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'm awaiting assessment for a condition called Hypothalamic Obesity. Most people with this condition, and other conditions involving hypothalamic damage, eat between 800 to 1200 calories a day because you will gain a huge amount if you eat any more. It depends on the individual obviously and how badly they're affected - some are on as low as 600 calories a day and are not slim on that. It's hard to know how common something like this is because doctors don't tend to believe you when you say you're eating so little and you aren't wasting away. It's taken me 30 years to get anywhere near finding out what's wrong and I've had to spend thousands on private doctors (who say they see this issue all the time worryingly). So it may be massively underdiagnosed, but who knows? There are other conditions that cause the same kind of issues but for other reasons (Cushing's, thyroid disease etc).

Same, although only 5ft1. I actually eat less than some of the threads on here but Still struggle to lose weight.

I think some people do, yes.

But I also think lots of people have disordered eating, where they eat like a mouse and then binge while watching tv or cooking dinner, but just don’t really count that. My mum was one of these - oh, I can only have one biscuit! Did you see how much cake Sally ate at the party?! And then while tidying up after dinner, she’d eat the whole pack. But because it was almost ‘off the record’ and no one really saw, it wouldn’t count. And then she’d get depressed about her weight and go on some ridiculous fad diet.

Me personally, I’ve only ever been on a diet once in my life (solidarity with my mum before I decided that was mad after 2 weeks). I eat what I want and I love food and I don’t restrict myself. I am overweight but not much, pretty healthy, active. I think it’s the healthy attitude to food and eating that’s made a difference. Life is too short to live on lettuce.

Tim Spector also does not eat bananas because of the impact on his blood sugar.

Sugar in a mars bar will get into your blood fat more easily than a banana. The fibre and potassium as well as micro nutrients, let alone the benefit to gut flora mean there is a world of difference between the two. Diabetics are in a weird world when it comes to food but the reason it is so hard for them to control the disease is precisely because how sugar gets into our system is very varied. The list on the back of the packet is just part of the story.

I am 6kg overweight and have been steady at this weight for over 2 years. I eat around 13-1400 calories daily.

I am currently dieting and lost 2lb this week, I had to eat 800 calories a day to achieve this. It made me feel Ill!

I am active throughout day but I don’t really exercise. I’m guessing this is the issue.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel
I think a simple google of a high fat, high calorie, high carbohydrate diet and its effects on metabolism and health will suffice.

Mumsnet is hilarious when it comes to weight. You get people sharing their height, weight, hip to waist ratio, body fat percentage, etc. when no one even asked. I think for some people, not being overweight is their biggest achievement. As for the banana/Mars bar comment, that screams 'messed up relationship with food' to me.

This is me. It’s almost as if I can eat 4000 calories, 2000 or 1500. My body just stays exactly the same, I never lose or gain. Thankfully I’m a healthy weight but a little higher than I would like.

I’m 6 weeks postpartum atm, I gained 2.5stone in pregnancy, lost it all within 2 weeks. But despite dieting I’ve not lost a pound more in the past 4 weeks. My body just loves being this weight

Mumsnet is a madness when it comes to eating and dieting. This current obsession over blood glucose is also worrying... we have a pancreas for a reason! Most people don't need to be using a continuous glucose monitor, it's insane.

Oh OP!

when I was 37 I had 4 DC under 10 and was toned size 8. I ate what I wanted, including endless amounts of pizza and cake. I wouldn’t think twice about scoffing down a family size bar of dairy milk in the evening.

Then it caught up with me and with everyone year that passes keeping the weight off becomes more of an effort.

There are loads of things at play here. One is that many of us are actively trying to lose weight and not maintain. Often we’re serial dieters and know how much we need to reduce by to lose weight.

A second element is that if you’ve lost a bunch weight to get down to a healthy weight, your daily calorie intake will need to be lower to maintain than a person who is the same weight but always has been a healthy weight, due to the metabolic adaptations that come with losing weight. I read about research on this recently, but I’m sorry I can’t recall the source. On top of that, if you’re the person that’s had to lose a lot of weight, you’re probably genetically more prone to putting on weight in the first place.

And as others have said, your basal metabolic rate will change as you get older etc.

I’m currently doing the Fast 800, as a last resort before contemplating bariatric surgery. I’m still early days but blown away by how much easier I’m finding it to stick to than other diets, ways of eating etc that I’ve done before. I actually feel great. It’s not sustainable long term obviously and it’s not meant to be, but there’s lots that I’m going to take from the experience to help me keep losing when I up my calories again. We’re all different, we just need to figure out what works for us to be healthy without judging others for what works for them.

'Fruit is a form of sugar, sugar causes inflammation which can lead to heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancer.'

