If you maintain a healthy weight, deliberately and fairly effortlessly, what do you eat?

[Diemme]

I really want to lose weight by learning how to eat like a normal person. I'm around 4 stone overweight and have tried every diet under the sun. But diets just make me obsess about food and lead to binges. I've also tried intuitive eating but that doesn't work either. I reckon there has to be a middle ground. I'm really interested in what would be a typical days food for someone who makes an effort to stay slim but isn't obsessed with healthy eating and doesn't find it too taxing.

I’m not the best example of healthy eating but am well within the healthy BMI range. I’m 5’10” so you may need to scale.

Breakfast (7:45)
Couple of slices of toast and butter
Glass of orange juice
Black filter coffee

11ses
A few biscuits or a bag of crisps
When I’m on a health kick some cut up carrot instead

Lunch (12:30 ish)
Sandwich
Chocolate bar

Tea (3:30 ish)
Fruit

Supper (8:30 ish)
Varies but eg risotto, spaghetti bolognaise, breaded fish with rice and mixed veg, curry, stir fry.

There’s often an extra snack in there when the DC are delivered home at 6pm and claim they’re starving. Maybe a biscuit.

Have you tried simply having your breakfast later and your last meal of the day earlier OP? The idea is that you 'fast' for 16 hours and then eat normally for the other 8 in each day. But you could start by only eating between say 8am and 8pm and try to gradually extend the fasting bit? This seems more sustainable to me than most diets as you're not actually depriving yourself of anything, just waiting a bit.
The elongated period without food is said to speed up your metabolism a bit, and you'll probably also find that you eat a bit less during the day just because there's less time.

I'm 165cm and 60kg, so not mega slim but a comfortable size 10. I find a routine helps, meal prep for the week ahead on a Sunday etc.
I normally eat:
A fage 0% yoghurt with a handful of frozen blueberries and a sprinkling of oats, or overnight proats I usually have the 170g portion and generally don't eat til 10/11am so I'm stuffed til 1-2pm
Lunch is normally a portion of something I've cooked - either leftovers from the night before or prepped meal like a big pan of chilli con carne or soup.
Dinner is usually meat and veg or a veggie meal. Fairly small as breakfast is normally late and so is lunch
Of a weekend I'll have tea and toast, don't usually have lunch as I'm in the go with kids so often forget til I feel hungry close to tea time. Might get a takeaway. Sunday I usually make pancakes and fruit for breakfast, some sort of Sunday lunch will follow and generally I don't eat anything else.

I find my biggest meals are breakfast and lunch, I stop eating when I'm full (this took some learning to do!) and dinner is smaller. I try to do 10,000 steps and 10 flights of stairs a day and find that low level of activity keeps me ticking over (used to run and exercise a lot but haven't got back to it since baby 2 and being back at work full time but would usually be slimmer than I am when exercising too)

If I'm dieting I'd do the 5:2 diet which I swear by as you can almost eat what you like on the food days (though the less feasting you do the more weight you lose) but I found that got me thinking about portion sizes and calories in a better way, like I valued what I ate more and found I didn't want to undo my hard work fasting but I could enjoy a pizza and/or bottle glass of wine if I wanted and still lose 1lb that week

My weight is very stable (11st plus or minus about 4lb for the last ten years). I'm tall, so 11st puts be at a size 10-12 in most shops.

For breakfast I tend to have a big bowl of cereal (nothing too fun: weetabix, bran flakes, shredded wheat, maybe cheerios or mini weetabix as a treat) or porridge. I have a piece of fruit if I'm hungry mid morning, and I normally try to take lunch to work. This will be either an average portion of leftovers from the previous evening (like one Chinese takeaway Tupperware worth) or a sandwich with meat/cheese and salad in. Depending on the amount of veg in the lunch, I often also take a raw carrot or some cucumber/celery, or some extra salad leaves (bagged) to bulk it out. For dinner, we tend to have things like pasta bake, risotto, sausages and mash, chicken pie, stir fry, fish and rice etc, but I always serve half my plate with veg/salad before I add the main element.

At the weekends, we tend to have a late brunch of something like two scrambled eggs on two slices of toast. Mid afternoon we might have a few crisps with humus or similar, but I will always have a few veg sticks too to help limit the crisps. The evening meal will be similar to in the week, but we probably have a takeaway about once a fortnight.

