Time for some investigative reporting. A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a "skinny" friend about her weight maintenence. I said, "I'm always interested in how people who don't struggle with their weight, like I do, think about food, diet, exercise and how they go about keeping their figures. How do you do that?" I have been considering her replies for weeks now and wondered what the LBT family of friends could come up with. So, put on your Geraldo investigative reporter hats (or hairdos) and ask your skinny friends, family, and co-workers how they do it. I think we can come up with some really good "mantras" to get us through our weight loss struggles, maybe change some of the thinking that got us here in the first place. Post the "skinny" replies here and let's see what we can come up with. My guess...it won't be anything new, but maybe something somewhere will click and make a difference for some of us.

Go get 'em, gang!

Okay, my skinny friend Jill said this...

I used to try and exercise 3 days a week, but by the end of the week, I had missed a day here and there and ended up exercising only 1-2 days a week, sometimes none! So now I try to exercise (walk the treadmill for 30 minutes) every day. That way, if I miss a day or two, at the end of the week, I have still exercised 4-5 days out of the week.

She's right, of course, so my new mantra is "every day". She also said...

I was struggling with an extra 12 pounds or so. I just couldn't get it off and my belly was sticking out further than my boobs! (not true, I say, and waaahhh!! anyway...) so I quit eating ice cream at night before I went to bed. And during the day I would pick where I wanted my calories to come from. I didn't really count, but a Snickers bar has 360 or something calories, and I can get alot more to eat if I choose something else for those 360 calories. Plus, snickers just didn't give me what I wanted, which was to lose that 12 pounds. And now, I can eat whatever, really and maintain that loss. My body has just adjusted.

sigh. It's really very simple, why is that so hard for me?!!!!! Not that I have trouble with eeating ice cream at bedtime...it's just that thinking that makes it possible to choose better all day every day. That's what I don't get...how to take away the urge to eat the crap that keeps me from losing the weight. Skinny people scare me.

My skinny friend says there's nothing magical about her ability to maintain her weight--she eats healthfully (and very little) and exercises regularly. She says it's not easy, but obviously for her it IS easy and she has always been skinny.

This is another thing mentioned at the conference by Dr John Dixon.

"Skinny" people have some chemical in their brain that tell them when they are full, so they stop. Large people dont have this chemical, it "doesnt work properly" any longer, we eat and we eat. It takes so much for us to eat to get the same effect as "skinny" people.

The idea they came up with when they started using bands was that they would restrict intake but after alot if studies they found by placing the band up higher when we eat the puch pushes back on our ribs/lungs?? unsure which one he said, and gives the same feeling the chemical does that skinny people get. I am reading back over this and I know it wont make sense how I am typing it, but it made so much sense when Dr Dixon was talking about it. It was really interesting to know.

My brother in law eats and eats an eats and never gains weight. My brothers both had a serious coke & speed problems... I think that altered their matabolisms, both are scrawny, while the sisters are buillt like Amazons.

One guy I know is bulimic, as is another woman. One couple just took up running recently and have lost a good amount of weight, but they weren't skinny to begin with, one woman has been researching anorexia sites to learn to be anorexic.

one woman has been researching anorexia sites to learn to be anorexic.

I have heard of these sites. Anorexia is discussed, tips shared, and pics posted to "inspire" others. Oh my!!!

But, I don't want to hear from the unhealthy losers...I have enough unhealthy food issues to deal with! While I'm sure a cocaine habit would help me lose weight, well, ya know. Can't afford it, it's illegal, unhealthy, yada yada.

How are your healthy skinny friends doing it? What's the thinking behind managing your weight, from the perspective of someone who naturally, somehow, doesn't have the head issues we obese people have? How do they do it?

Kelly, I know what you were trying to say. I have heard that there is some type of nerve hit in the stomach when the pouch is full and that nerve triggers the "Ah, I'm stuffed for hours!" feeling. Some days I feel that way, other days it just can't be found. That's where the head work comes in.

So what do these skinny people say? I'm asking my skinny friend Laura next. I hope to see her tonight but it might be next week before I have a chance to ask...still investigating! I'll post what they say.

I took a class about nutrition and the teacher/nurse talked about how some people are "true thins" and she made alot of good points such as true thins eat one food at a time so they satisfy thier cravings with a few bites (like if they have a steak, salad, and potato - they eat some steak, then some salad, then some potato and that's it.) Also, true thins are like babies - they stop eating when they are full! Think about how hard it is to feed a 2 yr old - that's because when they are full you couldn't force another bite into them. She also said true thins CHEW TEDIOUSLY SLOW AND EAT SLOW - this is probably part of why the band works!

My SIL is a skinny person. She looks at food as "filler". If she can eat a little piece of something to make the hunger go away, that is what she does. She doesn't like to cook (which is something I love), and she says she wishes you could eat like you fill your car with gas. Once a week, fill 'er up! I don't think we were really meant to not enjoy our food, but I think the band will definitely help with the full feeling so that a little food takes care of the hunger. One thing that she does wrong though, and it shows on her, is that she doesn't care what it is that she "fills the void" with. If a plain piece of wonder bread will do it, she'll it all the time. A bowl of cold cereal, etc. She doesn't think, "Have I had protein or veggies today?" So, I don't think she is healthier, except that she doesn't have the effect of fat on her body. Karen

Interesting topic since that's been the theme of my whole week. I already had lenghthy discussions with my 3 normie friends. One is too skinny, but all she eats is chicken, veggies and rice - every day. That's borderline anorexic in my opinion because she whines about being fat (flat belly, size 1, 2 grown kids, no cellulite.) Then friend #2 was size 6 her entire life & never had to think about weight. She just went thru horrible divorce & put 10 lbs on instantly, and she's totally freaked out but can't change her bad night-eating habit. I told her to knock it off now or she'll just keep gaining - get that 6 back now or it could be 16 next year.

