'she eats SO MUCH and is SO skinny!'

I've heard it a million times, especially in high school. A very thin or even average-weight girl will often be picked on for being able to eat whatever she wants without gaining. Slightly overweight girls will scoff and roll their eyes and grab her tiny wrists and make comments about how she eats like a pig--that is, a lot, or often. In truth, almost all the thin girls I know DO eat like pigs--I see them snacking every class period on chips or crackers and I'll see them eating an ENTIRE lunch of pizza and a side salad and a glass of milk, while some of the heavier girls opt to munch on a few pieces of lettuce. Well, maybe there's something behind that: is it possible you can eat more and weigh less? In my experiences, the answer is a huge, boldfaced yes. In fact, I used to be one of those overweight girls who'd be in awe of how much teeny-tiny girls ate. I was the one overweight, even though I'd skip breakfast AND lunch. But, it's true: I've transformed into one of those thinner girls who eats more than anyone I know [I think I eat more than my boyfriend, even--calorie-wise] and yes, I'm picked on for it. The other birds think I'm being sarcastic when I they inform me of their one-granola-bar-'til-dinner diets, and I tell them to eat more. But I'm  telling ya, once and for ALL, that I FIRMLY believe in the concept of eating enough and weighing less, or losing weight. I've seen it happen. But why don't other girls realize this if they see it happen? I mean, obviously, if you eat next to nothing for a while and then start on a bag of Riesen and a Nutrageous bar a day like I did, you'll gain. But if you're a teen, and you're eating a lot of nutritious, healthy foods, with the occasional treat, there's almost no way you can become overweight. What I'm trying to say is: teen girls. EAT.

Oh man, that rant pretty much disintegrated into nothing.

But I think I've made my point.

You make a very good point!  I used to be the heavy girl too that didn't eat breakfast or lunch, and very little at dinner.  IT DID NOT DO A THING FOR ME!!!!!  It actually made me gain.  I've lost 40 pounds since I've been eating more!  I do have a question for you though...How many calories do you eat?  

I eat around 1200-1300 NET a day.. I've been looking to up my net cals to 1500. But I'm eating twice the amount I used to eat at a higher weight!

I think you've made your point too! AND i think it's unfair that some people try to make you feel bad about eating more; I have a friend that would constantly make sarcastic comments and I would want to stop eating. (needless to say, I am no longer friends with her. :D)

skinnyogi--I've known people like that too! and even my mother, who's sending me to a nutritionist next month, makes fun of my eating so much. over the summer I was in the kitchen like every hour [haha] and now I feel like I have to be sneaky about it because I don't want to hear a "stop eating, you piggy!" she may be joking, but it's still an annoyance!

Imagine the comments that a guy who takes in 2300-2500 NET every day gets. 

revolution3- this might be asking a lot, but would you post a sample menu perhaps?  I need some inspiration to eat more but healthier.. your post gives me hope

I KNOW; my mom used to say 'oink oink' all the time when I was younger!

sorry, but i gained weight from eating a lot.  that's kind of how it works.  the thing that counts is the person's metabolism, and that is different for each person.

i've been losing weight and looking better by eating just not as much as i used to.

of course you'll gain weight by eating a LOT, but you won't by eating enough. what I'm trying to say is so many teenage girls think you need to eat very little to be at a low--or their lowest potential--body weight, which is untrue.

That's a great post, and I do think there's some truth to it.  But also, 1200 to 1300 net a day is NOT a lot.  I strive to eat that- I usually come in at about 1500 net a day.  Most people who diet aim for 1200 net per day.  And just being nosy, what are you seeing the nutritionist for? I'm not frowning on you, I see one too, I'm just curious.

i completely agree. it's all about eating the right foods. volume, volume, volume. veggies, woohoo!

I totally get that! I've been eating more but with more healthy foods so instead of eating a snack which is 200-300 calories I eat a snack which is 30-40 calories.

Problem is my parents dont think im dieting properly because I'm eating so much. My mum told me yesterday that one day of not eating all my calories wouldn't hurt. At that point i'd barely consumed 700 cals!

