If you have a BMI of say 20

[leafygarden]

how much do you eat in a day? (Calorie wise if you can be bothered)

I'm wondering this as I would like to be at a BMI of around 20 and have a moderately active job, but don't do a lot of exercise.

Thanks

Quite a lot. But I'm tall so have a higher calorie allowance to maintain than a short(er) person.

You need to use My Fitness Pal or similar to work out your own maintenance level.

I’ve never really calorie counted, although I’ll sometimes read packets and decide to only have one biscuit or give the muffin a miss at the coffee shop that’s listed as 500 calories.
During the day I’ll only eat 1 round of sandwiches and 2 or 3 pieces of fruit. I have a chocolate bar about once a week if I’m particularly bored at work but otherwise I don’t snack.

I'm 5'8'' ....

I've tried my fitness pal in the past but found it time-consuming and not always that accurate. Just wanted a rough idea -thinking that if one's BMI is 20 you don't need to eat as much as you just won't be hungry?

I guess it may not really work like that.

Thanks Taswama - that sounds a sensible amount.

I'm always hungry. But I don't really snack, other than on fruit or veg. I also drink lots of water.

But I don't consciously make an effort to be careful and generally eat what I fancy. It's just I've probably got used to not being able to eat all day, as per my youth.

I'm 5'11", and relatively active.

My BMI is 21 and I’m 5’7”. A typical day (not the weekend because I really eat and drink what I like then!) is:

B: two eggs and one slice toast and avocado OR porridge with one piece/ portion of fruit and around 10 almonds

S: 30g muesli and almond milk with some berries OR two ryvitas with ricotta and fruit/ avocado and cherry tomatoes

L: 40g wholemeal pasta with 80g beans (like butter beans or cannelini), 30g feta and some rocket/ tomatoes/ salad OR tuna/ chicken and salad wrap OR chicken or bean Salad including some fruit like pomegranate or pear and feta or goats cheese with Pitta bread..

S: As above

Dinner: Chicken and veg curry, prawn tomato pasta, lentil bolognese, lentil cottage pie, mushroom and tomato omelette with salad...

I am quite active though and run a couple of times a week, cycle with a club and also do a couple of gym classes and strength sessions.

Bmi 19
Breakfast
Oats & seeds & fruit with natural Benacol yogurt
Black coffee

Snack small apple
Water

Lunch small wholemeal seedy roll with Hummus 3 dolmades (stuffed vine leaves)
Water

Dinner
Chinese takeaway (Waitrose)

Gin and Tonic
Solero ice cream/lolly

Have been to the gym for an hour.

I am 5ft 9. Weigh 9.5 st.
Breakfast: egg, bacon, sausages, mushroom, beans, fried potato, fried tomato. Mug of tea and biscuits.
Snacks: 3 packets of crisps, gallons of tea and more biscuits
Lunch; see breakfast
DInner: sausages, mash, beans or pie, mash beans or see breakfast. Pudding...Yes lots
Supper: crisps, cocoa, biscuits

My BMI is 20 but I’m only 5’1. But on fri I think I ate:

• an avocado and egg baguette from pret for lateish Belfast (black coffee before)
• a snack around 2 (a Slab of dark chocolate - not v healthy - and an apple)
• half an English muffin and goats cheese about 5
• lamb rack and a courgette and tomato side dish and bread and potatos
• raspberries and strawberries with cream

I’m not sure how average that is though - I weigh myself once every week or two and if I haven’t gone up much I don’t pay that much attention...

But when I weighed significantly more when my ds was v little I think the biggest difference was lattes instead of black coffee and bigger evening portions

Breakfast not Belfast!!!

5ft9 and around 9st10 (I don't own scales so not sure). I think that's a BMI of 20...?

Breakfast: one slice of seeded toast with two boiled eggs and avocado. Salted butter.

No snack

Lunch: crudités with hummus, halloumi or garlic mushrooms or patè on one slice of toast.

Fruit snack or toast with peanut butter

Supper: Either a Gousto/Hello Fresh meal, freezer batch cook meal or fish with new potatoes. All with heaps of broccoli.

Dessert: soy yoghurt with honey.

I don't exercise explicitly, but I walk between 40 mins to an hour a day up hills with a pushchair.

I'm pregnant just now but my bmi before that was 19. I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a sandwich and yoghurt/crisps for lunch and something like chilli/pasta/quiche and salad etc for dinner. A pretty standard 'non-dieting person' diet. I don't eat much fruit or veg!

However, I run about 30 miles a week, have two very young children and never stop really.

I'm 5 foot 8 btw.

I average out at around 1750 calories a day to maintain a bmi of 20 (I have a bmi of 21-22 if I don't track). I'm just 5 ft but I have quite a lot of muscle.

I’ve just lost 2.5 stone using my fitness pal, so it can’t be that inaccurate.
Look up TDEE calculator on line and take it from there.

