Watching Thin People Eat

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Thin people survey the entire buffet table (or salad bar) and help themselves to small portions of what they really want. Usually they don't go back for seconds.

If a serving of meat--especially red meat--is larger than a deck of cards, people who are fighting to stay thin, cut off the excess. If they feel their taste buds might be more powerful than their will power, they physically remove the excess.

Thin people do not carry the entire bag of potato chips out of the kitchen and into the living room for absent minded noshing. Thin people have two or three chips and physically remove themselves from temptation.

Any more observations?

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Yes! Thin people don't eat fat-free anything. They indulge in regular
fatty food, but control portion sizes, and they eat 3 square meals a day
and rarely snack around.

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Welllllllll. If you read that long article in the NYTimes magazine this last Sunday on fat and microorganisms - it's a little complicated. Towards the end of the article, it explains how some people will get more calories from the same portion size of the exact same food. It also mentions that if people were ever over weight, the number of calories they need to maintain normal weight will be set lower than someone who never was even twenty pounds overweight. Not that that isn't behavior related, but that one overweight period will affect a person for years, unrelated to the adoption of better eating habits. Will be back with a link.

I'm not saying you're not generally right that one can identify gustatory behaviors of thin people, just that behavior isn't all. And.. some chubby people do eat less calories than sylphs. I don't remember if that was in that same article, or another one I read this week; this was traced during a study on pre-gastric bypass patients.

My quibble isn't that people shouldn't adopt good eating habits - it is more that we may just be beginning to understand the complex metabolic mechanisms of weight gain and its effects.

An aside - one continuously thin friend of mine pointed out a difference between chubs and slims to me years ago, that a lot of slim people twitch and jiggle, don't sit still easily. At least some make more small movements, in my observation, which is anecdotal of course.

I agree with Calamity Jane about not shunning real food like a good rather fatty cheese. Portions...

Here's that LINK

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Have you been watching me eat, Noddy? I was born skinny, honey. Doesn't matter what I eat, really. I have maintained the same weight for years; Genetics, methinks.

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Osso--

The article was fascinating. I was convinced that metabolisms differ widely and that the mechanisms of fat and losing fat are complex.

Still, practically speaking, I know that if I eat less and move more I'll lose weight. After my cancer scare I'm anxious to ditch as many estrogen laden fat cells as I can.

Also, practically speaking, I'll never be a Real Thin Person. Inside my Size 12 body there is a Fat Lady anxious to spread out.

Still, mind over matter.

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I'm keen on moving more as really useful. Soon...

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Letty and I must be cousins. I eat anything -- literally, anything -- and never gain any extra weight. I have never worried about or even considered how many calories or grams of fat or whatever I consume. Calamity Jane is also right. Three solids meals a day, yes. Noshing between meals, well, I've never had the temptation to do that. I can't see doing two or three things at the same time, eating being one of them. I couldn't type on the computer if I had a bag of chips at my elbow. And Osso also has a valid point. I'm a "mover." Never sit still for long. I don't need a formal regimen of exercise because I'm constantly moving some part of my body around, anyway. Except when lying down. Smile

(But I probably toss and turn in my sleep and don't even know it.)

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ossobuco wrote:

Welllllllll. If you read that long article in the NYTimes magazine this last Sunday on fat and microorganisms - it's a little complicated. Towards the end of the article, it explains how some people will get more calories from the same portion size of the exact same food. It also mentions that if people were ever over weight, the number of calories they need to maintain normal weight will be set lower than someone who never was even twenty pounds overweight. Not that that isn't behavior related, but that one overweight period will affect a person for years, unrelated to the adoption of better eating habits. Will be back with a link.

I'm not saying you're not generally right that one can identify gustatory behaviors of thin people, just that behavior isn't all. And.. some chubby people do eat less calories than sylphs. I don't remember if that was in that same article, or another one I read this week; this was traced during a study on pre-gastric bypass patients.

My quibble isn't that people shouldn't adopt good eating habits - it is more that we may just be beginning to understand the complex metabolic mechanisms of weight gain and its effects.

An aside - one continuously thin friend of mine pointed out a difference between chubs and slims to me years ago, that a lot of slim people twitch and jiggle, don't sit still easily. At least some make more small movements, in my observation, which is anecdotal of course.

I agree with Calamity Jane about not shunning real food like a good rather fatty cheese. Portions...

