The Student Room Group

Naturally thin: a myth?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 80
This may sound a bit uneducated as I know nothing about anatomy/biology etc but do some people just have smaller stomachs than others?

I am 7 stone/UK size 4 and definitely don't try and starve myself or anything, pretty much the opposite, but when it comes to eating big portions I just get full SO quickly and make myself feel sick if I try and push myself to eat more. So do I have a small stomach, or is it something else?
Yes you can, it depends on the speed of your thyroid, if it is naturally fast then you burn fat a lot quicker and dont gain much weight despite the amount you eat
Original post by heyAmy
So you hear of these people who 'eat loads' and 'do no exercise' but claim that their slim physique is natural and they've got good genes.
Personally, I have no idea how this could be possible.
What do you think? Can this be possible? Is there such thing as 'naturally skinny'?


There are plenty of people who are "naturally skinny", I'm one of them!

I eat a huge amount, more than anybody I know, usually about the same as the other 3 members of my family combined and I'm only about 12.5 stone (I'm 6'3" so that is light for my height).
Original post by Keckers
I'm pretty sure the whole 'fast metabolism' thing is a crock of bull ****. I know in my case that I simply lack any motivation to eat much food, I find eating pretty boring and I don't exactly have a massive appetite.


I'm pretty sure it's scientifically documented. It might not be the biggest factor in weight, but it can easily be the difference of 500-1000 kCal / day between people.
Reply 84
There definitely are naturally skinny people, using myself as an example!
I'm 5'9" and 9.5 stone (not exactly a waif but still slim in most peoples eyes) and I can tell you 100% honestly that I have NO clue how I am not seriously overweight! I have the absolute worst diet of anyone I know, this might sound ridiculous, but I am pretty much addicted to junk food. As in, I do not eat anything else. I don't eat home cooking, I literally survive on McDonalds, Subway, KFC, kebabs, Dominos etc. And I work at TGI Friday's where I get 50% discount which means I pretty much eat there every single day. Also it's not that I eat this stuff, but only a small amount once/twice a day as I've seen some other people posting, I literally eat 3 full, large meals a day, and have a bad habit of eating until I'm so full I feel ill. And as for exercise? Non existent! The absolute most exercise I get is the walk to work, which is less than 3 minutes away, hardly a strain! I am aware that I am incredibly unhealthy and I need to sort out my diet before I am seriously ill, it's a cause of constant stress between me and my mum as she worries so much, but I'm 20 and have been eating like this since I was about 14, so I find it very hard to eat anything that isn't junk food. But I can definitely say that I most definitely must be naturally skinny, honestly I should weigh about 20 stone by now.
Yeah I think these people do exist.

My girlfriend and I can eat and drink the exact same things and do the exact same amount of exercise and yet I'm the one who puts on weight, she stays skinny as hell. :sad:
Reply 86
Original post by tresjolie
There definitely are naturally skinny people, using myself as an example!
I'm 5'9" and 9.5 stone (not exactly a waif but still slim in most peoples eyes) and I can tell you 100% honestly that I have NO clue how I am not seriously overweight! I have the absolute worst diet of anyone I know, this might sound ridiculous, but I am pretty much addicted to junk food. As in, I do not eat anything else. I don't eat home cooking, I literally survive on McDonalds, Subway, KFC, kebabs, Dominos etc. And I work at TGI Friday's where I get 50% discount which means I pretty much eat there every single day. Also it's not that I eat this stuff, but only a small amount once/twice a day as I've seen some other people posting, I literally eat 3 full, large meals a day, and have a bad habit of eating until I'm so full I feel ill. And as for exercise? Non existent! The absolute most exercise I get is the walk to work, which is less than 3 minutes away, hardly a strain! I am aware that I am incredibly unhealthy and I need to sort out my diet before I am seriously ill, it's a cause of constant stress between me and my mum as she worries so much, but I'm 20 and have been eating like this since I was about 14, so I find it very hard to eat anything that isn't junk food. But I can definitely say that I most definitely must be naturally skinny, honestly I should weigh about 20 stone by now.


