Is this too much, just right or too little food?

[PigletsBestFan]

I’m curious as to whether people think this is a normal amount of food or not. Also, is it balanced?

This is for a full day yesterday:

Breakfast:
Graze bar (the small individual oat boosts at around 90 calories)
An Apple

Lunch:
A normal bag of McCoy’s crisps (lunch was very busy).

Dinner: McMuffin Fakeaway

2x warbutons breakfast muffins, 4x rashers of bacon, 2x McCain hash browns, 2x poached eggs

Snack:
Fun size bag of mini eggs (the smallest size ones)

Previous day:

Breakfast: Nothing

Lunch: Nothing

Dinner:
Grilled chicken with salad and pittas, onion rings and 2x slices of garlic bread

Snack: Fun size mini eggs

No it’s not balanced. You know that.

Are you being serious? It's so full of crap I don't know where to start

It's dreadful which I'm sure you are well aware of

Is this one of those goady threads? It's clearly not balanced at all...where are the fruit and veg for a start?!

I suspect this will go the same way as the cheese thread.

It's seriously disordered is what it is. Smacks of someone who has swallowed diet culture's message that they don't deserve to eat because they are too fat but who doesn't hate themselves enough to actually starve.

you have unofficial eating disorder

It's not great. It might be low calorie since you're skipping meals but that doesn't mean healthy.

Breakfast - add some protein like Greek yoghurt and it's fine

Lunch - you need to eat more at lunchtime. Then you won't need mini eggs for a sugar rush

Dinner - both sound OK really they have lots of protein, but need more veg and less upf (the onion rings and garlic bread unless homemade)

No it's not enough food and not enough veg. Are you trying to be in a calorie deficit or is this to maintain weight?

There is hardly any veg and lots of processed food. Hopefully the person ate loads of veg on the other 5 days 😬

Op I’d guess it’s a teenager who has food issues possibly? If you could even try and get in some fruits, yoghurts, cereals, an egg/ beans on toast to try and balance it? My brother has asd and went through some awful eating times but we started finding out what his favourite cereals were, getting some yoghurts and would get him to eat at least an apple/ banana with grapes and drink at least a glass of milk or some water (he was living on 7up) . It’s hard as he still has to have stuff put to him a lot although he loves ham cabbage and potatoes which is great! Hugs op x

I’d feel awful on that. Nowhere near enough real food and the calories from the mini eggs can’t make up for that.

Well you had 2 breakfast muffins so it's balanced in terms of you can hold one in each hand I suppose.

I didn’t expect the harsh replies 😞. I know it’s not great, it’s just a sample of two days worth of meals. I want to improve it.

I do have a long history of disordered eating and I have lost my way with what is normal and what is not. I do have extra pounds to lose.

I need people to point out exactly what is wrong with it? I’m not stupid, but I do have history with eating issues so I’m not exaggerating when I say I have no idea what is normal.

But surely you can't think eating a couple of snacks or nothing at all until dinner is normal? So an easy start, eat some food. Try and make as much as possible unprocessed and get your five a day, mostly of veg.

This is a good guide

If you've previously had an eating disorder, the focus should be on regularly eating three meals a day (some people will talk about fasting or low carb or whatever but those are not advised for anyone with a history of eating disorders). Within that, you want a food mix of protein (yoghurt, cheese, meat, some veggies), fibre (veggies, whole grains), fat (as with protein but also things like avocados and olive oil) and, of course, vegetables. It's good to minimise the crap (crisps, prepared food, chocolate) but it's also super important not to slip into a restrictive way of eating because that might well trigger a relapse.

If you put into an ai app what a normal diet including (whatever your preferences are) and avoiding (same) it will make a lovely meal plan for you, you can ask it for a shopping list too

Op Google the eatwell guide. It is the government guidelines for a balanced diet, no gimmicks, no fad diets etc so it's the best place to start. It's also got a pictorial guide that will help you visualize what a good diet looks like

You need to ditch the snacky stuff and get some fresh fruit, veg, protein from lean meats and fish, have a proper breakfast like porridge or eggs. As an example this is yesterday's food for me

B: Porridge oats, skimmed milk, skinny latte, banana
S: Hard boiled egg
L: Chicken breast, loads of salad veg, potato salad. Greek yogurt, honey and raspberries
S: A handful of cherry tomatoes
D: Turkey bolognese & salad

I forgot carbs! Those are important too.

But having said that, asking on MN isn't a great way to find out how to eat well, because half the posters don't eat much more than you do, but tend to only eat 'protein and veg' and the other half seem convinced that a large Domino's pizza serves 1 if you're having a light eating day.

Sorry you found the replies a bit harsh @PigletsBestFan, but hopefully it’s food for thought if you can forgive the pun.

I wonder if it would be a good idea for now to focus on good nutrition as a priority over losing extra pounds.

Regardless of weight, this type of diet would have me feeling sluggish and definitely constipated! If you’re young, this might not be an issue, but I’ve found that as I get older, my general health and energy levels are affected much more by my diet.

You need lots more veg! And some good fats, fish and whole grains.

@Bjorkdidit but to me that is normal. I’ve not eaten breakfast since I was 12 years old (I’m 43 now) . The thought of it makes me feel nauseous.