Does anyone eat normally and stay a healthy weight.

[Pavalacerny]

A normal diet to me would be say:

Breakfast: Scrambled Egg On 1 slice Toast /Fruit & Greek Yogurt/ 2 Slice of whole meal toast and smashed avocado

Lunch: Bowl of Soup with Salad whole meal bread Sandwich/ Small Portion of left overs from previous nights dinner / baked potato with half a tin of beans

Dinner: Vegetable and tofu stir fry/ Chickpea stew with wholemeal couscous / small slice of home made vegetable quiche with green veg and home made oven chips.

Snacks: A few nuts and a bit of fruit x 1 herbal teas, two black teas with milk and a small cookie or square of chocolate x 1

Water: 6 - 8 glasses of water a day.

Is this about normal for a 5 foot 5 woman? I have been using my fitness pal to log my food and I seem to be eating 1600 to 1800 calories a day but I’m not losing weight at all, it just creeps up. I am wondering if I’m deluding myself about how much I can eat? What I am eating doesn’t seem unreasonable and I’m often hungry so I can’t see eating any less.

Note: I don’t eat meat and I exercise by walking, doing yoga and some light weights a few times a week.

What is normal food like for you if you are a normal weight and maintain that with out suffering. I don’t mean being skinny just a normal healthy weight.

Thanks!

Please don't let people tell you your body doesn't need ANY carbs or cut out any food group. Fine maybe reduce them or replace with wholegrain/wheat or whatever, reduce carb portion size, more veg and protein and less sugar but they aren't the devil. Calories in v calories out for actual weight loss. Balanced diet of all food groups is the healthiest long term.

Your diet sounds ok to me. Hardly Mac Donald's and chippy every day. Maybe move more day to day. Eg increase steps walking on a daily basis, change up the exercise a bit I find my body gets used to the same so I mix it up: spinning, swimming, yoga, resistance bands, walking, body combat have all been types I've done in the last 5 years. Ive really upped my yoga recently and it's changed my waist more than anything else!

I hated being a size 4. Ha. Sorry. Kids interrupted me.

However I have to work at staying a size 8-10 now I'm older. Lols.

I'm also a vegetarian!

There's tons of gorgeous plant based food out there! You do need to shop around.

I’m 30, have always been a size 8-10, although my weight has crept up by about a stone since I was 20. I currently weigh 56kg/ 8st 11. I’m 5’6”.

I eat:
Two pieces of toast with butter and marmite, cup of tea with milk
Lunch: highly variable, a sandwich from a shop or something from Leon, or leftovers from the night before
A coffee with milk
Dinner: make from scratch 80% of the time, otherwise eat out or takeaway. Varies from lasagne to fajitas to roast salmon... pretty decent portion sizes.
Probably have 1-2 glasses of wine 3-4 times per week.
I run 3 times per week for 40-60 minutes (but didn’t used to and don’t think it makes much difference weight wise).
I don’t avoid carbs but I don’t snack at all.
I expect I’ll need to eat less as I get older sadly.

Don’t cut carbs. Your body needs them

If you aren't willing to change your diet

Then you have to change your exercise. Move a bit more?

There's no real science to losing weight. Consume less calories than you burn.

If I ate that I would be massively obese.

As it is now my day is a coffee, glass of grapefruit juice, mushroom cup of soup, dinner (pasta/heavy veg or Meat/heavy veg) with a club soda mixed with a splash of juice.

But I screwed myself with a decade of aneorexia.

Fat ain't the end of the world OP.

16/8 is the one for me if I want to lose weight. I also reduce the carbs and up the veggies. That’s eating in an 8 hour window. I’m late 40’s and actually now addressing my weight. I have not been ready because of health / surgeries etc.

I’ve just started a weight loss right now due to needing more surgery. I’m doing it quite radically to kick start it. Eating in a daily 5 hour window for the last few days. Not suggesting you should.

You talked about headaches. This is carb flu and will pass in a couple of weeks. You need to replace the fluids and salt flushed out with the fluids. I find drinking Marmite helps a lot. A spoonful in a cup of boiling water 3/4 times a day. Due to my health, I need the salt. The body needs the salt especially at the beginning of as lots is flushed out. Also google the drink SOLE - it’s saturated salt. All fine if you’re otherwise healthy and don’t need a low sodium diet.

Today I’ve eaten stir fried mixed veggies (Carrot, courgette, Bell pepper) with 3/4 tin of tuna, a chicken leg with a large portion of boiled mixed veg with a spoonful of gravy powder and a portion of cheese with 3 or 4 Nairn’s oat cakes, 1 1/2 chunks dark chocolate and a handful of cherries (will switch to blueberries now these are eaten). That’s me done for the day. I know you can’t eat the meat. But you can substitute.

