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.

I think if you are somebody who can maintain a healthy lifestyle and healthy body without thinking overly about what you are eating and especially the specific calorie and nutrient content of your food then you are living the best way and should ignore everybody who has to or chooses to follow restrictive or specific eating regimes. Don't worry about whether people eat 800 or 2000 calories - just focus on getting a good, healthy balance of foods yourself.

I have had a (non serious) chronic eating disorder since I was 15. After being very underweight as a teenager, I now swing wildly from a BMI of about 18 to about 24 quite regularly. And go through long phases of eating under 1000 calories and shorter phases of binge eating. That is way, way worse that consistently having an overweight BMI. I don't think there are significant health issues associated with being overweight (as in BMI 25-30). It's more absout aesthetics at that level. And being happy and healthy is so much more important.

Please keep looking after yourself and don't start following the crazy eating plans on here. I'm not going to talk about my own specific diet and lifestyle because it is a) unhealthy and b) unsustainable and I wouldn't advise it for anyone. But a lot of the diets posted here sound very disordered to me and not at all what I see from 'normal' adults around me.

Love to see who issued your qualifications. ‘Dr’ Gillian Mckeith one of your class mates? You can survive without carbs? You are going round talking in extremes. Not great professionally.

My consultant is who I listen to. He seems pretty well qualified.

Complex carbs yes but simple carbs such as pastry, biscuits and cakes etc are not necessary for overall health.

My porridge is half cup oats, one cup semi skimmed milk, medicine spoon 5mls chia seeds, as much golden syrup as I seem adequate which is over a tablespoon. That was/is my breakfast daily during my weight loss period. Half a cup is about 45g oats. I walk 10 miles a day up some big hills though and burn what I eat easily. Lunch is 0% Greek yogurt with honey, chia and homemade fruit compote. Dinner is homemade pizza, homemade chips, pasta with homemade sauces. But mainly homemade vegetable soups and those part baked rolls x2. Snacks are chocolate, sweets, crisps, homemade biscuits. I don't drink alcohol, don't have sugar in tea and drink it with skimmed milk as I don't like any other milk in tea. Lots of water, lots of water. I weigh 8 st 9lb.

Also all the people saying they have lost 8,10 stone etc by cutting carbs.
Do you really think you should be educating others on eating regimes when clearly you had disordered eating to have gained that amount of weight. I'm not judging but it seems it goes from one extreme to another. It's all unhealthy either way.

Not really. You don't know what weight they arrived at after losing all that weight. If they got unnaturally and unhealthily skinny then sure, you're right. But if all they did was lose enough weight to get to an average, healthy BMI for their height, then no it isn't "unhealthy either way". There's nothing unhealthy about going from morbidly obese to not being morbidly obese. It's the very definition of healthy.

And therein lies a problem….

The vast majority of people don’t have the time to walk 10 miles a day and so they have to be more mindful of their calorie intake.

I really don’t think I could cope on a porridge portion that was made up from only 20g of oats.

I weight and cardio train 6 days a week and eat 2000kcal a day and lose weight. I also eat 800kcal of freeze dried banana every day. I have lot 4 stone so far. For reference I am 5ft 3 10stone 5.

The problem with those being so judgmental about dieters on this thread, is that you can't properly judge whether someone's approach to diet is healthy or unhealthy without all the facts - ie what their starting weight is, why they choose to diet, and what weight they stop at. Sure, eating disorders exist, and somebody insisting on only eating 800 calories a day when they're already a healthy weight, because they are under the delusion that they're fat, needs to see a psychiatrist not a dietician. But somebody eating 800 calories a day - properly thought out to deliver necessary nutriants - because they're the size of a house, have just been diagnosed with diabetes and realise they'll be dead soon if they don't, doesn't. They're behaving perfectly rationally in relation to their situation.

There seems to be some projection going on. A lot of people have had issues with food in the past and automatically jump to the conclusion that anyone who counts some calories or reads a diet book has the same issues. It ain't necessarily so.

Taking 40 minutes to eat a small portion of porridge is another very common eating disorder flag. In inpatient EDUs you get 30 minutes to eat full meals.

