when you eat something bad and it makes you throw up, and then you can't stand the thought of eating it ever again? Like that, but somewhat less extreme. When I think about eating McDonald's, for instance, I immediately think of the weirdly stimulated (all that sugar, I'm guessing) and greasy way I'll feel afterward, and then I think I can hold out until I can get home and have apple and walnuts instead (or whatever). But it seems that not everyone is wired this way.
Most "naturally thin" adults I have come across in my life genuinely do not think or care about food as much as I do. I love eating and I think about it all the time.
Yeah, that wouldn't apply to me. Pretty much all of my free time is devoted to food--thinking about it, reading about it, shopping for it, cooking, eating out, foraging for it, growing it, etc.
posted by HotToddy at 3:17 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
My observation, based on a lifetime of observing the radically disordered eating habits of some of my family members, is that I seem to be a lot more focused on how food makes me feel, and refuse to eat things that are going to make me feel bad, regardless of how hungry I am or how tasty they are. Just like when you eat something bad and it makes you throw up, and then you can't stand the thought of eating it ever again? Like that, but somewhat less extreme. When I think about eating McDonald's, for instance, I immediately think of the weirdly stimulated (all that sugar, I'm guessing) and greasy way I'll feel afterward, and then I think I can hold out until I can get home and have apple and walnuts instead (or whatever). But it seems that not everyone is wired this way.
Most "naturally thin" adults I have come across in my life genuinely do not think or care about food as much as I do. I love eating and I think about it all the time.
Yeah, that wouldn't apply to me. Pretty much all of my free time is devoted to food--thinking about it, reading about it, shopping for it, cooking, eating out, foraging for it, growing it, etc.
posted by HotToddy at 3:17 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I definitely enjoy eating but have never eaten "emotionally".
I think that's a key point, actually.
I've been on both sides of this issue. I was always naturally thin growing up and into my thirties, even after the births of my children. I ate when I was hungry. Then I had a hysterectomy when I was 36 and went on HRT (hormone replacement therapy).
I gained 40 pounds in 6 months(!) even though I was eating just as I had before. The doctors didn't take my weight gain seriously until I was actually overweight by their standards. I got a lot of, "It's natural to gain weight in your thirties!"
It took a long time, literally years, until my hypothyroidism was officially diagnosed. In the meantime, I could feel my eating habits change. I'm clinically depressed and take medication for that, and when I was most despondent about my weight, I would find myself eating comfort food, the last thing I needed. And of course that just made it worse.
Now on medication, I have lost half that weight, but I also have to remember to eat 'like a normal person' again. I remind myself to only eat when I am hungry, and not emotionally. Thankfully, I have a great psychiatrist that helps me with my depression.
Please understand, when I say "a normal person", I just mean someone who is not fixated on weight, as I was, but on health.
posted by misha at 3:20 PM on April 5, 2011
I think that's a key point, actually.
I've been on both sides of this issue. I was always naturally thin growing up and into my thirties, even after the births of my children. I ate when I was hungry. Then I had a hysterectomy when I was 36 and went on HRT (hormone replacement therapy).
I gained 40 pounds in 6 months(!) even though I was eating just as I had before. The doctors didn't take my weight gain seriously until I was actually overweight by their standards. I got a lot of, "It's natural to gain weight in your thirties!"
It took a long time, literally years, until my hypothyroidism was officially diagnosed. In the meantime, I could feel my eating habits change. I'm clinically depressed and take medication for that, and when I was most despondent about my weight, I would find myself eating comfort food, the last thing I needed. And of course that just made it worse.
Now on medication, I have lost half that weight, but I also have to remember to eat 'like a normal person' again. I remind myself to only eat when I am hungry, and not emotionally. Thankfully, I have a great psychiatrist that helps me with my depression.
