[thegreenswede]

"they take one bite and feel full"- I strongly disagree with this as the reason some people are just lean.

As someone who's bounced around weight a lot and also had long periods where I had to basically control it (wrestling in college), the main difference I've seen with people who are in shape and people are overeat is that the former group understands that it's 'ok' to not feel full all the time. As in like learning the TRUE difference between appetite and hunger.

I've had periods where I gained 50lb in like 4 months (start of pandemic) and all I had to do to basically get back to baseline is remind myself that I'm not going to die just bc I'm not constantly full.

But i definitely don't get 'full' after a few bites. I can keep eating and eating for sure. It's more that being what we call traditionally "full" is actually just wayyyyy overeating.

[gerbilly]

When I'm on vacation my stress is reduced to the point where my 'appetite' drops, and this is despite the fact that I'm increasing my exercise load enormously (surfing, hiking, etc...)

I've noticed that stress causes me mild stomach pain, which can register as hunger. It also causes dry mouth which registers as thirst. If you're satisfying that thirst with sugary drinks long term, then you're going to be in trouble.

There is also so much novelty and more interesting stuff going on while on vacation that I don't find myself poking through the fridge out of boredom.

[thegreenswede]

I also lose so much weight on vacation it's weird. I once lost weight when visiting Japan for two weeks but I swore I was going crazy with the food, so I was confused. But I still managed to eat less than at home (I must have). Definitely a busyness thing.

Im the opposite when it comes to stress. I lose my appetite when I'm stressed but get super super hungry when bored. The lockdowns really messed up my eating habits but thankfully I've shed all the weight now that I can actually do stuff again.

[MagicMoonlight]

Oh buddy... you're not normal. If you're yoyoing 50 pounds then you also have the eating disorder.

Trust me on this. I also thought it was a self-control thing. It's not at all. When you're normal you actually get full. I don't mean telling yourself you are full, actually full. You do not want to eat anymore. You don't want chocolate straight after eating dinner. You don't go to the fridge randomly to get snacks. You actually have no desire for food. You voluntarily stop eating during meals because you don't want to eat anymore.

It's something you can't really comprehend without experiencing it because you've experienced a lifetime of the hunger constantly telling you to eat. The idea that you could just... not want to eat is just absurd. But that's how it feels. When a normal person eats a small meal and says they are full, they are actually full. There's no self-control for them, no screaming voice or impulses.

[thegreenswede]

Miswrote: I don't yo-yo 50lb normally. Only once during the pandemic gained that much and I was purposely eating like shit bc I was angry with the lockdown situation and had nothing else to do. Just used that as an example that if I actually just eat as much as I want (like eat till I'm full-full 3x a day) with no control, I'd be 50lb heavier. But 95% of my adult life post college (9+ years), I hover around the same weight.

I guess I understand what you mean that you'd think that every skinny person must actually be full after eating and that's why they're like that, but everyone I know who is in shape (like really in shape, either ex college athlete or lives the gym life now and would be considered top 5% of the population), they absolutely do not feel full every meal/day. I mean talking about planning cheat meals and fantasizing about certain foods is super common in the fitness lifestyle.

I've met maybe 3 people in my entire life who have what you're describing: they truly don't care about food and can forget to eat meals if distracted. All the others have some form of habit/routine and wish they could eat more and stay lean.

I'm not discounting that some people really struggle with eating habits and literally cannot stop thinking to eat more (I have family members like that) but I do heavily disagree that 'normal' people are always full quickly and that's why they are 'normal' weight.

If it was a simple normal/not normal appetite wiring then why do most major cities contain way more skinny people and places like Mississippi are almost 50% obese? Or the fact that obesity was pretty rare 100 years ago. I think there's a lot more going on than just 'normal people get full quicker'.