Tbh even if I ate in a larger window I would probably only eat a few more oat cakes and more cheese, maybe a bit more fruit. I’m 5’7 and have a bmi of maybe 32. I wasn’t overweight until ill btw and then too ill to care about weight.

I’m enjoying the empty stomach feeling because I have a goal. I get you would feel hungry on this. Having done it before pre surgery and being very very ill, I know my body will adapt.

Am I wrong in thinking age seems to be a big factor in all this? I am 33 and while I can still eat a fair bit and maintain a healthy weight, I don't think I need as many carbs as I did a few years ago. I expect in the next few years I'll start to need a lot less and 1800 calories will seem a lot. Unless I begin a very active lifestyle. Not likely

Hoestly, OP, if you don't eat meat or fish then you really do have to stoke up on protein and minerals/vitamins for a healthy metabolism from other sources.

breakfast Eggs and cheese, e.g. omelet with feta and yogurt and tomato slices

lunch Salad with olives, feta, sliced boiled egg and capers

Tea/dinner/supper Stir-fried cashews, bean/bamboo shoots, peppers, peas/cabbage, carrots, garlic & ginger, spice, soy sauce - add some rice noodles

In other meals, lots of tofu, halloumi, hummus, tahini, pulses, curds, aubergine, tomato-based sauces, stuffed peppers, and cheese. Lots of herbs and garlic and spices. And oil.

Bread & pasta - wean yourself off relying too much on it. Occasionally have flatbreads made with self-raising flour and yogurt, cooked flat in a pan or under a grill. Use as wraps for lunches.

Roast things all together on trays in the oven. Cheap, saves time, and tastes good.

I'm an old fart bewildered by my current physiology, so sympathies. But I just can't eat Dominos what I regularly used to, sadly.

To answer your question OP, in a nutshell, yes

I load up on carbs earlier in the day and avoid them after about 4 pm

I can eat a huge - and i mean huge - bowl of porridge, a couple of bananas and a sandwich for breakfast/lunch
Dinner is then chicken/protein and salad/veg or something like it

No alcohol, restricted condiments and no processed stuff

I can have (home made and reduced sugar) cake on occasions

I exercise about 4x a week

My BMI is 21.3 according to the TDEE and I can eat up to about 1800 cals a day to maintain

Maybe it's not what you're eating but when?

(I'm post menopause)

You don't necessarily need to eat less, just different foods. I wouldn't have more than about a tablespoon of avocado in a day if trying to lose weight. Smashed avo will be high in calories and fats. Cut the avo, reduce the carbs and increase the amount of non starchy veg you are eating. Basically at lunch half my plate is salad, and at dinner half my plate is non starchy veg.

I don't eat avocado every day just maybe 2 small ones a week?

Honestly their is a lot of conflicting advice on here which just leads me to believe that were all pretty different.

I am a good cook and most of my food is homemade from scratch as I don't like processed food. Tonight I had a bowl of homemade carrot, leek and lentil soup with a single slice of homemade wholemeal bread. Later I'll have a small bowl of raspberries and a cup of tea. I will go to bed hungry.

Salad for lunch with no bread or avocado ( is hummous ok?) would be a sad affair. Adding in feta and hallumi or even egg would be expensive doing it every day and it seems like too much dairy? My friends are mostly slim vegans who all urge me to go dairy free! I woman I know just lost 5 stone on a vegan diet eating loads of carbs!

I really don't mean to be negative, I am just trying to get my head round things and I will try to have less carbs and more protein and see what happens. One thing is that carbs seem good for my mood and I worry about being grumpy and tired on low carb.

I won't add my conflicting information, OP. I hope you find something that works for you. Have you watched Secret Eaters ? It convinced me that a lot of people just don't see the calories they ingest.

You’re probably under counting the calories.

I don't think I am undercounting but I will weigh everything I eat from now on for a week or two to double check. I already log everything on MFP but I'll be more careful just to check.

Is their a reason why my mum and grandmother both struggled with their weight prior to menopause then it fell off them afterwards? My mum is now in her 60's and can eat what she likes but was fat when before the menopause when she was technically more active.

Later I'll have a small bowl of raspberries and a cup of tea. I will go to bed hungry.

^^

This means that the food you are eating isn't satiating you. I'd do low carb, higher fat. Have that bowl of soup with some cheese, or a salad with oily dressing and you won't be hungry.