Anybody wanting to become/stay healthy should avoid:
taking an excessive amount of time to eat
demonising fruit (there is enough actual 'junk' food to be afraid of in the world!)
avoiding starchy carbohydrates
eating under 1200 calories
fasting for extended periods of time
intense exercise on a high calorie deficit

All those things are disordered and will damage your body long term. I do all those things (except I love fruit and eat loads of it) and my body and mind are a mess. I would love to see food as fuel and enjoy everything in moderation. If you can be like that, stay like that!

Of course it makes a difference. If I go for a 10 mile run my calorific needs will be greater than someone (everything else being equal) who didn't and greater than a day I didn't go for a 10 mile run.

I'm the same height as you, OP, and a good stone lighter than you. I'd look like a barrel if I were a stone heavier.

That aside, I don't worry unduly about what I eat, but don't snack, and am very active. I'm also 51 and haven't changed shape or size despite being in the throes of menopause. If I thought I was becoming tubby, I'd eat less.

I have no truck with cutting out carbs/fasting/any other faddy nonsense. Portion size is more useful. An awful lot of people have portions which would feed an entire family.

I do get this. But I think it's dangerous when someone with a healthy diet and healthy approach to food asks questions about whether they should be following these same extreme plans and loads of posters share their experiences as if they are a) normal, b) desirable and c) should be followed by others. For the vast majority of people, they are not and should not.

It’s really not as simple for everyone as some people are making out. I was one of those who could eat normally and stay slim. Since I hit my mid 40s this has changed. It’s not spiteful to point this out, as a pp has said. I’ve no idea why, but it’s my reality now. If I listed what I ate in a day (and no I don’t snack, eat DC’s leftovers or drink alcohol) some of the people above would say I have an ED but I don’t - in fact I’m three stone overweight and just cannot shift it, I’m just maintaining this weight by eating this amount. I exercise for 45 mins- 1 hr most days including lifting light weights so it isn’t that I don’t exercise either. I wish that people would understand that we’re all different, and that just because they can eat 1500 and maintain or lose weight, it isn’t the same for everyone.

Also I don’t drive so walk everywhere, and I don’t drink alcohol at all. Just love the judgement on here.

I’m the perfect person to educate people because that’s my job. I am a clinical nutritionist working solely with people who have metabolic syndrome and therefore are carb intolerant.

I gained 8 extra stone because I followed the advice to eat low fat and have 45% of my calories from carbs. My body is not able to manage that level of carbs to I developed insulin resistance and obesity as a result.

Low carb is not unhealthy. Unless you’re undereating calories.

Are you a registered dietician?

what are your qualifications?

How on earth did you get qualified.

Carb intolerant is a load of made up waffle. The human body is not carb intolerant.

Does eating only sugar frequently cause massive blood sugar spikes? Yes

But most people eat carbs with fibre, protein, fat - balanced snacks and meals that contain carbs do not lead people to become insulin resistant or diabetic.

I would certainly love to know where you work as the fact you get paid to tell people such porkies is alarming.

What “sacrifices”? You’re eating all day long!

It's probably better to use an online TDEE calculator to work out what your typical need is, and ten reduce it a bit if you want to lose weight.

The "one size fits all" theory of calories is not well supported at all.

Here is an example of an online calculator:

TDEE Calculator: Learn Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure

Very little! Vegetable soup for dinner? I’d be starving. Where’s the protein there?

With their teeny tiny beak I’m guessing.

Also all the people saying they have lost 8,10 stone etc by cutting carbs.
Do you really think you should be educating others on eating regimes when clearly you had disordered eating to have gained that amount of weight. I'm not judging but it seems it goes from one extreme to another. It's all unhealthy either way.

I would never recommend anyone within the healthy BMI range consider doing what I am doing, just as a WLS surgeon wouldn't operate on someone with only a couple of stone to lose.
Cutting carbs is for me about removing the uneccessary nutrient lacking carbs like white bread,pasta,crisps and chips etc from my diet. I replace these with carbohydrates from other sources like vegetables, fruit, legumes, dairy products etc. Add in protein and some good fats.

You really should do a bit of research. Read Dr Michael Mosley - I gave you a link the last time you posted nonsense. And stop accusing clinicians of lying. Your prejudice and ignorance is alarming.