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?

I now want to cleanse my fridge/ freezer of all the crap that there. It's funny how until you take a step back you don't actually see the problem.

I usually do my shopping for collection on a Monday so I'm going to see what I can add to make healthier choices.

Excited to see what happens this week. I'll do a weigh in tomorrow morning then again on sat to see if there's been a difference

Another question.... is it okay to have a small portion of say cauliflower cheese ( or something'fattening' ) if you don't snack? So maybe have a small lunch then a nice healthier dinner but using full fat sauce etc?

I'm going to make crème fraiche pasta chicken with Siratcha sauce some night- woukd this be considered ok if I don't snack all day? Or is this a very bad choice?

There's so many different ways to approach weight loss that I find it can be overwhelming to know what's right

I’ve been a 10/12 most of my adult life, now edging more towards the 12 in my mid forties though!

I don’t follow any faddy diets and love carbs- bread, pasta, rice, couscous etc. For breakfast I used to always have cereal but I’ve been trying to stick to yoghurt and fruit lately.

I think the main thing is we very rarely have takeaways, always cook a main meal from scratch (things like veggie chilli, pasta sauces, soup, roasted vegetables and halloumi with couscous). I nearly always have a sandwich for lunch but try to avoid cheese or mayo, it’s often veggie chicken/ham slices with salad. I’ve never been one for packets of crisps or cake- I’ll eat it if it’s there eg at a party, but it’s not a regular thing. I’m also not an evening snacker, I rarely eat after dinner and don’t tend to have dessert.

Having said that I love chocolate, and if there is any in the house I will eat it! I also drink a fair amount of wine, which I am trying to cut down on as it’s a lot of empty calories. And I often take things like cereal bars for a snack at work (I’m a teacher so need something quick!) which I think are full of hidden sugar. And on busy days at work my secret stash of Heroes that I keep for bribing the kids takes a bashing!

If I wasn’t allergic to dairy I’d have a portion of cauliflower cheese, same for the chicken dish. it’s just normal food.

I've never been above 55kg at 5'8 and I snack on unhealthy things but I do intermittent fasting and only eat once a day, I'm vegetarian so get my protein from 5 eggs a day in some form or another, a huge smoothie with milled seed and almonds and enough carbs to get me up to 1800. With intermittent fasting I'm so full off my one meal that I don't really overdo it on snacks like I would do without it. I average about 13 miles a day on my fitbit and work out at home every day with a kettlebell and resistance bands which also keeps me slim.

I’m 37, 5’4, 52kg and a size 6.

I do 16:8 as if I eat breakfast, I’m staaaarving for the rest of the day. I usually eat the same things for lunch. I eat normal family meals for dinner. I don’t snack and if I get hungry near a meal time, I just wait. I never drink wine but do drink flavoured gin and soda or disarrano and Diet Coke if we go out with friends occasionally. I love a Chinese take away but we only have it once a month or less.

I also run a lot, walk the dog and do weights.

I’m mid 40s and a size 12-14
I largely cook from scratch but mostly I exercise, weight train and kickbox.

I'm 48 and a size 10-12.

I'm not going to lie, it takes a lot of planning and willpower these days to maintain my weight. My general week is like this:

Breakfast - X
Lunch - Chicken/Tuna/Mackerel/Cheese Salad
Dinner - Spag Bol/Steamed Fish/Prawn Curry/Fajitas
Snacks - Protein Yoghurts/Protein Shakes/Nuts/Fruit

• IF so I only eat between 12-8pm
• Stick to 1600 calories per day
• Eat 100g protein per day
• Weight train 3 x week / Cardio 3 x week

I'll have a few drinks at the weekend (prosecco or gin) and will have a takeaway every few weeks. Luckily I'm not bothered about chocolate but love biscuits so don't buy them so I'm not tempted.

I can't help with diet as I eat far too much and consequently v overweight.
However I found sparkling/soda/tonic water to be good ways to break the diet coke habit, give it a go

this has saved me typing similar ! I always choose full fat etc and often add olive oil over things . I’m a size 10 and have a huge appetite but really not drawn to ready-made stuff .

we’ve bought a thermomix which makes making say a homemade soup just so easy now. I can ask DH or the DC to load a certain recipe and it talks them through it and what to add when etc

Good tip!

What do I avoid?

Eating between 7pm and 11am. (occasional break out for hols and stuff)
No junk food
No or very little fried food
No (or just occasionally) chocolate, cakes, desserts etc.
No alcohol - never have so it's no biggie for me.

