why do you think you are thin?

[butch]

for our thin friends on this board, I'd like to hear your responses.

Since I'm not thin, nor have I ever been thin, I can't answer this question. The only member of my immediate family who is thin appears to be that way because they don't eat much, and they work long hours at a job with a lot of physical demands.

 

[LoveBHMS]

for our thin friends on this board, I'd like to hear your responses.

Since I'm not thin, nor have I ever been thin, I can't answer this question. The only member of my immediate family who is thin appears to be that way because they don't eat much, and they work long hours at a job with a lot of physical demands.

Butch, I think this is a really brave and provocative thread to start. I think it's a really tough subject that might wind up making people a bit raw.

The "Why are you fat?" threads often make fat people feel angry, as if they either are being asked to justify it, or as if they're being called out for behaviour they may not even engage in. Many people don't mind those threads at all and easily just write "I'm fat because I deep fry everything and i'm lazy as heck" or they say "Genetics/Medical condition which i accept and whatever...i'm fat."

If a thin person says "I'm thin because I eat lots of veggies and always take the stairs rather than the elevator" you may have fat people get mad and say "Well eff you, I do all that and i'm still fat." It's not prevalent here at all, but there is always going to be some size related bigotry, ranging from use of the word "skinny *****" to "well I could be thin if i spent hours in the gym and starved myself but I'm above all that."

Additionally, if you've always been thin or average sized, you might not really think about it. I doubt most people are aware of whether or not genetics contribute to their size unless they are especially thin-despite-scarfing-bucket of KFC or fat-despite-eating-salads. To some degree, being thin or average might be more neutral, i.e. "I'm thin because I don't have sleep apnea or PCOS and my parents are both average sized."

 

[Blanka]

I workout almost everyday, work a fairly physical job, and I don't eat that much.

 

[love dubh]

For me, I am 5'6'' and 140, which is higher than I used to be. I gained the weight because I ceased physical activity and ate simple carbs, fats, and very few fruits or veg. When I returned to physical activity (capoeira and weight lifting), my composition changed and my bodyfat dropped.

My bodyweight is influenced by my behaviors.

On the other hand, my brother, who came from the same parents (ostensibly - could be the mailman's kid), has been a bit chubby all his life. He was is top shape when he played soccer, and as a dock worker, still has a physical job now. Yet, still has that chub - like a former football player physique. He's started a real physical activity regime, with healthier eating - which is a first for him. I haven't seen him in a while, so I don't know what changes that has inspired.

And yet, both our parents were trim when they married (at age 25), and developed an inverse Jack Sprat relationship. So unless the predisposition towards fatness is in a recessive gene (which my brother got and I didn't), I don't know if genetics has a big influence in my family.

 

[Melian]

Interesting thread.

I've always been thin and have never had much of an appetite. At the moment, I'm the thinnest I've ever been (5'8, 105 lbs)...I'm a poor grad student who happens to live in an area (Chinatown) where fruit/vegetables/fish are the cheapest, most available food options. I don't drive and don't work a desk job, so I get a lot of exercise.

 

[stan_der_man]

I think in my case it's genetic. I can eat all sorts of things and I don't gain weight, even when I try to. It can take me an entire year to gain 6 lbs and 3 days to loose it (which actually just happened...) I've been eating more healthfully lately, even so I'm a bit heavier than I used to be (I was typically 150 throughout high school and adult life, now I'm about 200). It might be my metabolism slowing down with age, I don't really know.

 

[LoveBHMS]

On the other hand, my brother, who came from the same parents (ostensibly - could be the mailman's kid), has been a bit chubby all his life. He was is top shape when he played soccer, and as a dock worker, still has a physical job now. Yet, still has that chub - like a former football player physique.

PM me phone number plz.

tx.

 

[marquise]

Genetics. I'm simply a child of two tall (me being 5'10"), skinny-skinny people (on a good day I weigh about 120, on a bad 115), who are just starting to put on some weight at the cusp of 60. Secondly, I'm thin because I live in a city in which getting anywhere requires a mass amount of walking and usually stairs. That, coupled with an apartment that can only be reached by going up six flights--with no elevators in sight--twice or three times daily makes any extra weight a hard thing to keep. It's pretty grueling. In college I was in a Southern walking-town without a car, used to spending about an hour or more of my day getting from place-to-place, class-to-class, not always enjoying it. It also dosen't hurt that I'm a bit of a health nut of the local-organic-vegetarian-madwoman variety.