Please understand, when I say "a normal person", I just mean someone who is not fixated on weight, as I was, but on health.
posted by misha at 3:20 PM on April 5, 2011
This was my answer before....I don't monitor what I eat, but I get full faster than I think many people who struggle with weight do. I actually have the experience of waking up still full the next day, if I exceed my normal caloric intake the day before.
posted by availablelight at 3:27 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by availablelight at 3:27 PM on April 5, 2011
I am male, 5'10, age 33 and have been around 155 lbs (+/- 5 lbs) for over 10 years. For many of those years I was vegetarian or vegan which is a good starting point for anyone wanting to maintain a healthy weight. I now eat meat and/or eggs only 4-5 meals a week (20% of the time) and mostly fresh grains, beans, vegetables, and fruit the rest of the time.
I am an active person but don't exercise just to exercise. I have also been to the doctor and had blood work done a few times and they are always astonished that I seem to be in better health than most people in my age group (I often get mistaken for being about 26 years old).
Distilled down to a quick summary, and to paraphrase Michael Pollan a bit:
If it didn't exist when your grandma was a kid, DON'T EAT IT.
Eat fresh food, mostly vegetables / fruit / whole grains, and avoid the center of the grocery store. A bit of meat and dairy products won't kill you, but don't make them the center of your diet, either. Avoid frozen food, packaged food, anything that comes from a factory, or anything that has an ingredient that you don't know or can't pronounce. Real food also doesn't need bogus health claims on it either so avoid that, too (that crap can only be printed on packaging, anyway!).
That's pretty much it, and I think it would work for anyone.
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 3:32 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am an active person but don't exercise just to exercise. I have also been to the doctor and had blood work done a few times and they are always astonished that I seem to be in better health than most people in my age group (I often get mistaken for being about 26 years old).
Distilled down to a quick summary, and to paraphrase Michael Pollan a bit:
If it didn't exist when your grandma was a kid, DON'T EAT IT.
Eat fresh food, mostly vegetables / fruit / whole grains, and avoid the center of the grocery store. A bit of meat and dairy products won't kill you, but don't make them the center of your diet, either. Avoid frozen food, packaged food, anything that comes from a factory, or anything that has an ingredient that you don't know or can't pronounce. Real food also doesn't need bogus health claims on it either so avoid that, too (that crap can only be printed on packaging, anyway!).
That's pretty much it, and I think it would work for anyone.
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 3:32 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
You might find this documentary, Why Are Thin People Not Fat?, particularly useful in understanding why there's no definitive eating pattern that thin people/people wanting to BECOME thin can follow with a statistically guaranteed outcome.
Even if you eat like other naturally thin people, your body isn't someone else's body and cannot be depended upon to produce the same results.
The link is free, no registration required; however, the TL;DW answer is:
Some thin people, when forced to eat like obese people, don't gain weight or gain muscle instead of fat; others gain weight when they change their eating habits but immediately lose all the weight; others gain the weight when forced to eat a higher calorie diet and cannot then lose the weight afterward.
Hell, some people's bodies manage to compensate for the additional calories by making that person a tiny bit more active to burn the windfall (jiggling legs, etc.) while others eat nothing but fruit and veg and are obese because they eat too large a portion, even of healthy foods.
Everything is relative.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 3:39 PM on April 5, 2011
Even if you eat like other naturally thin people, your body isn't someone else's body and cannot be depended upon to produce the same results.
The link is free, no registration required; however, the TL;DW answer is:
Some thin people, when forced to eat like obese people, don't gain weight or gain muscle instead of fat; others gain weight when they change their eating habits but immediately lose all the weight; others gain the weight when forced to eat a higher calorie diet and cannot then lose the weight afterward.
Hell, some people's bodies manage to compensate for the additional calories by making that person a tiny bit more active to burn the windfall (jiggling legs, etc.) while others eat nothing but fruit and veg and are obese because they eat too large a portion, even of healthy foods.
