How do people stay thin?

[soren7550]

Well, I'm poor so I can't really afford to eat so that's how I do it I guess. Also, I drink more that I eat usually, so maybe that helps.

I'm 5'7"-ish and about 115 lbs, so I know that's not healthy. Makes looking for pants a ***** (I'm either a size 2 or 4, I can't remember. Maybe it depends on where I'm getting my pants).

 

[I forgot]

eat healthier food. It does wonders.

 

[darkerthought7]

There's something to be said about "natural tendencies," as much as I hate the word "natural." I, for example, have never weighed over 140lbs though I lead a sedentary lifestyle and eat fast food at least 4 times a week.

How people remain thin could also be related to mental states. I have ADHD and high levels of anxiety, thus stress and distractions curb my appetite and I eat pretty much only when I feel hungry. This could happen 5 times in a day or not once. Stress also plays a role in how fast your system processes food by altering blood pressure, metabolic process, etc.

Basically, there's not a simple cure-all. Ideally, we'd all be eating healthy and hitting the gym. This gets you to a weight and size that supports your daily activities. And really, isn't that the most important thing?

 

[Wuggy]

They do... but not at the level that people say they do. Im sorry I jumped at you. Ex-fatty here, when people say that it reminds me of all the bullshit excuses my family told me when I was fat to keep me fat and happy.

Sometimes they do. I haven't worked out in years. At least not in the extent that would affect my weight (ie, most moving I've done last year has been walking to places and occasionally longboarding), I eat unhealthily (that is, burgers, Pizza, microwave food) and I don't gain a single gram of weight. Sometimes metabolisms do work that way.

But that is not to say that I'm healthy or fit, because I'm definitely not, I just simply don't gain weight. At all.

 

[crudus]

I've wanted to lose weight for a while now, and I have tried nearly everything (except diet pills and starving, I have my standards). The weird thing is that quite a few people I know tend to stay thin despite regularly eating burger king and such. I know some of them do work out, but some (like my girlfriend) somehow can stay thin without working out and despite apparently eating a lot (hell, I'm in much worse shape than my girlfriend, yet I have an easier time walking, thank you Mini-Boot Camp). I gotta ask, when it comes to those people, what's their secret?

Ok, there are two ways to lose weight: eat less or burn more calories. It is as simple as that(note: I didn't say easy). People can spout shit about metabolism until the cows come home (and they do). Not only do they neglect the fact that fat people tend to have a <a href=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabolism/WT00006>faster/higher metabolism than skinny people(its the same reason a hummer has lower gas mileage than a ford focus), but they neglect what people do for a living. I run/walk 10-15 miles carrying 5-15 pounds for 6-9 hours a day thanks to work. I burn a lot of Calories. I do not workout beyond that. I also usually eat once a day.

 

[mysecondlife]

AVOID WHEAT. wheat's being healthy is a big misconception.
avoid high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, sugar, dairy, white rice, cream... (a lot of things white)

embrace... oats, brown rice, millet, egg, kale, omega 3, potato, avocado, sprouted grain bread (look them up), etc.


edit: also... don't be afraid of butter. use it all you want. just avoid that "I can't believe its not butter!" crap. and speaking of butter, avoid margarine as well.

 

[Iggy Sent Me]

I'm one of those people, and I'll be frank, it's just the way we are. I more or less developed this metabolism when I was a teenager, and I still have it. Don't be disappointed though, to tell the truth, it sucks HARD. It's not that you CAN eat a lot and not work out but be thin, you HAVE to eat a lot. You absolutely HAVE to, or you will starve. I eat a meal of 3-4 servings every three hours, but I feel as hungry as I always do. I don't eat to fill up anymore, because it just doesn't happen unless I eat something like 2 or 3 plates of dense food, like meat and carbs. These days I eat to get energy, because that's the only reason I do it anymore. I can't say I enjoy food, because no amount of food seems enough to satisfy me. I also weigh less than 125 lbs. My doctor says some people are like this, and I don't appear to have any thyroid problems (which can cause this as a condition).

 

[Matt-the-twat]

Yeah it's metabolism. Try and eat more often and spread it out over the day rather than big meals. Stay away from 'white' foods, as in white bread, white pasta, etc. Walk/run/cycle places more. Generally try and behave a bit healthier than you did yesterday and you'll soon see results.

 

[bulbasaur765]

Metabolisms, but don't let that factor discourage you. My metabolism may change drastically as I grow older, so I stay away from fast food and consume water while I'm still skinny. At the cafeteria in college I always consumer a portion of salad and drink 2 cups of water every time eat a meal. Back when I was at home I used to take my pet dog walking the neighborhood while wearing a pedometer daily. I went from 130lbs to 122 after a week or two.

Plus being skinny is not so fun when you have to endure cold temperatures.

 

[RicoGrey]

An average person will burn about 12 Calories per pound per day. There is roughly 3200 Calories per pound of fat. The max amount of weight you should let yourself lose is 5 pounds per week. It is recommended you do not exceed 3 pounds, but whatever you do, do not go above 5. It is also recommended that you do not go below 1200 Calories per day regardless(some source say 1500).

5 times 3200 = 16000, so you need to burn 16000 Calories per week to lose 5 pounds...16000 divided by 7 = 2286(estimated) per day.

If you weigh:

350 pounds limit your Calories per day to 1914

325 - 1614

300 - 1314

290 and less - 1200

Following this formula I have lost 80 pounds.

Drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and the pounds will melt away. Weigh yourself daily, or as often as you can. Do strength training exercises to maintain muscle mass, and prevent bone loss. Bone loss will mostly only be a problem for an older person, but muscle loss will be a problem for all ages. If you decide to throw exercise into the mix, alternate daily between strength training and aerobic exercise(running, walking, etc).

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Simple. Don't eat much more calories then you burn. If you don't have extra energy to store as fat or even muscles to build, you won't bulk up.

Of course you're probably looking for specific methods and the like. Good diet and exercise is great to start, but in the end, if you don't take in too much, you won't bulk up too much. I barely exercise but am skinny on the sole fact that I don't eat too much (in fact I'm sure I eat too little).

 

[A Free Man]

I honestly have never found keeping thin too dificult. To be honest I am lucky enough to have a pretty good metabolism but it isn't even that really. I go to the gym three times a week and play sport every other day pretty much. Keeps me fit and helps to lose weight. I don't have a good diet at all but the way I see it as long as I do enough exercise to keep myself thin I can eat what I want. But the best advice I could give is find some type of exercise that you enjoy, and get your mates to do it with you. I wouldn't of lasted 2 weeks at the gym if I didn't have an awesome gym partner, and I am really good mates with all the guys in my teams. Basically try to make your exercise a choice rather then something you force yourself to do. Find a way to make it enjoyable so it doesn't become a chore that you resent.

 

[Mad World]

It's also not an excuse. I have a friend who went from 350lbs to 140lbs within 4 years through diet and exercise changes.

I never said that it was an excuse. I'm simply surprised that some actually believe that genetics plays no part. Pretty sure that it's been scientifically proven.

 

[Exile714]

Metabolism has alot to do with it. Im 5'11 and under 130. Body fat % is 9.5. I dont work out and dont watch what I eat. But I dont eat out at all. Ive also been the same weight since high school. Roughly 20 years ago. So yeah.. metabolism has alot to do with it.

You should be careful. If you really do not exercise, being slim might be a death sentence. The problem is "organ fat" which is the kind of fat slim people get when they don't exercise.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18594089/ns/health-fitness/t/thin-people-can-be-fat-inside/#.Tp5jF7LetBk

 

[walrusaurus]

^^^ That and the fact that they probably skip some meals, as long as you get enough vitamins and minerals then you actually don't need the calories that three meals a day provide.

The point of having multiple meals is to keep your metabolism up, not the actual calories themselves. If you don't eat very regularly then your body goes into 'conservation' mode as a survival mechanism. It doesn't know that all you have to do to get a meal is walk 10 feet to the kitchen, all it knows is that it hasn't eaten in a while and it gets worried.

Several small meals is much much better than 1 or 2 bigger ones. Honestly, i thought this stuff was common knowledge by now.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Move, walk, jog, anything that requires your body to use energy. Simply put you can eat that pizza, just be prepared to run a marathon afterwards.

 

[YouShouldDeleteThisAccount]

For those people its probably metabolism. But really, they could just eat better/be more active than you think.

I recommend muscle growth as a method of improving your metabolism. If you don't want to/have the money/the time to go to a gym/get weights, check out various books on calisthenics ( bodyweight exercises, things like push ups ) such as "You are your own gym" and "Convict Conditioning". You can easily do a calisthenic routine in the time most people would have to put into getting to a gym in the first place. I'm currently doing a routine based on Convict Conditioning myself. It's still fairly early days, but I've definitely noticed improvements in my strength, flexibility, agility and just about damn everything.

Oh and from everything I've heard "Eating more but smaller meals will improve your metabolism" is a myth. I've found absolutely no research that supports it, and at least a few studies which show it makes no difference at all. This doesn't make it a bad idea though, it should, in theory, help you control cravings. And as long as you make sure the total energy intake is less than your energy usage, you should lose body fat.

There are some pretty good dedicated communities out there for this sort of thing. I hear good things about the fit board on 4Chan and the Fitness sub-Reddit. Also, try to find someone with some Fitocracy invites. That site has me doing more regular exercise than any other point in my life.

 

[Bob_Dobb]

Eat less and move more you fat fuckers, as my Dad's friend would say.

 

[Joel Dawson]

How do people stop being thin, seriously? I can't gain weight no matter how much I try. It took several months at the gym just to put on 5 lbs in muscle and I can't seem to gain any fat.

 

[Mastodonic]

A great metabolism. I eat McDonalds at least a few times a week, and rarely eat healthy "It's been 5 weeks since my last vegetable..."

Rubbish. You burn on avg 2000 calories a day depending on your weight. A big mac only has 540 calories. So the avg person could eat 3 to 4 big macs a day and gain no weight. It has fuck all to do with "metabolism" and everything to do with MATH!

calories in - calories used = net loss/gain

The End.

You can't do math without accurate stats. You have no idea what my meal is. Also, factor in that I don't just eat one meal a day, try 2-3 and 1-2 snacks.

Accurate stats and examples didnt appear to be a factor when you offered up your original anecdote about metabolism and how it directly applied to your situation. You were happy to make vague references to you unhealthy diet without any numbers as testamony to your "amazing metabolism". At least I offered a real example of how an unhealthy diet would not contribute to weight gain regardless of metabolism.
All these anecdotes about "godly metabolisms" and "being able to eat all the crap i want" are bunk and deeply steeped in misconceptions of what "a lot" really means in terms of calories burnt and calories consumed.

It's lazy and misinformed. Barring genetic disorder or regular exercise, no one has a faster or slower metabolism that accounts for weight gain/loss. It is entirely calories in, calories used. you can speed up your metabolism by putting on muscle mass and exercising but suggesting any reference to a "naturally fast" metabolism is a myth.