How do people without disordered habits eat?

[Frequency]

It's probably the wrong place to ask but how do normal people eat? Why are the not either fat or hungry all the time?

And, most importantly, how do they deal with cravings? Like, how do they just eat what they fancy, when they fancy without worrying about losing control and gaining weight?

If for example, they really, really wanted a portion of Gregg's brownies with salted caramel dip, would they just order them without considering how they would fit into their daily calorie allowance?

Surely, if they did that, they'd be over their TDEE that day? And if they did that say every couple of weeks, they'd gain weight.

I've always been slim. If I was desperate for a brownie, I'd have one.

If I've gone up a few pounds and my clothes feel tight, I'll just eat lightly for a few days until I'm comfortable again.

I don’t know if I think of it as “bad” . A brownie is fine - but it’s a sometimes food, not something I would think to eat on a regular day.

It just doesn’t occur to me. Like I said I really believe that these habits are just deeply engrained from childhood.

You might be right. If there are snacks in the house I will eat them and often do absentmindedly but if I thought something like no I can't have another piece of cake because I've already had one, I wouldn't be constantly thinking about the cake until I gave in and ate it.

if you want the brownies, go eat them fgs

Ive been having a sugar rush day today, so far Ive had a chocolate cookie brownie and a hot cross bun, on top of my normal meals

Have I gone above my needed calories - too dam right I have

Am I bovvered? Not really.

Because I went for it today, been poorly and my body is wanting sugar

Tomorrow will be a different day and I will eat differently - a high. protein diet which will stop the sugar cravings

I wouldn't have a craving for Greggs brownies with sauce because I think they would taste disgustingly sweet and have that nasty fake processed taste.

I do sometimes eat some cake or biscuits but not enough to make me overweight.

I would usually walk to collect them, to burn off some of the calories from eating them.

You'd be lucky to burn 500 calories even if the shop was a 5 mile walk.

I had disordered eating from around 13 years when I had anorexia which I recovered from but then led to very bad binge eating, starving, over exercise ect. I couldn’t see food in a normal way however when I had kids when I was 24 I come out of the whole obsession over what I was eating and just naturally ate when I was hungry without trying or thinking about it, I was so caught up in having a baby ( I had two close together.) 10 years later I’m still the same I just eat when I’m hungry, not counted calories since I fell pregnant and now have a pretty normal relationship with food.

Routine is your friend with healthy snacks
Lots of fruit and raw veg too
I try to have 2 fish, 2 veg, 2 chicken and 1 meat dish a week. I love trying new dishes and use flavoursome ingredients.
I tend to do nuts and fruit teas for snacks but I'd happily devour a tub of ben & Jerry's if I felt like it.
I've no restrictions on what I eat and I hate diets, feel like they're designed to make you think about food 24/7!
I probably wouldn't crave the brownies cause it's not something I'd regularly consume. I'm more likely to go to the fridge and have a slice of cheese cause that's at the forefront of my mind
I've been the same weight my entire life

I've had a rubbish week and eaten a lot of rubbish food as a result. I feel really sick and sluggish tonight, tomorrow I will start eating properly again. My body really tells me what not to eat.

I think I am the same
I am not interested in food after dinner and could easily go until next day
We were never allowed supper or snacks at night when we were young

I can eat anything I want, but I also understand the difference between a daily healthy ish diet and a treat. So every day foods and sometimes foods.

I love almost all food but I never think about it unless it is a mealtime or I’m hungry. Don’t ever really obsess over food in the way you’re describing. I don’t think I’d ever really want something sugary like that but if I did I’d just have it as it’d be rare. I am overweight but I think from portion size & enjoying my meals rather than binging or eating badly.

Post menopause I am about 4 pounds overweight by bmi , which I guess I need to lose. Never thought about losing weight before. Don’t generally like sweets very much (too much sugar gives me thrush) so would look at your brownies and caramel dip and think yeuch - not in a judgy way just no not nice don’t want, same way as I would think about meats. With me it’s wine that will have to be cut down on.

I'm always around a 10. At some points an 8-10 and other times (like now) a 10-12.
I love food! But I grew up in a household where everything was homecooked and I learnt about food and cooking from my Mum. I now do the same and cook almost everything from scratch. I get sooo hungry if I skip meals so that isn't an option. I wfh and so have become a bit more sedentary which has upped my weight a little but still eat in a similar way.
Breakfast would be: Porridge with banana, sultanas and cinnamon or bran flakes and banana. Or eggs on brown toast.
Snack mid morning if I'm hungry: some fruit or a few raw cashews
Lunch: Leftovers from night before, homemade soup and sandwich, big salad or eggs if not had them for breakfast
Small similar snack mid afternoon if lagging
Dinner: Homemade - roast chicken and salads, lasagne, currys etc. Try to add veg, lots of herbs etc. Love lentils and beans.
I drink black coffee, water (plenty) and my treat is a red wine.
All whole fat butter, milk etc
My weakness is cheese and crisps! I don't hold back from having them but don't have huge quantities. Chocolates etc I will have but just like having a couple and then it's just too sweet for me. Looking at Krispy Kreme or something like that it just makes me feel a bit sickly. I've never tried one because it just looks way too much and turns my stomach a bit. But a big cheese board would be a big mental struggle to stay away from.

I would eat the brownies, but then I’d be more mindful over the coming days to eat a little better. Nothing drastic. That keeps me from gaining weight. For example, last night I had a dessert, chocolate bar and a few other chocolates. Today (along with my meals) I had a piece of fruit and one less calorific treat than normal. Over the coming days I’ll even those extra calories out with a few better choices than normal.