Everything is relative.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 3:39 PM on April 5, 2011
I can't say how much this book helped me work out issues I had with food. It definitely taught me how to get out of unhealthy dieting patterns and stay at a healthy weight without food obsession.
posted by caoimhe at 4:11 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by caoimhe at 4:11 PM on April 5, 2011
There's not a whole lot of evidence for the idea that, on average, thin people and fat people eat substantially differently. In the mid-70s, a bunch of studies were done on how people eat, and the findings were that the average caloric intake for thin and fat people was about the same, as was the macronutrient balance of their food and the speed and frequency at which they ate.
These studies were based on self-reported data. It has been proven time and time again through comparing self-reported data with experimental observations that overweight people consistently underestimate the amount and quality of food they're eating.
There have been a number of studies attempting to make thin people fat by having them eat what fat people are assumed to be eating: huge numbers of calories of low-quality, fatty food. (Note, again that there's little evidence that most fat people actually eat that way.) The Vermont Prison Overfeeding Study is the most famous of these, and the result was that even consuming up to 10,000 calories a day, the thin people struggled to gain 15-25% of their starting weights.
Your body does seek to maintain a set point, but this set point is not genetic and can be changed over time (though it requires long-term commitment). I assure you if the prisoners continued the study for a period of years they would not experience the same massive weight loss results or difficulty gaining.
posted by Anonymous at 5:14 PM on April 5, 2011
These studies were based on self-reported data. It has been proven time and time again through comparing self-reported data with experimental observations that overweight people consistently underestimate the amount and quality of food they're eating.
There have been a number of studies attempting to make thin people fat by having them eat what fat people are assumed to be eating: huge numbers of calories of low-quality, fatty food. (Note, again that there's little evidence that most fat people actually eat that way.) The Vermont Prison Overfeeding Study is the most famous of these, and the result was that even consuming up to 10,000 calories a day, the thin people struggled to gain 15-25% of their starting weights.
Your body does seek to maintain a set point, but this set point is not genetic and can be changed over time (though it requires long-term commitment). I assure you if the prisoners continued the study for a period of years they would not experience the same massive weight loss results or difficulty gaining.
posted by Anonymous at 5:14 PM on April 5, 2011
Schroedinger, that "set point" issue is addressed in the documentary I linked; specifically, the people were filmed 24/7 and tested so they couldn't self-report. The obese woman who only ate "healthy" food wasn't weighing her portions and learned she was eating ~3,000 calories a day in fruit and veg (her breakfast bowl of fruit only was MASSIVE). One young man who ate excessively didn't do any extra exercise, but his body naturally gained muscle mass, not adipose tissue. Others were still struggling to lose the weight they put on in 6 weeks more than 6 months later, after a check-in with the documentary team.
My point being: Imitating the behaviors of those whose attractive traits you seek to emulate will not necessarily produce those traits in yourself. While diet is a key factor in weight maintenance and/or loss, there is no unique eating pattern that produces identical outcomes in a mass population, regardless of activity, gender or age. Genetic factors, medical conditions and the like add too many variables into the equation.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 6:10 PM on April 5, 2011
My point being: Imitating the behaviors of those whose attractive traits you seek to emulate will not necessarily produce those traits in yourself. While diet is a key factor in weight maintenance and/or loss, there is no unique eating pattern that produces identical outcomes in a mass population, regardless of activity, gender or age. Genetic factors, medical conditions and the like add too many variables into the equation.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 6:10 PM on April 5, 2011
I'm stick thin and definitely do not have healthy eating habits. Chips and tacos. Lasagna and cokes.
posted by whalebreath at 6:45 PM on April 5, 2011
posted by whalebreath at 6:45 PM on April 5, 2011
I have to chime in and add some (yes, anecdotal) data points to the people saying/implying things like "Not everyone can eat well and still be skinny... some people are destined to be overweight due to genetics".
In my immediate family (brother, parents, and fraternal grandparents), I am the ONLY one who has ever been vegetarian/vegan, the only one who doesn't eat meat every day, the only one who rarely eats packaged food, the only one who hardly ever eats dairy products (only when I go out to eat), the only one whose diet is at least 50% organic/local, the only one who ever rides a bike, the only one who ever does outdoor activities (hiking, camping, rafting...) and on and on (you can imagine the rest)...