 

[Maxx Awesome]

Metabolism & all that. I don't seem to be able to put on weight at all. Even now when I've got a low-activity job I still can't do it. At 140lbs, I'm the heaviest I've ever been.

 

[Dr. P Marshall]

Honestly, it's a combination of activity level and genetics. I've always been athletic and it seems that as long as I get some activity, my weight stays pretty much the same. By the same token, when I was in college, I slacked off, drank beer and ate a lot of horrible food and after 4 years had gained a whopping 10 pounds and lost it really quickly once I started getting active again. So, it seems, my genetics just aren't geared toward fat. The truth is, I eat a surprising amount for someone my size and while I try to eat healthy/home cooked meals as much as possible, I really don't limit anything or see any food as taboo. If I'm hungry, I eat and if I want something that's not so good for me, I go ahead and eat it. No one in my immediate family is fat although my dad has gotten chubbier as he got older. But given how much we eat, I have to think we just have pretty fast metabolisms in our family.

 

[corbinFA]

well, my metabolism is the shiz. That's all I'm going to say.

 

[ESPN Cutie]

I'm not thin (5'3'', 130 pounds), but average.

I workout regularily and watch the amount of calories I eat daily. I make the effort to keep my weight under 130 because I don't feel comfortable weighing much more than that.

 

[Mathias]

I'm thin because of a few reasons. I'd say the main reason is because of my Cerebral Palsy that affects my legs. If I remember correctly, it causes the muscles in my legs to be bent somewhat. Because thet aren't in their natural positions, I constantly burn calories. My family is also naturally thin so that also has something to do with it.

 

[Jon Blaze]

Mostly genetics, and some of my lifestyle.

My family is really diverse. I probably have about 180-200 people living. In age , and youth there's a variety of bodytypes. My brother, sister, and I all represent the three somatotypes, and while we didn't strictly do the same things as we grew older, there was a pattern, and we still ended up being different.

I'm ectomorphic. My brother is mesomorphic, and my sister is endomorphic (But she's kind of an hourglass). We've got our pros and cons within that. We have certain activities that we've done (Sports and so forth), but a lot of times, the intensities and frequency would be similar. My sister used to dance everyday for 30 to 120 minutes in her room (Still does about the same), which is roughly how much I'd practice martial arts, and so on.

I wouldn't say our shapes are strict, but we really haven't changed much since we were kids, except for me. I was a little fat for a part of my young life, but then I grew taller, and lean. Oddly enough, I actually got weaker physically when that happened, and I still am (Though recently my stamina is up a bit from my training: Not my size change; I'll be nice and say that maybe my extra speed is a training/size change thing, but much more former, less latter).

My brother has been weight training and practicing martial arts for a very long time. His training has an effect of course, but if you see his dad (Who at almost 60, the former marine has PYTHONS! OHHHHHHH YEAAAAAAH!!), you'll see that has something to do with it too. lol

I think my sister has my moms bodytype. They're curvy (And they look like twins ^_^), but my mom is psychotically fit and strong. Like training to run 12 miles in her 40s fit.

As for me, my lifestyle hasn't changed much in the last eight years regardless of my bodytype. I started practicing martial arts regularly at 12 (I did a little boxing before too), and I added some weight training too. My bodytype never really changed minus the growth spurt, but I was always one of the fit kids.

The only really big change was when I started my old job. My bodytype change a bit (I lost muscle, because I had no time to workout ever, with college/40 hours a week job), and I ran to sleep problems that I am still dealing with today. But within five months, I started to cut myself off of the food not because I think McHell has ****-quality crap, not worthy of eating. I had fun with it too. It was like a ritual lol.

I haven't put on any weight (Except for the Freshman.... three for me lol), but my build keeps going back and forth... It doesn't help that I have to be strong, and be able to run alot too. To prepare for SERE school, when I go to the gym, I have to run a few miles on a treadmill, then strength exercises, and start swimming soon as well. I don't seem to be building much (More weight on the rack yes, but eh chi'...), but it's what I got honestly.

Although this is really complex (There's thousands of factors really), I don't really know of two factors most have listed that has more of an effect, but right now I'm leaning more towards my genetics. I've had times when my lifestyle wasn't perfect. I didn't gain weight, but my build may/may not have changed to some degree. That might be due to going from training regularly to not training though.

My highest weight was maybe 5, 10, 20 pounds heavier than now with varying heights attached.

It seems to be the same for my brother, and sister as well. If they try to make drastic changes, they don't really seem to have a lasting positive effect (And I use that to mean whatever their goal is), unless they change permanently. But since we're all living healthy already, I don't really see the point, unless it's a little supplement here and there (Like protein for my brother), something for some sport/activity one of us does, or something else that's really minor.

