Are people really eating this little?

[ABugWife]

Thread after thread after thread I see on here of people posting tiny amounts of food that they eat, or fasting most of the day. 1200 calories, 800 calories, bananas are bad for you, don't eat any carbs, no sugar ever, it goes on and on.

I am short 5'2 and fairly light at the top end of 8 stone so by these threads I should be eating barley anything but I eat every two hours pretty much, I snack all the time, I eat cheese and crisps and sweeties and cakes, sometimes I gain weight, sometimes I lose weight but it's quite steady between 8st 10 and 8st 13

I really find it hard to believe that people are eating such tiny amounts of food and not losing weight.

Does everyone here have a massive drink problem they don't include in their calories or are people lying perfectly still in bed all day long.

Where are the people that eat a normal, mostly healthy but sometimes shit diet.

Thanks, @bellac11. I thought bariatric supplements were something mysterious, but now I see they're a full-complement vitamin & mineral supp. Sounds great (and like half the posters to this thread could use them, even without having a gastric band!)

This stop eating carbs is nonsense in biological terms.

I haven't stopped eating carbs though, I just don't eat processed carbs or potatoes.

Saverage
That study used male volunteers, who generally need a lot more calories than women.

The NHS recommends a ball-park 2,000 calories a day for women. If you're bigger than average (in any direction) or more than averagely active, it'll be quite a bit more.

@GarlicGrace my point was that the poster was talking about 'misinformation' then posted about a study that used men, on what is a predominantly female site. Very few average sized females would experience starvation by eating 1500 calories for a limited period.

If people were as active as they should be the recommended calories would be about right. People are car reliant and don't do much exercise so need less than that. If mumsnet is anything to go by then lots of people drink significant calories in the form of alcohol.
If everyone was eating what they say they eat then obesity would t be rife.

I maintain at about 1500 cals - have done my fitness pal and wear Fitbit so I know what I need to eat to either lose, maintain or gain.
I am on a diet to help my reflux atm so it is calorie restricted by virtue of what I can’t eat - I had to do mfp to ensure I was getting enough cals in of the healthy stuff.
Two portions of fruit a day is fine for anyone, the sugar in fruit is metabolised differently from refined fructose or sucrose as you are eating it in the form of a whole food which is fibrous.
I eat something like this -
breakfast: approx 600 cal homemade smoothie inc peanut butter & oats
lunch: two boiled eggs, bread, smoked salmon, cucumber, carrot. Dried fruit.
dinner: pasta w homemade pesto, cheese, brocolli, peas. Or chicken, mash & veggies.
snacks depending on what I’ve eaten in day: rice cakes, Ryvita w yeast extract, nuts, sometimes homemade cake.

You’d be better off ditching the cereal at breakfast (insulin spike) and having the eggs instead. You don’t eat enough protein (or calories). Add some protein to the vegetable soup.

That’s because we are genetically programmed to go in to starvation mode and conserve fat.

Losing weight when you are several stone overweight is completely difference to maintaining a weight you are happy with.
Interesting that you know how many calories you eat despite being a healthy weight. Most people only think about calories when they need to lose them.

The Keys subjects were given a really poor diet of little nutritional value. Of course they’d be ill eventually. Whereas you can eat 800 calories of healthy protein and vitamin dense food and feel great.

That diet seems fine to me, I wouldn't raise an eyebrow. It was only the very extreme views that surprised me, because there are so many people claiming to live off a lick of broccoli 🥦

@ABugWife I’m also a bit terrified of the menopause and its possible impact on my ability to eat more or less what I want.

I’m 38, 5'11" and have a 14 month old whom I’m still breastfeeding. I also exercise 4-5 times a week (a mixture of running, weights and hot yoga with the occasional swim thrown in).

I eat TONNES, including a decent amount of chocolate and alcohol. I weigh 10 stone something and have a BMI of about 21. I really, really don't want to have eat less or start tracking what I’m eating, but I also really, really don't want to gain weight or body fat.

Is there a magic solution? I’m too greedy to diet!

