To ask what you eat in a day if you are a size 10 or less

People always say this but I've never been able to eat that much without gaining weight or maintaining an obese weight, regardless of age bracket.

yes, I should add, I'm early 50s. Was very slim / skinny until late 40s (covid confinement).

you're forgetting to mention the endless exercise you must be doing.

Age is a huge factor here. I could eat tons in my 20s, quite a lot in my 30s. Now I'm 40 I have had to drastically cut calories and increase exercise to maintain.

I don't know if this is helpful @Mamabear04 but I lost 30lbs by watching what I ate and not having more than 1500 calories per day. The weight loss was about 1 to 2 lbs a week, over many months, so slow enough not to ever feel starved, nor did it come off so quick that it piled right back on. It stayed off. I also started increasing my activities, so walking fast for 3-4 miles per day instead of just 2 miles. Initially I cut out any really high fat foods like bacon, cheese, ice cream and high calorie empty things like alcohol. But for the most part I ate the same foods I've always eaten and enjoyed, and I think this is key. You need to know how much you're putting in each time and at the same time not get obsessed with it and you need to feel like you're not missing out.

This gives me hope, a lot more than I expected a size 4 would be able to eat, especially at 50!

I'm a size 8-10 and 5'5 and my day normally looks something like this:

Breakfast - maybe cereal or toast, McDonald's on a Saturday or sometimes nothing at all!
Lunch - ham salad sandwich and crisps, or as I'm on mat leave I might make a more meal-y lunch like pesto Parmesan pasta or leftovers from dinner the night before
Dinner - this is varied, always meat of some kind though, mainly chicken or beef but sometimes fish or pork, lots of veg or salad (always one or the other) and a carb. I love potatoes so it's normally that but last night was rice. I do like pasta too
I also have 3-4 cups of tea/coffee throughout the day

Weekends is a takeaway normally on a Saturday, and big roast on a Sunday. I have a big appetite so my dinner portions are huge but I cook everything from scratch and reduce a lot of the pre-made sauces from supermarkets

Roughly ~2500 calories a day, loads of peanut butter and all plant based :) size 6

Size 6-8 but I am petite and always been this size. In my late forties I am now 7-8 pounds more than in my twenties but same clothes size.
I never followed a diet, but I am generally very active.

I don't have any restrictions and tend to vary my ingredients a lot. Generally speaking comparing my diet to others I'd say:

• I don't eat lots of carbs and very rarely in the evening
• I don't snack much, perhaps a banana or some cheese or a couple of crackers mid afternoon, but not every day
• I think the biggest thing I always noticed is that I am satisfied with much smaller portions of most. It physically hurts eating too much and I get bloated.
• I do small breakfast but tend to be protein. I like it and I don't get hungry/have good energy levels until lunch.

I can go a whole weekend without eating. Less so now. It’s not particularly deliberate it just happens. When I used to eat what is considered normally I could pile weight on and still feel hungry. I realised it wasn’t hunger but unstable blood sugars. I am definitely not advocating my regime but it has afforded me health benefits. Like I said if I’m really hungry I will eat. I view food as just fuel now rather than something pleasurable

Size 8, 173 cm.
Banana, blueberry and raspberry smoothie made with soaked oats, honey and oat milk

Piece of fruit (and sometimes a babybell)

Sandwich with olives and peppers for lunch and some more fruit

Supper varies.... pizza/pasta/curry etc

Usually have marmalade on toast as a snack once the kids are in bed.

45 mins vinyasa yoga every morning before breakfast.

I’m size 8-10 depending on make. 5’4” and 57kg.

Two meals a day usually. Breakfast or brunch/ lunch of eggs, yogurt plus bacon sometimes, plus granary toast at the weekend. Fresh fruit.

Home cooked evening meal with lots of veg, some protein and carbs, fish or meat, sometimes veggie. Pudding at the weekend - small portion of homemade crumble / fruit pie / pavlova

I hardly ever snack between meals but occasionally have homemade cake especially at the weekend.

Today :
Greek yoghurt with strawberries and granola
Some fresh coconut
Half a tin of beans with some grated cheese on buttered sourdough toast
A kiwi
A small chicken sizzle steak (this is not usual, just left over from dinner last night)
Dinner will be half a microwave pouch of rice with tomatoes, cucumber, sweetcorn, broccoli and green beans mixed in, with two sweet chilli chicken skewers
Probably a couple of bourbons or choc digestives with a cup of tea later

Do you go for whole days without eating? I'm not a doctor but I wouldn't have thought 800 calories would be considered "healthy" for an adult woman, especially if you're not overweight/trying to lose weight.

