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[–]torilikefood 13 points14 points ago

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I am tiny, but it's because my family has a history of fast metabolisms. It's actually something that has always upset me. I am 5'3", and weigh 93-97 lbs at any given time. I can never find clothes that fit me, everywhere I go, I am offered a kids menu (i'm 20) and I cannot donate blood. I try to gain weight, but I've never been able to break into triple digits. I eat more than anyone I know, and still cannot gain any weight.

[–]torilikefood 14 points15 points ago

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I probably sound like a douche complaining about this, but at times, it really sucks, especially when it comes to clothes.

[–]anecdotal-evidence 10 points11 points ago

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You don't sound like a douche. I'm 5'0" and when my weight gets below 103 lbs, I'm stuck shopping in the children's section, size 14's. It is even worse when you are my age, mid-40s, and want to dress like an adult, not a child or teen or 20 something. It totally sucks. I think I look good at weight that low, but it's so frustrating to find decent clothes, I deliberately keep my weight higher, in the 108-113 range.

Here is a blog I follow that you may find very useful: http://www.alterationsneeded.com/

She is also tiny and gives reviews of clothes in the XXS and 00p range. You can see how the clothes fit on her and everything. I'm not as tiny as her, but I love her blog and find it useful.

[–]abbyk 6 points7 points ago

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You're not a douche - that sounds frustrating. I'm 5' even and the lowest weight I've ever been is 107 - I can't imagine being two inches taller and ten-fifteen pounds thinner.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]ladamesansmerci 3 points4 points ago

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I really don't understand why I can never EVER find clothes that fit me right. They're always either too long or too short or they don't expand/shrink at the right places. I'm honestly tempted to say "fuck it" and make everything myself.

[–]_Kita_ 11 points12 points ago

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I try not to diet, try to practice intuitive eating. I eat pretty healthily especially compared to my friends but I'm overweight.

Wow - this is a really interesting topic that a lot of people have strong feelings about - is it getting downvoted because people don't like talk about weight or are people trolling the 2xc reddit?

[–]emmster 9 points10 points ago

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I think you got some downvotes for running counter to somebody's Fantasy of Being Thin.

But, don't let it get you down. HAES/Intuitive eating does have better health outcomes and better sustainability than any of the weight loss diets out there.

[–]allenizabeth 2 points3 points ago

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That article is fucking amazing.

[–]emmster 0 points1 point ago

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I love the line "The amazing thin person inside me did get out, it just turns out she's fat, too."

[–]tanglisha 4 points5 points ago

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I didn't really see a difference until I started eating more produce and less starchy foods. Most white starches turn to sugar when they hit your bloodstream. The first few days are hard, but cutting them out completely changes your appetite - it helps you get past the sugar addiction.

[–]ladamesansmerci 3 points4 points ago

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I completely agree with you. I don't think dieting ever works long term. Just following the "only eat when you're hungry" philosophy could work wonders.

Also, maybe your current weight is what your body's most stable at. Honestly I think if you can eat healthy and well and have enough exercise, who cares if you're overweight according to a chart?

It's people that are obese due to their lifestyle that should be worried.

[–]siljak 7 points8 points ago* 

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I'm at the other end of the weight problem - I can't keep enough weight on to stay healthy. (4ft 10, 93lbs. Frequently mistaken for a kid despite being 25.)

I eat healthily, and healthy amounts too, but I still end up feeble. Mostly this is due to a series of health problems I had when I was a kid, though I am sure some of it is down to metabolism/genetics. I have three sisters, all of whom are pretty skinny too, though they are all less so. (And taller!)

The main problem is that it does make me physically weaker than I would be if I could just put on a little more beef, but for me the major problems are

a) self-esteem (thanks to my skinny legs and arms like pipecleaners)

and

b) Other people's attitudes. These range from Oh you are so lucky being able to eat what you want to I am sure she is anorexic. (I even get the general eating disorder lecture from doctors from time-to-time, which is NOT reassuring).

EDIT: I can't type!

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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Where I live, 4'10" and 93 lbs is the norm. I'm so sorry doctors are so insensitive to you. Move to Thailand and you'll be right at home! (:

[–]car973 8 points9 points ago

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I have the opposite problem. I'm actually using a throwaway account to post this because I've heard so many awful things from people.

  • I've been over 200 pounds since I was about 15. Right now I'm 29 and weigh about 270 (but I can easily gain/lose about 30 lbs in a month, so the weight is very variable).