Curiously, I am also the only one who: isn't overweight (everyone else could stand to lose 30 lbs), isn't allergic to anything, doesn't take any medication, has no medical conditions, and has never been in a hospital (or various combinations of all of the above).
Genetics have VERY little to do with it. Even skinny people who eat enough crappy food without exercising will get fat. Just go to any 10 year high school reunion and you will see that. Heck, the guy who was THE swim team stud at my high school, who had probably the best body of anyone, looks like a sumo wrestler now.
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 6:47 PM on April 5, 2011
In my immediate family (brother, parents, and fraternal grandparents), I am the ONLY one who has ever been vegetarian/vegan, the only one who doesn't eat meat every day, the only one who rarely eats packaged food, the only one who hardly ever eats dairy products (only when I go out to eat), the only one whose diet is at least 50% organic/local, the only one who ever rides a bike, the only one who ever does outdoor activities (hiking, camping, rafting...) and on and on (you can imagine the rest)...
Curiously, I am also the only one who: isn't overweight (everyone else could stand to lose 30 lbs), isn't allergic to anything, doesn't take any medication, has no medical conditions, and has never been in a hospital (or various combinations of all of the above).
Genetics have VERY little to do with it. Even skinny people who eat enough crappy food without exercising will get fat. Just go to any 10 year high school reunion and you will see that. Heck, the guy who was THE swim team stud at my high school, who had probably the best body of anyone, looks like a sumo wrestler now.
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 6:47 PM on April 5, 2011
The case against the energy balance equation (aka "calories in - calories out") is really being overstated here. The Vermont Prison experiment certainly doesn't seem to disprove it. You can read about that study here. Inmates were overfed, and they all gained weight. They maintained their increased weight while they maintained their diet; when they went back to their old diets, their weight went down.
Here is another overfeeding study in which "...all the subjects, without exception, gained weight when overfed in a controlled environment, and ... there was a significant positive correlation between the total excess energy consumed and the magnitude of the weight gain."
The way some people tell it, you'd think it's impossible for a person to deliberately alter their bodyweight or composition. I did: I gained 60 lbs., or around 40% of my starting bodyweight, through diet and exercise over a period of 2.5 years or so. Then I decided to lose some, and have lost 11 pounds, or 5% of my peak bodyweight, in the past 3 months. Both times I deliberately changed my intake and the results were exactly as you'd expect.
There are certainly going to be genetic factors at play when it comes to appetite and body mass regulation, and medical abnormalities can alter the equation as well, but the link between overfeeding and weight gain and underfeeding and weight loss has been demonstrated in many studies. It's not at all an unreasonable generalization to say that if skinny people ate like fat people they'd be fat, and vice versa.
posted by Anatoly Pisarenko at 6:59 PM on April 5, 2011
Here is another overfeeding study in which "...all the subjects, without exception, gained weight when overfed in a controlled environment, and ... there was a significant positive correlation between the total excess energy consumed and the magnitude of the weight gain."
The way some people tell it, you'd think it's impossible for a person to deliberately alter their bodyweight or composition. I did: I gained 60 lbs., or around 40% of my starting bodyweight, through diet and exercise over a period of 2.5 years or so. Then I decided to lose some, and have lost 11 pounds, or 5% of my peak bodyweight, in the past 3 months. Both times I deliberately changed my intake and the results were exactly as you'd expect.
There are certainly going to be genetic factors at play when it comes to appetite and body mass regulation, and medical abnormalities can alter the equation as well, but the link between overfeeding and weight gain and underfeeding and weight loss has been demonstrated in many studies. It's not at all an unreasonable generalization to say that if skinny people ate like fat people they'd be fat, and vice versa.
posted by Anatoly Pisarenko at 6:59 PM on April 5, 2011
I am thin, have always been thin, and no matter what I eat, I remain thin (I am male). Actually, I have struggled through long periods of insane out-of-control overeating...and yet, I remained thin. Neither Option A nor Option 1 applies to me--each meal is a new event for me. It begins when I am hungry, consists of what tastes good and appeals to me, and it ends (usually!) at the first sign of fullness.
