It’s insane! I’m naturally skinny, and always have been.
When I want something, I eat it. Literally the only things that stop me from eating something are
a. cost
b. fullness
At nearly every meal I stuff myself. Last Thanksgiving I ate a fair portion of the bird, mounds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, squash, etc etc etc, had 6 different slices of pie…and passed out.
When I go to the Chinese buffet I have a plate of 15-20 sushi rolls as an appetizer, mound my plate over once with food, have a bowl of soup to settle my stomach, one more “main course” plate, then hit the desserts once or twice.
I’m legendary to my folks for having eaten 12 deserts at a Ponderosa after a large buffet meal.
Outside of cost, I cannot imagine saying “No” to food.
On the flip side if you asked me to gain 20lbs of fat or die, I’d just die.
Y’all who have to say “No”…you are stronger than I can imagine. Some people can exercise the excess calories, and some people have to just say no. To them…bravo!
How do you do it?
Any other skinny people like me who eat and eat? What health problems am I looking forward to?
Depends on your age. I could eat as you describe until about age 30. I kept eating that way and gained weight steadily for 20 years. I have now started to reverse the process, but it’s not fun.
Well, every person is different, but be prepared. At some point in the coming years you may find the same intake ==> weight gain. And the problem, speaking from experience, is that you have no experience in self-control. You’ve never had to worry about what you’re eating or how much you’re eating or whether you’re exercising. And then all of a sudden, you DO have to worry. It sucks at first. Well actually it always sucks but you get used to it after a while.
Some people never have a problem. I would advise you stay active and adjust your eating habits at the firs sign of weight gain. Much easier to prevent the gain than to lose it.
I was a chubby kid. Not fat, just plump. Then I hit puberty, and pretty soon I was thin. I was eating tons but lost all my fat. Then I turned 35 and my metabolism changed. I’m in my 40s now and I find I’m literally eating half as much as I used to and cutting out all kinds of junk food, and I’m still putting on a few pounds every year.
It’s true that some people never have a problem. I’m in my fifties, and I can still eat like that. And I’m still quite thin.
You never know which way it’s going to go. But, as others have pointed out, don’t assume that your ability to consume incredible amounts of food without putting on weight will last forever.
I ate like you through my 30s (also extremely active) and never gained an ounce. I’ve always been somewhat skinny. I was also legendary for being able to eat multiple desserts and generally large amounts of food. Although desserts aside, I’ve always eaten well, I think - tons of vegetables and vegetarian meals, not a whole lot of meat or processed food, lots of grains and legumes.
Post menopause and now 56, over the last 15 years or so, I’ve changed my eating habits out of choice, not necessity. I now eat a fairly low-carb, high protein, high fiber (still with the veggies and greens) diet, and MUCH less sugar. I still weigh what I weighed at 14-15 years old although sadly my shape has changed as droopy bits occur.
Yeah I’ve been listening to, “Wait till you’re older!”, or, “Wait till you give birth!”, or “Wait till you hit menopause!”, pretty much my whole life!
And it never happened! I’m still the skinny girl I always was at 57! I have always struggled to be normal weight. I have never owned a set of bathroom scales, in my life, and only weigh myself at the doctors. And, I let out a “Kaching!” If I’m up a pound!
My advice is to cut back on salty carbs and sweets like sodas, earlier rather than later. As someone with no weight issues, it never really crossed my mind until salt was an issue for my blood pressure and sugar was damaging my teeth! I never really noticed how most of my peers had long since given such things up, mostly as they struggled with weight issues.
I remember being a young woman and wanting to scream, “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”, at my peers who seemed to talk endlessly about losing weight, dieting and going to the gym. And they were all beautiful girls, but none of them were happy with their shapes. Hips too wide, thighs, arms, you name it, they wanted it different than it was, on endlessly it seemed. I had only bits where they had actual parts. Very little of my body did any jiggling, I was stick thin. They were hot bodacious girls, I swear. I was never, ever going to be as womanly as they were, no matter how I tried. And they all just wanted to be thinner. We were working in hot bars and it was raining men, but it didn’t matter, they only wanted to be skinnier. It was heart breaking to witness. I can’t help wondering what those woman think today, at this stage in their lives? I wonder if they look back and see how ten pounds on a scale was ruling their worlds? I wonder if the bathroom scales remained their guide throughout their lives?
AnthonyElite: You happen to have the type of body I’m attracted to. I’ve dated guys who were desperately trying to gain wait, yet couldn’t get their body fat up to double digits. I hope you’ve found someone like me who appreciates everything you are.
All of the above. I COULD gain weight if I wanted to, I guess, but I have chosen not to and eat/exercise accordingly because while far from whatever “perfect” is, I’ve always been OK with my body. I wish I had a bigger butt and thighs and smaller boobs and a well-defined waist and better hair and a prettier face and…well, but I don’t and it’s simply not that important. And for the record, I’ve never had an issue with not being attractive to men, even if I don’t have a Beyonce body.
After menopause I found that eating too many carbs and sugar gave me sugar crashes, which were unpleasant and unproductive. So I gradually morphed into eating a lower carb and sugar diet because it felt better. Otherwise I eat what I want, when I want, and my weight has pretty much been stable within a pound or two for the last 40+ years. And I’m healthy, which is the most important thing.
This is very interesting coming from someone who has previously said that fat people are lazy and greedy. A lot of them (us) are people who used to be able to eat what we wanted without a problem and therefore didn’t learn the habits that we would need when that stopped working. I hope you don’t run into that problem, but if you do, don’t tell yourself that 5-10 lbs is not a big deal and ignore it.
I was a skinny kid who couldn’t gain weight, and it basically lasted until I was about 25. Now I am 6-2 180, and that’s about perfect for me. I can easily gain/lose 10 pounds, but I doubt I could ever be fat. It’s just not in my genes, luckily. Oddly enough most of my parents has or has had weight problems in the past.
