Why she stays thin and you don't

With a jealous glance, you look at that colleague on the right, who, with the perfect size 36, manages to shove a bar of Tony's down in just ten minutes, half an hour before lunch. How is that possible? No rolls visible over the pants. Not fair, because all you have to do is look at the orange wrapper and two centimeters are added to each hip. But none of this is true, girlfriend. It may seem like one can eat anything while you feel like you have to diet your whole life to maintain that size 38, but it takes more than an apple and a tomato to stay slim. I've lined up the facts for you, so next time you can just share a piece.

– Fat is an active organ, just like your heart, liver, and kidneys. It stimulates appetite and provides satiety. If you have an extra roll around your middle, it could very well be that you crave food faster and feel satisfied less quickly.

– People who exercise a lot are not only slim because they get enough movement, but mainly because they also adjust their lifestyle accordingly. Once you get into a flow of exercising three to four times a week, the chance is greater that you will fill your shopping cart with of vegetables, fruit and a cup of low-fat yogurt instead of bags of chips, frozen fries, and other unhealthy things.

– If your neighbor-colleague takes two tomatoes and a boiled egg after that slice of apple pie during lunch, there’s hardly anything wrong. But when you eat that bar and then also munch on that club sandwich down to the last crumb, well, those calories do add up.

– For some, the body fat percentage is naturally higher than for others. If you start exercising very vigorously and watch your diet and lose weight (and thus your percentage drops), your metabolism automatically slows down, meaning you will need to consume fewer calories than you were used to before. Even if you continue to exercise.

– If you enjoy going for a run or a kickboxing class, you won’t mind walking one stop further to catch that bus. Your colleague with size 36 may naturally be much more active without spending hours in the gym. Because at the end of the day, it’s not rocket science. As long as you burn more than you put in your mouth, those favorite jeans will still fit. With or without that bar.

With a jealous glance, you look at that colleague on the right, who, with the perfect size 36, manages to shove a bar of Tony's down in just ten minutes, half an hour before lunch….