If you’ve never been overweight, what do you eat and do

[Kittenswhiskers]

Seems we always seek advice from fellow people with the same problems so I’d like to ask people that have never had this ?

I don't drink alcohol or eat out unless it's unavoidable. I make my own lunch to take to work every day. I don't drink fizzy drinks or squash or coffees with loads of milk.

I only eat between 12 noon and 8pm. This stops me snacking. I don't keep biscuits in the house. I try not to eat lots of bread or pasta and keep my portion sizes under control. If I do have pasta or rice I weigh it out so I don't cook too much.

And 3 times a week I go to the gym and lift heavy.

Most days I eat if I'm hungry.
Apart from special occasions I find preparing and eating food a chore.
When my children finally move out I'm not sure I will cook much I like going out for nice meals but overall food is just fuel.

I think it’s down to a mixture of genetics and mindset.

The heaviest I have ever been (apart from pregnant / postpartum) is 8 stone 6. I’m 5 foot 5.

I have never ‘denied’ myself anything. That said, I don’t enjoy eating a lot of unhealthy foods. For example, if I had a fry up for breakfast then I would not want to eat a burger / fried food etc for lunch/dinner.

I enjoy eating vegetables.

I very rarely snack.

I barely drink alcohol and if I do it's only at weekends and I'm lucky to get to double figures on units.
I eat a vegetarian with the aim of a vegan diet with very few meat substitutes
I run 3 times a week and strength train when I get chance
I walk everywhere I can, if I drive I park the furthest distance away from where I need to be
Rarely eat take away

I’ve never been overweight, although I haven’t always been slim either. My BMI has been between 20.5 and 24 as an adult, currently I’m about BMI 22.

I hope this isn’t insensitive but the honest reason is I just don’t find it that hard not to eat too much. If my clothes are getting tight I stop snacking and give up desserts for a bit. If I go out to a restaurant for lunch I’ll just have soup or salad for dinner (and I don’t really enjoy feeling full so it’s rare that I eat a lot at one meal anyway). I’m not a big drinker so don’t have to worry about alcohol calories much.

I am no gym bunny but I do 2-3 exercise classes a week and walk quite a lot.

As someone else said, food just isn’t that central to my life and whilst I enjoy cake, chocolate, cheese etc as much as the next person I also don’t find it that hard to give them up for a bit if I feel I need to.

Dinner alone is about 1200 calories. My steak tonight is 800 calories alone...

A 250g steak, is nearly 700 calories and that's with no oil etc.

When you write down the individual ingredients, it doesn't sound like a lot, but for the average person the meals I eat are a lot. Lots of people don't realise just how much they are eating...

I’ve been overweight on and off since I was about 9. My Mum had me dieting at 9 😬 I can lose weight calorie restricting but I can’t stick to it. I’ve tried all sorts over the years - calorie counting, low carb, WW, SW, Curves ‘this is not a diet’ diet. All made me lose weight but none were sustainable.
I’ve been undoing my diet mentality over the last few years and started power lifting. I still struggled with binge eating. I would literally be stranding in front of the fridge/cupboard and shovelling food in that I don’t want to eat. It felt very compulsive.
I recently read Ultraprocessed people by Chris Van Tulleken and my takeaway from it is that UPFs seem to drive both obesity and the desire to eat UPFs - vicious cycle. I’ve radically reduced my UPF consumption and it’s like the drive has just…gone! I’m naturally eating less carbs, cooking more. I feel better. More energy, brighter mood, less aches and pains. I feel this is the final key I’ve needed to stop the binge and start feeling better. Given that I’m eating less UFPs and less salt and sugar, I imagine I will lose weight over time.

It probably does make a difference whether or not you are an emotional eater as well.

we had a really stressful time as a team at work recently and it became very apparent which of us were emotional eater and which of us don’t eat when stressed (it was about a 50/50 split).

I guess that I’m lucky in that if I’m stressed I don’t eat. This can be unhealthy if I’m stressed for a long period of time as it can end up with me feeling pretty weird. But it does mean I don’t gain lots of weight in stressful times.

that said I don’t just see food as fuel. I love food and will eat whatever type of food I like. I just try not to over do it with portion sizes and kind of balance the unhealthy with healthy. I also cook from scratch at least 5 days a week so I guess I don’t consume loads of UPF, though obviously I have some. Im not that careful.

I don't really snack and don't drink often or much when I do.

Not really fussed about chocolate, crisps or cake etc. People can eat them around me and I don’t feel that I'm resisting temptation or anything. I just don't want it.

I don't eat obvious carbs or any added sugar. I dont even have any in the house. I cut out bread in my 20s and have rarely eaten it over the past 25+ years. I don't like the way it makes me feel - stuffed and bloated.

I don't eat low fat and have full fat versions of everything.

I don't celebrate with food either. I mean, I will go out for a meal but somewhere nice that serves real food and not a crappy pub chain that serves cheap food with nasty fake sauces. I dont really understand the over eating at Christmas and by Boxing Day, i really just want to eat salad.

I also avoid UPFs and have done since my children were born. Food is mostly cooked from scratch or batch cooked. I'd rather stay home and have a decent steak with homemade peppercorn sauce with salad than eat what they serve in most places.

My partner is overweight but he likes the feeling of being 'full'. I don't. I really dislike it. I eat until I'm no longer hungry but not until I'm full.