I’m asking you to explain in scientific terms because I want to understand where the misconception is for you.

Im a clinical nutritionist so I definitely haven’t been “had” by the diet industry.

@bellac11

Can you share your recipe for your porridge please?

Most recipes I’ve seen are about 150 - 200 calories minimum per serving.

Or is that right??

@AutisticLegoLover that’s far too simplified and comes back to calories in calories out which is not based on the science of human metabolism.

I lost 8 stone without a whiff of exercise. I ate the same calories as before but switched from high carb low fat to low carb high fat. Because metabolism is different in everyone, this worked for me.

I make 5 days of overnight oats

100g of oats (20g per day - I was on 10g for a long time but have now managed to increase the amount)
250g of semi skimmed milk
5 scoops of my collagen powder

Then I put this into 5 pots and it lasts me Monday to Friday
135cals per portion

Depending on how I feel I might add in half a teaspoon of peanut butter to the finished item and if Im feeling extra fancy half a teaspoon of nutella, half a teaspoon tends to work out at 7g of those products.

I think calories in calories out does actually work

But the nuances of calories in ( some absorbed more easily , sone make you eat more )

And out ( body telling you to watch tv rather than clean the bathroom floor to conserve energy)

Obscure the basic mechanics

I used to eat like that when I was young and was very slim, but no longer. Once you are past the menopause the weight just piles on.

Yes we are and the fact that adult women survive longer than anyone else must be because we are needed to carry babies in order to repopulate.

No weight does not just pile on post menopause

It does for some people but

I suspect it's related to a few things

1 slightly lower calories needed if you stop periods - so you need to adjust your eating slightly
2 many people feel tired a lot or sleep badly during the hormonal changes which makes you eat more and move less
3 tendency to slow down , losing muscle tone which further reduces your basic calorie needs

If you manage to keep exercise going and adjust to your bodies new requirements you can get through menopause with no weight gain

Or they have a cheat day/meal and eat everything they've lost back plus more.

It'd have to be a very indulgent 'cheat' meal. And that attitude in itself is unhealthy imo. Eating your favourite things every now and again and seeing it as 'cheating?' It's part of the problem.

@bellac11 can 20g of oats actually be called a portion?!

When I was in my 30s I found it pretty easy to stay at 8stone 3 to 8 stone 5 eating all sorts. Fast forward to 43 with 3 mc and 1 pregnancy aged 39-41, it’s not so easy and I’m hovering around 9 stone. I think partly age and partly hormonal.

My first pregnancy aged 31, I naturally returned to my usual weight over the first year or so. So I think it’s partly that some people do need to eat less than others to lose weight. I also think it’s probably easy to estimate you’re having 1200 calories but actually a few glasses of wine, meals out etc sneak in particularly over the weekend and that bumps your average calorie spend up to 1500 ish. The calculator im currently using has automatically set my calories to 1200 so im going with that but not worrying if I go over a tiny bit as I know I’ll still lose weight. And it gives me a bit extra deficit to play with at weekends.

Yes its my breakfast (weekdays anyway)

It takes me 40 mins to eat and Im meant to stop eating after 20 mins, if I did that I would never get any food in me.

I thought a normal portion was 30g anyway so its not that much smaller than you would eat. Remember it swells up with the milk, you leave it overnight and it goes all mushy and swollen

It's half I would say

But obviously the ideal size depends on the person

I tend to use 30g but add a banana

Ancel Keys did a study on the effects of starvation in the 1950s and he fed his volunteers 1500 calories per day. They all experienced physical and mental effects of starvation and yet 1500 calories is often recommended is as a number to hit if you are dieting which is absolutely crazy really.

I think anyone who ate a diet consisting mainly of potatoes, swede, a bit of rye bread and pasta, would end up feeling pretty ill, as Keys subjects did. They were specifically fed this low protein/ low nutrient diet to try and replicate the poor diet conditions of some people during the war in Europe.
A lot of people also forget that he fed them 3200 kcals a day for 3 months prior to starting the semi-starvation period.

@bellac11 how can it take 40mins to eat 20g of oats?