If you have always been a healthy weight, what do you generally eat?

[biggerthanthebiggest]

Or is there anything you avoid. I'd love to hear what maintaining a size 12 in your 40s looks like in reality. I've definitely fallen down a hole the last 10 years with raising young family, working long hours that I've totally forgotten how to care for myself. I used to be a size 10 and would panick if my jeans didn't fit. Now I'm a size 16 but longing to get back to a healthier weight (for me) but I feel quite lost. Im going to eat more proteins to fill me up and loose the sugary treats

What's your success?

To maintain size 8-10, it is really about lots of exercise/moving/walking and eating healthy food. Healthy being: simple foods made from scratch, nothing ready-made or ultra processed, cut out takeaways. Avoid deep frying and minimise frying when possible. Fish and seafood instead of red meat. Tons of veg and healthy grains. Raw veg salads. Good quality sourdough bread. Simple sugar-free green yoghurt. No alcohol, desserts only occasionally, fruits and berries are treats.

It's really confusing when people say they eat whatever they want.... because what you want is the crucial part. If I truly ate what I wanted I'd be morbidly obese. So when you say you eat what you want... what does that look like? Like for me, I'm overweight and it's a struggle to even maintain that. If I ate what I actually wanted, I'd eat multiple fine french pastry's every day. I'd eat a cooked breakfast every day. I'd eat Belgium truffles every day. I'd eat a loaf of crusty bread and butter. It's only through sheer willpower that I'm overweight rather than morbidly obese. So saying you eat what you want is really not as simple as it sounds.

The thing is that people are telling you what works for them, and that's not going to work for you necessarily. You need to look at what you like, what's sustainable and achievable and find a new way of eating and moving that continue for life. No diets, no fads, no good Vs bad. The language around food, even on this thread, is damaging. If you're bad for a day, just be good afterwards, for example. Junk, treats, good, bad, shit and so on. They can be such loaded terms.

I'd examine where the real challenge is. Do you need to work on your cooking skills or the times and ways you shop or how you choose what's for dinner or how you eat when stressed or tired. All those things need to be considered. Then look at your overall diet and shopping habits and identify things you want to change. Then think about activity levels and sleep. Then come back to this thread again and consider what sounds appealing and what works.

I know lots of women of my age who are a healthy weight and every single one of them achieved this differently. Some of them healthily. Some of them are smoking/depriving themselves/over exercising/in a binge-fast cycle.

I am a healthy weight and do some of the things on this thread. I eat a plant based diet and exercise a lot. It helps that I'm teetotal and don't drink caffeine and don't like most sweet or processed food. But my mate down the road who does drink, adores coffee and has a sweet tooth eats and drinks very differently to me but is still healthy.

And wanting to change is the biggest step so you're on your way.

Neither food nor your body are the enemy.

Same here. Very rarely have anything ultra processed, pre prepped or junk food. Focus on fruit and veg.

I think eat what you want simply means no food is forbidden. You just carefully choose when and how much. And honestly, I want to eat healthy whole foods as my main diet as they make me feel well and able to run/lift/cycle/climb. I also want to eat gingerbread so I do. Just not all the time!

Your 6 year old would probably love a happy meal some time 😊

I’m in my 50’s and have stayed a size 12 or (10 in the past) but it is very hard as I love food and cooking and have a huge appetite. What works for me is removing sugar as much as possible. Only black coffee for breakfast, zero snacking and portion control but I never eat reduced fat foods. I love chocolate but try to only have very dark chocolate in the house as it limits how much I eat. Try and have alcohol only 3 nights a week.

I make everything from scratch including sourdough, ice cream and yogurt. I do 12,000 steps a day, 250 cal on my exercise bike and 50 bicep curls with 5 kilo weights. Despite all this I’m still half a stone heavier than I would like.