The older members in my family? Same thing, and certain diseases (Mainly hypertension, liver disease, my mom and brother have this kidney disease whose name has slipped my mind, et cetera...) hit everyone regardless of size unfortunately. But the thin ones staying by the fat ones, doing the same things.

So yea: Right now I'm thinking genetics is stronger (If not in control lol), but I might not say that years down the line depending on how I change.

 

[pudgy]

Several things

1) I've always been high energy and I would imagine high metabolism. Weight - until recently - just never stuck on me.

2) I just don't have much of an appetite. I started taking a multivitamin, of all things, a year ago and my appetite has strangely grown. There could be no correlation, but who knows.

3) I've had the desire through the years to gain weight, but only recently have my fears been beaten by my excitement. I would eat a half jar of peanut butter in my teenage years, and then feel bad and go running the next day. Now, I'm eating a half jar of peanut butter and feeling great about it.

 

[Zoom]

I'm thinner because I've been losing weight from not eating very much due to a very very bad three-week virus I've just gotten over. And I may have to change my eating habits because of it, which means I'll probably lose more weight.

 

[Ned Sonntag]

Butch, I think this is a really brave and provocative thread to start. I think it's a really tough subject that might wind up making people a bit raw.

The "Why are you fat?" threads often make fat people feel angry, as if they either are being asked to justify it, or as if they're being called out for behaviour they may not even engage in. Many people don't mind those threads at all and easily just write "I'm fat because I deep fry everything and i'm lazy as heck" or they say "Genetics/Medical condition which i accept and whatever...i'm fat."

If a thin person says "I'm thin because I eat lots of veggies and always take the stairs rather than the elevator" you may have fat people get mad and say "Well eff you, I do all that and i'm still fat." It's not prevalent here at all, but there is always going to be some size related bigotry, ranging from use of the word "skinny *****" to "well I could be thin if i spent hours in the gym and starved myself but I'm above all that."

Additionally, if you've always been thin or average sized, you might not really think about it. I doubt most people are aware of whether or not genetics contribute to their size unless they are especially thin-despite-scarfing-bucket of KFC or fat-despite-eating-salads. To some degree, being thin or average might be more neutral, i.e. "I'm thin because I don't have sleep apnea or PCOS and my parents are both average sized."

Fascinating... LoveBHMs has been on my radar for awhile due to being quite articulate, giving good day-to-day advice to folks, yet having political leanings I've often been shocked by. And again the oddest part... another wise post, yet not a speck of personal info... I still haven't a clue even as to LoveBHM's gender! It must take extreme restraint and forebearance to remain so veiled...
Online socialization is still a strange new phenomenon in so many ways... a 'cool' medium indeed in McLuhanesque terms... we think we know each other but it's only our Avatars talkin'...

 

[Ned Sonntag]

Um, anyway in answer to the thread topic... I'd say I'm a naturally chubby person who out of sheer vanity and self-involvement, weekly yoga and daily walks plus a winter's worth of anxiety attacks plus this week's colonoscopy preps(everything came out okay) am maybe only 10 or 15lbs over 'good' BMI... :batting: Ow ow ow where are the BBWs on Cape Cod? How did I end up in this land of social x-rays?

 

[furious styles]

idk if i'm skinny. i weigh more than 200 pounds, and my bmi is generally around "obese". but i have a muscular build. i'm just built thickly, with a heavy duty bone structure.

anyway, my weight has ranged around a lot throughout my life. i was a fat kid in elementary school, got taller as high school progressed and was more just chubby and awkwardly built, then late/post high school got into weightlifting. in my adult life i've been upwards of 240 and downwards of 165.

i like to eat. but i also love to work out. my metabolism is pretty bad, i'm more a subject of my current lifestyle.

 

[liz (di-va)]

can eat all sorts of things and I don't gain weight, even when I try to. It can take me an entire year to gain 6 lbs and 3 days to loose it (which actually just happened...)

...as long as I get some activity, my weight stays pretty much the same. By the same token, when I was in college, I slacked off, drank beer and ate a lot of horrible food and after 4 years had gained a whopping 10 pounds and lost it really quickly once I started getting active again.

It's interesting, I've seen this happen over and over with thin friends I have (some of my best friends! hee!) who seem to have a big dose of genetics in the mix. Basically they/their weight snaps back really fast, even if they push it for a long time... (That is not how I work. Maybe for a few months in puberty.)