I guess this belongs in the low carb war zone area I just have a question,

A dear friend of mine who is slim and active but not overly active (she's doesn't go to the gym but she does walk alot and she takes dance classes
like 4 times a week) but when I look in her kitchen it's mostly carbs.
She eats hardly any protein mostly fish and eggs but her fridge has low fat milk, full fat greek yogurt, berries, broccoli, lettuce,tomates,apricots, I noticed she eats ground flaxseeds as well.

She eats whole grain bread with real butter ( I noticed the only low fat thing was the milk) steel cut oats. Anyway, thats about all I could see until she wondered what was taking me so long to get a drink of water!
How can she eat like this and still be thin? Oh, and she drinks wine almost
everynight too! When I ask her she says its thats shes active but there I go to the gym 3 times a weeks and take classes that make sweat and I'm keeping my carbs low but I feel like I'm missing something here.

Anyone have any answers for me?

Diff'rent folks, diff'rent strokes.

We are not all the same.

amanda

I guess that must be but, I wonder if I could lose weight eating her way.
Oh, and she eats wild and brown rice too as well as rice pasta. It seems healthy I mean she drinks tons of water and most of the fruit she eats is
the lower sugar/carb and she has soup with dinner everynight without fail.

I had dinner with her last night and it was roast chicken, steamed broccoli
cauliflower, and carrots (which I picked out) and roasted sweet potato ( a passed on as well) and we started with chicken rice soup ( I did my best, it was hard it smelled really good!).

Her food sounds an awful lot like a maintenance diet for a person who does not have a broken metabolism. You may get to the point in Atkins maintenance where you can eat very similar quantities and types of foods.

My good friend eats nothing but carbs! She seriously eats a pan of brownies a day and she even gets up in the middle of the night to eat. She eats cookies and m&m's for breakfast! Ding dongs, hostess cupcakes, swiss cake rolls, etc. She eats it all.

She is slim and trim. How is that even fair?

Do I think she is healthy? NOPE! Having to get up in the middle of the night to eat tells me there is something wrong!

Yes, the thing about people who get fat is that they have a genetic "defect"-- their insulin production is way out of whack. In reading all this low carb stuff (Taubes et al.,) what comes across is that some people are lucky-- they never have problems with weight, no matter what they eat.

It is actually a kind of leap to say "oh, so I am not the "normal" one." Something has gone wrong with your fat storage mechanism. This defect either has, or will become diabetes. The sad thing is that apparently more of the population has this genetic defect now. It is not just "sugar" but it is the specific person's reaction to sugar. We're not all "cookie cutter" similar. Some of us can take more sugar than others.

I'm with Faduckeggs...

Sounds like someone who presently has an intact metabolism and normal insulin production and response.

She's lucky and it sounds a little like you're envious. don't be. Luckily there is a way for you to eat that can keep you healthy. Embrace it.

I will say this. If she is intaking very little protein and she doesn't do any weight trainng, I can bet your bottom dollar she has the "skinny fat" syndrome. Not a good look (maybe in your clothes) and definitely not healthy.

Progress not perfection.

Lisa

Not everyone can eat the same because we don't all have the same metabolism or body chemistry. Some people can drink alcohol and never have addiction issues and others have to stay away from it if they don't want problems.

My (adoptive) Mom has been slender her whole life. She's a total carb addict -- she can eat cake and ice cream and not put on a pound. She's also been a diabetic with high blood pressure since her mid-thirties, has had awful arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and GERD. Ten years ago she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and has been on various medicines, including beta blockers, since then.

In other words, she's collected the whole set of the Diseases of Civilization, minus obesity. I understand why you're asking this -- heaven knows I used to ask myself that all the time -- but now I know: Skinny isn't the whole picture; not by a long shot.

I know, I know...I feel the pain of the collective when we look at these slender, seemingly fit people who can eat whatever the heck they like! Yarg!

My dad has very successfully lost weight and kept it off with Weight Watchers...loves the recipes, never feels hungry or deprived. I'm delighted for him. For me, I was always starving with Weight Watchers, and OBESSESSED with food points. (really, I got weird!) Low carb is the ONLY thing that has ever helped me lose weight, and even with this way of eating, the weight loss is slow. (but it is happening!)

Your friend's diet doesn't sound all that bad really, almost sounds like south beach type foods and many on lc maintenance can eat many of those in correct portions.

I have some very thin friends and family who eat whatever they want and stay slim. It's frustrating to see, but my father in law was never overweight and died from complications from heart disease and diabetes. He was only 59, so like the other poster mentioned, being skinny isn't the whole story.

Is it that obvious? Yes, I guess I am. I know as I move thru the levels of OWL I will
Be able to reintroduce foods back in in due time.

Thats what I was noticing, LAWoman she's not eating tons of chocolate or potato chips. She does eat popcorn though she has an air popper and puts
flax seed oil on it.

You can't always judge a book by its cover. The skinny-fat walk amongst us, believing themselves to be thin, but their fat is around their internal organs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6220596.stm


There are people who seem resistant to the ill effects of a high carb, high fructose diet, but they're a minority. Usually by the time you hit your mid-thirties or early forties your metabolism will be starting to show signs of breaking down.

Now that I'm in my 50's I see all my formerly skinny friends are getting fat and sick. They really have no clue why and just chalk it up to old age.

"The skinny-fat walk amongst us!"

It sounds like the trailer for a horror film!