  • I have tried for years to lose weight, but the only thing that has ever worked for me has been starvation. My doc actually worked me down to a diet that was 1,200 calories or less a day (we started at around 2k a day and worked down until I started losing weight).

  • I eat healthy, I have many habits of "skinny" people - I fidget a lot, I chew my food, I take a long time to eat, etc. I've also been extremely active (think biking for hours and hours, running, walking, sports of many kinds).

  • I have no major health problems besides a slightly low thyroid (I take 50 mg of synthroid a day. The docs all say this should only account for about 10-15 pounds of being overweight. Then they barrage me with all sorts of guilt about my weight and yet can't offer me any solutions as to why Weight Watchers, calorie restriction, lifestyle changes etc aren't helping. They can only assume I'm lying, I guess?

  • I've lived with women my same age, spent 24/7 with them, ate exactly the same thing, did exactly the same activities (I'm no couch potato) and they never gained weight and I did.

So, as you can imagine, my frustration level over this issue is nearly impossible to manage. Although I'm involved in the Fat Acceptance community (total plug for Shapely Prose ) I still am not okay being fat. I have nearly terminally low self-esteem and I know it has contributed in a major way to my depression.

As we all know, bashing fat people is the only form of discrimination that seems to be widely socially acceptable. So, yes, being fat is killing me. I die a little inside every time a friend fat-talks, every time well-meaning family member asks how often I've been working out, every time I see a horrific fat-person stereotype on tv.

And to get back to the OP - yes, many, many of my friends (same age or older) eat what I eat and are extremely thin. My best friend can't keep her weight above 110 (she's 5' 7") and another friend eats absolute junk food all day long and weighs about the same.

[–]emmster 5 points6 points ago

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Although I'm involved in the Fat Acceptance community (total plug for Shapely Prose ) I still am not okay being fat.

I used to be in the same position. The old "well, it's not okay to judge other fat people, but I need to lose weight," trap. Keep reading SP. It took a long time to get through to me that I'm never going to be Cindy Crawford, but I can be the healthiest, happiest, emmster that I can be.

[–]aeoz[S] 4 points5 points ago

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Well thank you for sharing. My wishes you be strong and don't ever give up and be disheartened.

[–]tanglisha 3 points4 points ago

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I feel your frustration. I was on a medication several years ago that had me so nauseous that I had a lot of trouble eating. I gained weight the entire 6 months I was on it - I remember gaining 5 lbs in a week when I ate nothing but cherries. The weight gain was not related to the medication, one of the side effects of which is anorexia.

I did eventually manage to start slimming down. The first step was getting out of a poisonous marriage that was making me more depressed than I realized. I moved to a place where I could walk often, where that is the norm. Later on, I changed my diet and started lifting weights. I still fall under "overweight", but I don't think I look it anymore.

I really think that the most important change I made was getting happier. It was really hard, I moved halfway across the country to do it. You don't live in the American south by any chance, do you? While living there, I just didn't have access to the resources that have made me healthier.

[–]car973 4 points5 points ago

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I do actually live in the south - what resources are you referring to?

I do have a fairly high stress level, too. I recently had to quit a job that was super-toxic (I worked over 70 hours a week, abusive boss, etc).

[–]tanglisha 3 points4 points ago

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I lived in Louisiana, the food I had available to me was terrible. With the exception of a few things I could get locally, produce was simply nasty. There also wasn't a lot of variety. I now eat fruits and veggies on a regular basis that I wouldn't have had access to if I had stayed. I ended up eating a lot of pasta, which I thought was a healthy choice. It turns out that I was eating way too much starchy food for my metabolism - it just doesn't work for me.

In the area I was, the majority of people did no working out. There were only a few gyms, and they were terribly expensive. I don't handle heat well, so I rarely went outside in the summer. My activity level was so low that I was probably burning very few calories.

Stress is a huge deal. It messes with your hormones, which changes your metabolism. I'm glad you quit that job, you will likely start feeling healthier just from that.

[–]anecdotal-evidence 13 points14 points ago

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When I was weight-training 5x's a week, I could eat enormous, "man-sized" portions without gaining. I was eating twice as many calories as I can eat now (I no longer weight train). This is because the more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism. It's why guys can eat so much and not gain weight.