Here's what I'd eat if I were you, I've adapted what you're currently doing:

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs - 2 - with butter
Fruit & Greek Yogurt.

Lunch: Bowl of Soup with salad, add cottage cheese /tuna/feta/chick peas

Dinner: Vegetable and tofu stir fry - needs fat
Chicken stew, with lentils and a baked potato maybe, or roasted veg /squash

Snacks: I'd be having veg sticks, hard boiled eggs, fruit compote, etc. Apples, berries etc. No cookies at the minute.

I KNOW someone is gonna say the chicken stew with lentils and a JP isn't low carb and they're right - I'd focus on lower carb, not no carb.

Bloody hell this all seems like a lot of hard work. I think this:

Honestly there is a lot of conflicting advice on here which just leads me to believe that were all pretty different

Is absolutely spot on OP. Just eat proper food, go for a jog every so often, be happy and live your life. There’s much worse things you could be than a size 14 🤷‍♀️

Pavalacerny I'm the same height as you and 6 weeks ago weighed 12st 8lb and was a size 14/16.

I've found that I have to stick somewhere between 1200 -1300 calories a day to lose weight. This is the first time I've ever had to think about losing weight as it's just crept on as I've got older and it's been a revelation to me just how much I was actually eating once I started tracking it.

I can still eat really well on 1250 calories I just have to think/ plan a bit more about what I am eating, use cheese very sparingly and weigh my portions.

A typical day for me now would be

Apple or a boiled egg, and a coffee (no sugar) for breakfast

Lunch- Tomato, carrot and beetroot salad with chicken/ smoked salmon trimmings/ boiled egg (I use last nights leftovers a lot as protein). Season with salt, garlic and cider vinegar or lemon juice. If I know I'm having a lighter supper I might add in a small amount of mozzarella or goats cheese.

Supper - a small portion of pasta, or protein of some sort with lots of green veg and roasted Mediterranean veg.

I've pretty much had to cut out all snacks but if I get peckish I have an apple or some carrot sticks.

In six weeks I've lost a stone. My size 14 jeans are very very loose. I'm aiming for around 10st 5 eventually.

Op I’m the same age as you. Im possibly going to start a lot of slimming world hate as I know lots of people don’t like it but I started in jan at 12st & am currently 10st 13. Still got a good half stone to go but it’s coming off slowly & im feeling good about that. It’s definitely slower than before but I think that’s an age thing too. I do follow the basics of the plan but I tend to low carb & stick to lean meats & lots of fruit & veg & try not to overeat. I have the occasional treat at the weekend & don’t beat myself up about it. I’ve also taken up running very recently.

I'm 35, 5'4, 8st 3lbs, and I think I eat substantially more than you.

Breakfast is a large bowl of muesli, or a bowl of porridge (made with oat milk) with a teaspoon of peanut butter and some dried or fresh fruit on top.

Lunch is either two slices of bread with two eggs in some form and salad, or two pittas with falafel and hummous and salad, or a medium plate of leftovers from the night before.

Dinner is a large plate of vegetarian food, always with a decent carb and protein component, and always with lots and lots of veg. I have a small plate of seconds most days too.

Then as snacks I eat (far too much) dark chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, yoghurt, fresh fruit, breadsticks and hummous, crackers and butter. I would typically have one snack in the day and one in the evening.

I am vegetarian and I eat my evening meal very early- 5 or 5.30pm.

If you want to actually lose weight you would be better to aim for 1400 calories. Fewer is not healthy as you will likely miss out on some nutrients.

I’m 5 foot 9 and a slim size ten. The moment I dick around with any kind of restricted eating, I crave food and become obsessed and dull.

Whereas if I exercise daily by which I mean generally active, plus weights, and eat well I stay the same weight. I reserve treats for the weekend and a treat is homemade cake. I never eat processed food such as supermarket bread or bought cake.

Re reading your thread I think that if you are happier eating carbs, then eat them. I do, (plenty of them, incidentally) and I've lost weight no problem, although I'm not finding the last half stone so easy.

You might benefit from looking up your TDEE versus BMR. This enables you to calculate your own personal calories requirements, for your height and weight. If you eat 500 fewer calories daily than your TDEE, you'll lose a pound a week of weight .

You asked about the menopause-nobody could really answer that question without knowing more about your family. There are too many possibilities. Personally I've found that being post menopausal means I have more time to myself, and am not so busy with kids. All that free time has enabled me to focus better on my own needs. That may be one reason in your family, maybe.