Ugh, the word must be spread!!!

i also have to make an ironic comment of this but when ever i eat alot of  food to get to at least 1200 or more calories for the day people like my dad for starters always go to me 'so much for your diet' meaning he thinks i eat to much and so he thinks i ruin it by this and then he always complains how i need to stop loseing weight and put on some and then when my best friend sees what i eat and still loseing weight she always says to me how can you eat that much and still lose weight coz basically she starves herself and doesnt lose nothing >.>

1200-1300 is considered eating "SO MUCH"?

maybe if people see you only eat it all in 2 meals or something, because i eat around 4-5 meals/snacks a day and around 1300-1400 calories and people are always commenting about how i eat like a bird.

what are all girls expected to be aneroxic these days to be slim?  because that's what it sounds like to me if eating the bare minimum calories for a small boned sedetary adult is "SO MUCH" for a growing teen.

what is it anyone's business what someone else is eating in the first place.
you have 1 life and 1 body, take care of it for crying out loud.  who cares what other people think of your body or eating habits as long as you know you're treating yourself well.

the only reason why 1200 calories may seem like to much to some people is like me who has 1200 calories i constantly snack throughout the day on a lot foods that are generally low in calories such as fruits,yoghurts,cereal and just normal stuff or snack things that only contains stuff under 100  calories so for me i dont eat 2 or 3 meals a day i just speard everythink out from when i wake up until i go to sleep, i think what i do is called grazeing ...

I agree. When you're trying to eat clean, it's a struggle to NET 1200-1300 (after exercise). You have to eat a LOT to meet your nutritional and caloric requirements for the day. I find myself eating much much more now than I ever used to, because I used to eat calorically dense food. Now I opt for lower calorie foods, not only so I can eat more and stay full throughout the day (I've never had problems with that) but so that I can eat more to reach nutritional goals.

I've lately found a good balance between 1300 and 1400, but this is with nutrition bar supplementation and strict meal planning. In no way am I saying it's hard to eat more calories than that--it's very very easy to hit maintenance calories. It's hard to do this when eating healthy foods in proper proportions.

When I was a teen I ate a ton of food, and i was skinny. It wasn't until I had my first desk job that I started to gain. Why? Because I wasn't as active. The secret? Exercise and moving your body.

My DH incidentally is 5'9" tall, skinny as can be, and he can eat 3790 calories and still not gain weight. That's because he bikes two hours a day, roundtrip to work. He's been doing this for years. He's all lean muscle, not an ounce of fat... and he can eat!! A TON!!

My DD-nearly-15, only 5'2", eats a ton. Easily more than 2500 cals a day. All healthy stuff, she has a pretty impeccable diet. But yes, a treat like ice cream a few times a week too. And she is skinny as a rail. Why? Because she is on the swim team. She's highly active and has a ton of muscle.

She had a friend over for a sleepover this weekend, skinny tall girl, who does modeling. The friend was aghast at my DD eating more than one slice of pizza... and also having ice cream. This friend is counting her calories. She says she gains if she eats over 1200 calories. Why? Because she's not active at all. Plays no sports. Has no muscle.

Last year I was completely sedentary. I was gaining weight on 1400 cals a day. Flash forward one year, I now run 10-15 miles a week, and I don't gain unless I go over 1850 calories. If I add in weight training, based on past experience, I know I'd be able to eat 2500 and not gain.

wow jenmcc i always wondered why i would gain weight when i cut off exercise for a few weeks and then i would get back to my maintainence weight when i started exerciseing again.i guess exercise is the best thing you can do to maintain plus my boyfriend who is like a junk food addict eats tones of junk everyday and then i counted his calories for him 1 typical day last week and he was eating at 3123 calories that day but then he plays a lot of football and has an all day standing job and he does sit ups n push ups from time to time now i know how he stays so lean and thin =D 

revolution3, would you mind posting a sample menu?  I'm just curious...

Well, maybe there's something behind that: is it possible you can eat more and weigh less? In my experiences, the answer is a huge, boldfaced yes. In fact, I used to be one of those overweight girls who'd be in awe of how much teeny-tiny girls ate. I was the one overweight, even though I'd skip breakfast AND lunch.

...and this 'lower calorie' diet was recorded by a third-party. Along with your calories burned through exercise. Right?

But, it's true: I've transformed into one of those thinner girls who eats more than anyone I know [I think I eat more than my boyfriend, even--calorie-wise] and yes, I'm picked on for it. The other birds think I'm being sarcastic when I they inform me of their one-granola-bar-'til-dinner diets, and I tell them to eat more. But I'm telling ya, once and for ALL, that I FIRMLY believe in the concept of eating enough and weighing less, or losing weight.

So? Some people firmly believe in psychics or verdun (voodoo). Does that mean that is all the evidence required before telling people that it's true?

Eat more to lose more weight - when properly defined - to mean that eating more means more calories and with a fixed regimen in exercise in both cases. Doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

In that world it would make sense to tell some AN patients to eat less - since that would cause them to gain weight right?

and as mentioned before if this was generally true to any usefully large respect you couldn't repeatably control a dietary experiment. Since you can do that...

So we need to ask ourselves: "What is the significance of an effect that appears in poorly controlled experiments and disappears in well controlled experiments". The answer is usually "None at all"