I suspect those with "genetically" high metabolisms have the following advantages:

  • a higher amount of lean mass
  • Fidget a lot. There's a good amount of research suggesting naturally thin types are big fidgeters. Fidgeting burns a lot of calories.
  • have more brown fat (laid down early in childhood - breast fed vs bottle fed)
  • have never been fat (once you have fat cells, it's a lot easier to get fat again)
  • probably have a different sort of flora and fauna living in their guts, a type that is more efficient at utilizing instead of storing calories ingested (this latest research is fascinating)

Then add into that higher level of overall fitness (if applicable).... denser bones, superior Vo2, etc. Mean, lean, fat-burning machines.

Nowadays I can barely eat more than 1400 cals without gaining (I'm only 5'0 and in my 40s). With that said, if you saw me eating at a restaurant it might appear I can eat a lot. Because some days I eat most of my calories in a single meal. Especially Sundays - Sunday brunch...mmmmm...

I also have known many women who stuff their face and then go into the bathroom and throw it all up again. Do not recommend this approach. :-(

[–]psychminor01 8 points9 points ago

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So my constant leg shake is actually helping me?! Nice!

[–]Sommiel 1 point2 points ago

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It does not be seeming to do a thing for me!

[–]opportuneport 0 points1 point ago

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Imagine how worse off you'd be without it!

[–]Sommiel 0 points1 point ago

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Cows eat grass and hay. I am pretty sure if that's all I ate it would not be a problem!

[–]opportuneport 0 points1 point ago

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You're probably be pretty miserable though :( Maybe grass with ketchup on it? I looooove me some ketchup.

[–]Sommiel 0 points1 point ago

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You are welcome to my share of ketchup... I think it's Satan's condiment.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]I-330 12 points13 points ago

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I'm maybe 5 lbs overweight (5'10" 140)

140 is nowhere near being any sort of overweight at 5'10".

[–]ladamesansmerci 1 point2 points ago

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I'm 5'5" and 140...if Aleriya is overweight I must be obese...:(

[–]trickiwoo -1 points0 points ago

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Seriously. I'm 5'2" and about 135 and I'm not considered seriously overweight (10 lbs maybe?)

[–]psychminor01 5 points6 points ago

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Anecdotally, SO MANY girls I know need to eat about every 3 hours or they start get cranky. One of them has blood sugar issues, but the others don't so far as I know.

*Edit: All of them admit as much.

[–]nessaneko 1 point2 points ago

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Yup. My life has been a lot more pleasant since I realised I needed constant top-ups on my blood sugar. Doesn't have to be much, I normally keep a bag of almonds in my desk and nibble on four or five if I'm between meals and feeling hungry (especially because my uni and work hours are weird so I might eat a sandwich for breakfast at midday, a salad for lunch at four or five and dinner at nine or ten at night.)

[–]anecdotal-evidence 1 point2 points ago

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What kind of work out do you do? I would think that if you are continually upping your game, even if it's just 3x's a week, improvements in fitness will counteract effects of aging.

When you workout, it's not burning more calories that's important (studies are showing most people eat more to make up for the calories they burned). It's improving overall fitness: steadily increasing your Vo2 max and lean mass. Or, as you get older, preventing declines in fitness.

I have health issues that preclude me from being a fitness Goddess these days (I do get out for a run a few times a week, but that's about it, and I don't really push it because I can't). So I can't say I'm a role model here - lol - and it's definitely getting more difficult to keep my weight under control as I enter perimenopause. Unfortunately, I have to rely on watching my diet closely. BUT, I do have plenty of female friends my age and older who aren't experiencing the "middle age spread." They may be getting a bit softer around the edges, fitness gains may be slower to achieve, but they're not really getting fat. They still look incredible!!!

Interestingly, the best-kept ones all do yoga. I think yoga helps because it reduces stress/cortisol, which is known to have an effect on weight control.

[–]cynoclast 0 points1 point ago

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Overweight is defined by bodyfat percentage not height/weight ratio.

BMI is completely retarded and should be ignored completely as pseudoscience.

[–]trickiwoo 2 points3 points ago

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I'm like you, I'm in my 30's and I have to keep it at about 1400 calories or else I gain. If I want to lose weight I have to eat no more than 1200 calories. Before I hit about 25 years old I could eat as much junk as I wanted and I was rail thin (never weight over 110 lbs until then, and was under 100 until I was about 21)

[–]aeoz[S] 1 point2 points ago

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I also have known many women who stuff their face and then go into the bathroom and throw it all up again. Do not recommend this approach. :-(

Very true. I've known this girl that eats, and (sometimes) after that, she would go to the toilet and put her finger in her throat and vomit it all out. She told me that so she can just taste food without getting fat (eating). But I have told her that this is unhealthy, and it seems like a disorder to me too.

