Ladies, does anyone eat like a cow but never gets fat?

torilikefood · 1 year

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.

_Kita_ · 1 year

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?

siljak · 1 year

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!

car973 · 1 year

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.

anecdotal-evidence · 1 year

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. :-(

modelchick8806 · 1 year

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.

AtotheJ · 1 year

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.

ladamesansmerci · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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.

opportuneport · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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

littlemissemperor · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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

anecdotal-evidence · 1 year

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....

dyabetti · 1 year

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

socialrat · 1 year

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] · 1 year

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.

NW_passage · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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] · 1 year

Yes. I'm 19.

Meat_Related · 1 year

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

(jealous)

pax_mentis · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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.

sambojomo · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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

reeksofhavoc · 1 year

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] · 1 year

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 · 1 year

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.

cuberail · 1 year

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 year

If so, FUCK YOU.

No, I kid. But seriously. Fuck you.

you'll need to login or register to do that

create a new account

login