I just got back from a trip (which was awesome!) during which I averaged about 10 miles a day walking. I also had great food though, so my weight stayed about the same.

I went with a friend who is four or so inches shorter than me and normally weighs about 108 lbs. We ate the exact same at all meals (which we all ate together), often splitting food. She snacked in between, I did not (because I wasn't hungry with the heat).

At the end of the trip, she had lost 9 lbs.

This isn't the only time this has happened. On another trip, I ate the exact same as a small friend too, and there was a lot of walking, and she ate a fair bit more than me even. She was much thinner and shorter than me. At the end of the trip, we had lost the exact same amount of weight. It was a much bigger percentage of her body weight than mine.

This kind of thing lets me know that I really do have a different metabolism than some people. It's annoying, but I have to work with it. It also makes me feel that time is not on my side - my metabolism won't get any better as I get older, and while I'm still in my 20s, if I don't wrap this thing up it could drag out for a long time.

But yeah, just a little real life example that illustrates how differently bodies handle weight loss. This friend, btw, has never had a weight problem in her life. She has always been at the lower end of the healthy range naturally. This may explain why, partially.

I do think it's good to know this for sure. If I operate under the assumption that I can eat as much as 'normal' people (or as much as guidelines tell me I should), things won't go well. I don't lose weight that way. I've known this for a while, but I just get more evidence to confirm it as I go. Good information to have.

They definitely do. I knew a tiny little girl who would regularly eat twice as much as me, but she still only weighed about 95lbs.

I just keep telling myself that I have the superior genetics, because if a famine ever hits, I'll last forever!

Yes they do, and not just based on size as well.
For example, I have lost 140 lbs and regained 80 all in the last 5 years. That regain was FAST. I'm no scientist but I've read stories that people who have lost a significant amount of weight have a different metabolism than those who have not. That means I need to eat l less now than the 'before me' at this size to accomplish the same thing.

Not the happiest thought, but just how it is.

Indeed. Throw in different innate levels of hunger too, and it's definitely not an even playing field.

9 pounds is a lot to lose though, even if some was just water loss from exercise. How many days was the trip? Do you believe she had an accurate before trip weight to compare it to, or does she not typically weigh on a regular basis?

On the bright side, slightly overweight folks actually live longer on average than not overweight folks, so we have that going for us.

I was just very surprised at the weight she had lost and that I had not lost (well, I wasn't surprised I hadn't lost weight since I tracked the whole time). It's just a little crazy to me. My sister (who has always been thin) once commented to me that she didn't understand how she ate so much more than me and was so much smaller (not in a mean way, just in a baffled way). I confess it still baffles me a little, too. For me, 3500 calories is not necessarily a pound. It's often more than that. Darn you, efficient metabolism! This is the wrong era for you!

MonteCristo: Normally I don't put much stock in thin people saying they eat a lot, but I was with this girl day and night, 24/7 for over two weeks. I knew what she ate and when she ate it.
And yes, if that famine hits, we are so set!

Vex: True. At least we know it and can plan accordingly. It would probably be worse if we were totally in the dark about it.

Chunkahlunkah: She weighs about once a week, so I've been told. She was shocked at her weight loss. It was over a period of two and a half weeks, about. It also had tons of walking.

ImpalaHoarder: That is a bright side!
(Though, side note, when I look at studies that say that they often do not control for smoking, history of smoking, and/or illnesses that cause weight loss - thus, not so accurate).
And like MonteCristo said, if a famine hits, we are prepared!

Think of your fat cells as storage of energy - little balloons each getting filled up tight. When you eat more than the balloons can hold, more fat cells (balloons) are created.

Then, when you reduce calories and use the energy stored in the little balloons, the balloons deflate, but they do not go away. You still have a bunch of deflated fat cells laying around. This is why we can gain weight quickly. The fat cells are already there, ready to be filled again. Also, that is why people have liposuction or cool sculpting done - to get rid of the extra fat cells.

I believe that is why at the weight I am now, I have more belly sag than I did when I was this weight before. My little deflated balloons are hanging in the skin that stretched for them. Since I am older now, my skin doesn't have the elasticity to snap back into place like it did when I was younger. So, yes, loose the weight now. I may look into cool sculpting myself as my OB/GYN told me on my last visit she will be getting the device for this in soon and will be offering it to her patients. Her son had it done and was very pleased and impressed and wanted to offer it to her patients.

Yeah, basically. It's called being calorie-supressed. Anyone who has lost weight, gained it back, lost it again etc, has done a lot of damage to their metabolism. This is why I am totally and completely done with diets. I would rather be fat, happy, and healthy, than constantly failing at diets and simultaneously ruining my metabolism. I focus on being healthy and enjoying what my body can do rather than forcing it into weight loss.