[–]thesheeplookup 2 points3 points ago

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But I have told her that this is unhealthy, and it seems like a disorder to me too.

It is an eating disorder. Typically referred to as bulimia, there are both physical and psychological concerns.

[–]cynoclast 0 points1 point ago

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So much poorly founded semi-science in this post...

Then I noticed the username and held back on the downvote.

[–]anecdotal-evidence 0 points1 point ago

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Upvote for you, for being so smart. You're on to me!

But seriously, all the things I listed above are based on research studies I've read about. Whether they are valid or not, I can't say, as I'm only a lay person who reads too much.

[–]modelchick8806 5 points6 points ago

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I eat fast food near daily and never get past 112 lbs. I'm 108 now. Perhaps it's because I'm a picky eater, but what I do eat is nowhere near healthy. I don't even drink water; I despise it.

[–]ladamesansmerci 6 points7 points ago

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I had a friend who only drank coke, all day. She would have crates and crates of coke under her bed. Somehow she's still a few sizes smaller than I am. I sincerely get jealous of those people sometimes.

[–]pax_mentis 3 points4 points ago

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Don't be too jealous. There was a point a few years ago where the only thing I drank was coke (literally) for a few years, and I was having fast food usually more than once a day, lots of cheez-its, lots of candy.. I stayed pretty thin (5'7" ~125 lbs), but it didn't last (went on birth control and it all went out the window haha), and the damage I had been doing to my health that whole time without realizing it was pretty bad. When I cut out the soda I felt a lot better.

[–]aeoz[S] 1 point2 points ago

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I had a girlfriend that just hated drinking water. Can you elaborate why? Yeah it is quite common to see young ladies eating unhealthy-wise.. Or is it just me?

[–]modelchick8806 2 points3 points ago

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Even as a child I hated it. As odd as it sounds, it tastes like nothing to me which well, tastes nasty. Drinking water is like torture to me.

[–]topsul 2 points3 points ago

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My great grandmother was like that. She lived to 100. :)

[–]modelchick8806 1 point2 points ago

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Sweet!

[–]AtotheJ 5 points6 points ago

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I eat whatever I want and stay reasonable. I am 5'5 and 130. Because of this gift, I try to NEVER judge anyone by their weight.

[–]lurkergirl 2 points3 points ago

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I try to NEVER judge anyone by their weight.

Thank you :-)

[–]aeoz[S] 1 point2 points ago

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It kinda blew my mind when a gal-friend of mine ate faster and lots more than me once during dinner together. And I was in super-hungry mode. I started shifting my thoughts on judging people by weight just like you said.

[–]ladamesansmerci 6 points7 points ago

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I wish I could eat like a cow and stay skinny. My body is very sensitive to the amount of food I eat. If I eat more I will gain weight, and if I eat less I will lose weight (which is good. Makes the whole endeavor easier). However, I'm a foodie and I simply love food. I wish I could pig out on delicious foods without having to worry about my weight. :(

[–]choupy 6 points7 points ago

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I eat anything but do not get fat. Mind you, I am in no way "fit" but I am skinny. The type of foods I eat are pizza, spaghetti , anything carbs and cheese (I have high cholesterol due to this). So while I stay thin, I am unhealthy. It could be genetic... people often tell me Asian women rarely get fat.

[–]anecdotal-evidence 6 points7 points ago

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Asian women on a traditional Asian diet do not get fat, but when you put them on a traditional American diet, they do. Maybe not right away, but eventually.

[–]aeoz[S] 1 point2 points ago

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Yeah it seems quite unhealthy. Are you Asian by chance? I think it is quite true that most Asian women rarely get fat, compared to caucasians.

[–]choupy 2 points3 points ago

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Yup, I'm asian. No matter how healthy/unhealthy i eat, I always stay between 100-110 pounds (I'm 5'3").

[–]aeoz[S] 1 point2 points ago

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Argh we use a different measurement system here.. So 50kg and around 160cm. You're doing great. Eat more greens!

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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That is so not true, I live in the SF Bay Area and I see lots of chubby Asian girls all the time.

[–]opportuneport 3 points4 points ago

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When I was small, my mother did not keep much food in the house, because she might eat it. This was fine for her, because she had weight issues (ate too much of the wrong things and was not active at all). This was not fine for me, because I was growing, very active, and had healthy eating habits(lord only knows how I learned them!). It only got crazier from there, and I only realized how crazy it was when I moved out.