I'm overweight. The only time in my life that I have been a healthy weight was ironically when I ate what I wanted. If I felt like a chocolate muffin for lunch then that's what I had. I remember a chubby friend telling me that I was so lucky to be able to eat like that and not be overweight. It all started to go wrong when I started to focus on my diet and tried to eat healthy. I found myself preoccupied with food and permanently hungry and dissatisfied. For some reason I'm often more hungry after a salad than I am before I eat it.

That makes sense. I do love a salad, but I'd have a really filling one with loads of nice dressing. And I'd only have it if I fancied a salad.

If it was a case of I'm only allowed a light salad even though it wasn't what I was in the mood for, I would feel unsatisfied and want crisps afterwards.

Hey OP,
I get where you're coming from as I had disordered eating as a teen (emotional eating because of bullying) and it took me years to fix my relationship with food.

I think it matters a lot that I was taught healthy habits as a child though, as that means I had something to go back to, rather than having to learn from scratch.

I've finally reached the point where I no longer have to think about it and my wants naturally adapt to reach a healthy balance. I find that if I have a heavy lunch I crave a light dinner, and vice versa.

For instance, today I had a slice of pizza for lunch (just one cause I wasn't that hungry), then a salad for dinner, then coffee with a small slice of chocolate pie (homemade). I didn't have to negotiate with myself or feel frustrated because I don't want more. If I did I'd have it, but I don't.

The issue is when food is consuming your every thought - and I sympathize because I've been there. It took years for me to learn to listen to my body and tell the difference between hungry and bored, etc. But once you get there it's very liberating to be able to just... not think about it.

I have a routine of three meals a day. Breakfast is either porridge with chopped apples or raisins, or wholemeal toast, butter & home made jam. I eat enough to feel full.

I take lunch to work which might be home made soup or a cheese & olive salad. Don't stint on the portions, enough to feel full.

I have mixed nuts and fruit if I need a snack.

In the evening I make chilli & rice or cassoulet or peppers stuffed with sausage meat. Portions are generous. Always include lots of veg.

I don't buy brownies or cakes or crisps. If they aren't in the house, I can't eat them. and If I'm full I don't get cravings. On the few occasions I do have them, shop-bought sweet stuff is such poor quality, it makes me feel ill so I don't want more.

I am post-cancer, so I maintain my immune system by eating 30+ different fruit & veg a week. I always have something nice to eat - grapes or nectarines.

I feel well, run and swim most weeks. I am 60yo. Work full time and have a teen ds at home.

I do eat things I like, so I don't think it is a case of me depriving myself of foods I enjoy. I do enjoy what I eat.

I tend to go through phases where I eat the same thing repeatedly until I cannot face eating it ever again. Atm it is a chocolate protein bar for breakfast or high protein cereal or porridge, no lunch and chicken, cauliflower, and broccoli for dinner with a sugar-free jelly and a muller light or protein yogurt for dessert, then a low cal chocolate bar and an Options for supper. I really look forward to all of it, so it's like I'm forcing down "healthy" stuff I don't enjoy.

This usually satisfies me. I'm still hungry most of the time but not to the point where it drives me to distraction like today.

I don't eat Greggs often. I normally have to plan my meals days in advance, but occasionally I will get it into my head that I need something (not always brownies) and it just takes over every thought I have. Sometimes I can allow myself to have what I want but then I punish myself for days afterwards by cutting out breakfast and supper.

Today I just could not let myself eat the brownies, no matter how much I tried to talk myself into it.

I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I have a terrible diet - lots of UPF - but I'm slim and a low-healthy BMI.

When I needed to lose weight after pregnancy, I found that calorie counting messed with my head and gave me a really toxic relationship with food.

Instead, if I need to lose weight I stick to one rule: two meals and two snacks per day.

Meal can be anything - a KFC or a sandwich - and ditto one snack could be a chocolate bar or a banana. I can deal with that but imo calorie counting messes up your head! I don't even know the calorie content of most foods, and I think that's a good thing.

Well, it's good that you didn't eat it if you felt it wouldn't have been reasonable.

Think of it another way : it's only food. Two minutes of pleasure isn't worth feeling gross for hours afterwards, or feeling guilty.

I should add that intuitive eating may or may not come to you, but there's nothing wrong with calorie counting if that works for you. I did it for years before I no longer needed it.

Also OP, based on your brownie example, if I was "dieting" using my rule above, you'd be allowed two brownies as your snacks for that day. No guilt whatsoever.

I still lose weight on this "two meals, two snacks" rule, and I'm at a low weight anyway.

And just to add - the whole point of calorie counting isn't to starve or to punish yourself, but to feel in control. You can still choose to eat the brownie - but you know exactly what you're doing, you know you're over your daily limit, and you're choosing this time to go over it. Or not. That's a form of empowerment. It doesn't matter what choice you make, what matters is that you are consciously making it.

Fast metabolism. Lucky with genes. Up until mid 30's, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I ate a lot of crap, because I mean, it's delicious! I ate large meals, takeaway, junk food. Never ever put on even a single kilo. Didn't exercise either. Stayed skinny my whole life.

But yeah then mid 30's hit, and the weight slowly crept on. Not too much, but i could see where this was headed. So now, I just have to think about overall diet and be wary of bad habits forming. So if i have a huge dessert, that's ok, but if I do that one day, then the next day have a chocolate bar, then the next day cake, then the next day other dessert, that's when I have to recognise that the sweet tooth habit is creeping back in and that I have to nip it in the bud or I'll start putting weight on.

Also for me re cravings, the best thing is actually going cold turkey and NO sweets. I find that if I have a sweet, the following day I'll crave another, and so on. When I go to the effort of having NO sugar in my diet, the cravings completely go away.