Complicated question of course. Some people are on their feet a lot. Some people really don’t eat that much in relative terms. It is a lot easier to stay lean than to get lean of course.
I have two uncles. One was an athlete growing up, as was my father. Both are overweight today (in their early 70s) but certainly not obese, and both try to regularly exercise (light lifting at the gym plus walking). The other uncle never played a sport or did much activity during his life and still doesn't. He is still very thin at around 65. Guess which one had a heart issue? That's right, the one who never exercises. He may look the healthiest but you cannot see blood vessel blockages. Minor heart attack.
I must have ruined my metabolism in college running 100+ mile weeks.
I was barely 18.5 BMI at 6’1” 137 lbs for many years since my early twenties. Always ate by hunger to satiety. I’d exercise regularly but that just meant going to the gym and doing random stuff for 20-30 mins like three times a week. Office job. All until a couple years back when I started running and quickly gained 5 lbs and then started weight training and gained 15 more lbs, now at just under 21 BMI. If I stop running and lifting, I’m positive I’d slowly drop weight over time.
It’s genetics and hormones and possibly microbiome, though I’m skeptical of the last one.
When thinking about your health, how heavily do you weigh stress? Experts explain why the stress hormone, cortisol, is important and what you need to know.
"Overproduction of cortisol can cause belly fat,” Vincent said. “As your cortisol goes up, so does your blood sugar. And when our blood sugar goes up, our pancreas is going to output insulin.” Cortisol itself can cause weight gain, but then the increased insulin can add to weight gain as well, she added. On top of that, high stress and greater production of cortisol can lead to a breakdown in your muscles, Vincent said.
Anyone who says otherwise has no idea what they’re talking about
I bet you are one of the thin people. People who are naturally lean always claim calories in vs. calories out.
I've witnessed too many scrawny people eat junk food and never put on weight. If I had a cheese burger, I gain 3 pounds.
Just because you see someone eating junk food doesn't mean they are constantly eating more calories than they burn. I don't know how thick you would have to be to need to have this explained to you.
Anyone who says otherwise has no idea what they’re talking about
exactly. Not sure why this has 3 dislikes.
Yall do realize that metabolism is part of the "Calories out" part, right?
Because it's just stating the obvious in such overly simplified terms that it doesn't add anything to the discussion. If "calories in vs calories out" was the extent of the answer the OP was looking for, he presumably would not have even bothered to start the thread. The point of discussion is clearly to dig more deeply into those two terms and unpack why "calories in" and "calories out" differ from one person to another in ways that don't always seem readily apparent.
Imagine someone starts a thread asking how they can perform better at a particular race distance, and someone responds "Finishing time = pace X distance. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about!" I mean, the statement is true, but it's also wholly unhelpful.
Just because you see someone eating junk food doesn't mean they are constantly eating more calories than they burn. I don't know how thick you would have to be to need to have this explained to you.
Anyone who says otherwise has no idea what they’re talking about
I bet you are one of the thin people. People who are naturally lean always claim calories in vs. calories out.
I've witnessed too many scrawny people eat junk food and never put on weight. If I had a cheese burger, I gain 3 pounds.
If you eat lunch regularly with work colleagues, you will soon see that there are two types of people: (1) skinny people that order burgers/fries and (2) fat people that order salads.
My guess is their dietary habits are different the other 23 hours of the day.
Anyone who says otherwise has no idea what they’re talking about
I bet you are one of the thin people. People who are naturally lean always claim calories in vs. calories out.
I've witnessed too many scrawny people eat junk food and never put on weight. If I had a cheese burger, I gain 3 pounds.
“Calories in, calories out” is just saying conservation of energy, which is a principle of physics that will always be satisfied, so as far as metabolism is concerned, it’s a tautology like 2=2 and not very useful in practice, not any more than saying the more you eat, the fatter you get. The calorie labels often mislead people, probably misleading more people than helping, and are not necessary for weight management.
For most people, the problem isn’t tracking how much they eat, but getting themselves to stop eating when their stomach is screaming in existential dread for more. Those signals are controlled by leptin and ghrelin, the primary hormones for satiety and hunger, but not the only ones. FYI, Ozempic like drugs increase secretion of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 that also suppresses appetite.