I’m curious why you think you wouldn’t be hungry if you had a low BMI though?

5ft 9, 9st 6

Breakfast: either porridge or granola & yogurt with fruit

Lunch: whatever my baby is having, avo on toast, omelette, smoked salmon & cream cheese sandwiches, pizza toast, scrambled eggs. Then whatever she’s dropped on the floor...

Snack biscuit or cake as I’m still addicted to sugar post pregnancy

Dinner whatever my husband cooks generally an old hello fresh recipie so meat/fish with veggies and some carb (pasta, rice, noodle, bulgar). Don’t eat potato!

Don’t do dessert but will often have a hotel chocolat chocolate if any in the house. Had 3 tonight!

I drink a lot of tea & herbal tea. Trying to only drink wine a couple of times a week.

I’m on my feet all day, used to do yoga 5 times a week but I’m lucky if I manage it once a week at the moment.

I'm 5'3 and around 8 stone, so around 20 for BMI. Typical day's calories would range from 1750-2000 depending on how much I have exercised.

Usually something like:

B: Toast and marmite, then full-fat greek yoghurt with berries, oats and flax seed

L: usually leftovers, if not it's something like smoked salmon, scrambled egg and salady bits like beetroot, avocado, cucumber etc.

D: varies lots but lots of vegetables and pulses. I don't eat meat but do eat fish. Stuff like chickpea curry, bean and sweet potato enchiladas, salmon with roasted potatoes and vegetables, falafel and salad, shrimp stir fry.

Snacks- nuts, dried fruit, dark chocolate. Sometimes I have a banana and peanut butter milkshake after I workout.

Drinks- no alcohol, black coffee, herbal tea, water and sparkling water.

@ohyesiam - my theory is that you weigh less you need less calories as you dont need as many -and no - I don't think that makes sense , as most on this thread has shown as they eat in or around the 2000 calorie mark.

@Exmoor - now we're talking! I could have eaten that lot and not thought about it when I was 25, and been a stone lighter than I am now. Previous to having 3 kids and the MENOPAUSE - Agghhhh

@Timeless19 If I ate what you have listed above there is no way I would weigh 9 stone anything - ditto the Menopause -

My BMI is 20 now, but because of illness I've lost about 20lb this year, I'm trying to gain a bit now. I'm 5'3, just over 8st, aged 65. Breakfast is either muesli with fruit or granola with fruit and yoghurt, then a slice of toast and marmite, black coffee, small juice. Lunch maybe a sandwich or hummus and pitta, bits and pieces, leftovers, some fruit. Dinner anything at all, but I don't eat big portions of anything except green veg. Sometimes have a mid-morning pastry with coffee, or a biscuit in the afternoon. I haven't had alcohol for a couple of months, never have fizzy drinks,have gone off chocolate!

Because of being unwell I'm not that active atm, doing around 6 -7000 steps a day, no other exercise.

I have just calculated my BMI and it's 20.

So for what it's worth here's what I ate yesterday (although very day is different)

Breakfast - banana, two eggs, chocolate raisins

Lunch - toast with jam, slice of apple cake

Snack - bag of crisps, more chocolate raisins

Dinner - take away pizza and onion rings.

I also went for a run.

I'm 5 foot 8 and just under 9 stone so BMI about 19.

I don't eat breakfast but have maybe toast or two hard boiled eggs mid morning.

Lunch is salad with some kind of protein, usually cheese or eggs if I didn't have them earlier. Light and real mayonnaise mixed. Possibly bag of lentil crisps.

Dinner is almost always a stir fry with masses of chopped onions, mushrooms, prawns and broccoli or spinach. If I'm hungry then extra protein like a fish cake or vegetarian sausages. Or a jacket potato with the stir fry. If I'm starving then all three.

I drink huge quantities of tea with almond milk throughout the day, plus water and squash. No alcohol and no fizzy drinks.

I do snack quite a lot - a couple of mouthfuls here and there - strange things like a spoonful of honey or peanut butter, spoonful of mayonnaise. Oh and generally an ice lolly in the evening. Sometimes I'm bored rather than hungry and just a tiny amount is enough.

I wonder if knowing posters ages would help? In my twenties I ate double what I eat now in my mid 30s. Fully expect to have to eat less as I get older.

I’m 5”2 and around 8st 9lbs give or take a few lbs. Below would be a normal weekday at work then I’m a little looser over the weekend (also veggie)

B: Overnight oats with (200g natural yogurt and 25g oats), strawberries and a protein bar

L: Salad with some protein, yogurt and crisps

S: Bowl of cereal

T: Normal sized portion of something like a veggie Bolognese, veggie chilli etc

S: Bowl of porridge mid evening, can’t go without this I absolutely love it!

Always drink a lot of water and black coffee as I don’t like normal milk, also run 5x10ks a week and always everywhere if I can

*walk everywhere

And I'm 50 next month and (so far ....) nothing seems to have changed.