Then I talked w/ my closest friend this morning - almost in tears over my sugar addiction. To my surprise, she's just as scared as me. She got a new job near a vending machine and splooged (thanks for that word) once on a candy bar. Next day she treated herself again. Now she says the addiction has her scrambling for change at an urgent pace every afternoon. So she even got hooked to candy, and a few pounds have crept up.

I even tell my skinny friends that have gained a few to knock it off. I tell them to use me as an example, that a few pounds are no biggy, but the addiction and bad habits tend to take over and get uncontrollable.

So, in aswer to your question, even the skinny ones are in the same struggling boat.

My Skinny friend has been a size 2 most of her adult life. She has gone up to a size 4 and freaked out about it becasue for her it was like going from a 14 to a 16. She loves to eat breakfast and lunch but eats very little dinner if any at all. She also said something that you'll NEVER hear a fat person say...."I forget to eat". Funny huh? I don't think I have ever forgotten to eat. Wish I had that problem. I used to be eating lunch and think about what I was going to eat for dinner. Luckily, with my band, I don't do that anymore.

My mother is a skinny. She eats like a horse - all the time and everything in sight that is bad for you. At 69, she is once again complaining that her size 1 and 2 clothes have to be taken in. But she works and runs constantly.

Since my dad died she lives alone but she was like this my whole life. I can call at 7 and she already has done laundry, canned some pickles, put lunch in the oven/crockpot, and is getting ready to clean some carpet. You can call at 2 and she will probably be tearing down wallpaper in some room and getting ready to pain. Call at 10:30 and she might be wondering if she should sweep the garage before she goes to bed. Now my garage hasn't been swept since 2002 so I now we know why I'm still morbidly obese and she's skinny.

The skinny friends I have are either continuous workers (like my mom) or marathon runners, triathaloners, etc. That's all I can contribute to this thread. Celeste

When I was 17 my grandmother ran circles around me. She sounds like your mom.

Life is weird.

I've got a very petite sister and a very petite SIL. To tell the truth, there's no magic to it, its just that those of us are cursed with an obsession with food that just simply does not exist in other people's heads. I fear it will always be so and I've resigned myself to a lifetime of thinking too much about what I eat, when I eat, what I dont eat, how much I weigh.

Both my sis and my SIL eat great food. They're both gourmands. They love to cook. But unlike me who'll cook up something great and eat a gutload of it, their interest in food starts when they get hungry and finishes when they stop being hungry. They can cook up a lovely roast dinner and only eat a tiny bit because they're no longer hungry. One glass of wine sits all night, I guzzle mine quickly. They dont eat between meals unless they're hungry. They say no thanks to things they dont want. They dont weigh themselves every day. They play sport and get exercise for the love of it, not to achieve an end.

I really dont think I'm wired that way. I'll feel peace if I can get thinner but still have to cope with this darned obsession. I really dont expect to ever become a thin person. I just dont think its possible.

I think it has do with metabolism. My daughters friends eat junk all the time and they are skinny. My daughter does not eat that stuff and is a size 24.We do not east sugar, we eat whole wheat. Low fat milk. Alot of salads.Her friends eat what ever they want as much as they want. SOOOOOOOOO Unfair

MY mom is a size 16 little girls or a size 1 womens. She drinks coffee, all day, and has lots of chocolate, and smokes cigarettes. She usually only eats dinner, and she eats alot when she does eat. But she is also very busy...always tearing something apart, so she is on the move all the time. My brother is also thin, he is a size 28 jeans. Has been forever and he eats like a horse and he does not chew his food. He literally can eat a large canadian bacon, mushroom ,cheese,

(his favorite) by him self in less than five minutes. No kidding. And he is very inactive. I have actually had dreams about him choking on pizza before...really sick and that is another story in it self...lol And then there is me

I do not eat anything till around noon. Usually soup and a sandwich and then I eat dinner with my family at around 6:30. I do my overeating then. I do not eat sweets at all. I live on water. And I am a clean freak so I am always on the go. AND I AM THE FAT ONE!!! Go figure!!!!!

I think there is more than one kind of skinny person. Some have high metab, some make the choices and some just DON'T CARE all that much about food. My two sons were different about food from the minute they were born. My oldest LOVED to eat and even tho he had nothing but breastmilk until he was 9 months old he was a chubby baby. He would suckle for hours. Since I was a LaLeche League convert that was okay by me. Now I'm not so sure... but really, I don't think it would have made any difference at all in the long run. He is a fine young man now, but at 21 and 6'2"--probably about 280#. While my YOUNGER son only suckled for as long as he had to before he got on with his baby day. He weaned himself at 7 months and never looked back. He never could care less about food. Now he's about 5'10" and I doubt he weighs even 150#. At dessert time I used to ask something like, "Who wants ice cream?" and half the time Arthur (the younger) would say, "Not me... I'm full" and John (the older) and I would just look at him and think, What's THAT got to do with it??

Arthur just doesn't care all that much about food. It's only a tool to keep his stomach from growling. My exhusband was the same way.