Interesting. Not all slim people wed healthy though. Some fidgets, some anxiety. It doesn't necessarily mean overall health.

Around 2500 calories a day, fully plant based. I’m addicted to running and other form of cardio so I can stuff my face daily without worrying about my weight

It's more what I don't eat.....

low fat diet food - all UPF and stuffed full of sugar
Biscuits, cakes, chocolates
over-sweet sauces 😩
White bread/pasta/couscous (wholemeal is better)
alcohol

Suppers this week will be.......
Roast lamb, roast potatoes, assorted veg
Wholemeal pasta carbonara
Seafood risotto with broad beans & spinach
Peppers stuffed with parslied sausage meat, & garlic bread
Cassoulet
Chicken, tomato & coconut curry & rice
Cheese omelette & oven chips (fast supper, going out)

I cook from scratch, am now 61 , 5'8" and a size 10. I work full time and exercise 2-3 times a week.

My partner is overweight but he likes the feeling of being 'full'. I don't. I really dislike it. I eat until I'm no longer hungry but not until I'm full.

Yes, this is an interesting point. The other day my colleagues were discussing KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King etc and which one was best. Part of the criteria was which one was the most “filling”. I can honestly say that this never crosses my mind when choosing where to eat, in fact I actively dislike the feeling of being full after eating.

It's not if you feel well. Feeling well is the best thing in the world and if it means dropping a few things then so be it.

Many of my exes have been overweight. All of them liked the feeling of being full, even stuffed, and they all grew up in households where food was a way of showing love.

The men who haven't been overweight just ate enough and eating was a necessary part of the day but not a big gesture.

Which I think is also an interesting point to note.

Some people live to eat, others eat to live. That's the difference.

I have the crappiest metabolism ever and spend my whole life dieting and exercising just to stay slim. It's shit but I'm happier being like this than being fat.

I wouldn’t say I have a very healthy diet because I definitely do eat way too much chocolate but I also do often accidentally skip meals so that’s probably why I’m not overweight. I think a lot of it is genetic.

However I eat full fat stuff and don’t really like a lot of what I think of as “fake” foods or anything particularly processed. We dont buy stuff like cheesestrings, hotdogs, sausage rolls, cheap ice cream, or much freezer stuff like nuggets or deep pan pizza etc.

We rarely have a takeaway and almost never go to Greggs or McDonald’s etc. If I go out for a coffee I will either have flat white or americano and never have those caramel syrupy type coffees that are super sugary.

I drink occasionally maybe 3 glasses of wine per week on average? Don’t know if that’s a lot or not. We don’t drink fizzy drinks really but if we do buy them it’s full sugar not diet version.

Never been overweight. I eat everything and anything. Don’t restrict any foods, calorie count, limit when you can eat. I’m a grazed with quite a small appetite so prepare multiple small meals a day. Love chocolate, cheese, bread and wine.

However I do enjoy exercise - regularly go for a run, have had a PT for years and do weights classes and Pilates.

My DP has always been slim. He describes it as having an ‘off switch’ and he just knows when he’s had enough and he just can’t have more. Whereas I find my switch flicks in the other direction and I struggle to stop before all the food is gone.

Second this! I’m currently losing weight and initially only ate wholefoods. Immediately felt different in every possible way. No cravings for low quality UPF food whatsoever.

I then tried to introduce some UPFs and have started craving them since putting them back on the menu. I just think UPFs are too addictive for me to eat in moderation. Like you say, the less you eat them the less you want, and vice versa.

To come back on what I said earlier, I also don't eat before an exercise class so they are always early, then I walk the dog. She gets shorter walks on Pilates days. But we are both fairly lean and fit as we head into our 70s, dog equivalent. But as Ddog is a Labrador, a famous eating machine, it needs the whole family to agree that we restrict treats and leftovers. DDog is only allowed the food that is put into her bowl. She is not a bin, but she would volunteer!

I try to limit carbs and processed food. I'm not obsessive though and do eat those occasionally. I eat a lot of eggs and meat, those are my staples. After a breakfast of eggs and bacon i don't get hungry for hours. I try to really limit alcohol, one bottle of wine per month or less. I have a low alcohol tolerance.
I do a bit of exercise but thats to keep fit and not to lose weight. I'm 48 5'7" 9 stone.

I've always hovered between 50-55kg as an adult. A typical day would be:

Greek yoghurt and fruit for breakfast
Occasional biscuit/crisps/chocolate
Soup (eg tomato or butternut squash), tuna sandwich and a banana for lunch.
Apple/carrot
Homemade dinner, nearly always with plenty veg.
Drinks- 2 coffees a day and plenty water. I don't tend to drink soft drinks. I drink alcohol, but not a lot.

Today I've had a big burger and chips, so tomorrow I'll make sure I eat more healthily. I try to minimise daily UPFs to bread and occasional snacks. I don't eat puddings in the evening as I'm too full from dinner. I'm also a busy working mum of 2 (teacher), and often walk 5k a day without even realising!

Like a pp I hate the feeling of being full so will always stop eating before I feel this. I'm also incredibly anxious and when stressed I will forget to eat. Definitely eat what I want, but in small portions

I eat whatever food I want, butter, cheese, chocolate, chips, but I eat very small portions. And I don’t eat between meals. I also walk a lot, and do daily yoga.