At this point, I am 5'5" and about 120, but when I was working out a lot, my muscle mass was such that my body fat was much lower even though I weighed more. Even right now, I lost 15 pounds and a pants size in the space of a couple weeks a few months ago, and I don't feel healthy right now, even though by charting I should be fine. It is very hard to get a doctor to look up from their chart and look at you. Hello-- you can see my ribs on both sides of my body. My weight fluctuates enough that I have to keep lots of pants around I can't wear at any given time. Friends who see me regularly are constantly concerned. Will you please look up from your chart and believe me now?

If I'm sick or training, I have a choice-- I can forget about food, eat when hungry, and end up too thin. Thin enough that I worry other people, scare myself, look pretty crappy, and probably do damage to my overall physical health over time. Or I can try to keep a "healthy" level of obsession on my weight, trying to keep up with getting enough calories, enough healthy fat content, keeping food on me at all times in case I'm even a little hungry, and constantly worried that I'm going to be underweight. In this scenario, "healthy" isn't really likely, I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing this because it's somewhat more healthy than being underweight, that it's a means to an end. All in all, it's a shitty choice.

Doctors haven't yet found anything wrong with me other than lactose intolerance. I'm about to go back in for another round of celiac/thyroid/etc type tests.

[–]JeanHarlow 7 points8 points ago

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How old are they? If they are over 30, I'd be very surprised.

[–]car973 1 point2 points ago

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Both of my good friends that never gain weight are 34 and 32. Perhaps it will catch up with them, but both of their moms are extremely skinny and eat the same way they do and are in their 60s.

[–]JeanHarlow 5 points6 points ago

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There are always exceptions to the norm, but in the vast majority of cases, girls who are in their teens and twenties who think they can eat anything and not gain weight will be in for a rude awakening at some point. Even if they don't become overweight, a poor diet will afffect you at some point (heart problems, diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, cancers all have connections to diet). Healthy eating habits are always important to learn, whether you need to lose weight or not.

[–]car973 5 points6 points ago

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Yes, I do agree with you. Perhaps they are "skinny fat" like some people are saying, and maybe their moms are just not old enough to start showing the health problems? I don't know, it's weird...is it just luck with a thyroid? Being skinny is so important to us culturally, it's almost like health doesn't matter, just weight. I have normal/low cholesterol, normal/low blood pressure etc and every time I go to the doc I get reamed out because of my weight - my skinny friend with higher BP (not dangerous, but not good for someone in their 30s) and high cholesterol doesn't hear a word... It really reinforces that doctors are not giving good health care to overweight people.

[–]opportuneport 2 points3 points ago

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As someone who has to work very hard to manage to get enough healthy calories to maintain my weight, when it would be much easier to eat crap, your comments sound remarkably like the sour grapes I have heard from others on the subject before.

Some of us are eating healthily, despite the fact that we're practically shoveling it in, and some of us actually need to actively work to gain or maintain weight.

[–]JeanHarlow 0 points1 point ago

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It's not sour grapes at all. I eat a healthy diet. I maintain my weight. I don't care whether or not people are overweight or thin, but it does bother me when people gloat about bad habits.

[–]lolerside -1 points0 points ago

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They probably have tapeworms :P

[–]littlemissemperor 4 points5 points ago

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A friend of my mom's was like that for the longest time- she had an abnormally fast metabolism. But as you get older, it slows down.

[–]floraljoy 3 points4 points ago* 

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The only reason I'm thin is because I am dancing daily. Otherwise, I only wish to be so lucky

[–]anecdotal-evidence 7 points8 points ago

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Reading through the other replies, I want to say that there's also something known as "Skinny Fat."

I also want to say that it's relatively easy to maintain your weight before the age of around 25. That's because up until age 25, your body is undergoing amazing growth - even if you've already reached your final adult height.

Calories you consume are used to build denser bones. There's never an easier time to gain muscle mass, and in fact, once you hit 25, it's very very difficult and instead most people begin to lose density. It's essential that young women take advantage of this window of time to build bone density while they can.

Likewise, this is the period of time when it is easiest to build muscle mass. Yes, you can build muscle at any time of life, it's simply easier when you are younger.

Finally, the brain undergoes dramatic development from age of 13 to around 23. Your brain uses 70% of all calories you eat!!