I don't think about calories. It's my body that gets hungry, that uses food, that gets satisfied and it doesn't know anything about Nicolas Clément or the word "calorie"...I believe stongly in intuitive eating, and the Intuitive Eating website helped me. I also came across the following book, which I have not read but seems to be along the same lines:
Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything. The author has other popular books, as well.
I believe obsessional caloric-thinking is counter-productive--not just in losing weight, but in every way. I have a friend who has had an eating disorder, and yes, at this time she is thin and counting calories. But she is not happy. I wonder if she would naturally be at a weight/build that would be just fine if she allowed herself to just eat whatever she wanted to for awhile, and concentrated instead on things in her life that bring her happiness. I have seen my friends with their iphone apps and their charts and I don't envy them, let me tell you.
The mind doesn't ultimately know what is best for the body, the body does. One can decide mentally how many calories one needs, but if the body isn't getting the fuel or nourishment it needs, it doesn't matter. If it doesn't, there is going to be a confusing unsatisfaction, and a propulsion to frustration and binge-eating. And those needs can change everyday depending on activity, amount of sleep, etc.
My obsession was not with calories, but ideas about nutrition and what the "right diet" & "right foods" were. I finally gave up the long, long war. I just ate what tasted good, and remained open to discovering good foods. Since I stopped, the guilt withered like a tree cut off at the roots. I became happier and relaxed. I naturally found balance, discovered good food and a way of eating that works for me, without trying.
Right now I am sitting here watching the ending of Biggest Loser, the paradigm of which I think is inherently self-defeating. So much of eating problems come, perhaps, from a lack of self-love and an internalization of a Parent figure who tells you you are not good enough can't do that should do this. So what do they do? Create a show that is obsessive about abstractions (a weight, # of calories...) and provide actual personifications of the Parent Authority figure (the trainers) to enforce guilt via these alien measurements, treating the body in a spirit of punishment and judging a person by their loss of pounds during a week. (Never mind that everyone would lose pounds healthfully at a different rate depending on body type, how much they've lost already, etc.)
posted by Thinkmontgolfier at 7:07 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't think about calories. It's my body that gets hungry, that uses food, that gets satisfied and it doesn't know anything about Nicolas Clément or the word "calorie"...I believe stongly in intuitive eating, and the Intuitive Eating website helped me. I also came across the following book, which I have not read but seems to be along the same lines:
Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything. The author has other popular books, as well.
I believe obsessional caloric-thinking is counter-productive--not just in losing weight, but in every way. I have a friend who has had an eating disorder, and yes, at this time she is thin and counting calories. But she is not happy. I wonder if she would naturally be at a weight/build that would be just fine if she allowed herself to just eat whatever she wanted to for awhile, and concentrated instead on things in her life that bring her happiness. I have seen my friends with their iphone apps and their charts and I don't envy them, let me tell you.
The mind doesn't ultimately know what is best for the body, the body does. One can decide mentally how many calories one needs, but if the body isn't getting the fuel or nourishment it needs, it doesn't matter. If it doesn't, there is going to be a confusing unsatisfaction, and a propulsion to frustration and binge-eating. And those needs can change everyday depending on activity, amount of sleep, etc.
My obsession was not with calories, but ideas about nutrition and what the "right diet" & "right foods" were. I finally gave up the long, long war. I just ate what tasted good, and remained open to discovering good foods. Since I stopped, the guilt withered like a tree cut off at the roots. I became happier and relaxed. I naturally found balance, discovered good food and a way of eating that works for me, without trying.