If you work at TGI Friday's are you a waitress or bar staff? As a previous bar girl I know that 7 + hours running around behind a bar definitely burns a lot of calories!
I eat more than anything and I'm 8-9 stone, 20 years old (male) ._. Can't put on weight even if I wanted too.
Original post by tresjolie
There definitely are naturally skinny people, using myself as an example!
I'm 5'9" and 9.5 stone (not exactly a waif but still slim in most peoples eyes) and I can tell you 100% honestly that I have NO clue how I am not seriously overweight! I have the absolute worst diet of anyone I know, this might sound ridiculous, but I am pretty much addicted to junk food. As in, I do not eat anything else. I don't eat home cooking, I literally survive on McDonalds, Subway, KFC, kebabs, Dominos etc. And I work at TGI Friday's where I get 50% discount which means I pretty much eat there every single day. Also it's not that I eat this stuff, but only a small amount once/twice a day as I've seen some other people posting, I literally eat 3 full, large meals a day, and have a bad habit of eating until I'm so full I feel ill. And as for exercise? Non existent! The absolute most exercise I get is the walk to work, which is less than 3 minutes away, hardly a strain! I am aware that I am incredibly unhealthy and I need to sort out my diet before I am seriously ill, it's a cause of constant stress between me and my mum as she worries so much, but I'm 20 and have been eating like this since I was about 14, so I find it very hard to eat anything that isn't junk food. But I can definitely say that I most definitely must be naturally skinny, honestly I should weigh about 20 stone by now.


Gurl gots dem geeenesssss

I'm about 188cm and my limbs are incredibly skinny despite eating a fair amount of rubbish (I'm trying to cut down):|

It is a ****ing pain in the arse trying to find trousers, I sometimes wear girls skinny jeans haha. The problem is nowhere sell any 28L trousers and it pisses me off to no end! And because I have big feet and need to wear skinny stuff I look like I have clowns feet. WOE IS ME.
It definitely is possible. I eat so much junk food and I am relatively slim. I do quite a bit of sports though but I never used to.
Reply 90
Original post by Mr. Tizzy XII
I'm pretty sure it's scientifically documented. It might not be the biggest factor in weight, but it can easily be the difference of 500-1000 kCal / day between people.


I'm yet to see a source in this thread (or anywhere else) supporting that. In fact, the only source anyone have provided is a link which suggests the opposite. So until you someone finds a study I'm inclined to believe it is something of an urban myth.

I say this as someone who used blame their low weight on this so called fast metabolism, until I realised that actually I don't really eat that much.
Reply 91
People are saying that they eat loads of junk food and still say they have a low weight. I'd wager you either don't eat as much as you think, and also the nutrition content of food is important, calories are one way of measuring the basic energy in the food, but there are other factors to include when deciding whether a meal is going to fatten you up or not.

Original post by rutheliz
This may sound a bit uneducated as I know nothing about anatomy/biology etc but do some people just have smaller stomachs than others?

I am 7 stone/UK size 4 and definitely don't try and starve myself or anything, pretty much the opposite, but when it comes to eating big portions I just get full SO quickly and make myself feel sick if I try and push myself to eat more. So do I have a small stomach, or is it something else?


Most likely, I found I gained a fair amount of weight in about a month when I increased the number of meals I ate instead of just increasing portion sizes. I find it easier to eat small portions more often, but to be honest I find preparing food a chore so I tend to avoid it (hence my relatively low weight).
Original post by Keckers
I'm yet to see a source in this thread (or anywhere else) supporting that. In fact, the only source anyone have provided is a link which suggests the opposite. So until you someone finds a study I'm inclined to believe it is something of an urban myth.

I say this as someone who used blame their low weight on this so called fast metabolism, until I realised that actually I don't really eat that much.


http://www.ajcn.org/content/82/5/941.long
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081127204342.htm
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/008352.html

And yes, I have read them - i'm not just linking them. And again, i'm not saying it is the biggest cause of weight difference. But it can easily be the difference of burning an extra 500-1000 kCal a day.
Reply 93
I play sports very often - 75kg 179cm but am quite chubby. I eat nothing but healthy food etc and maybe the odd takeaway here and there.

My bro is 13, 60kg 169cm and is stick thin. He never eats fruit and veg and lives on chicken nuggets, crisps and chocolate. He also barely plays sports.