This is why there's currently a debate among dietitians and scientists about caloric guidelines for teens. Nobody feels confident saying how many extra calories a teen needs compared to an adult. All we know for sure is that it's "more" and that a teen should not be put on a diet (except in serious cases where risk of obesity is great), nor should a teen be following the RDA for adults. Instead of restricting calories, people up to age 23-25 should focus on increasing exercise.

.... getting off my soap box now....

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points ago

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Ok, I'm not sure if I should be taking this entire post as a joke, given your user name, but

Your brain uses 70% of all calories you eat!!

?? Brain uses about 20% of the resting metabolic rate (~1400 in my case; 20% of which is less than 300 calories). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/science/02qna.html?_r=1

[–]anecdotal-evidence 0 points1 point ago

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I stand corrected - and yes, this is why I have the username I do. I like to throw around research and such, but hate having to find cites to back it all up. ;-)

But I think what I might've meant was glucose, not calories.

[–]aeoz[S] 2 points3 points ago

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Well this pretty much sums up the answer. Although I've seen some "fat" teens though.. Although not as bad as the over 30 ones.

[–]anecdotal-evidence 1 point2 points ago

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Absolutely - we have an obesity epidemic going on. I think the process that results in a fat teen starts way back in childhood/early infancy though.

I'd be VERY interested in hearing all the people on this thread who can eat like a cow and not get fat describe how they were raised... were they breast fed? What did their parents feed them as kids? Were they picky eaters? Forced to clean their plates? Allowed to eat when they felt like it? Were they active? Fidgety? How much t.v. did they watch? Were they always able to eat like this, or did it kick in during puberty? etc...

[–]aeoz[S] 1 point2 points ago

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That's a lot of detail. And every little bit of it does impact on who you are right now. Curious enough, how about yourself?

[–]anecdotal-evidence 2 points3 points ago

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I am mid-40s, so I grew up in a different time and place. I was bottle fed, and raised on the traditional american diet, with nary a vegetable in sight unless it came out of a can. Red meat at nearly every meal - a big slab on our plate. Lots of lunch meat and hot dogs. McDonald's was a treat, and it's true the portion sizes were much smaller. Ice cream - huge bowls - every night. Never drank milk. Lots of cake and candy. My family all drinks massive amounts of soda, but I never cared for the stuff myself.

I was active as a kid, simply because that's how it was in the 70s: you got home from school and were released out into the woods to run around for hours. I never played any sports though.

I was a skinny kid, despite the pitiful diet. I think what saved me is that I was a picky eater. My mom has struggeld with her own weight all her life, and my sister has as well (was obese for decades; recently got her weight down but is still overweight).

When I hit mid-20s, my weight ballooned out of control - it all caught up to me. I also wound up pre-diabetic. That was my wake-up call. I taught myself nutrition and how to cook, and learned that I love vegetables! I eat a pretty healthy and clean diet today, totally different than how I was raised. I also exercise. I got my weight back down to my college weight, and it has stayed there +/-5 lbs ever since. I'm still pre-diabetic; my doctor says that if I hadn't have kept my weight in check all these years, I'd be full-blown (everyone in my family eventually develops diabetes my middle age).

I also have a brother who still eats a crappy diet and is borderline overweight. He's always been super active, which helps control his weight. If he gets injured and can't work out, his weight balloons. He tends to yo-yo a lot.

I've raised my teen girls totally different - breast fed, clean healthy diets, no soda, and lots of activity (swimming, running, biking, skiing). They are both normal weight - and they eat enormous amounts of calories.

[–]car973 1 point2 points ago

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I posted earlier - I have the opposite problem (I eat normally and never lose weight).

Notes on childhood and eating: I was breast-fed, then we ate mostly all-natural food (I never had fast food until I was about 12, never drank soda more than a few times a year until after college), my mom baked our bread. However, I was an extremely picky eater. Although I loved food (and still do) I often ate very little and only certain things. We ate a lot of fresh veggies (we grew our own) and if we were eating meat it was very, very lean. We did also eat carbs, but were never heavy on them. I was never forced to clean my plate, but I had to sample everything on it. I was crazy-active as a kid (still am) with super-high stress levels. I was a rail-thin child, but I started gaining weight the second puberty hit and have been fat ever since. Oh - and a side note - with a single exception, every single woman on both sides of my family is fat.

So, it seems the whole calories in, calories out thing (even though it's science) doesn't seem to hold true here, which is very frustrating.