Rules I stick to to help keep my weight stable:

• No snacking at work (there's always chocolates etc about) unless it's something home made
• No drinking in the week unless it's a special occasion
• No soft drinks with sugary calories (stick to tea or coffee with a splash of milk, water, and a couple of glasses of wine/beers at the weekend)
• If I fancy something sweet after dinner, I have a square or two of chocolate and/or some fruit
• Exercise is good. I try to run 3 times a week and (crucially!) wall absolutely everywhere if it's feasible. I probably average about 10k altogether per day including walking and running.

And most importantly! - None of these rules are absolutes, slip ups, blow outs and special occasions are all fine, just carry on as you were and don't worry about it afterwards

Sorry this has turned into an essay but I hope it's helpful!

I do intermittent fasting (16:8) so I eat within a set 8 hours. Besides all the scientifically proven health benefits to this, what it does is not give me enough time to eat junk lol.
I don't particularly limit what I eat, though I do make healthy choices. Also, I like to have 3 meals, but because I eat within 8 hours, I physically can't eat big meals. So without much effort, my meal size has decreased.
It stops me snacking unnecessarily as well. I will only have a small snack or most of the time I don't even crave snacks as I'm always full.
The first week or two are hard but once you get used to it it's easy and not as restrictive as a diet so easy to maintain over a long period of time.

That should be walk everywhere, not wall everywhere!!

Breakfast: bowl of cereal and one slice toast and spread. Two slice if I'm really hungry at the weekend sometimes porridge with fruit or a bacon and egg sarnie about once a month. Cup of tea

Cup of coffee midmorning and maybe a banana or dark chocolate rice cake

Lunch: cheese or chicken sandwich or a toastie or a salad or homemade soup with bread
Packet of crisps or pretzels
Yoghurt
Satsuma and apple or berries
Cup of tea

Afternoon: cup of tea, might have a biscuit

Dinner: something like chilli and rice, pasta with roast veg, chicken and potatoes, sausage and mash, spaghetti Bolognese, baked potato with cheese and beans

Cup of herbal tea and some dark chocolate or a small biscuit/ small cake.

Aim for 2 litre of water a day
Takeaways maybe once a fortnight.

Weigh about 8stone. Naturally slim, don't do loads of planned exercise but would say active lifestyle - always on the go.

Good luck!!

These are really helpful. I've tried intermittent fasting and again it wasn't right for me as I ate stupid amounts when not fasting. It's these easy, normal meal plans I need. I see it as trying to bridge the gap between being on a diet and not being on a diet. I'm happy to lose weight very slowly if it's sustainable. Even half a pound a week.

if I don't want to put on weight then it's 3 main means a day and hardly any snacking or fruit etc if so.

But I love crisps, chocolate, dips etc too much so I tend to eat those inbetween or as treats.

I used to finish DD's food if she hadn't finished her tea but stopped that now...

5ft 6 and a very steady size 10. Vegan which helps

Breakfast is usually toast/crumpet/fruit

Lunch is usually a portion of leftovers

Dinner is usually chickpea curry/tofu stir fry and rice noodles/pasta and veg/fajitas, stuff like that

oh for me a meal plan right now (but early days pregnant so eating slightly more):-

1 x Oatso simple (golden syrup) with 70g blueberries - breakfast

2 x small M&S Jaffa cake biscuits as snacks or 1 x digestive biscuit

homemade egg and cress sandwich (no margarine or butter), 1 x cup a soup if colder, 1 x yogurt - full fat - Yeo Valley etc

snack - if hungry - anything from biscuits again

stir fry, fish, chicken dish (e.g. chicken pilau) with veggies and carb - e.g. potato or rice or pasta - but e.g half potato

1 x orange

tea with semi skimmed milk at work and skimmed at home, camomile tea x 1 in evening

A lot of protein and veg, mostly. A typical meal is meat, fish, tofu or eggs and a bundle of vegetables or salad. Nuts, dried fruit, cheese. That would include for breakfast - I don’t eat “breakfast foods” just because it’s breakfast time.

I eat relatively high fat - always full fat milk, meat fat etc. Very little sugar. I don’t eat bread, pasta, rice or cereals etc which I think definitely helps because it’s very easy to eat hundreds of calories through those things without really clocking it.

I don’t actively eat this way to maintain weight, it’s just what I find I enjoy eating and keeps me full. I’m a distance runner, triathlete and I lift weights so probably need more protein than the average person.