When it does come to playin sports though, even though I am 4 years older than him, he barely has any stamina whilst I can run around for 90mins without getting tired. He is naturally thin I guess, but being visually/physically thin doesn't necessarily mean somebody is 'healthy'.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App
Original post by tresjolie
There definitely are naturally skinny people, using myself as an example!
I'm 5'9" and 9.5 stone (not exactly a waif but still slim in most peoples eyes) and I can tell you 100% honestly that I have NO clue how I am not seriously overweight! I have the absolute worst diet of anyone I know, this might sound ridiculous, but I am pretty much addicted to junk food. As in, I do not eat anything else. I don't eat home cooking, I literally survive on McDonalds, Subway, KFC, kebabs, Dominos etc. And I work at TGI Friday's where I get 50% discount which means I pretty much eat there every single day. Also it's not that I eat this stuff, but only a small amount once/twice a day as I've seen some other people posting, I literally eat 3 full, large meals a day, and have a bad habit of eating until I'm so full I feel ill. And as for exercise? Non existent! The absolute most exercise I get is the walk to work, which is less than 3 minutes away, hardly a strain! I am aware that I am incredibly unhealthy and I need to sort out my diet before I am seriously ill, it's a cause of constant stress between me and my mum as she worries so much, but I'm 20 and have been eating like this since I was about 14, so I find it very hard to eat anything that isn't junk food. But I can definitely say that I most definitely must be naturally skinny, honestly I should weigh about 20 stone by now.


I'm a total lay person here, but could it be that your body isn't getting enough nutrients? I doubt there's a single vitamin in that diet, and maybe somewhere your body is rejecting the junk food?

You may be right though. I don't doubt genetics does play a part - some people clearly have superior genetics in physical appearance, so why not in bodily efficiency?
Reply 95
Original post by x-Sophie-x
It definitely is possible. I eat so much junk food and I am relatively slim. I do quite a bit of sports though but I never used to.


You are knockout from your photos. :smile:
Reply 96
I eat a lot and still weigh in at between 6 1/2 and 7 stone, I'm also quite petite so I'm in proportion, I wear a UK size 4, and even that is a bit baggy.

I eat a lot, but it's the sort of things I eat which make the difference. Last night I chopped up a big bag of carrots and had them with a pot of hummus as a rather large snack, one of my housemates at the same time managed to eat her way through a box of mini blueberry muffins. She's a UK size 14-16. Volume wise I ate a lot more than she did, but calorie wise a lot less. If I go to the gym a few times a week, I find that I constantly have to stuff my face to stop myself from looking anorexic, so I don't really bother with much exercise other than walking a few miles every day and sports training a couple of times a week.

Whenever I spend time with my family they always comment on how much food I eat, for example, last time I had Sunday lunch with my family I had a huge plate full and went back for seconds, but then was too full for pudding, whereas my Mum had a smaller plate full of the roast than I did to begin with and then had pudding. A roast dinner isn't particularly heavy on the calories, whereas whatever the pudding was would have been. She used to be as skinny as me when she was younger but has put on a bit of weight as she's gotten older (and after having four kids), but she's probably just what people would consider average for her height and age.
Reply 97
Original post by Mr. Tizzy XII
http://www.ajcn.org/content/82/5/941.long
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081127204342.htm
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/008352.html

And yes, I have read them - i'm not just linking them. And again, i'm not saying it is the biggest cause of weight difference. But it can easily be the difference of burning an extra 500-1000 kCal a day.


But have you really read them? Two studies show that there are genetic differences in metabolic pathways etc etc, only one study mentions anything to do with weight and this is under observed morphological traits prior to testing. The discussion contains absolutely no reference to weight at all. The report itself acknowledges that studies are inconclusive it determining a correlation between metabolic variance and weight.
Reply 98
Original post by rutheliz
If you work at TGI Friday's are you a waitress or bar staff? As a previous bar girl I know that 7 + hours running around behind a bar definitely burns a lot of calories!


I'm a waitress! And although I do quite a lot of walking etc whilst at work, I'm currently only working one shift a week, and usually it's only 4/5 hours, and for the other 6 days I am pretty much a lazy pig! (I am not proud of this fact haha) :colondollar:
There are naturally thin people who eat loads but I think it is more common for people to naturally not have a big appetite. Most thin people don't eat much food, they are not dieting to look thin but they can't eat a lot or don't like to eat a lot.

Quick Reply