"Why Are Thin People Not Fat?" BBC Documentary
 

I watched a lot of this, and it's just what I suspected - hunger is just something that will have to be dealt with, apparently, the rest of my life, because I have a "genetic" tendency toward being overweight/overeating! But if one knows that, one can approach it in a more reasoned manner.

One thinner guy in the film, even though he ate a ton more than usual for this experiment and did NO EXERCISE, had his basal metabolic rate go up by THIRTY PERCENT, to "take care" of all those extra calories!! WThay?? But these are the cards he was dealt, and we have to deal with the hand we have.

Looking at the facts is the most important part of the scientific method diet, and, unfortunately, these seem to be the facts, Feathers. But we CAN handle the truth! ;)


"Why Are Thin People Not Fat Full BBC Documentary"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAQr77QMJiw&t=36

I'm still not going to go for the term "natural weight," but will accept "genetic predisposition." According to scientific research, we can fight against genetic predispositions - and win! :hug:

It has been a while since I saw that program, but I thought it was interesting how difficult the "naturally thin" people had meeting 5,000 calories per day for the weight gain goal. Also how the Asian man tended to gain more muscle whereas others gained more fat.

Another interesting British doc is "How to be Slim". If you haven't seen it I recommend it! They explore various scientific studies/less than scientific experiments to give weight loss advice to the main subject of the show. One of the most interesting segments was how they tracked a pair of "naturally slim" and "naturally fat" friends who claimed the slimmer lady ate more but must have a higher metabolism. The reality was the heavier lady burned more calories per day and the thinner friend ate less.

This can happen with anyone, if you train your body to do so.

IMO, I think the only way to increase your metabolism (if you are already a healthy weight) is to EAT MORE. Not through exercise or adding muscle (like people love to believe) - just eat more.

Anyway, these “naturally thin” people are sort of becoming extinct - just look around - where are they? Haha

I did not get that message from the film.

The message I got was if you get fat when you are young you have pre-disposition to be fat because that is when your fat cells are made, which then expand and shrink as you eat more or less.

So once you are fat, you will always be at greater risk of getting fat again unless you get lypo I assume.

Thank you, Atmos! I went right out and looked at it, and can't wait to see part 2!

"How to Be Slim, Part 1 of 6"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67f5EZibmGU

Part 2 is just as good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV15xKdl8h8

I might have missed that part in total, but I do remember something like that. I tend to do lots of things at the same time, so some videos don't get seen "en toto," thus the disclaimer at the beginning. But I appreciate your your input, Ian. :)

My take was that a certain segment of the population has that predisposition to overeat/be overweight, right out of the box, so to speak. IOW, it's not that someone from this particular group overate and got fat when they were little. It's that some are born with a genetic predisposition to overeat and be overweight. And this is what we have to overcome in order to be the size we want.

Maybe it is comparable to addiction. Are addicts born with a predisposition to be addicted? I'd say that's possible, especially if they have relatives that are also addicts. And food can definitely be an addiction. There's probably definitive research about all this, and I just haven't seen it.

Lots of food for thought! ;)

Having just had a baby, I have read a lot about how habits can be created in infants (for instance, overeating). I wonder if this is related to being inclined later in life to overeat.

One article I read was about how feeding-on-demand is the natural approach for feeding an infant, because infants only eat when they are hungry, so if they aren't hungry they won't demand food. If you try and get them on a feeding schedule too early, it can program them to ignore their bodies signs for hunger, and eat when food is presented. In ignoring their bodies' signs of hunger they will be more apt to overeat, because eating won't be based on hunger, it will be based in habit. Setting up eating schedules can also cause overfeeding and underfeeding issues for the same reasons, both of which can result in obesity (overeating becomes a habit and/or undereating programs them to always eat whatever is presented, even if they aren't hungry as a response to regularly being hungry).

I have to bottle feed because of medication that I am on, but this has been one of my biggest struggles. It's tricky to always have bottle and formula on hand, and to know how much formula to mix each time. While I know that breastfeeding can be hard and cause its own mix of struggles, I really wish I could do it for this reason, among many others.

I so agree with this. You are doing a huge favor for your baby, and s/he will benefit his or her whole life! :)

Thank you :) I am still getting the hang of being a mom, but I am certainly trying to do what's best for him.