I think that there are naturally thin people. My sister is one of them. She has no urges and no compulsions where food is concerned. It isn't as if she eats the same amount of food as I do, it's just that she has no desire to. She has never had to diet, has always been a size 0 (now, after 3 children, a size 2). She doesn't understand why saying no is hard.
I don't chalk it all up to her having a faster metabolism, rather, her not having an obsession with food the way that I do.
I do beleive this. I know quite a few people who don't work out or watch what they eat and they remain thin.
Example: My sister worked at the mall for 5 years, 99% of the time she worked there she ate a quarter pounder meal for lunch and she was always skinny (no that's not the only thing she ate all day). I saw her eat at home as well ... if I did that I would weigh twice as much as I do now!
They may not be the healthiest people but they are thing none the less!
My brother and father and a college room mate (female) ate like pigs and didn't gain weight. My brother and father were very physically active. My college room mate was a couch potato, so she must have just had a high metabolism. The first few month, my two other roommates and I thought she was bulimic, so we would actually listen at the bathroom door to see if she was throwing up (nope).
At my wedding 5 years ago (15 years after graduation) the former room mate was as thin as ever (and she ate at the buffet as heartily as she did in college, so I'm thinking she still hasn't had to watch calories). My dad, and now my brother have put on a few "spare tire" pounds when they became less active (my dad when he retired, my brother when he got a desk job).
I think there are "naturally thin" people, but that being said I think even most of them could be MADE fat under some circumstances. I think "thin" genes and "fat" genes both interact with the environment and the person's actions, so neither genetics or environment are solely responsible for the end result.
My mum is a naturally thin person - it's not as though she doesn't indulge in all those "treats" she just, as some people above have noted, has a "cut off" switch. She just doesn't eat past being satisfied...even if it's a piece of cheesecake! She's moderately active through the day being a preschool teacher chasing after 4yr olds and gardens on the weekends but she's always been rake thin. She was 115 pounds (at 5'7) when she fell pregnant with me at 25 and now at 50 is still only about 120...if that!
i think there are deffinetly people with higher metabolisms, and people who food does not effect in the same way as others. my brother is like that, thin as a rake and although he probably only eats his daily allowence the amount of fat is high enough that he should be a good size, rather then tiny. my boyf and his family eat plates and plates of carbs and they just build muscle, even though they dont really do any exercise
there are alot of people who arnt naturally skinny though who have to watch their weight everyday, alot more then i think us dieters realise
It seems that there are people out there in the world who are more likely to be thinner than average. Just as there are people out there in the world who are more likely to be heavier than average.
I don't think that they necessarily obsess over health & nutrition, but that they have their own "cut-off" point to which they respond. Or who really knows for sure since I'm not "naturally thin"?
My oldest kid (8yo boy) is naturally thin. He eats regular food in pretty big portions... but he's skinny as a rail. He's so skinny he doesn't like it. My husband is like that, too. All he does is eat fast food all the time (since he's on the road all day, everyday) yet he complains that he can't gain weight. I also have a sibling who takes weight gainers like crazy to beef up. How I would LOVE to trade problems with them!
Last edited by inklestinkle; 01-29-2008 at 02:31 PM.
My former boss/next door neighbor is 120 lbs and 5'10. His boys are also very skinny. His wife constantly complains about how she couldn't get away with eating in the middle of the night like the way he did, so I guess he is "naturally" thin.
A family friend's son is naturally thin to the point that when he was 7 or 8 he could eat 3 hot dogs (bun and all) at a meal and anything else for that matter and was so skinny child services thought he was being neglected! Literally, i remember a conversation where everyone was talking about how to go about him gaining weight because nothing was working, and then talking about how the dad was like that when he was a kid too (still is). The dad's a doctor so they are very healthy people but the dad and son never gain weight no matter what.
bassakwards -yes sorry i did steal it from your thread lol!
i go back and forth. ive definitely known people over the years i think are naturally thin but i cant decide if thats because they dont have food issues (ie they listen to their cutoff point) and thus consume around maintenance calories per day naturally or if their metabolisms are THAT much higher. I mean if the average person burns 2000 cals per day then im sure some burn only 1500 and some burn 2500 so the diff between those people would be a lot and it might seem like the 2500er was naturally thin, although still anyone can be "naturally thin" so long as they consume less or the same as they expend. but its harder to eat 1500 than 2500 plus add in food issues like binging etc not listening to cutoff points.
Debate? Discussion?