I usually have a banana for breakfast, and a hot drink. Lunch is usually a roll with a filling of egg mayo, or a salad consisting of pasta, mixed with chopped peppers, tinned makeral, or tuna, a boiled egg, and beetroot on the side. Dinner would be something like a stew, or burgers, and chips. Nearly all my meals are made from scratch, including the egg mayo, or tuna mayo for jacket potatoes, for example. I make sweet things like cakes, buns, crumbles etc. I love potatoes, and eat lots of mash, and chips. I very rarely use ready made products, and only eat out once in a blue moon socially. I never order takeaways. The quality of food is very important to me, and I spend quite a bit on it, things such as organic meat, etc. I do not eat meat everyday, and quite happily have lots of non meat meals. I do not tend to snack, but I always have something that I have baked in the house.

I didn't list the butter on the sourdough and likely spoon of crispy chilli on the eggs!

Yes probably only 4/5 plant portions.
Would usually eat veg for lunch or dinner but have a hobby tonight hence the eggs for early dinner and snack bar in the evening... Rather than one meal.

Promise it's 1500 cals. Two sweet milky coffees are nearly 400 cals alone.

I generally don't eat after 8 in the evening and will go all night and till say lunchtime at 1 in the afternoon before eating again.

Between these times I eat what I want without restriction, but having said that I don't eat processed food because I live in and come from a culture where we mostly cook from scratch.

I don't do this to stay at a certain weight. I just don't ever feel hungry outside of these times, and have had a stable weight for more than 25 years without trying.

It took me no time but my husband longer. He just kept pushing breakfast back 30 mins or so every couple of days until it clashed with lunch

I’m a size 6-8. I don’t always eat everyday. I try to keep it healthy and take in 800-1000 calories a day. I mostly eat once a day but only if I’m hungry. I’ve never needed a lot of food and ate more post pregnancy for a long time but that’s stopped now. I don’t deny myself anything but tend not to eat sugary things, I prefer savory. I rarely drink alcohol anymore and have reduced my caffeine consumption as it fills me up. I had pcos and prone to IBS c and the symptoms are vastly reduced by eating food that has a lot of water content. I don’t eat fruit as it bungs me up but do try to eat fresh food salad/veg and protein.

but for me - i stick to around 1200 calories a day as my TDEE is so low now :(
But i've lost 79/80lbs to get here so!

but i do One Meal A day so usually kinda have what i want. Spaghetti Bolognese, Salmon Firecracker rice etc.

I'm a size 12 now but I eat the same I do when I was an 8-10. I'm 46 now so my metabolism is slowing down. But if your hungry between meals sometimes you actually need a drink. So I have a drink of water before having a snack.

Really? I can't imagine not being so hangry in the morning! It would definitely make my mornings easier by not taking time to have breakfast though. Did it take you a long time to train yourself out of it?

Breakfast:Porridge or toast
Snack: biscuits
Lunch: sushi or something light
Snacks: too many
Dinner: smallish portion of something simple and veggie (beans on toast, jacket potato and cheese, a pasta dish)

Basically, too many of my calories come from chocolate and not enough from proper meals.

I'm a size 6 - 8 and 5'4. It can vary!

Yesterday I had:

Breakfast: Homemade toast (2 slices) with butter, egg, and grilled tomatoes. Cup of tea.

Lunch: Homemade minestrone soup and some grapes. Black coffee with 3 sugars.

Dinner: Cod, fried beef tomatoes, new potatoes, tenderstem broccoli. Had an apple later.

Today:

Breakfast: Yoghurt and homemade granola with berries.

Lunch: Tuna salad sandwich on homemade bread. An apple.

Dinner will be a salmon salad. Two of those thinner fillets of salmon, pan fried. Grilled tomatoes, ribbons of carrot, olives, beetroot, rocket, watercress, spinach, sweetcorn, cucumber, and some new potatoes.

No idea how much water I drink, but it's a lot. I must fill my bottle about 5 times a day. I workout about an hour and a half a day, yoga and cycling either outside or on a stationary bike.

Personally i've been IF for almost 2 years. I don't eat until 7:30pm and eat for like an hour a day really. i find it so much easier!