• Porridge for breakfast (one of those Quaker sachets) + 2 cups of tea
• Cup of coffee mid-morning
• Sandwich, soup or salad for lunch and something for dessert like a mini magnum or a yogurt
• 2 cups of tea during afternoon
• Dinner depends but it's usually either meat or fish + rice/potatoes + veg.
• I don't snack much, but if I do it's a banana or a handful of Just Corn or if I'm really hungry then one of those little packets of Nairn's oatcakes.
• I never eat takeaway or ready meals and eat out probably twice a month, but never anything rich (I have IBS so have to be really careful what I eat), so it's usually grilled meat or fish plus rice/potatoes and veg.
• I also exercise a lot and am training for a half marathon at the moment.
• Always been a size 10 and 49 years old.

I'm loving all these responses. I had some scrambled eggs ( no bread just eggs) for breakfast and I'm still completely stuffed. There is definitely something true about protein filling you up longer. I have a bacon, lentil and carrot soup on the go and I'll use it for lunches during the week. I'm also going to buy potatoes for baking and have with tuna and really over haul my diet and eating habits.

I just feel all big and bloated atm and nothing fits me properly. I'm 5ft6 but I'm an apple shape so anything bigger than a 12 just goes to my muffin top/ belly so I really would like to be a 12 by Christmas- could this be do-able?

Literally anything I want.

Anything from McDonald's to pizza/burgers/chips/chocolate/ice cream/steak/chicken/salad/fruit....

Far too many foods to name but crucially (I think) it's because I eat far less than most people I know who are overweight and whose eating I have witnessed.

In my case it's exactly as simple as it sounds because I don't have a massive appetite and I certainly couldn't eat a whole loaf of any type of bread for example.

No processed food. Only eat until you are full. Also, other things in your life that are treats. Music, exercise, crafts etc. So, when you are tired, bored, lonely melt or stressed you don’t stick chocolate or chips in your mouth.

I am mid 40s and maintaining size 8/10, 25" waist.

I don't calorie count and eat 3 meals a day plus snacks. Key things are no upf and very limited sugar. I also don't eat much bread as it spikes my blood sugar.

I make sure I have protein at breakfast (usually roquefort or salmon with rye crackers), big salad with legumes, protein and cheese for lunch and dinner with meat/fish lots of veg. I have berries abd dark chocolate for dessert.

I snack between meals on nuts and apple with nut butter. I make sure I fast for at least 12 hours overnight and also eat lots of fermented food.

I am trying to gain weight at present as on this 'diet' my bmi dropped to18.5 without even trying. Since cutting out upf all my food cravings stopped and I don't even like cake/biscuits any more. I have tons of energy and it cured all my peri menopause symptoms. It is slso a novelty having a flatter tummy than I had in my 20s.

I'm 48, just under 5ft5, 9st and a size 10-12. Totally agree about the not having a car thing, I really feel it when I dont get my 10,000 steps a day. Ideally would loe to be a bit smaller, but tbh I am guilty of eating my feelings sometimes, have a big appetite and love sweet stuff, crisps and takeaways. I very much see food as a treat.

That said, I've recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, I'm having a lumpectomy on Friday and radio early next year. This is making me take stock of my eating habits a bit. I've been told not to have more than 5 units a week whilst I'm having treatment, I dont often go above this anyway. I'm trying to eat more plant based meals and I will cut down on red meat, I have next to no periods anymore and I'm going to be starting on anti oestrogens after my surgery. I'm a bit worried about the effect of anti oestrogens on my weight. I was on HRT obviously not now) for a couple of years and I think this helped my weight stay steady. On the plus size, I do drink lots of water and black tea, although I regularly drink diet fizzy drinks which I know isn't great.

I've just walked into my freezer to see what I can meal plan for the week and I've realised just how much processed crap there is- so many packets of chicken nuggets, chips, waffles and all that crap. I've hardly any 'proper' meat - this might be my first problem- too much processed crap

It’s undoubtedly your first problem.

This thread is very interesting- there is definitely a theme developing !

I’m 45. Now size 10-12. But HRT/ peri has made it harder to keep my weight down and I’ve definitely changed shape, which is hard to avoid unless you have time for a great deal of the right type of exercise.

