Question:
How do you eat like a thin person?

I'm interested in finding out exactly how a thin person eats. A psychologist I work with mentioned to find out a person's success at being thin, observe the diet of a thin person. Is this true? What does a thin person eat?    — yourdivaness (posted on January 30, 2003)

January 30, 2003
I used to work with a woman who probably never had an extra pound on her and she was in her early 50s. She never ate if she wasn't hungry. When she was hungry, she ate whatever she was craving at the time. I remember two incidents in particular. She often came in in the morning and had something to eat at around 9:00 am or so. She would be about to start a meeting and excuse herself to go get something to eat, saying she was just too hungry to wait. I remember one day when she did this, we were having a going-away lunch for another co-worker. She went along, but didn't eat. She just wasn't hungry, but came along for the social aspects of the lunch. Another time, I ran into her in the hallway. She had two candy bars in her hand. I looked at her and said Two?????? She looked kind of sheepish and said that she had already had one. However, I talked to her several days later and discovered that she had taken those two candy bars back to her desk, taken a bite from one of them and then ended up taking them home to her boyfriend. That's how she ate. If she was hungry, she ate anything she wanted. But if she wasn't hungry, she just didn't eat.
   — garw

January 30, 2003
The ones I watched, ate junk food, almost continuously. Pretty discouraging as I sat there with my salad, gaining while I watched. Sigh. Every one I knew was a snacker and candy eater. Made NO sense to me. Unfortunately, I've got a fatal mechanical disease, potentially compounded by food issues. I have eat like one of THOSE kind, which is a little odd. But hey, it works. I do 6+ protein drinks per day & 4 meals. It IS different than I ate before. So. Maybe the small frequent meals are the secret.
   — vitalady

January 30, 2003
The ones I watched, ate junk food, almost continuously. Pretty discouraging as I sat there with my salad, gaining while I watched. Sigh. Every one I knew was a snacker and candy eater. Made NO sense to me. Unfortunately, I've got a fatal mechanical disease, potentially compounded by food issues. I have eat like one of THOSE kind, which is a little odd. But hey, it works. I do 6+ protein drinks per day & 4 meals. It IS different than I ate before. So. Maybe the small frequent meals are the secret.
   — vitalady

January 30, 2003
sometimes... I think I'm eating like a thin person.. because you know that thin people don't eat protein shakes all day.. you see them.. they eat chips.. and sandwiches.. and stuff like that... but here's what I see and try emulate... when pizza is offered.. two pieces is all they eat, candy - just one, a sub.. half of six inches... etc.. so they don't eat much..and they don't eat cheesecake (or any sugary and fatty dessert) every single day.. I also think that they moderate for a few days.. and indulge for one... at least I have a friend who manages her life that way... it works for her. She eats a healthy (almost WLS) type diet for most of the week.. and one day she might indulge in dessert or pizza... but she exercises... and works some at it.. not hard.. but she keeps control. I don't know if there is one perfect key to success... other than, you must do what works for YOU over your lifetime... and you must exercise... the long term success of any kind of wieght loss includes exercise.... good luck.. if you find something GOOD let me know... *smile*
   — Lisa C.

January 30, 2003
my first sentence wasn't clear... here's what I meant.. "sometimes... I think I'm eating like a thin person.. because <b>I just eat a little of everything but </b>you know that thin people don't eat protein shakes all day.. you see them.. they eat chips.. and sandwiches.. and stuff like that...
   — Lisa C.

January 30, 2003
I've noticed that for myself, I have less emphasis on food and it's become something that I do during the day along with reports at work and picking up the kids, brushing my teeth, etc. I used to plan my days around eating such as thinking about what I would have for dinner at 9:00am and where I was going to have lunch when it was breakfast time. My sister-in-law weighs under 100 pounds and we've always kidded her about how she needs to be reminded that it's mealtime or she'll forget. She eats because she has to, not because she looks forward to it. When she goes out to dinner, she enjoys the conversation and atmosphere as much as she enjoys the food. To me, the emphasis has always been on the actual eating.
   — Michael N.

January 31, 2003
My ex-husband is 140lbs soak & wet! That was very hard to live with when I was always on some sort of diet and doing without. Here's how he ate: For breakfast, he'd have a Mountain Dew and a pack of cookies or doughnuts. For Lunch, he'd have a sandwich, bag of chips, and often times another pack of cookies. For dinner, we'd all have some sort of meat, potato and veggie, but he really preferred the veggies over meat. The eye-opener is watching a thin person at a buffet place. My ex would always have 3 plates of veggies, salad (no dressing) and fruit. He rarely had meat or potatoes there and usually no dessert either.
   — thumpiez

January 31, 2003
I agree with a previous poster - check out people who eat "healthy," not just the thin ones. I know so many thin people who eat nothing but junk - candy, chips, pop, cookies. I have an older sister who is naturally thin. When we were younger, she could eat just about anything and not put on any weight. Still, at holiday time, she can eat just about anyone else under the table, although I know she's a little more careful in her regular, everyday eating, and she is concerned about eating more healthy. I just don't think there's any rhyme or reason to the eating thing. It's the luck of the draw - and we MO were dealt the bad hands (lol)!
   — Carlita