Why Can Some People Eat Tons of Food and Not Gain Weight?
I write all the time about my skinny friends who can eat more than a sumo wrestler and never gain weight. It’s not the same for me. And this is not very unusual. But rather than researchers investigating what keeps them thin — (those people who won the genetic lottery), they focus on dieting as a solution. It’s NOT.
Hyperthyroid Without Weight Loss
I recently went through a bout of hyperthyroid. That's the opposite of Hypothyroid when you gain weight by looking at it. OK, I'm kidding. But the truth is, you put on weight very easily with Hypothyroid. The main symptom of HYPERthyroid is unexplained rapid weight loss. Well, I recently was sick with this condition. And MY weight didn't alter downwards not even an ounce. How do I know? My clothes fit exactly the same as before. But I did feel miserable- rapid heart rate and it felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. And my muscles were very weak and cramping and bouncing. It was amazing and awful! I needed to go on medication to reverse the condition which lasted for MONTHS.
What Made Your Gain Weight?
Skinny people won the Metabolism Lottery. In this day the style is being thin (but big breasted, which is naturally mostly impossible without plastic surgery). But in the long run, they actually don't live as longer as those people who have additional weight on their frame. That is the truth!
The Sad Truth About Many Heavier People
Your weight is most commonly a genetic inheritance in your body frame from your parents. Just like you inherited their hair color and other aspects of your appearance, your weight is generally inherited.
But in some sad cases weight gain is the effect of some very sad events in your life. And there are MANY reasons why. Read the ACE study. That stands for "Adverse Childhood Experience" in early life from birth to six years old. Children who grew up in homes where they were abused, humiliated or neglected have a MUCH higher rate of a multitude of health issues as adults. And although extra weight is not unhealthy in itself, when it is the result of that kind of upbringing it brings other health concerns.
In addition, there are documented huge studies with tens of thousands of UK civil servants that show that those on the bottom of the pay scale are heavier than those at the top. And, it’s not from the food they are eating. And for that person who said it was activity that made him thin- look at all the heavier construction workers.
There is so much evidence that stress in life changes your metabolism and contributes to weight gain. Your body is chronically in "flight-flight- or freeze" mode with high cortisol levels. That contributes to many health risks, and can also increase your weight. And even when researcher do unbiased studies, sometimes they ignore the results that are right in front of their eyes. Researchers can be morons when they do an enormous study and ignore the living conditions of stressed participants over the rich ones that eat almost the same foods- except more expensive wines!
What's in your Gut Biome
Some newer studies are showing that gut biome in great measure is part of the problem. Studies with transplanting poop (yes, it’s true) from a skinny rat to a fat rat results in the fatter rat losing weight while eating the same diet as before. Then there’s an inheritance factor. And then there’s the big dog: STRESS. The more money you have, the less stress and the less likely you are to be overweight. It's true: Skinny people who don't gain weight are generally rich people who eat fattening foods their private chefs make for them!
It’s not what you’re eating…. it’s what’s eating you. It’s stress. Living in shaky economic circumstances are not being sure if you're going to lose your job, your home, your security in life is the worst stress possible. Other than having a life threatening disease, which is also loss of safety and security, there's nothing worse for creating stress in your life.
But hating your body, and people berating you because you are heavy ALSO contributes to the problem. Skinny people are not teased or bullied. They have "thin privilege". They are admired.
Heavier people who inherited their body shapes and sizes are frequently bullied, get less pay, don't have entry to the thin privilege perks. And when fatter people go on diet, they end up doing one thing: they make 95% of people who go on them eventually GAIN weight- above their starting point. It’s not really a yo-yo effect, because a yo-yo gets less and less. But a diet slows and damages your metabolism so you regain more each time you diet.
Before and After Photos
Sure, “successful weight losers” all talk about how much they lost. They show the before and after photos- but not the after the after picture! Because that would show how much weight loss they actually maintained after 2 months–5 years. You never hear back from those people because they’re so embarrassed and blame themselves. It’s not your fault. It’s how Mother Nature keeps you from starving and keeps you alive.
If you try to stop eating certain foods, or a certain amount of food, under stress, you will go for those foods that have power over you. Yes, skinny people can eat those foods with impunity. But once you stop trying to control your weight with dieting, you can get to a point where you too, can eat what you want. I know this sounds impossible. But if you have not totally damaged your metabolism - like those poor damaged people on "The Biggest Losers" did, it may take months or years. But eventually, hopefully, you'll be able to start eating a "normal" amount of food again without gaining weight. But if you continue to diet and starve yourself that will NEVER be your life.
Eat Less and Exercise More Is A Big Lie
And don’t me started on those people who claim it’s calories in that makes you gain weight for EVERYONE. Then how do you explain those skinny friends who eat copious amounts of food and never gain weight?? And there are plenty of those people!
We are not machines. Even the same car with the same amount of fuel gets different gas mileage driven by different drivers!
Overweight and Anorexic
Yes, it's true. There are those people who have damaged their metabolisms so badly from chronic and serial dieting (one diet after another) that they are chronically under-eating- without weight loss. But of course no one believes them. But there are unbiased researchers now doing studies with these unfortunate people who never eat enough.
Wouldn't it be nice if those diet researchers did more studies on why skinny people don't gain weight? Not likely- even though they eat crappy food, they are still admired for their ability to keep a slender body while over-eating.
Stop Hating Your Body
Getting over self-hatred of your body is a very difficult thing- but it’s the place to start to relieve that stress. Get to neutral, at least. And deal with the other stressors in your life. Most of the statements about obesity being a disease are untrue. Read “The Obesity Myth” by Paul Campos to find the actual statistics. And be happy and find others who appreciate you for who you are. Because that is the longest predictor in a long and healthy life....