I never had to think about keeping my weight down until this last year or so. I’m a bit more aware now, but this is how I’ve always eaten, because of my upbringing and instincts around food:

Cooking from scratch, buying limited processed food
No takeaways (I find them a bit gross, to be honest- either cook or go out to eat)
No snacking between meals.
Eat loads of colourful veg, don’t be scared of good meat, eggs, cheese or wine.
Having a French mother who didn’t get the memo about it being rude to tell your daughter they are getting fat, like a little pumpkin.

You are welcome to borrow my French mother. She always welcomes the chance to be rude about English people and their eating habits.

I eat whatever I like but at the same time food is never a top priority for me. I only eat if I'm hungry and even then it's not always top of the list. I see eating as a task to be accomplished during the day much like doing laundry and caring for the children. I skipped lunch today as we had a big breakfast and I wanted to nap when DS napped (when I'd normally have lunch). By dinner time I was pretty starving but I didn't snack as I knew it would spoil my appetite, I just made dinner earlier than I usually would.

I've been a size 12/14 all my adult life, I'd like to lose a bit of weight that snuck on over lockdown but generally my weight is very stable.

I eat what I like but I physically struggle to eat if I'm full. So if I've eaten quite a lot during the day I tend to not have much dinner as I'm still full.

I don't restrict foods and love chocolate, biscuits, cake etc!

I am fairly active, I have a dog so do a lot of walking.

You’ve had plenty of great responses on what to eat so I’ll just chime into say that exercise is a huge part of weight control as you get older. I’m 49 and whereas I could get away without exercising for a week (and still look the same) in the past, now I can’t…everything starts to feel wobbly and my tummy sticks out if I skip it. 😂

If you can’t squeeze in a class or a swim/run, take every opportunity to walk instead of drive. Perhaps make a habit of going for an evening walk to get some fresh air while your DP looks after the children. Just keep moving.

You are welcome to borrow my French mother. She always welcomes the chance to be rude about English people and their eating habits.

A normal, mixed diet of unprocessed, unrefined food as near to their original state as possible.
However, that is how I was brought up.
I cook from scratch every day (or bulk cook and freeze). I do not buy ready meals and the only tins you will find in my cupboard are (currently) 1 tin of Mutti tomatoes, that I have had for at least a year and 1 small tin of Saupiquet tuna in olive oil.
I do not have a sweet tooth, so an apple, banana or similar hits the spot, if that is what is needed.
As I am now over 60 I tend only to eat lunch these days. Milky coffee (whole fat milk, bean to cup coffee for breakfast), proper lunch, meat once or twice a month, otherwise lots of vegetables, eggs and fish. Nothing between meals ever.
I do have ingredients, so if I really wanted something "unhealthy", like cheese straws or cake, I could knock it up, but that hasn't happened for over 5 years.
I tend to look at the nutritional value of my food, too. Is it balanced, in terms of getting the right vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre?
Sounds a bore, but it works.

I'm in my 40s, I've always been a size 8 or smaller. I never exercise (just have no time to) and eat whatever I want but what I want just isn't huge portion sizes.
So I'll have a bacon or sausage sandwich for breakfast most days. But I'll have 1 sausage, or a couple of rashers of streaky bacon, on one slice of bread. Just because I'm not hungry after that much food so don't see why I need to eat more.
For my evening meal I think I eat a normal portion, but comparing to some of my friends I'll eat roughly half what they're eating. I stop eating before I feel full, and I hate feeling like I've overeaten.
Another thing that I think helps me is I always eat with my DC. So we have dinner between 5 and half 5 and after that I might have a very small snack but that's it. A lot of my friends get the kids to bed and then eat, so it's around 8:30-9 by the time they're having dinner. But by then they're so hungry they've eaten loads of snacks to keep them going.

I’m 49 and whereas I could get away without exercising for a week (and still look the same) in the past, now I can’t.

This is very true! I used to be a sporadic exerciser, but since 45 I've got a lot more disciplined, which allows me to look like I did before when I was taking a lot less exercise. I'm quite literally running to stand still (looks wise!)

its a mix of being active and calorie control.
plant based is best , including protein in every meal. Intermittent fasting is an easy way to eat less but still enjoy everything in moderation. Lots of green vegetables and limit sugar.
walk at least 10000steps daily and weight training 3 times a week. You’ll loose weight or maintain a healthy weight.