Why Aren't Thin People Fat?

Exercise as an appetite suppressant is pretty much hit or miss.  Sometimes I'm absolutely ravenous after the gym,

I currently don't exercise much, but during the times of my life when I have done it regularly, I've always gained weight! Exercise seems to increase my already over-active hunger mechanism and always makes me ravenous!

I remember reading recently that in Japan people try to eat until they are 80% full and then stop.  That sounds like torture to me.  I also eat really fast which doesn't help.

I was thinking about this post this morning whilst walking to work with my husband.  It's about 3 miles and I do it every morning at a brisk pace.  Despite the fact he probably hasn't walked more than 30 yards in the past 6 months he was far less tired than me and walked a lot faster.  I give up.

I have a similar problem in that I can get full, but my tummy/brain will tell me 30 minutes later that I'm 'hungry' again!  And I eat tons of whole grains, fiber, all the wholesome foods designed to make you feel fuller longer.  For instance, I have a good bowl of old-fashioned porridge oats in the morning and I will still be hungry by 10:30am.  It's frustrating, too, because sometimes I feel like no matter how 'good' I am with WHAT I eat, I still get defeated with HOW I eat.

Mmmm hmmm

Just ate lunch...wanting something now again... 

OMG... I've always felt like I was the only one w/out a shut off valve!  Keith just doesn't understand it at all. 

No, you're definitely not the only one. My dh doesn't have that valve at all. I have it, but my problem is I usually don't listen to it. 

I have a similar problem in that I can get full, but my tummy/brain will tell me 30 minutes later that I'm 'hungry' again!  And I eat tons of whole grains, fiber, all the wholesome foods designed to make you feel fuller longer.  For instance, I have a good bowl of old-fashioned porridge oats in the morning and I will still be hungry by 10:30am.  It's frustrating, too, because sometimes I feel like no matter how 'good' I am with WHAT I eat, I still get defeated with HOW I eat.

I've never bought the "oatmeal sticks to your ribs" line my mom gave me.  I'm always ravenous an hour or two after a bowl of oatmeal - other cereals don't do this to me.  I feel more satisfied after a bowl of bran flakes, even though there's less mass involved. 

I stay hungry pretty much all the time, as well. Even though I will feel completely full after dinner, I feel hungry again an hour later. It doesn't matter what I eat, it's always the same. My grandmother tells me I always had a big appetite, even as a baby, so I guess I'm one of those "armageddon survivors!"  I do feel that what you eat and how much you eat does make a difference with most people, but it makes sense that while some people can eat whatever they want and stay thin, that others could try their hardest, and still be heavier than they would like to be. My BMI says I am slightly overweight, but I feel just average. There's nothing wrong with having curves, and I don't mind if I don't get thin from my diet and exercise plan, I just want to fit a bit better in my clothes and tone up a bit, meanwhile avoiding gaining any additional weight, which I was sure to do because I was eating what my skinny, no-weight-gaining hubby was eating - bacon butties, crisp sandwiches, chocolate, pork pies, and loads of junk! And since I am only 5 feet tall, even a small amount of weight makes a big difference on my body.
Just think ladies, it was only until the last few decades that skinny was celebrated - before then, women who were curvier with a bit more fat on their bodies were the most desirable. Look at the Titian paintings! Look at the Hollywood starlets of the 1950's! One day it will come back into fashion to have a curvier, heavier figure, and then the skinny girls will be scramming for a sandwich!!    

One day it will come back into fashion to have a curvier, heavier figure, and then the skinny girls will be scramming for a sandwich!!    

I'd like to think that you're right, but I'm not sure I believe it.  I think there's been a sea change in the way women's bodies are viewed, and I don't know what it would take to shift the perspective back again.  I blame the Duchess of Windsor; wasn't it she who said that you can never be too rich or too thin? 

Wrong on both counts, sister!

I think most people are 'addicted' to food.

I both disagree with this and not sure why you put "addiction" in quotes. Food is unique in that we all need it to live, but the best way I could explain food addiction to others is that there are people who enjoy drinking and then there are alcoholics.