9 lbs, wow. I also agree with what Vex said about people having different metabolisms because of weight loss. My mom is twice my age and 50 lbs heavier, but if we go out and eat the same burger and fries meal I am the one who puts on weight. It's probably water, but still, it's definitely been tough to lose anything at this stage but it comes on pretty quickly.

We can't sit here and whine about it now. We need to speak out against the diet industry, this is a multi billion dollar industry that has ruined the lives of many. Stop dieting ASAP. Stop participating in a system that is designed to make you fail. Stop ruining your metabolism by restricting your food intake. Who told you that you need to be skinny to be healthy??? No, you don't need to be skinny to be healthy, you need to be skinny so that you can fit into the clothes they're trying to sell you. You need to be skinny so you can fit into the social clubs they're trying to sell you. Focus on being healthy and happy, don't wait to be skinny so that you'll be happy because that is a fairy tale.

I think too that a lot of always-been-thin people don't realize that there can be those differences. I know I've been told that it's super easy to lose weight by many people who have never had to lose more than 10 lbs. And I know that not all thin people do it without effort - that's not true at all. I have just observed several instances when people eat and exercise the same/more than me and have way bigger and faster results. Like I said, I just have to work with what I have. And should I get stranded on an island, I'll be able to make it for a long time on very little food!

Still crazy how someone so much smaller than me in height and weight can lose so much more weight than me doing/eating the same things!

katiam: yep, I know the balloon theory (and believe it because it makes sense to me). It doesn't totally explain things, but it does explain part of why it is so much easier for me to gain weight.

Palestrina: I actually don't put much faith in the 'damaged metabolism' theory. I think our bodies might become more sensitive to hormone fluctuations and such after repeated weight loss/gain, but I also think that can be managed. I don't think anything is 'broken.' Also, I'm glad you've found something that works for you, but for a lot of us we need to restrict our food intake to lose weight (and because it was excessive before).
I for one want to lose weight definitely for aesthetic reasons, but also for my health and comfort. I can be fat and pretty happy, but not fat and comfortable. Also, no one has said here that you can't be happy and not thin - that is not in question. I was simply commented on how different different people can be for weight loss/maintenance. And losing weight does make clothes shopping a lot easier - I have no intention of making my own clothes, so I'm stuck with what they give me.

I never said you were broken. But I thought your OP was about different metabolisms, and diets do damage the metabolism. It's a fact I thought you were aware of since you started the thread.

Also, I never told you to be fat. I said you don't have to be skinny, but I never said "be fat." So perhaps you're just misreading what I wrote.

"I'm glad you found something that works for you" is one of my least favorite sayings around here. I'm sure I've said it myself countless times when I was a dieter but now I realize how patronizing it is. Because I wasn't talking about myself at all, or what I eat or don't eat. We don't all have to live our lives the exact same way. I was making conversation about what I think is a true underlining problem in society. If you are interested in what I'm eating you'd ask, likewise if I was interested in what you're eating I'd ask too but we're not so I discuss the bigger issues in life.

And so I'm willing to argue that clothes shopping can be just as fun for me as it can be for you and I'm way bigger than you (according to our respective printed stats). It can be just as easy, just as fun, and just as rewarding because I know where to look, I know how to dress my body, and I know how to not care what other people think of me. I wore a bikini to the beach today and sat next to my friend who is 60lbs thinner than me. She was uncomfortable, worried, pulling at her one-piece and scared to get up from her beach towel. From the outside looking in she would be judged as conventionally pretty while I would be classified as the beached whale. But on the inside it was a whole other story. I was free, inside and out. And happy.

Anyway I'm not trying to be argumentative and I appreciate the experiences you've shared. But as our country is dealing with many problems right now (gun violence and racism) I am reminded that we fat girls have our own wars going on in our society. I challenge thin-privilege, I challenge diets (diets don't work), I challenge conventional beauty standards, I challenge the BMI scale, and I challenge the notion that comfort and health can only be ejoyed at a certain weight. Please don't think I'm taking aim at you. My guns are pointed at the diet mentality.

Thanks for the replies, guys! I appreciate having a dialog about things like this with people on this site.

Penny105: I definitely agree there are reasons to lose weight other than making people think you're more attractive. My main goal right now is to be able to wear skirts without my thighs chafing.

ImpalaHoarder: the thigh chafing is definitely a big thing I want to be rid of, too. It has cause me a lot of pain and even minor injury before. My mother doesn't get it at all and I'm built similarly (but she's smaller than me), so I'm hoping when I lose weight it's no longer a problem. I also carry lots of weight in my trunk, so I get back rolls that chafe too (in the mid 150s, their juuuust starting to go away), which is SO uncomfortable.