I’ve weighed within the same very small range (52kg - 54kg) for over a decade, so it works.

Have you tried my fitness Pal? I use it to keep on top of my calorie intake if I need an extra push. You would be surprised how many calories are in food!! Try using it, make sure you are truthful with weights of stuff and you will soon see where the calories are and you can adapt your diet to suit you accordingly.

5 ft 7 and 9.6 stone here
Breakfast is always a boiled egg and a slice of toast with butter. Black coffee.
Packet of crisps at 11
Salad with cheese or a can of soup for lunch
Usually another piece of bread, or lump of cheese when I get home as a snack
Dinner is jacket potatoes, cheese and beans or a pasta. Tend to eat meat at the weekend only when I'll do a roast/spag bol/curry.
My weakness is red wine... lots at the weekend and a nice glass every night.

If my weight creeps up a bit I cut down the wine!

I take a water bottle to work and try to drink plenty throughout the day.

I love cheese, could cut out meat completelt and don't like cooking, which I think helps... not into cake!

I do a lot of exercise and I am very active at work, which means I can eat a lot more than 'normal' and not gain weight.

Typically, breakfast would be a slice of rye bread with peanut butter or a bowl of muesli with yoghurt and fruit.

Sometimes I have an Eat Natural bar at 10.30ish, sometimes not.

I have a cooked lunch at school (I'm a teacher) but tend to avoid refined carbs like white rice, bread and pasta. I might have something like half a jacket potato with curry and salad, followed by melon or pineapple.

Dinner is again reasonably healthy but I eat big portions. I try to have a vegetarian dinner at least once a week, and fish at least once.

Occasionally I might have some Greek yoghurt with fruit coulis or some chocolate after dinner.

That said, we eat out about twice a week and I stuff my face then!

Yes I've tried mfp. I struggle if my calories are too low as I just get preoccupied with food. That's why I'm looking at this approach. I want to see if I can mimic the eating pattern of someone who maintains their weight but just slightly tweak it to slowly reduce.

Oh and I drink lots of wine at the weekend (but almost never Monday to Wednesday) - typically I either drink on Thursday, Friday and Saturday or Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

It's really simple to lose weight. Eat fresh fruit and veg, few carbs, fats and protein. It might be time consuming but cook from scratch and have a reasonable portion.

If you eat healthier foods, you'll feel fuller on little calories. Your bloods will return to normal so you're not craving sugar.

Also, exercise can help suppress your appetite you just need to find the motivation if it's not a regular task in your life.

I don't eat breakfast because I never wake up hungry.

Basically I eat whatever I want, just nowhere near as much as a lot of people I know who struggle with their weight.

Lunch nearly always contains bread...so either a sandwich (and a packet of crisps), or soup with a roll, even salad I'll have a roll or a slice of bread, scrambled eggs on toast.

That keeps me full until dinner time and that nearly always contains either potato or pasta, which again fills me up so I'm never hungry enough to want a snack.

I like fruit, so I'll eat that if I fancy it but not because I'm hungry as such and I'm partial to a big of crisps too.

I do drink a lot of water though, because I like it and my skin gets really dry if I don't, so maybe that fills me up a bit too.

I don't drive so I walk nearly everywhere.

Activity levels are important too. I have a three year old so spend a lot of time chasing him around, lifting him on and off playground things and so on. He loves his balance bike and he's a speed demon now, so I'm generally either walking briskly or jogging - and I'm 5'10 with a long stride so as you can imagine he's really covering the ground to get me into a trot! I also practice yoga daily, I've practiced for a few years but my daily habit only started this year. It has improved my posture, strength and general toned-ness no end, and is free as well. In winter I rarely cycle but the rest of the year I try to make short journeys by bike. Even little trips add up. Basically I don't much like exercise, aside from yoga, so I try and wheedle it into the day instead of 'going to do some exercise' IYSWIM.

The best weight loss thing I ever did was move to the country and get a dog. The country thing meant no more coffees and muffins on the way to work, and the dog thing meant a lot of walking. I dropped two or three sizes without even trying. Not suggesting you move - or get a dog! - but lifestyle changes like that are doable. Cutting out things like takeaway coffees (or reducing them to say one a week instead of one a day!) and just making an effort to walk as much as you can, can make a real difference.