My doctor put me on an anti-depressant once and I hadn't initially that it was also used to control compulsive behaviour and treat addiction. One morning after about a week of taking it, I woke up, padded to the kitchen to grab food (as I do first thing when I get out of bed,) opened the fridge and stopped. I didn't want anything. I didn't want it because I wasn't hungry. That feeling really shocked me as it was entirely new!

And do it was, for the entire time I was on the meds: I still ate and enjoyed food. But I stopped when I was full and didn't really worry much about it when I wasn't hungry. The obsession with getting to that next morsel, that next snack, to that next meal was gone.

This "addiction" for some: it is very very real.

ETA: From reading, it seems like people just have very different relationship with food. For example, I'm like MeShell: food consumption is not related to feelings of hunger in any way.

Experiences of someone like Jewlz, who is constantly hungry, are foreign to me. If my eating was driven purely by that, I'd probably eat only two apples and an egg a day, or something. And those are just two permutations.

There are infinite number of reasons why people gain weight, stay overweight, can't lose weight. Isn't it ridiculous to think that there's only one way to address that?

I'd like to think that you're right, but I'm not sure I believe it.  I think there's been a sea change in the way women's bodies are viewed, and I don't know what it would take to shift the perspective back again.  I blame the Duchess of Windsor; wasn't it she who said that you can never be too rich or too thin? 

Wrong on both counts, sister!

NOOOOO!!!!!!! Keep the hope alive! If Nigella Lawson can be a sex symbol, then surely we can, too! The UK seems slightly more open-minded to the fact that girls need to eat, too!

NOOOOO!!!!!!! Keep the hope alive! If Nigella Lawson can be a sex symbol, then surely we can, too! The UK seems slightly more open-minded to the fact that girls need to eat, too!

I agree and it's reason number 2,597 that I love it here. There are a number of women on TV here who I don't think would stand a chance getting hired in the US....

NOOOOO!!!!!!! Keep the hope alive! If Nigella Lawson can be a sex symbol, then surely we can, too! The UK seems slightly more open-minded to the fact that girls need to eat, too!

I definitely agree.  I feel a lot more comfortable with my body type here than anyplace else I've lived (California, Japan, eg), and I love that ordinary stores have sizes that would be considered "plus size" in the US. 

BTW, does anyone else find it ironic that the ads at the top of the pages in this thread are all for weight-loss plans? 

It's been really interesting reading how everyone here relates to food. I think I'm a lot like Jewlz in that often I eat a meal and then am  really hungry again an hour later. But then again, there are many times I completely forget to eat. If I'm really busy or focused on something else, I'll look up and realize that it's almost evening and I haven't eaten since that morning, but I won't have registered being hunry at all.

I'm really tall and generally just have a thin body type. But despite the emphasis modern society places on thinness as beauty, I still get a lot of flack, which is weird. Personally, I'd like it if every time I went home, I wouldn't get told by family friends how they hate me for being skinny. And I wish guys wouldn't scream 'You're too skinny, b*tch!' (or similar) out of their car windows at me. And I wish my mom would stop assuming I have an eating disorder. It's like women can't win. You're either too fat or too skinny for somebody's liking, and they won't hesitate to let you know that. Ugh.

Sorry, I've gone off topic.

As a thin person, I can tell you, that this is not true. I am constantly concerned with food. I could and have eaten an entire box of Entenmann's chocolate donuts and I am definitely not a  person that can eat what they want without gaining weight. 

My comment was more directed towards naturally skinny people like my friend Matt, who is a bottomless pit with a metabolism that could fuel an entire city. He could eat very much anything whenever and lose weight  Also I meant people like him aren't concerned with food in matters of losing weight and or watching what he ate. He isn't concerned and could lose weight, while people like me are concerned and have trouble losing weight.

I would imagine that thin people's individual relationships with food run the gamut as well...some have to watch what they eat & exercise and this is sufficient for them to maintain a lower/thinner weight, some eat a huge amount & fidget a lot (like DH), some hardly think about food & may even forget to eat, etc and everything in between on a spectrum.

some eat a huge amount & fidget a lot (like DH), some hardly think about food & may even forget to eat, etc

Fidgeting may have something to do with it. God knows I fidget all the time. I wonder how many calories someone burns without realizing it when they have trouble sitting still?