I’m not a naturally thin person, but I’ve lived with several. I noticed there is a big difference between the way we think.
A thin person thinks:
1. I am a small person, and I need very little food to keep me going. (Or I have a small stomach) I’ve been told these things when I comment that someone didn’t eat much for dinner. I know, none of my business.
2. I’m not really hungry right now, I’ll eat later
3. This is really good, but I’m full now, so I think I’ll stop. (They can even leave half their dessert behind if they’re not hungry!)
4. I’m too busy to eat right now.
5. I don’t need food to have a good time.
6. I ate a lot yesterday and I’m just not as hungry today.
7. I can eat a small portion because I can always have more later.
If you ask a naturally thin person what they think about food, they probably can’t tell you. The main differnce is a naturally thin person doesn’t think about food a whole lot, while I can’t stop thinking about food.
A thin person might tell you they eat a lot. And sometimes they do. When a thin person eats a lot, it will almost always be in public. But when a heavy person eats a lot, it will almost always be in private. After a day of heavy eating a thin person will take the next few days and eat very little–less than they normally do. It’s natural and they don’t have to think about it. It’s like the variable calorie consumption I told you about yesterday. Varying how much we eat day by day keeps the metabolism pumping.
A naturally thin person may genetically have a faster metabolism than the rest of us, but usually that only allows them an extra 200 calories a day, about as much as a cup of milk and 2 graham crackers. I think that the bigger key to their metabolism is the choices they make without thinking about it, make their metabolism run faster. They fidget; they eat a variable rate of calories; they know their hunger signals and stop eating before they are stuffed.
The great news is anyone can learn to think like a thin person. Watch one nonchalantly for awhile and see what you can learn.
I agree completely! My husband, a naturally slim man, is just like that. He enjoys food and sometime s can really pack it away. However, there are many times when he says at lunch time, ” I am not hungry so I wont have lunch.” I say (in my mind), “What?? It is 12:00, you have to eat!” Also, when he is upset about something he doesn’t eat while I reach for food without even thinking. When our cat died, I took all the kids out for ice cream! What kind ofa message is that??
Thank you so much for taking the time to write all these healthy tips. They have been very helpful to me. I am trying “again” to lose weight. I totally agree about this. I have worked with really thin people and they could out eat a 25o pound man one day and the next two days barely eat enough to keep a bird alive. In all honestly I thought they had an eating disorder or something. But this makes more since. I love all this info, now i have to use it!
I am a thin person… and unfortunately no one should watch me eat! I eat a lot… and I think about food a lot as well (at night before falling asleep I tell my husband what I am craving. So basically, he falls asleep listening to me say things like “a Wendy’s jr. bacon cheeseburger, with fries from Burger King. No, a 5 Guys burger… and some fried shrimp. Or some dumplings with that amazing sauce and a side of Hunan chicken…”)
It is a genetic thing for me, however. My family runs to thinness on my father’s side. We are fidgety though… and we are partial to snacking. So we might eat all day long, but generally we don’t over-eat (generally is the key word). Even if I don’t over-eat, I almost never eat dessert. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so I do think that helps the skinny genes out some!
Interesting! I’m a “thin” person and with one exception I do tend to think that way. I adore food/cooking so I think about it a lot but that thinking is more of a planning on what to eat. I actually have to make myself eat more because I’m nursing now so in the past I could skip breakfast and or lunch then be starving by dinner but now I make myself eat because I figure my body needs smaller more frequent meals since I’m still eating for “two.”
I definitely think it’s more about metabolism for me. I’m thin, but I think about food all the time (or at least really look forward to the next meal), so I should be overweight. 🙂 I just eat three decent size meals a day and don’t snack in between. I then burn it off quickly through activity and keeping up with a busy family – no couch potato syndrome. I think people just need the encouragement to eat in moderation and to be active, in a society where food portions could feed a 200 lb. man and activity is dictated by what’s on tv.