MENTAL

Do you have a link to empirical, peer reviewed research linking fresh fruit to strokes, diabetes etc? I've seen this type of claim made by Insta-scientists but not actually come across it in real life.

https://coach.nine.com.au/diet/new-study-reveals-which-countries-consume-most-calories/8a0a57fd-141a-4bb9-b4c2-96212f704ed6

The study also found that the United Kingdom ranked 26th overall with an average of 3,423 calories consumed daily.

Some people are eating more it seems

One thing that is very noticeable on weight loss threads is a total disregard to health. Many people want a thin body not a nourished healthy one.
A nourished body is easier to keep thin, nourishment varies a bit between people.

I think the insane thing is that 1 in 3 people in thr UK have pre diabetes. This has huge implications for both our health system and economy and I applaud anyone taking preventative action by focusing on their health.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/third-of-adults-have-prediabetes

Mumsnet diet related threads attract people with shall we say ‘strong’ opinions on diets and food.

Meanwhile in the real world I don’t know anyone who thinks a carb free diet is a good idea, or who believes a banana is basically pure sugar. Many many people eat carbs, bananas and a whole lot else and are a healthy weight.

Sorry you are struggling, I have never even heard of that condition. It must be so difficult to manage on such a small amount of food.

Op I was like you until I hit my 50s.
I could more or less whatever I love liked and also would eat almost constantly!

After a lifetime of being the same weight as you, suddenly creeping over 9st was a shock and my clothes suddenly didn't fit the same and I didn't feel like 'me'

I tried eating less and restricting calories but I hated it and it made me really miserable (and borderline obsessive about calories etc)
I know fast from 7pm and 11am and it's a game changer! I've never had breakfast anyway and I've totally got used to the 7pm cut off.
I eat more or less whatever I fancy and certainly never calorie count anymore!

These starvation diets are either under reported, or miscalculated. It makes no scientific sense. A human requires calories to keep their brain working.

Unless their is a hormonal disease modern food is to blame.

I’m pretty much your size by the sound of it and when I was in my 30s I could eat like that. I basically didn’t change size / weight between my early 20s and my late 30s no matter what I ate. It probably helped I had a job where I was on my feet quite a bit and where I couldn’t snack.

Now in my late 40s in a full time office job, I’m trying to take off the 15 pounds I put on over COVID. I’ve been on a strict 1200 calorie diet from June 1st (using MyFitnessPal if anyone is interested) with two days where I went up to 1400 or 1500 and I’m also doing a 30-40 minute brisk walk every day which I wasn’t doing before. I’ve lost 12 pounds total in 7 weeks which I think is a reasonable rate of loss. If I was eating 1600 calories, I’m fairly sure all I would be doing is maintaining my weight.

I’m same height as you and have always eaten average amounts of calories if not more. I’m also size 8 (8stone) and would honestly drop a stone in a week if I ate 1500 cals. I’m in early 40s but have always been susceptible to losing weight if I don’t eat normal meals. I look gaunt and ill quite quick if my weight drops by calorie deficit.
I have found that if I am in a good mental state and things in life are going well, I can gain some weight Unfortunately, I am a total stress head all the time and easily get stressed and find that’s the time when my weight just sheds regardless of what i eat. It’s almost like food goes straight through me because my whole body is in an anxious or stressed state. Weird.

I'v read some of those threads, there's some bonkers advice.

I'm 5ft7 and 8stone9 at the moment. I'm trying to drop my body fat percentage so eating at a deficit - usually around 1500 calories. I'v been losing weight and still managing to eat McDonalds, chocolate etc as long as I don't go over my cals for the day. When I'm at my desired body fat I'll eat my maintenance cals.

I think people who are eating so little and not losing weight mustn't be accounting for their calories correctly.

I don't know whether this is true but I wonder whether your body is going a bit into starvation mode. I had a friend who did a very low calorie diet and didn't lose weight because her body held onto as much as possible. Have you tried varying your calories so you eat different amounts on different days , e.g. more on the exercise days to avoid starvation mode?

Do you also focus on your gut health. I've felt I'm losing weight quicker since I've been eating more kimchi, live yogurt, fibre etc. I also tried having cider vinegar because it stabilises blood sugar.

Also how do you eat your food. Eating vegetables first, then protein and then any carbs is also supposed to stabilise blood sugar which stops you wanting more food. Apologies if you know all this but it's helped me through reading about it.

Another thing is, are you putting on muscle first with all this exercise? When I started exercising I didn't lose weight for ages but I did become a lot more toned and appeared to be thinner. It took ages before I lost any actual weight. And even then I think I lost visceral fat internally because I didn't lose any inches around my waist or hips for ages either!

Whatever you're doing a fantastic job so don't get discouraged.