Here's that LINK

I read the article in last Sunday's NYTimes and was surprised that bacteria or even viruses could be the basis for the difference between fat and thin people.

What was particulary surprising were the differences in bacterial families ( genera etc. )
between fat and the thin people.

Why the difference?

What is the goal of these investigators?

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Is one segment of the American Irish population very thin?

In one mystery by author, Robert Parker, I noticed that he referred to one individual as one of the thin Irishmen.

I've noticed that those Irish, I would call thin, frequently are alcoholics.

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Before I started reading these studies, both my husband and I were convinced of the genetic component because of the differences in how we process food. He can eat and eat and eat and eat and nothing happens. He doesn't exercise, he eats gigantic portions, he noshes, there are no rules that he does not break. Yet -- thin guy.

I MUST exercise or I start to gain weight. I eat reasonably -- very little to no noshing, rare sweets, reasonable portions -- yet I have to pair that with exercise, period. That's just the way it is.

My husband's whole family is thin thin thin, and he was raised with the idea that people who are fat have to be truly gluttonous -- knowing me has changed his mind about that. I eat way more reasonably than he does, but... gotta exercise.

WITH exercise, I'm fine.

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I stay trim through exercise and eating many times a day but very small portions. The "grazing" technique is the best I have found. My grandmother ate processed sugar cookies daily, consumed prodigious amounts of alcohol and smoked 2 packs a day. She will be 102 in January.

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I can't quote the study but apparently "they" have found that people who fidget are in fact thinner than calm people. Must practise fidgeting...

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Like Letty (at least when I was younger) I could eat pretty much what and as much as I wanted and stay thin. I would eat three large portions of spaghetti and meatballs for example (loved mom's and just couldn't resist). My older daughter is exactly like that - skinny as a rail and sometimes eats like a football player.

Now, however, time has caught up with me. Although not overweight - not rail thin any more. As some described I don't eat non-fat, diet types of food, but prefer to watch portion size. Also as described instead of bringing the box, or container, I will put a small portion in a bowl or cup to limit portion and eat more slowly to enjoy the flavor. Quality in my mind rather than quantity. I also try to eat healthy overall rather than focus on calories and fat. I also try to work out a few times a week (hard with an outside full time job and two kids, but I work in at 45 minutes 3 times a week). I feel better, have more energy. I also do not weigh myself. I don't own a scale. I focus on how my body looks and feels - is it toned? Am I getting a bit flabby? If so, I limit my intake of "junk type" food and focus more on veggies and healthier types.

I wonder if the jiggling thing is a factor - I do jiggle a lot and have a tough time staying completely still. I also walk fast especially for a petite person.

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Jiggling burns calories, no doubt about it. But then, so does chewing gum. Sugar free gum also keeps your mouth active and might help prevent snacking done to alleviate boredom. It's also good for your teeth and gums.

As another no-longer-rail-thin person who had to develop good eating and exercise habits in my 40s, I avoid most processed foods, eat fresh foods in season, exercise regularly and pay attention to my weight so that it doesn't get too far beyond my comfort range.

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Letty wrote:

Have you been watching me eat, Noddy? I was born skinny, honey. Doesn't matter what I eat, really. I have maintained the same weight for years; Genetics, methinks.

I have to hate you now.

:wink:

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Watching thin people eat, they have small pieces of everything

Their fork hits the plate between bites, and conversation happens at that time.
They eat slower because of this and seem to be DONE before the plate is empty..

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NickFun wrote:

My grandmother ate processed sugar cookies daily, consumed prodigious amounts of alcohol and smoked 2 packs a day. She will be 102 in January.

I had some relatives that did the same. But I'm pretty sure they would live a lot longer if they did moderate themselves...

As a matter of fact, I'm not following them...

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How many of the bacteria/viruses found in the overweight individuals actually had their sources in the foods consumed by the participants?

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Francis wrote:

NickFun wrote:
My grandmother ate processed sugar cookies daily, consumed prodigious amounts of alcohol and smoked 2 packs a day. She will be 102 in January.

I had some relatives that did the same. But I'm pretty sure they would live a lot longer if they did moderate themselves...

As a matter of fact, I'm not following them...

Perhaps my grandma may have lived longer also but -- who'd want to???

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Its tough enough working out what meals to have 3 times a day, let alone grzing a few times a day!!Id probably reach for the biscuits and chocolate, not the celery sticks.

Nickfun, your grandmother will be my inspiration to try to graze.

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Watching Thin People Eat

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