[–]tanglisha 2 points3 points ago

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I have a similar story. I didn't start slimming down until I cut out sugar and bread 90% of the time, and started walking everywhere. Vitamin d seemed to help as well, research is starting to show that people who have a deficiency tend to be heavier.

[–]dyabetti 5 points6 points ago

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Anyone who eats like a cow is going to starve to death because grass is not digestible by humans.

[–]socialrat 2 points3 points ago

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I did before I got on birth control, I was underweight. Now I'm "average" according to my BMI and still more or less eat what I want.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago* 

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I eat an amount scaled to the level of physical activity I get, and when I'm out with friends, which happens about once a week, I tend to eat more. This gives people the wrong impression of my eating habits, though, because no one observes me when I hang around the house on a low energy day and eat barely anything.

I also avoid many common processed foods, I don't eat soda or fast food, so beer or wine is probably the most calorie dense thing I'll take in, moderate on sweets, I have decent portion control and I cook for myself a lot, so there's that as well. You can eat way more home cooked food than you can anything else.

Given that, I'll also say that I eat what I want most of the time, but what I want to eat is probably not the same kind of thing that someone with a weight problem would want to eat.

I'm 26, never had a weight problem, never dieted.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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You sound like me. I eat like a pig and everyone thinks I eat like that all the time, but no, I pretty much have a cycle where I eat a lot at once, then don't feel like eating very much at all.

The only times I've gained a lot of weight in my life were when I started exercising frequently and eating several meals a day. I just could NOT control my appetite. I guess the suggestion that works for many people did not work for me at all.

Having a fairly non-active life (with occasional walks), eating in cycles, and not eating a lot of fast food and processed food seems to keep my weight very low. As to whether or not this lifestyle is healthy however? I doubt it. I'd probably be healthier if I got a bit more exercise.

[–]NW_passage 2 points3 points ago

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That used to be me. I would out-eat my guy friends and still look like a toothpick. My metabolism slowed a bit in my early 20's (around the time I went on the pill... coincidence?) so I began eating more reasonably, but still never had to watch my weight or my diet. It suddenly slowed again about 6 months ago. To maintain my weight I've suddenly had to cut back my caloric intake by several hundred calories/day and get daily activity.

[–]sonofman 4 points5 points ago

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I am like this. I eat a ridiculous and never put on weight. Granted i am quite young (18). I would honestly like to be curvy as i think it is so much sexier than being skinny. I have been called anorexic and have been taken aside by guys at bars and told i need to eat more. Even though i eat constantly.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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It happens to all skinny chicks.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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It's so true though!

[–][deleted] ago

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[–]emmster 7 points8 points ago

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That's honestly not true. Fat girls still get plenty of open insults. I can't even count how many times I've been moo'd at. I'm sure it's frustrating at your end, too, but, no, skinny people are not at all the only people who get isults and unwanted comments on their bodies.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]emmster 1 point2 points ago

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Have you had your job at risk because you're skinny?

Have you had Doctors miss major illnesses because they blamed every symptom on your body weight?

Do you pay higher health insurance premiums than the person working right next to you based solely upon your BMI?

Are skinny people currently being blamed for global warming?

I can go on with this all you want. Yes, dear, fat people get plenty of hate. I'm not saying it's okay that people body snark on you, but, damn, you are so not the only one getting crap here.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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The insults towards fat girls are actual insults, while the insults towards skinny girls are more like "Ha ha, you should eat a cheeseburger." Aglet said it's still considered okay to insults skinny girls, which is true. She didn't say fat chicks don't get insulted. It's obviously unacceptable to moo at someone, but many people consider it acceptable to call a skinny girl a twig.

Sucks for those of us at both ends of the spectrum.

[–]emmster 1 point2 points ago

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She said skinny is the only body type it's acceptable to insult openly.

I'm saying that's not even close to true.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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I don't think it's acceptable to insult fat chicks though. Like if you moo at one, you're actually being a dick, while no one thinks anything of calling a skinny chick a twig.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Yes. I'm 19.

[–]Meat_Related 1 point2 points ago

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I don't know these women, but I hate them.

(jealous)

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]Meat_Related 0 points1 point ago

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-squishes flab-

I know :( just seems easier to be skinny to start with

[–]pax_mentis 0 points1 point ago

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I ate like a cow in high school without getting fat (although I think there might have been a point where I wasn't thin? I wasn't very weight conscious at the time, but my sister told me I was briefly chubby haha - I think I got to an 8-10 or so). When I say that I ate like a cow, I mean that I ate candy, cheez-its, soda only for drinks, and tons of fast food... I started high school at 5'6" and a size 2 and left it at 5'7" and a size 4.

