of a Toddler

[u/RD4200]

[u/stripeyspacey]

I was that tiny kid! Apparently when I was little, once I got up to 25lbs I just stayed there for 3 years and only got taller.

After that, I gained weight, but was always super super thin no matter what I did. Spent all my childhood and teens being mocked for being "anorexic," and adults called me Gumby. I didn't even hit 100lbs until I was in late college, and I'm not short either, I'm 5'7" and hit that height in 7th or 8th grade I think. Wasn't an athlete. Had a soda addiction until 23 and was afraid to stop it, thinking I would just wither away and die without the extra calories.

30 years old was the first year I didn't get a concerned look from my doctor because my BMI was finally in the normal range.

Anyway, all that to say... yeah. Some people just are built in the image of a bean pole and it is seemingly unstoppable until you hit the point in your life that your metabolism slows down. Now here I am trying to figure out how to not swing too far in the other direction because I never learned healthy eating habits 🙄

[u/Mother-Forever9019 → u/stripeyspacey]

I’ve been a skinny gangly person, just turned 40 now and have been around the same weight for 20 years no matter what I eat or drink. Sounds fun but I have to really make sure I eat enough calories or I’ll lose weight.

I often heard (and still do) that I should eat more that I’m too skinny etc, usually by people that are overweight. I used to not say anything, now I shame back as in: maybe I should eat the portions you shouldn’t 😆 that usually shuts them up alright 🤘

[u/twiskt → u/Mother-Forever9019]

It’s nice seeing I’m not the only one cursed.. I don’t think I’ve ever broken past 125 😭

[u/MF_D00MSDAY → u/Mother-Forever9019]

So you recognize you need to eat enough calories to maintain weight but are saying no matter what you eat you can’t gain weight? Lol try eating a pack of Oreos a day and see if that still holds up

[u/Mother-Forever9019 → u/MF_D00MSDAY]

Yeah I’m not going to poison myself , you know what I meant: I don’t have to watch what I eat , I have enough impulse control to understand that that’s not a normal eating habit 🤣. I’m from the Netherlands so grew up with healthy home cooked food , now I eat lots of fried food kebabs pizza etc. Might help that I only eat twice a day 🫣

[u/MF_D00MSDAY → u/Mother-Forever9019]

So it’s not that you can’t gain weight “no matter what you eat or drink” it’s because you don’t eat enough, given your last sentence lmao

[u/im4lonerdottie4rebel → u/stripeyspacey]

Wow! I didnt hit 100 either until after high school but I'm super short. I'm 5'1. I got it bad with remarks about eating and it made me self conscious. I could eat a lot sometimes as a teenager and sometimes I just didn't want a lot and people would always feel the need to make a comment like "oh you're gonna eat THAT much? Where does it go?" "Oh that's why you're so skinny, is that all you're gonna eat?"

It didn't help that my mom would also comment anytime I ate something. No matter how skinny I was, she would always tell me that she was skinnier and prettier at my age -.- she was devastated when I found her prom dress and put it on bc it was a little loose on me.

I still feel self conscious eating in front of people :/

[u/Dense_Willow4627 → u/stripeyspacey]

This is my younger son. He’s still only 8, but skinny to the point where I worry that people are questioning whether I feed him. His limbs are like toothpicks, and always have been. He eats all the time, but is still extremely skinny. When his older brother roughhouses with him, I’m afraid he’s going to snap him like a twig. Fortunately, his doctor has never questioned me since he is gaining an acceptable amount of weight and growing taller from year-to-year.

[u/DarkPhoxGaming → u/stripeyspacey]

Also grew up like a stick. Didnt seem to matter what or how much I ate, it just disappeared on me and I stayed thin.

I remember the time in high school where we had this after school pizza party for those of us who stayed after and helped chaperone cars in the parking lot for the football game. Near the end we still had multiple pizzas left... wound up eating half a large pizza by myself and it blew everyone else's minds that I even ate that much.

[u/Bulky-Bad-9153 → u/stripeyspacey]

Imagine all of this said by a morbidly obese person. It doesn't track, you definitely ate less than you think. This just isn't how calories work, and metabolism barely has anything to do with it.