On the plus side, fruit and veg, although I am not a great veg eater.
Fibre, i.e. flaxseed and chia seed on my porridge or weetabix.
Full fat greek yogurt.

I'm no saint and could walk a bit more but i'm maintaining a reasonably ok weight for now.

I agree, @StiffyByngsDogBartholomew , sparkling water is a great alternative to more calorific drinks. To me, it tastes like a treat!

@biggerthanthebiggest I have loads of healthy fats (cheese, evoo, oily fish, nuts) and still loose weight. Fat is really satiating and if you have it at the end of a meal (whilst avoiding sugar) it will keep you full for hours. Cauliflower cheese is great and I would certainly have this in my diet when trying to loose weight. Just make sure none of the ingrediants are upf and you are using full fat cheese/milk as the reduced fat kinds generally replace the fat with ingredients that will mess up your gut microbiome, make you hungrier and cause inflammation.__

Cauliflower cheese is fine in moderation - like anything. Portion control, real food, plenty of plants, eat for physical reasons (nutrition, hunger, fibre etc) not emotional reasons. Why do you snack? If you are hungry then snack on something satiating and nutritious and stop when you're not hungry any more; if you're not hungry don't snack.

(I would like to say I follow this as much as I can but I am by no means perfect and love really good ice cream as much as the next woman).

Try and curb your sugar spikes it makes a huge difference. For me it's only black coffee no sugar until midday - if I even have a white coffee I need to eat an hour later or I feel terrible. No white coffee means no hunger for me.

Then plenty of protein with lunch and dinner, limited carbs and don't buy ready meals they are full of shite. Oh and coke zero is effectively poison for your body - if you want coke have a full sugar one but limit it to one can with your meal. Don't eat after your dinner either you don't need it.

If I want a snack I eat an orange. That takes ages because of all the peeling and segments and it’s delicious.

• No junk food (McDonald's, kfc etc) and very rare takeaways
• No ready meals
• packed lunch for work, either soup, salad or leftovers
• lots of fruit, veg and salad.
• evening meals almost always cooked from scratch.
• treats in moderation. I have a terrible sweet tooth so cakes, biscuits and chocolate are my temptation.

I've pretty much been a size 12 since I was in my 20s. I can lose a few pounds if I cut carbs, and put a few pounds on when portion control went out the window after having babies and when I stopped breastfeeding.

I no longer eat breakfast and don’t miss it at all. If I do get hungry I have a handful of nuts.
I eat low carb or keto because it’s the only thing that worked after 40yrs, even though my diet was generally healthy. Weight simply started to accumulate until I went low carb.
Once you leave out sugary foods, you don’t really miss it.

I'm in my 50s and a 10-12.
It takes more work as you get older.
I run at least three times a week, go to the gym and swim. I eat porridge for breakfast, salad and tuna or salad and a small portion of cheese for lunch and usually fish/salad or meat/ salad with a small portion of rice for dinner.
I drink wine on a Friday and Saturday.
I try not to snack. I avoid bread and cakes.
I only eat takeaways occasionally and can't remember the last time I had chips.
It gets boring so you have to factor in a few treats at the weekend.
If I deviate from this I will put on weight without question.

I think regular meals are key so that you don't need massive portions. I tend to eat the same as my teenagers (though slightly less). I certainty wouldn't avoid foods like cauliflower cheese. The protein and fat keep you full. Another thing I do to kerb evening snacking is to brush my teeth early. Then I know I'm done with food for the day.

I've lost over 3.5 stone in 10 months doing pretty much this with the SW app on my phone.

Agree that when you stop having UPF and sugar you feel shit when you do have it. Your taste will totally change too and you will appreciate whole foods more.

Moderation.

I don’t cut out anything really. Stay active.

I have been up and down my whole life. I lost 5 stone over lock down and have maintained a size 10-12 ever since. I always put it back on before, but I haven’t this time because:

• if I have a bad day, I don’t make it in to a few bad days. I get straight back on it. If I don’t do this, I know I’ll go back to my old bad eating habits and never lose the weight again. Also this lets me have some high fat food like pizza or Burger King; so I don’t feel like I am missing out. I’ll just eat extra well the next few days. I also just don’t like it as much really, it tastes horrible now and I get heartburn.
• Being aware of if I need it or just want it.
• Not having sugar in anything.
• I was always active but I stepped it up and now make a promise to myself that exercise IS self care, instead of having a trifle as my treat if I’ve had a bad day, I’ll have a lovely walk in the sun etc.

Also I am mid 40’s.