I went to Europe with my brother for 3 weeks directly following college and got even thinner - I was eating plenty and as I pleased, but it was healthier than my norm, I was having less soda, and I was walking a lot more.

Then I went on birth control... hah. I can eat pretty much what I want without getting fat still, but not while staying thin (which is where I feel best about myself), so I unfortunately have to moderate it a bit and exercise. Luckily I'm finding that I like lots of the foods that I avoided before (love fruits, like a lot of veggies after all, enjoy seafood, etc).

[–]niarra 0 points1 point ago* 

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Yes.

I was like that through all of my teens, but without any exercise I ended up skinny fat. Basically, my fat percentage was high, even though I was skinny, and I was weak and tired. Most girls who eat a lot of junk food (...and don't exercise) and stay skinny will in fact be "skinny fat", you just can't really see it underneath the clothes. It's what you (OP) noticed as "They have an ideal body (not the best, but still considered ok by most)."

So... finally in my 20s I found out being skinny isn't what a nice figure is about, adjusted my diet and went to the gym.

[–]aeoz[S] 0 points1 point ago

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Yeah I've seen beneath the clothes, and most (if not all) ladies have the belly fat. Yeah skinny fat should be the correct term.

[–]sambojomo 0 points1 point ago

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I used to, and then I hit 25. When I was a teenager I used to get comments like skelator and olive oyl and do you have a tapeworm? and are you anorexic? I just could not eat enough, ever. I've gained some much delighted weight in my mid 20's and I look healthy and womanly now. Unfortunately I've developed terrible eating habits from so many years being under weight, I had a BMI of 17) and now I have to make a conscious effort to slow down and cut back on sweets. I have never dieted, I will never diet. Short term diets are a terrible way to maintain a healthy weight.

[–]Kittycide 0 points1 point ago

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Yes, but it's starting to take a toll on me though. I've started losing weight & my doctor's are getting concerned because I can't put the weight back on.

[–]thesheeplookup 0 points1 point ago

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I was slim until I hit about 30 years old and rarely paid attention to what I ate.

[–]reeksofhavoc 0 points1 point ago

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I burn a lot of calories during the week so I am constantly hungry and eat a lot. My metabolism is pretty high for my age.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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Yes. I'm pretty high strung maybe that burn a lot of fuel. I need to eat a lot (or at least a lot of proteins) or my blood sugar drops dramatically. I eat more than men do, which kind of scares me... and them. I don't realize that I eat such large portions of food until I actually eat a meal with someone else. I am very slim.

As for diets, I used to try and keep to a high protein diet but it's actually pretty hard.

Weight. To each their own. You will always be too something. It's not your fault or your problem. People like to criticize in order to feel better about themselves.

[–]DarkColdFusion 0 points1 point ago

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From what I've read, the excuse that it's genetic is a minor aspect. Genetic variation is minimal on your metabolism to the other factors. The size of your body (fatter people need to expend less energy maintaining body temperature, but they also have more muscle to move their larger frame which uses more so it might be a wash unless it's really cold) The amount of muscle vs fat. And personal physical activity.

If someone you know is small despite eating more food then either

A) they are eating less then you overall

B) they are burning more energy from more muscle, more activity, smaller body, or illness.

Genetics for almost anyone is a lesser factor and your life choices make more of an impact upon you when it comes to weight.

[–]onan 0 points1 point ago

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Can I ask what you've read that indicates genetic predisposition is a small factor in weight? So far as I've seen, that seems to be at odds with all available data on the topic, as well as all anecdotal evidence.

For example, studies like http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3941707 regularly show an extremely high correlation between the bmi of people and their biological parents, and no correlation at all with that of their adoptive parents.

[–]cuberail 1 point2 points ago

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Yes, I eat like a cow and I am pretty thin. But that takes into account what cows actually eat, which is mostly fiber. If I ate like "normal" people I would be "normal" sized. It's not genetic. I choose fruits and vegetables more often than grains or added fats.

[–]allenizabeth -1 points0 points ago

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If so, FUCK YOU.

No, I kid. But seriously. Fuck you.

[–]aeoz[S] 0 points1 point ago

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Awesome, fuck you too.