10 Common Habits of Thin People

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People who seem naturally thin or skinny are often engaging in subtle habits that help them to maintain their weight. But what are some of these habits?

Today I’m going to try to answer this question by compiling the dietary and lifestyle habits of over 1,400 thinner patients, to see what the most common habits were.

Before we start, some important caveats:

These are broad generalizations. My team and I compiled over 1,400 anonymized patient files and defined a “thinner” person as having a BMI under 21.7. We tried to organize habits into similar groups, but there was a lot of variation between reported habits, so I had to omit and simplify a lot of data.
These are observations, not necessarily recommendations. So while I’ll be giving my own insight into why I think this habit might be helpful, I cannot truly say whether what I observe is definitely contributing to their weight.
These are not in any order of importance. I’m just listing them as is.

With that being understood, let’s get into 10 of the most common habits of thin people.

1.) Not eating as a reward

Thin patients tend to have ways to celebrate or reward themselves in ways that don’t involve eating any food.

So when they feel like they’ve done a good job or deserve to treat themselves, they’ll do things like going to spas, playing computer games, or hanging out with friends.

Eating a delicious dessert or food is not always first on their list of self-rewards.

This is one of the bigger behavioral differences I’ve noticed between patients who do and don’t struggle with their weight, and if you find yourself turning to food as your default reward, I would strongly recommend you look for other ways to reward yourself that don’t involve food.

2.) Not eating when stressed

Thinner patients also don’t tend to turn to food right away to manage their stress.

I’m not saying they always have great stress management strategies, in fact many of them have pretty unhealthy ways to deal with their stress like smoking, however, they don’t often involve eating as much.

Some good stress management strategies I’ve seen are everything from listening to music, going for a drive, or walking their dog.

Some patients try to analytically break down what is stressing them so they can begin to remove what is causing their stress altogether.

Look for healthy ways to manage your stress or depression that don’t involve eating, and if you need help, don’t be afraid to seek the help of a professional.

3.) Eating only when hungry

Whenever I ask these patients about downtime, thinner patients don’t seem to snack out of boredom as often. If they’re watching a movie or playing computer games, they aren’t also snacking at the same time.

This doesn’t mean they don’t snack at all, in fact many of them tend to snack late at night, however, they seem to snack only if they’re actually hungry. Not because they’re bored.

So they might snack at night because they had a small dinner and now their stomach is growling and they can’t sleep.

Or they feel weak and exhausted because they skipped lunch and need a snack to finish the workday.

While these may not be the best eating habits for some people, my takeaway from this is to eat only if your body is hungry and needs it to function, and not to eat out of sheer boredom.

4.) Not stuffing themselves

Another eating habit I’ve noticed is that thin patients have no problems leaving a plate of food or meal unfinished.

They’re not necessarily wasting food, just that they eat whatever they need at the time, and save the rest later.

Even at restaurants, they prefer to take their meal to go, rather than trying to stuff themselves and finish the whole plate.

In fact, they often don’t like to stuff themselves, and will stop eating regardless of how much food is left in front of them.

Listening carefully to whether your body is full, is another big behavioral difference I’ve noticed between lighter and heavier patients.

Try eating slower, and eating only until you’re about 70% full. Don’t stuff yourself.

5.) Not depriving themselves

There doesn’t seem to be a food group, dessert, or treat that thinner patients avoid.

In fact, they tend to eat just about everything and many of them have pretty unhealthy diets. The key appears to be moderation.

If these patients enjoy a slice of cake, donut, or cookie, it’s often a small amount in one sitting.

Now, it’s not that they don’t ever binge on food, in fact one of the most common binges is alcohol for this group of patients, but even then, the binges are few and far in between.

Now it could just be that they don’t feel the need to diet or avoid certain food groups, however the takeaway for me here is that sometimes extreme dieting and complete elimination of a food group can make it harder to stick to a diet long-term.

If you find yourself constantly falling off your diet and yo yo dieting, you might want to see if your diet is too extreme, and consider allowing certain foods in moderation.

6.) Rarely taking supplements

I’ve also noticed thinner patients don’t often take supplements, particularly ones related to weight loss.

Now I’m not sure if it’s because they believe supplements aren’t helpful, or just because they feel like they don’t need to, but the way I interpret it is that supplements are not essential for weight loss.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use any supplements, just that you should always remember that your weight loss is not likely going to depend heavily on which supplements you use.

7.) Rarely completely sedentary

I’ve also noticed thinner patients tend to have difficulty sitting still. They tend to fidget, move about in their chair, or need to stretch their legs.

These habits are also reported at work, with these patients often taking breaks if they need to sit at a computer or desk for long periods of time.

So they’re less likely to be completely sedentary for most of the day.

8.) Having physical hobbies

Whenever I ask about hobbies or pastimes, thinner patients tend to also include activities that are physical in nature.

I’m not just talking about walks, but more strenuous activities like dancing, sports, or cycling.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that thin patients exercise more frequently or go to the gym more often.

In fact a lot of them don’t “exercise” at all. It’s just that they seem to also enjoy hobbies or activities that are physical in nature.

9.) Rarely counting calories

Whenever I ask about food intake, thinner patients rarely think about the calories they’ve eaten.

In fact, they tend to have a poorer recollection of what they’ve eaten in general.

It could just be that they don’t feel the need to worry about calories, however a random association I’ve noticed in patients reporting their food and calorie intake is that: the more detailed and meticulous the recall is, the more negative a patient’s relationship to the food seems to be.

By negative I mean how the patient views all kinds of food, not necessarily what they’re eating.

So a more negative relationship might be unfairly demonizing certain food groups, or forcing themselves to eat foods they hate, just because it fits their calorie counts.

While I do believe calorie counting can be a valuable tool for some people, my takeaway here is that sometimes extreme calorie counting and portion control can make it stressful to stick to a diet long-term and ruin your relationship with food.

If counting calories is stressing you out and making you feel super guilty whenever you surpass your calorie limit, you might want to re-evaluate your relationship with food, and find a way to manage your diet without the emotional rollercoaster.

10.) Rarely following a “diet”

Thinner patients rarely seem to follow a set diet or particular way of eating.

Now I’m in no way suggesting that following a diet is useless, since it could be that these patients don’t need to follow a diet to maintain their weight.

A lot of diets like the Mediterranean Diet help to provide structure, and a good foundation for patients to build dietary habits on.

However, a lot of thinner patients seem to follow a diet they’ve kinda created themselves, that works specifically for them. And they’re able to naturally maintain this way of eating for many years.

This tells me that although following a specific diet might be a good starting point, if you want to be able to stick to your diet for a long period of time, you’ll likely need to modify and change the diet over time to suit your particular needs.

Summary

Overall, these habits might help to explain why naturally thin individuals are able to remain that way.

It’s often the accumulation of small dietary and lifestyle habits, rather than due to genetics or fast metabolisms.

Frequently, these habits are developed as they grow up, and are influenced by how we were brought up.

So if you come from a household that eats only when hungry, and are usually doing family activities together that are highly physical like swimming or cycling, you’ll likely build habits that reflect that.

But if you come from a household that tends to eat to excess, and family activities are heavily based around eating and food, you’ll likely build habits that reflect that instead.

But always remember that new habits can be formed, and old habits can be stopped. It might take more effort than someone who was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment that supported healthy eating and living, but it can be done. You just need to not give up.