I think that if you're going for "thin" as your
goal, then there are some people who are never going to be able to maintain that because it isn't their
body type. If your natural weight should be 140, but you starve yourself to 125 or 115 because you want to be "thin", it will be tough to maintain. But if your
goal is healthy and fit, you'll be able to maintain what works for you. I can't change my
body type. Genetically I am what I am and probably I am destined to metabolize
calories in a certain way.
However . . .
. . . a lot of this stuff is nurture and the things we learn to eat as children. My mother honestly believes that potato chips are a bonafide side dish. She wouldn't know how to cook a fresh vegetable unless she boiled it to a soggy, squishy death and her idea of healthy eating is to add a side salad with ranch to her steak and french fries. After I hit puberty I was encouraged to hide in my room and read as much as possible and the only atheletic activity I particpated in was marching band. Watching TV on the couch is considered a fine hobby. Both my parents smoke. And drink. And think that olive oil is best confined to a life as a love interest for Popeye.
My mom's sister is horridly overweight, but I imagine that's as much to do with family eating habits as it is genetics. Incidentally, my brother is thin, but he eats only rarely because he is often broke and consumes most of his
calories in hamburgers, frozen pizza and free alcohol where he bar tends.
It would be hard for me to maintain 125. Without starving myself, I'll never be a size 8, or probably even a 10. So what. I'll be happy with 135 (give or take) and a healthy, active size 12. Way better than the size 22/211 lbs where I currently reside. I could hit my
goal if I'd stop drinking a liter of soda a day and eating a bag of chips on my way home from school every afternoon.
I get that from my mother.
