Quote:
Originally Posted by mandalinn82
There are many types of "naturally thin" people, each as unique as every one of us...All the more reason to remember that we're all experiments of one, and comparing to what other people do eat/can eat without gaining isn't productive. I know what I can eat without gaining, and I stick with that, no matter what other people can do.
This was my point. One thin person describing his relationship to food (regardless of whether his assessment is accurate or not) has no bearing on the individuality of experience.
There was a recent study done that found that thin folks are just as unaware of their calorie intake and the calorie content of foods as fat people. Earlier studies have found that fat people tend to understimate the calories in high-calorie meals - but the recent study found that always-been-thin folks do the same thing (and with no significant difference as to the degree of error - the thin folks were off by just as many calories as the fat folks). So what?
There are fat folks who have a below average calorie level and an above average activity level, yet remain fat.
There are thin folks who have an above average calorie level and a below average activity leve, yet remain thin.
And there are many people in-between.
AND of all THOSE people, some are very aware of what and when they eat - their caloric intake/expenditure - and others not so much.
Again, so what?
That one thin guy doesn't eat all that much and exercises regularly - isn't really news to me. That he (erroneously) thinks he eats what and when he wants - or thinks that he "eats like a pig," again, not news. There's no reason to think this guy is typical (or atypical for that matter). It's just one of many possible variations.
All it "proves" is that he's no more aware of his eating/activity levels than many other people of various weights and habits.
This guys actual behavior makes more sense than his perceived behavior. That's true for many of us (thin and fat), there's no "news" there. But as to his actual behavior, again there's no "lesson" to take away, in that I've also known many people whose weight did NOT jive with their actual calorie/activity levels (on occasions of my spending enough time with them to be reasonable sure they weren't closet-eaters/purgers or sleep-joggers).
In essence personal experiences (except my own) have absolutely no bearing on what I need to do to lose weight and maintain the loss. In regards to weight, I've found that I don't benefit from comparing myself to others, and for that matter I don't benefit much from comparing myself to former versions of myself. It is what it is, and I have to deal with my current reality, the rest is trivia.
That some thin guy thinks he eats more and exercises less than he actually does, isn't really earth-shattering news to me. I could just as easily show you a thin person who really does have a much faster metabolism than his or her body weight would justify. Or a fat person who really does eat less and exercise more than his or her body weight would justify. I could show you people of all sizes who accurately assess their food/activity behavior - and the same for people unaware.
It also doesn't matter if I (erroneously, or rightly) believe that I am average or exceptional - neither changes the fact of what it is. Whether or not I believe I have a fast or slow metabolism (in comparison to other people), it doesn't change my metabolism. Again, it is what it is.
For myself, I do much better when I don't try to compare myself to someone else - especially an "average" that I have no way to determine - or change.