Right now I am sitting here watching the ending of Biggest Loser, the paradigm of which I think is inherently self-defeating. So much of eating problems come, perhaps, from a lack of self-love and an internalization of a Parent figure who tells you you are not good enough can't do that should do this. So what do they do? Create a show that is obsessive about abstractions (a weight, # of calories...) and provide actual personifications of the Parent Authority figure (the trainers) to enforce guilt via these alien measurements, treating the body in a spirit of punishment and judging a person by their loss of pounds during a week. (Never mind that everyone would lose pounds healthfully at a different rate depending on body type, how much they've lost already, etc.)
posted by Thinkmontgolfier at 7:07 PM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm naturally thin and fall into the "all your meals contain approximately the same amount of calories from day to day." Personally, I think the "have a big unhealthy meal then make up for it by eating salads and yogurt the next day" type of dieting adds unnecessary feelings of guilt and emotion to food.
You know those thin people who don't really care about food, say they get so busy they forget to eat sometimes? That is SO not me. I love food and eating and cooking and going to restaurants. However, I don't have much of a sweet tooth and rarely eat dessert or sweet treats. I drink water, black coffee, and black tea and avoid soda and juice. I try to snack on apples and healthy things, and I don't keep potato chips and yummy salty snacks in the house. Sure, I love bacon and french fries but don't have them more than once a week or so.
In part, I'm lucky because I've always had a high metabolism (and am dreading the day it slows down) but I think the fact that I exercise frequently is my savior. Given the choice, I'd much prefer to run 4K a day and eat whatever I want than to constantly have to monitor my food intake or feel hungry.
posted by emd3737 at 12:30 AM on April 6, 2011
You know those thin people who don't really care about food, say they get so busy they forget to eat sometimes? That is SO not me. I love food and eating and cooking and going to restaurants. However, I don't have much of a sweet tooth and rarely eat dessert or sweet treats. I drink water, black coffee, and black tea and avoid soda and juice. I try to snack on apples and healthy things, and I don't keep potato chips and yummy salty snacks in the house. Sure, I love bacon and french fries but don't have them more than once a week or so.
In part, I'm lucky because I've always had a high metabolism (and am dreading the day it slows down) but I think the fact that I exercise frequently is my savior. Given the choice, I'd much prefer to run 4K a day and eat whatever I want than to constantly have to monitor my food intake or feel hungry.
posted by emd3737 at 12:30 AM on April 6, 2011
I think I'm naturally thin (although over the last 10 years I've put on a few kilos due to a desk job and lack of exercise). These days i am a little conscious of trying not to eat loads everyday but I just don't eat a lot of 'crap'. you know crappy processed junk food and I never have. I like to eat well, I'm a bit of a 'foodie' and will obsess about food, but in the sense of obsessing about cuisine. how do you cook this or that. where can I get the best X in London.
posted by mary8nne at 3:32 AM on April 6, 2011
posted by mary8nne at 3:32 AM on April 6, 2011
I'm a skinny dude (5'11", 142 lbs) and I generally don't think at all about how caloric my meals are. I also have a natural (probably trained into me by my hippie-ish parents) distrust of processed food and fast food, but I really enjoy a delicious meal and don't give a rat's if it's full of fatty, cheesy, highly caloric delicousness.
To answer your question more directly, I'm more Option 1 than Option A, but not really either exactly. I eat whatever I eat whenever I'm hungry (and I'm pretty much always hungry). If I go a couple days without enough vegetables, I get a jones for carrots and that's that.
posted by that's candlepin at 12:09 PM on April 6, 2011
To answer your question more directly, I'm more Option 1 than Option A, but not really either exactly. I eat whatever I eat whenever I'm hungry (and I'm pretty much always hungry). If I go a couple days without enough vegetables, I get a jones for carrots and that's that.
posted by that's candlepin at 12:09 PM on April 6, 2011
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There's also this uncannily similar question. ("How do you naturally thin people eat?")
posted by John Cohen at 1:51 PM on April 5, 2011 [4 favorites]