I did WW back in the day (late 90s I think) and the points-free system kind of shifted things for me. I eat maybe three times as many vegetables as is usual. It means my meals fill me up and I can snack as much as I like as long as a lot of veg are involved. A quick points-free soup (basically veg and stock, either chunky or blended, depending on what's in it) is easy to make for lunch or a snack. I also eliminated the starch course at dinner and added an extra green vegetable.

I'm lucky, I have the time to cook everything fresh, which really helps. I make and freeze chicken stock so soup is really easy. Celeriac, jerusalem artichokes and pumpkin all make lovely smooth soups which are a little fancier than plain meat + veg soup. You can add a dollop of greek yogurt or creme fraiche to make them creamy if you prefer.

I know a lot of people like the fasting methods (5:2 etc) but fasting makes me feel weak and emotional and I find it hard to focus. I can do something like 18:6 (great for healing stomach problems and reflux btw) if I don't get too rigid about it. Ideally I go to bed with an empty stomach but aside from that I like to eat when I'm hungry.

Breakfast is two boiled or poached eggs, 1 slice toast (sometimes two) with butter, tea w skimmed milk.
Lunch is soup, veg w hummus or yogurt dip/sauce.
Dinner is protein (chicken, meat, fish), enough green veg to cover two-thirds of the plate, plus maybe some lentils, chickpeas or quinoa w vinaigrette, drizzle of olive oil or knob of butter, squeeze of lemon on the veg. Sometimes this meal is meat and veg on a plate, sometimes stew/casserole/curry, sometimes I put chicken, lemon, chickpeas and kale in a roasting tray with fennel seeds, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper, olive oil and roast.
Snacks are fruit or veg, mini-version of a usual meal (protein + veg), the odd biscuit or half a peanut butter sandwich, and I drink gallons of tea w skimmed milk throughout the day.

5’3 and size 8/10 or 120 pounds. I’m 42, and have noticed in recent times that it’s slightly trickier to maintain my weight now I’m over 40, so meals out and treats have to be monitored a little more.

Breakfast-
9ish- eggs or a smoothie

Lunch-
Big salad maybe some crackers
Bit of chocolate

Dinner-
Something like fish or stir fry or salad.

I tend not to eat many carbs and I exercise 3-4 times a week.

So it’s not effortless, but it’s not a chore either.

Necessary has lots of great tips! It sounds similar to how I live (ahem, I get less exercise though). Some people do well on a very structured diet/schedule, others need flexibility. To me it's important not to get bogged down in details, calories etc or it sucks the joy out of my life.

Also OP, you haven't asked about excercise but Pilates changed my life and made it easier to fit small bursts of strength-building activity in at any point of the day.

5 ft 7, 9.5 stone, size 10-12

I eat a lowish-carb diet - lowish in that I eat home-made bread a couple of times a week, plus rye crackers plus a tiny bit of sugar-free granola and a few other similar things. I don't eat pasta, rice, potatoes, pizza etc other than once in a blue moon and then will avoid them if I can. I don't eat biscuits or cakes or dessert unless I'm out

Breakfast: berries and other fruit (I buy bags of frozen fruit and defrost a handful every morning, Greek yoghurt, tiny sprinkle of no-sugar granola, at least two coffees with skimmed milk

Mid-morning: more coffee

Lunch: soup, usually, or some sort of salad or a bit of leftovers from the previous night's dinner. Also, some rye crackers with Philadelphia and a sliced tomato. A piece of fruit

Afternoon: cup of tea and a handful of Nkd bits (the date and cashew nibble things you can buy in a bag - I get through a bag of these a week)

Dinner: always home-made. Things we often eat are chilli made with turkey mince, served with a couple of taco shells, avocado, all the salad stuff. Or chicken schnitzels, baked in the oven, with home-made slaw. Or duck legs with a bean stew thing. Or fish chowder/veg soup and a slice of home-made bread and butter. Or aubergine parmigiana with halloumi and Greek salad. Or a beef stew with three different veg but no potatoes.

So not restrained by any means but I tend to bake rather than fry, use turkey mince a lot, don't have carbs on the side, never eat cake at home etc.

After dinner: More fruit. Cup of tea before bed.

I don't drink alcohol very much and I run 3-4 times a week when I'm in the mood.

We go out once a week for lunch or dinner and I eat roughly what I want (within reason - I'll nearly always have pudding but I don't choose three courses of the most calorific foods). If I go out for coffee and cake I will always have cake. But I'll often not have breakfast that day to compensate. So it's small adjustments here and there, I'd say. I never go hungry though.